What Goes Around : Wakeboarding in Batangas (Lago de Oro)

January 5, 2014. Sunday

I left for Manila in the afternoon and planned to stay at a friend's flat for this trip. I had spent Christmas and New Year's in my hometown, Dumaguete City in Negros Oriental, Philippines.

Dumaguete-Sibulan Airport.

Arrived in Manila with no hassle, met Jericho, my childhood friend, and proceeded to his place in Makati. He used to play for this band. Check out their video here.

Queueing up for a taxi at the Departure Area. Better here than the taxis below at the Arrival Area.

The Makati skyline. Viewed from my friend's rooftop flat.

Makati Sunset.

Very urban and relaxing.

We decided to have dinner at Rockwell Center nearby. A very nice place full of lights and good food. Plus the shopping is awesome.

The Power Plant Mall at Rockwell Center in Makati.

Providing music for the nice ambiance was this group. Here's a short clip.

People line up to buy Taho, a Philippine delicacy made of fresh tofu.

Some local Philippine stickers to put on my surfboard back in Brunei.

Ripcurl Shop selling loads of surf wax. I bought some for a few months supply.

Surf Leashes.

Sector 9 Longboards.

Finally settled in a fine restaurant with assorted South Asian food.

Nasi Goreng with Satay. DELICIOUS!

January 6. 2014. Monday

Makati, Metro Manila.

Woke up early at 6 a.m. to be on the road as early as possible to avoid coding where roads you can use depends on the plate number of your vehicle, Makati and Pasay implements this from 7a.m to 7p.m.

Early morning traffic-free roads.

Breakfast at McDonald's. Tip: Don't order the "Big Breakfast." It's smaller than the ordinary ones they serve.

After three hours on the road, passing through pineapple fields and a view of Taal lake in Tagaytay, we finally got to Calatagan Batangas where Lago de Oro is located, approximately 100 kilometers (give or take a few, I could be wrong.) from Makati.

The staff was really friendly like they've known you for years. I felt very welcome in this place.

Release forms to be signed at the desk before anything else.

The park was very much deserted. More for us!

The price for a whole day of fun at the wake park is php 1,250. inclusive of tax, life jacket, slip-on wakeboard and unlimited use of park facilities.

You can bring your own bindings and board as well. My friend's board is made by Liquid Force.

It is advisable to use a more advanced board to try out the kicker and other ramps. Much safer and can really feel a big difference from the free slip-ons.

Lago de Oro also has a smaller pool for first timers. Well, I was. My first try at the bigger pool was a total wipeout and had to come here to train for quite a bit. Instructors are available to give essential tips and help you through 'til you get to stand up.

After gaining confidence, I went back to the big pool and did some jump starts. With a few wipeouts of course.

Camsy, my friend's girlfriend was also very daring in jumping off the ramps.

She's a freelance writer for magazines when not wakeboarding.

The whole day for me was basically just learning how to ride and balance myself on the board.

When you wipeout just make sure it's very close to where you started, and not the other side, or else walking back is the only option. Tip: Strap your flip flops to your life vest if ever that long walk happens. Lots of pebbles along the path.

12:30 pm to 1:30 is break time for everyone at the park including the operators, so lunch will either be at the Lago de Oro restaurant or if you brought along packed lunch. Tip: Do the latter. Budget meals cost php200. up. The good part is they have fast wifi connection.

Secret password.

My Tapsilog with chilli sauce all over. The cap came off. Too hungry.

Me trying out the tabletop using my friend's board.

His turn on the tabletop. Quite a stable rider.

There were two other beginners like me. Brothers on a trip from Las Pinas. After a while, we all got the hang of it.

Beautiful Batangas Sunset.

The wake park closes at 4:30 pm. With arms feeling like noodles, we happily headed back. Stopping over chilly tagaytay for some dinner at Chic-Boy (Chicken at Baboy) and coffee at Starbucks.

The best chicken fastfood I've tasted so far.

Also quite common in Tagaytay are musicians who serenade tourists while eating. Here's a short video.

Long drive ahead. Coffee.

January 7, 2014. Tuesday

Hardly slept from all the excitement, I spend the morning just hanging out and enjoying the view from my friend's flat. My body was aching all over to the point of screaming in pain whenever I sneezed. It was quite funny. Walking around like a robot.

My flight for Brunei was still 11:30 pm so the rest of the afternoon was spent strolling around Bonifacio High Street. Another place for good food and shopping.