The Lesson Plan

(UPDATE: Converted all pictures and added new ones into a slide show.)

I was at the Saud Beach, Pagudpud, Ilocos Norte from the 25th to the 27th with my friends Arghs, Fil and Joey. I’ve glimpsed the place four years ago but only got to appreciate its beauty and serenity over the last three days.

It was quite a spiritual experience, but not in the conventional way of prayers, sessions and songs. Still, it involved “moving into a different plane of existence” (the meaning of that should be evident to a lot of you) and baring your soul. Some comments on that follow in a future post.

For now, a quick tour of the beach and some recommendations for those who plan their own visit to one of the best beaches in the Philippines. I’ll let the following videos and pictures do the talking.

This first video was taken at 6AM of the 27th, and looks at the beach right outside the Polaris beach house we stayed in.

Around 7AM, we moved to the beach near Apo Idon. This little stretch is the best swimming area in the entire beach since the shore doesn’t take a direct hit from the waves coming in from the South China Sea. Nature’s best wave pool can be found here.

And last is a slide show of some cool highlights and scenes from the trip. Credits go to Joey for the group pictures!

Continue on with the post to read some tips on how to plan a trip to Pagudpud.

TIPS ON PLANNING AN AFFORDABLE PAGUDPUD TRIP

• Commute. It’s cheaper as you don’t get to spend for gas. Tours around Ilocos can be arranged with the locals, as the owners of Polaris are willing to do. I highly recommend Florida bus lines, located at Esapaña corner Lacson. During the peak season (right now), a one way trip to Pagudpud is P600. On the off season it’s P500. Take the night trips (8PM, 10PM) so that you can sleep through the entire 11-hour journey.
• Come in large numbers. Here’s a golden rule of budget travel: the more you are, the cheaper it gets with more people to split the bill. This is great when you rent vans to go on tours, or go to market to buy food for you to cook and barbecue.
• Bring/cook your own food. While we didn’t do this, I am pretty sure that this will make for an even cheaper stay. At the least, bring breakfast food (ie. canned goods, milk). There is a market close by for meat and fish, and a lot peddle lobsters and other shellfish along the beach. This is best done when there are more of you (see previous item).
• Stay in Polaris. It’s a good balance between convenience, comfort and price. Don’t expect five star amenities, but then again you don’t go to Pagudpud for the the hotels. Spend your day in the beach and a night’s sleep in Polaris is good enough to recharge for the next day. Also, it feels so homey and everyone is friendly. A lot of places invite you to feel at home, but this one actually becomes home.

We were able to haggle for a price (P2000 a night for four), and they told us that their rates go even lower during the off season (P800 a night for two). Their place is perfect for retreats, seminars and team-buildings. I hope to do that before the school year ends.

You can contact the owner, Ms. Me-an Santos at 0919-3078803 to make your arrangements.

We were so satisfied with out experience, especially with how much everything turned out. Each one of us spent less than P3000 for two days and three nights, and that includes our meals (which we all ordered from the hotel) and our bus rides.

If any of you check out Pagudpud after this post, tell me how it goes.

If you’ve been there before, tell me how it was for you.

This won’t be the last ‘360′ article I ever write. I’ll do this from now on for the places I visit, explore and enjoy.