As I mentioned yesterday, my gal pal Nerissa suggested we spend some time getting to know one another better by visiting historical sites together. When she suggested Bataan, I was all in–it’s an area I’ve always wanted to see. I was impressed with just how beautiful the parts we visited were.
I left it up to Nerissa to pick the destination; she wanted to see Las Casas Filipinas de Acuzar. I’d never heard of it before, but I was ready for something new, so we were off.
So, we went inside to pay the entrance fee, and we were told the guided tour, including lunch, was 2500 pesos PER PERSON. That’s a hundred dollars for us both. That’s Disneyland pricing. Nerissa was as shocked as I was and asked how much for us just to walk around and look on our own. Not an option–guided tour only. I told Nerissa that was a non-starter for me–not worth the price, and I didn’t bring that much cash (I only carry 5000 with me most of the time). She agreed it was a ripoff, so we departed without seeing much more than what’s in the pictures above.
I was hoping to see some sites related to the Bataan Death March. Bagac, the town we were in, was one of the starting locations of the march. As we drove along the highway, we’d periodically see these markers:
I told Nerissa another trip to Bataan was in our future, but this time I’d do better research and find more suitable historical sites to visit. She agreed that’s what we should do.
Still, driving through the unfamiliar countryside was pleasant, and I was enjoying Bataan’s rural vibe. So, it wasn’t really a wasted trip.
One of the last battles was fought here before the retreat from Bataan to Corregidor. Today, it is a shrine dedicated to Filipino and American soldiers who died during the war.
We returned to Barretto late afternoon, and I was a little tuckered out. Dropped Nerissa off and headed home for some rest. I did find the energy to visit Hideaway for the Wednesday feeding.
I didn’t stay out late, and I have the evidence to prove it.
Still, it was a good day. I’ve got lots of things to think about and figure out my next moves. More on that another time. I do believe I’ll spend some time reflecting on the floating bar on Baloy this evening.
Still, driving through the unfamiliar countryside was pleasant, and I was enjoying Bataan’s rural vibe. So, it wasn’t really a wasted trip.
Who did the driving? Surely not you: I imagine you traveling around in a palanquin borne by slaves.
In French, fast food is le fast-food. But in general, I’d say the majority of French folks still prefer “slow food.”
I love snails, by the way. Nature’s meatball. Here in Korea, they sell cans of golbaengi, or big, fat sea snails (specifically, whelks). Cook them lightly in a mix of garlic, fresh parsley, and butter, then stick a few snails each inside a hollowed-out Pillsbury biscuit—the kind that gets all puffy in an oven. Bake until done, then serve. Heavenly. Koreans serve the snails with spicy jjolmyeon, i.e., chewy pasta. It’s the Korean answer to spaghetti and meatballs. Love the stuff.
Anyway, the trip looked beautiful, even the out-of-place stuff. So much to see in the PI.
Kev, yeah, I almost changed the wording since it does seem to imply I was driving rather than riding. My regular driver handled the day’s driving.
I’ve had snails occasionally, but never in a biscuit. And that pasta looks amazing. I think I’ve only eaten them as an appetizer. I recall the story of the snail who went to the Nissan dealer to buy a sports car. He agreed to purchase the 280Z model provided the dealership would change the “Z” to an “S.” The salesman asked why and the snail replied, “When the girls see me driving by, I want them to say, ‘look at that S car go!” (Sorry, I hadn’t told that one for decades, and it works better verbally.)
Might be fun to actually stay overnight in a historic home at Las Casas with the right companion but $50 a pop just to walk around is nuts, especially for the Philippines.
In a way, it seems crude to dismantle cool old buildings to make a theme park. Then again, they might otherwise be randomly dismantled for scrap to build a pig pen or some other stupid shit.
If you haven’t been to Corregidor yet, it’s definitely worth it. But these days I’m pretty sure you have to catch the tour boat from Manila. Used to be able to hire a random fishing banca on the Bataan coast for a couple bucks.
DS, yeah, lodging is available, but no idea what it might cost. Those fees for the tour, I think, might be intended to keep the “riff-raff” away. Built by the rich, for the rich.
And that was the argument for the deconstruction/reconstruction elsewhere scheme–the buildings weren’t being maintained in their original location, so better to move them than have them fall down. There’s probably some truth to that.
Corregidor is where I want to go next, for sure. I just assumed I could do it from Bataan. I’ll check into that and see what’s what.