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Hiking Mt. Pinagbanderahan / Mt. Gulugod Baboy

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Quick overview:

  • It’s an easy, beginner-level hike.
  • Anilao, Batangas is a 3 to 4 hour trip from Manila.
  • Mt. Pinagbanderahan/Gulugod-Baboy takes 2-3 hours to ascend and less than 2 hours to descend.
  • The trail starts with an asphalt road, then a muddy forest ascent, and the topmost section to the summit is open grassland with little to no shade.
  • You can go swimming at the rocky beaches below, or rent a boat to Sumbrero island or the other nearby beaches.
  • Mobile data is available in the area, but not in the islands further away.

Mt. Pinagbanderahan, also sometimes called Mt. Gulugod-Baboy*, is one of my favourite hiking destinations and it is also my number one recommendation for first time hikers. It has a relatively short yet mildly challenging ascent and the summit has an excellent 360-degree view of Batangas and Balayan bay.

One of the best things about going there is that you can make your visit to Anilao a two-in-one trip. Right after your hike, you can cool down and swim at the rocky beaches near the foot of the mountain or rent a boat to visit Sumbrero island, Marikaban island, or any of the other beautiful beaches of Anilao. The region is famous for scuba diving too, and there are lots of resorts and scuba diving schools in the area if you’re interested.

*Note: Mt. Gulugod-Baboy (“Pig’s spine”) is actually a different, smaller mountain right beside Pinagbanderahan.

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What to Bring for Your First Hike

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Want a quick checklist of what to bring for a quick hike in the mountains? Here’s a short but tried and tested list of things that I would recommend! Take note, however, that this is for a simple and easy hike in the tropics. If you’re going on an overnight camping trip or a hike through some extremely cold places like snowy regions or extremely hot places like deserts, you’ll need a few more equipment and clothing that we won’t discuss here.

If you want to have a safe and enjoyable hiking trip, be sure to check out our 10 tips on how to prepare for your first hike here!

Anyway, on to the list of what you need to bring!

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East Asia Travel in 2022? Here’s Some Quick News

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It has been a long while since we last traveled somewhere outside the country as a family, and with these past two years of quarantine plus a great amount of stress from some other matters, my mother wanted to travel somewhere to have more happy memories. With vaccines now widespread and the world slowly opening up, we thought it’d be a great idea to try and travel somewhere soon.

Apparently, things still aren’t as easy for us as there are some hurdles that we all still need to overcome. Since we’ve already been to a few countries in Southeast Asia and my mom doesn’t want to repeat traveling to the same country(s), we decided on three possible destinations in East Asia: Japan, Taiwan, and South Korea. Here’s a few things we found out while doing research in those three countries.

But first, Dubai…

Why did we start thinking about traveling again? Well it all began when my mom’s more well-off friend invited her to go to Dubai. Of course, she liked the idea and so we started collecting the requirements for her Dubai visa. 

My mom is deathly afraid of traveling alone though, and her friend who was part of a 10-day package tour wouldn’t offer to pick her up from the airport or accompany her back. As an alternative plan, my mom wanted to bring my brother and I and we’ll just go do our own thing there. Sadly, Dubai is extremely strict with their visas, and since my younger brother is unemployed there’s just no chance that he’ll be able to join. My mother also just can’t leave him behind. 

Due to that we decided to cancel Dubai and look for another destination.

On a final note, my mother tried contacting her “friend” for info regarding the visa and everything… but she never responded. Maybe that friend only invited my mom to brag about their Dubai trip and didn’t expect her to actually accept.

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Hiking Mt. Manalmon and Bayukbok Caves

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A small hill of just around 196 meters above sea level in San Miguel, Bulacan, Mt. Manalmon is one of the best hikes for first timers looking for a quick adventure near Manila. Now I won’t bore you with the details that you can find in other websites, but here’s a quick overview:

  • It’s a very easy one to two hour hike that’s great for beginners.
  • Aside from hiking, there are also rivers you can swim in and caves for you to explore. You get to try at least three different adventures all in one day.

What to bring for your hike:

  • Some money for registration and guide fees.
    • Note: Registration and guide fees change often, but expect the registration fees to be less than P100 per person, and the guide fees to cost around P500 or so (P300 for Manalmon hike + P200 Bayukbok cave). These prices may increase, by the way, so prepare a little extra.
  • Wear good sports clothes and good shoes or sandals.
  • Water (1-2 liters) and snacks. Put them in a backpack for your hike.
  • Change of clothes and towel. There are showers in the area if you want to change into clean clothes for your ride home.
  • Headlamp or flashlight for Bayukbok cave.
  • (Optional) Gloves. Handholds in Bayukbok cave are often muddy.
  • (Optional) Swimwear if you want to swim in the rivers.
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Training at Forge: Martial Fitness – Pioneer

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Have you ever watched a cool sword fight at a movie and thought to yourself “I wanna do that too”? While it’s easy to find gyms for boxing, MMA, Muay Thai, arnis/kali, and other martial arts, in the Philippines there’s not a lot that teach longsword fighting and HEMA (Historical European Martial Arts). I really didn’t think HEMA existed as a sport in our country especially with how common our homegrown blade and stick arts (arnis/kali) are. While browsing my Facebook feed, however, a friend of mine shared a swordmanship lesson scheduled last January 11, 2020.

I knew I didn’t want to miss it so I signed up (and got waitlisted, but I went anyway). What did I find at Forge: Martial Fitness – Pioneer? Check out my experience with them here!

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