I know this is a very old thread. 2015 pa since I posted about it pero na-realize ko na hindi ko pala kayo na-update sa nangyari.

  1. It was fun pag gising kayong lahat sa kotse.
  2. It was draining pag tulog silang lahat at ako lang gising - I drove almost all of it since ayaw magpabitiw na baby girl namin kay misis.
  3. I scheduled most of the arrivals to happen late in the afternoon or at night para deretso pahinga sa kung anumang place na na-book namin.
  4. Almost had an accident somewhere in Mindoro where the road was awesome pero biglang may malalang lubak na hindi halata. Tumalon yung Montero ng I think 1ft into the air. Thank God ganun lang at hindi kami nag-swerve or kung ano pa man. Nauntog lang mga bata at si misis and nagalusan yung legs ng isa kong anak kasi sumayad sa gilid ng door. Paano nagalusan not sure. :D
  5. Proper timing is essential to make sure na hindi maiwan ng RORO.
  6. I took Fastcat whenever available. Super sarap ng byahe and pwede advanced booking. Montenegro pag walang Fastcat and I had to book on the spot. And from Dumaguete to Dapitan we had to go with another company na hindi ko maalala ang name pero malaki ang barko and masarap ang tulog.
  7. Napuntahan lahat ng target destinations.
  8. From Iloilo, we decided to go to Guimaras for one day kahit wala sa plano. Sulit. Idea was to go from Guimaras to Bacolod directly since may roro din daw. Kaso sira yung pier so we had to go back to Iloilo.
  9. Once in Negros, we went to Silay and visited my grandmother's old house which is now one of the heritage houses in Silay. The caretaker was kind enough to let us in. Most of the house's fixtures are still old. Silay on its own is a must-see destination in Negros as well.
  10. Upon landing sa Dapitan, naalala ni misis si Jose Rizal so nag-spend kami ng extra time doon which resulted in our schedule for CDO being moved. Also because of this we spent a night in Iligan and went to see the Maria Cristina falls na rin.
  11. Most of our time was spent in Bukidnon since my dad lives there.
  12. When in Tacloban, park your car near San Juanico and walk across the bridge. May pathwalk for pedestrians. This way you can say that you crossed Leyte to Samar by foot. Ganda rin ng view pag sunset.
  13. Sa Bicol, we took the time to climb Mayon. May kalsada upto a certain point tapos may viewdeck area. Ganda ng view, you can see the other volcanoes in the area and you're much closer to Mayon's summit as well.
  14. Google Maps + Waze ang gamit ko so important na may data at may charge ang phone. I used Waze most of the time since it's accurate sa traffic and travel time but used Google maps for double checking. Ngayon, Google maps na lang since binili na ni Google si Waze and I don't really like Waze's interface that much.
  15. Pampagising - I took different drinks, cycled through them so my body doesn't acclimate to just one drink. Black coffee, Red bull, Sting, Cobra, Gatorade and one energy drink na first time ko lang nakita nung nasa Iloilo kami. Tip. Don't drink them in one go. Take a sip ever 30 minutes. Longer ang effect tapos safe pa sa palpitation.
  16. We encountered a few fellow road trippers along the way. Halatang road trippers kasi yung plaka ay hindi dun sa lugar. Example, NCR pero nasa Iloilo or Cebu pero nasa Mindanao. Tapos minsan sabay ang stopover. Kahit walang kwentuhan, blink lang ng ilaw at konting busina, ok na. There was one time in Mindanao where me and a Pajero were taking turns taking lead sa daan. Pag pagod na ako sa una, I'll give way. Pag pagod na sya, he'll give way.
  17. Thank God na walang masamang nangyari (accident, holdup, kidnap, etc) sa daan. Prayer is very important.
  18. Pag pagod na sa driving, wag pilitin. Find a safe spot (i.e. gas station, police station, etc) and take a quick nap. A 30-minute nap can do wonders.
  19. Gastos? Well, magastos promise. :D Buong Pinas ba naman e. Hindi ko na mahanap yung record ng expenses namin sa Roro, Gas, Hotels, Adventures, etc. pero it was around Php 100k I think. I'm sure it can be cheaper especially sa hotels pero since family trip sya hindi ko na masyadong tinipid. Nagtipid pa rin pero di masyado.


Notes about the destinations:

  1. Boracay = fun
  2. Iloilo = hot but sweet. of all our destinations, traffic was the worst here.
  3. Guimaras = sweet, windmills too
  4. Negros = calming
  5. Dapitan = historical
  6. Iligan = majestic (Maria Cristina falls)
  7. CDO = pass through lang kami
  8. Bukidnon = lots of untouched nature, family
  9. Tacloban = historical (Mc Arthur) but also sad since the effects of Yolanda were still visible
  10. Samar = pass through lang pero lots of awesome view along the way.
  11. Bicol = even more majestic


Will we do it again? For sure. Marami pa kaming hindi naikot.

I think that's it. We had another shorter road trip a couple years after - Manila to Cebu (via Legazpi Albay) then to Bohol and back but that's for another post.

Tapos mostly sa North na lang ang naging roadtrip namin which is a lot easier since walang hinahabol na roro :D