Pretty Good in Puerto Galera (Sept 2016)

[katie23]

There's a statue of the Tamaraw, Bubalus mindorensis, which is a relative of the local water buffalo, Bubalus bubalis. The tamaraw is endemic to Mindoro (thus the name), and it's listed as a critically endangered species (due to pesky humans). I did some readings after my trip, and there are conservation efforts, which is good, IMO. According to that article, the tamaraw's numbers have increased in later years due to conservation efforts. They tried breeding them in captivity, but as with other wild animals, they don't breed well in unnatural conditions. The tamaraw is smaller and stockier than the local buffalo, and the horns are more V-shaped. The tamaraw is native to Mindoro, just like the Tarsier is native to Bohol.


that's me, in case y'all are wondering.

[katie23]

There's a swimming area down below, if you are so inclined...

They don't allow swimming directly below the falls, for safety reasons

There are some picnic tables nearby

[katie23]

You have to pay a small fee if you go below...




In case you need food & souvenirs

[katie23]

Saw this trike.. there was a recent marathon held in Galera

[katie23]

After I've had my fill of the falls & surrounds, it was back on the bike. Saw this on the way back

[Nicethaiza]

Very great pics ka Katie^^I enjoy the beach ^^very nice view

[katie23]

It looked like a good place to take pics, so I snapped a few



That's all for now. To be continued...

[katie23]

@za - thanks for the greet. Yes, the beach views were very nice. I'm off for today - have a great weekend! Cheers!

[Nicethaiza]

Wow the last 2 pics look very nice^^I want to see if it in evening^^how the pics look like^^very beautiful I guess^^love it and you too have a great weekend kaa^^

here at bkk raining for 2 days now a bit boring

[Munted]

Thanks only seen a few pages looks to me quite undeveloped < good thing!> Actually Philippines looking more attractive than Thailand in many ways.

[Davis Knowlton]

^And very few foreign residents or tourists other than some North Asian tourists, mostly Korean. Koreans also are the largest group resident here as it's a cheap place for their kids to go to school to learn English.

[Arrowman]

katie

great thread and photos

[katie23]

@munted - and you don't need to learn the local language since everyone speaks some degree of English, from trike drivers and market sellers to office workers. Documents are in English too. Of course we have the local languages/dialects, but government-issued docs are in English. They say the food is sh**, though, and the current president is a thug. You can't have it all. Lol. But then, most SEA presidents now are thugs. The Cambodian one wants to be called Lord-something, and the Thai one wants "happiness" for every person. Heh...

Thanks for the greets, za & arrowman, and of course, the insights from Davis.

@Davis - the Koreans have invaded Sabang. Lol. There's a Korea Sabang Resto in Sabang beach. Pic of that later. IMO, the Koreans are okay. Most of those who are here are educated and mild-mannered, or college students staying for a few months to learn English.

[katie23]

Seems there's still an expat (farang/kano) population in PG. I saw quite a few in my walks. I've shown the pics of those in their local watering holes. As I left White Beach, I also heard a group of Yermans drinking San Mig, and saying Das ist nicht... blah blah blah..

In my walk around town during the second day, I saw this guy w/ his partner, waiting for his motorbike to be fixed.



There was also this lone kano walking...


I guess PG is attractive to expats bcos of the laid-back island life, the diving, ease of reaching the Manila airport, and not to forget, the bars & girly bars.

[katie23]

So after the motorbike ride to Tamaraw Falls, I returned to my gaff and saw this being sold nearby. It's called "turon", made of banana (plantain) wrapped in springroll paper and fried. I bought one and ate it for dinner later.



Same store was selling these stuff to be barbecued, but didn't buy those

[katie23]

During midday, I just chilled - read a book and enjoyed the sea breeze at the resort resto. In the late afternoon, it was time to go out again and seek more adventures. Saw this group of weekenders waiting for the last boat back to Batangas on my way out of my gaff.

[katie23]

My destination that afternoon was Badladz Beach Resort. But before that, I took a walk around the town proper (poblacion/bayan) and took a few pics. That was when I saw those farang along the way. Pics of the town proper later.

Badladz has three properties - the dive resort, beach resort and apartments. More info at www badladz dot com. The beach resort and apartments are located a few km south of the dive resort. Guests of the dive resort can use the facilities of the beach resort, so I decided to check it out. I took a trike (prolly 10-15 min ride) to get there.

Here's the advert for the beach resort.


The advert for the apartments

[katie23]

The road going to the resort from the highway


Badladz apartments - they offer daily, weekly & monthly rates. There are studios and 1-bedroom apartments. I guess this is ideal if you want to stay for longer, as there are cooking facilities. The guests here can also use the facilities of the beach resort, which is ~150 m away.

[katie23]

Saw some kids playing


I took this pic because I liked the contrast between the big house & the lil one. The big house is a resort, I think. The haves and have-nots...

[katie23]

Aside from the resorts, the area was still undeveloped, with lots of grass in the vicinity. This place is where I saw the goats! As promised, here are the goat pics.

This looked very exotic


This one was a bit shy

[katie23]

The goat from the previous page was also found in this area.

This male goat was very macho.


And last but not the least, one hot momma goat! (she's pregnant)

[katie23]

On my walk back from the beach resort, the goats were gone, so no pics of goats frolicking in the twilight. Sigh...

Anyway, I passed by Squares Apartments on the way to Badladz Beach Resort.


The road going to Badladz beach resort

[katie23]

I asked the Dive Resort staff to call and say that I was coming over, so I was expected by the Beach Resort ppl. It's good, cos I wasn't gunned down or attacked by dogs.

[katie23]

Pics of the Badladz beach resort


The female staff wear polo shirts (with logo) & short skirts. Male staff wear polo shirt & shorts.

[katie23]

I requested to see the rooms, so that I could compare them to those of the Dive Resort, if ever I decide to come back (or refer to people). No pics, but the standard rooms are smaller than those in the Dive Resort. The rooms here were ~4x3m, incldg the bathroom. My room in the Dive Resort was ~5x3.5m.

But, in this resort, there are nice views of the beach. These were taken from the 3rd floor balcony.