SOLO TRIP IN LAGUNA

Many of my friends knows that travelling is something that makes me happy and relax.  Kahit na gaano kastress ang mga ginagawa ko when i traveled, it was something that really recharge me.  Ewan ko there's something about travelling na sobra nya akong nabibigyan ng peace of mind!

So many things happened for the past 2 months and i just cant say NO to travels anymore...  some of friends of mine are already wondering why i dont have post on travels, and i just answered 'BUSY AKO!" ...

But deep inside in my heart, DAMN . MISSING MY BACKPACK, MISSING MY CAMERA, MISSING MY SANDALS, MISSING MY TRIPS!!...

Since i can feel the stress level will be uncontrollable anytime soon, . just to unload unwanted stuff in my mind... i decided to have my FIRST EVER SOLO TRIP!  this was something i've been planning for over a year now, since ate gael aka THEPINAYSOLOBACKPACKER inspired me with her blogs of having a solo trips.

I haven't prepared that much for this trip, since normally my friends would not allow me to travel ALONE,  they always wanna be with me, (what can i do, they liked my company so much heheheheh)...  anyways.. madalian lang talaga. thanks to my PTB Family (PINOY TRAVEL BLOGGERS)  they really helped me a lot.

After all the reading, i decided to do PAGSANJAN FALLS, in LAGUNA.  since my budget for this SOLO trip was just 2000PHP only.  ( AND  it was a sucess!!)

May 31, around 4am i started to prepare my stuff, since mangagaling pa ako ng Bulacan, i need to wake up this early para nman maaga ako dumating sa Laguna.  Tapos Lunes pa, so what would you expect.. TRAFFIC!!

around 630am Im already in Cubao , HM Transit Terminal.. (exact opposite of FIVE STAR Terminal malapit ito sa VICTORY LINER TERMINAL).  umalis ang bus ng mga 7am going to STA. CRUZ, LAGUNA, then my first ever SOLO JOURNEY BEGINS.

Since im so used sa mga bus, natulog ako sa buong byahe, it was my first time na magcommute papuntang Laguna, and im really not a fan of TRAFFIC, so para di ako mainis  I just closed my eyes and sleep.  after roughly around 2 hours, asa Calamba, Laguna na ako, i wonder how far is STA. CRUZ.  So i asked the lady beside me, and she said "MALAYO PA".  Pero i have a feeling na di rin ata alam ni ate ang malayo sa malapit. im thinking na within 30mins. ill probably in Sta. Cruz, well i did not sleep kasi baka lumampas ako or ako na lang ang matirang pasahero...

Since wala nmn akong nakikitang madaming sasakyan i just looked outside the bus window and observed kung anu ang meron dito sa Laguna.   Then i thought para lang din syang Nueva Ecija, madami kang makikitang color green, mapadamo ba ito or palayan, the only difference was ang mga mountain .. nagtataasang bundok.. i wanna take some pictures pero i opted not to, kasi malamang  i would not capture its beauty since moving ang bus.

Di ko namalayan asa Sta. Cruz na ako, as per instruction i need to take a jeepney going to Pagsanjan. so i did.  Nung asa jeep na ako, naloka ako sa nakalagay sa may katabi ng  driver's seat ...

di ka ba kakabahan??

sinu ba naman ang di maloloka dito.. para akong binuhusan ng malamig na tubig, and made me realized na im doing this travel ALONE!  wala akong kasama ... pero since matapang ako.. kaya ko ito.. for the entire trip di ako nagsasalita sa jeep. ayoko ding ipahalata na hindi ako taga dun..  so patago kong kinunan ang babala na yan.

Nang makita ko ang arko ng Pagsanjan, i wanna go down sa jeep to take a picture, pero i need to go muna sa Tourist Center nila to make arrangement sa Pagsanjan Falls trip ko.  I dont have any choice but to asked the driver to drop me off sa tourist center.  That was a BIG MISTAKE!  i didn't know na may nakasakay pala na bata and bigla nyang isiigaw na FALLS PO BA! HALIKA PO AT IDADALA KO PO KAU SA FALLS! .. this is one of those situations na ayokong makita, but since andun na ako, i just need to deal with it.. in a matter of few minutes ang daming lumapit sa akin na bangkero, they are forcing me to have my Pagsanjan Falls trip with them, they introduce themselves and keep on saying "PAGTIWALAAN PO NYO AKO"..  "MURA PO SA AMIN'..  but i still insist na makita at  makausap ang mga taga Tourism Office ng Pagsanjan.   Since that was a MONDAY, may flag ceremony ang mga nagtatrabaho sa government, so i waited outside of their office. after 5 to 10 minutes dumating si  Mr. Zossimo and he entertained all of my questions regarding Pagsanjan Falls.  Ang ending .. it unaccessible since umulan a night before i arrived...  Im almost willing to pay 2x of the regular fee just to see the falls but he can not guarantee me of anything since syempre safety pa din ang iniisip nila...  they want me to wait until after lunch and check kung bumaba na ang tubig , pero since this was just a day tour i cant afford na maghingtay ng ganun katagal.. Now i need to have a Plan B.

kuya zossimo.. Tourism Office ng Pagsanjan, Laguna

PLAN B.. since asa tourism office naman ako, i asked them what are the other MUST SEE places in Laguna?  then they gave me a pamphlets, brochures etc. about Laguna, then i started to check the places i wanna see.  Since this is the first time for me to reflect on so many things, i decided to check the old churches of Laguna, and also the Underground cemetery plus since this would be the 150 birthday of Rizal, i wanna see his House in Calamba, i started to asked for a map, then i check kung paano ko sisimulan ang itinerary ko.  Syempre as usual, inuuna ko muna ang malayo, papalapit. I asked sooo many questions kay kuya Zossimo and infairness his really very nice, he even checked google for me, his very accommodating next time ill be in Laguna ill definitely contact him.

NAGCARLAN CHURCH

UNDERGROUND CEMETERY

LILIW CHURCH

PILA CHURCH

CALAMBA CHURCH

 HOUSE of RIZAL

This are the Places I've visited in Laguna.. Will give you further details on each Place on a different Post =)

HAPPY TRAVEL!!!