Substitute for Sagada

And so because Spanky's biking competition in Benguet didn't push through due to Typhoon Juan, our Sagada trip was also postponed.

We were both getting antsy at home, making a fuss over the littlest things, when one day, Spanky said, "Punta na lang tayong Pundaquit!" After an impromptu call to my dad, we were on a road trip (at last!) the following day.

I'd been to Zambales countless times, of course, owing to the fact that it's my dad's home province. And on the way there, in Olongapo, I would always see this roadside cafe boasting of jumbo tacos. Spanky had eaten here before and I was happy to have a nice, crunchy one for breakfast.


Then finally, the beach! The sand's not crystal white or powdery, and it could do with a bit of cleaning up, but for me, Pundaks will always be home. For the first time, we weren't traveling with the whole clan and we weren't used to the peace and quiet. But soon, we were reveling in the view, away from the internet and the traffic, talking about this and that. It couldn't get better than that.

The waves were so huge and surfers came out to play. Spanky and I tried our hand in body-boarding, and we were panting mad from fighting the waves.

The following day, we went back to the beach with our boards and before we knew it, we were swept farther and farther away from the shore. No matter how hard we kicked our way back,we made little (while I made none at all) progress. Spanky waved to the fishermen on the shore (had my foolish pride and I didn't want to ask for help), and they gamely donned fins and pulled us back to safety.

It was the first time it had ever happened to me though I had always been aware of Pundaks' traitor of an undertow. Must be more careful next time.


Then we started our journey back to Manila, not before stopping by this small carinderia in Subic, offering Bicolano dishes. As Spanky wrote, they had the "Best Laing. Evarrrr."

We stopped by at the SM mall in San Fernando, Pampanga, and shared a Razon's halo-halo. Then we met up with our friend Alain and finally watched The Social Network over huge tubs of popcorn and soda.

We were still full when the flick ended, but we couldn't leave Pampanga without a last food hurrah. So we headed to Jun Jun's Bibingka and Barbecue for some charred meat goodness and brown-colored rice.

And oh, we caught a glimpse of Marian and Dingdong exiting the resto.