I shall call this “A tourist guide of Corregidor, from an idiot” because I planned this trip only a month before it happened.
What to expect…
World War II ruins, lotsa big guns, fresh air, monuments and memorials, twisted metals, interesting fauna (monkeys, birds, snakes), lots of nature, and a soil rich in history. Take an overnight trip to a place where there is no urban noise and the sea air is fresh and calming. If you need to be alone to just relax or think things over, what better place than an island with no permanent residents, just 160 transient employees and their immediate families. 0 crime rate, and no, don’t talk of ghost hunting. Every guide will tell you that the island was meant to be a peace memorial and no one is to disturb the dead with talk of ghosts and other other worldly entities.
Here is my take of what awaits you in the beautiful island of Corregidor…
Highlight of the Tramvia Tour (aka Day Tour)…
By the list alone, you will know why the guided tour isn’t enough for anyone to enjoy the corregidor experience to the fullest. If you happen to be an ignorant student who views field trips as way to “make pa-cute” or just be there for a credit, it will do. But if you’re there out of interest, it will leave you wanting more. On my trip, a lot of tourists felt bad about not staying overnight and the couple I met during the Lateral Night Tour said that they wished they stayed longer - well, it must be a marketing strategy but nevertheless, i’m glad to have stayed for three days but then again, I also wanted to stay longer!
My guess is, depending on your tour guide, there may be variations. Here were the places we stopped for at least 10 to 15 minutes (the Light and Sound tour is 30), complete with mini-history, trivia, and picture taking:
- MacArthur’s Statue
- The Japanese Memorial Garden
- Malinta Tunnel (P150 for the Light and Sound Show)
- Lunch
- The Spanish Lighthouse
- Eternal Flame
- Pacific Memorial Museum
- Dome of Peace
- Mile Long Barracks
- Battery Grubsbs
- Battery Hearn
- Battery Geary
- Battery Way
Understandably, the island was “shared” by different military forces, in fact, it used to be a pirate’s paradise before the Spanish finally flushed them out and turned it into “Corregidor” (from the Spanish word corregir, “to correct”) where ships pass through to have their papers and cargo checked before arriving to Manila. While I am unsure if it served as a correctional facility once upon a time, all I know is, the Malinta Tunnel was dug up by Muntinlupa prisoners for 10 years.
What to bring…
- Hat
- Snacks
- Sunglasses
- Bottled Water
- Your trustworthy camera
- Sunblock (it is by the sea)
If staying overnight…
- Off-Lotion
- A good book
- Instant coffee/instant chocolate
- Your bike. The island stopped renting bikes after they were being used to cut through the jungle trails
- Instant noodles (for times you find yourself hungry after La Playa restaurant hours or simply want to save some money)
- Stock your laptop or ipod with movies or games to pass the time in the evening (the rooms don’t have a tv. if you need to watch the news, one is available at the guest lounge, with cable). You may try bringing a broadband stick but then again, you probably just need a book and some music if you are planning to go there to relax. Me, I just jammed 8 episodes of House Season 8 into my iPod for my “bedtime story” and for the rest of my idle time (if i had any), I was reading Nick Joaquin’s “A Question of Heroes.”
- If you plan to go hike using the paved road trail, make sure you actually bring your own google map map and a pair of good running shoes + a water + a hand towel = prepare to walk uphill and think of it as “an adventure” to keep you from cursing under your breath. Alot 4 hours for the walk to and from anywhere so you won’t find yourself stuck in the dark (unless you are walking as a big group with matching flashlights). The island runs on a generator so understandably, lamp posts are limited.
- If you plan to swim, there’s a swimming pool at the inn and a decent beach behind the hotel. There’s a polluted beach but that’s the one facing Manila Bay. You swim on the one facing the South China Sea. So yeah, bring your spade and bucket and a decent swim wear - the sand is black, being a dead and ancient volcanic site, but just the same, the water is inviting (at least, when I was there. Other people complained in their blogs but hey, this ain’t a beach resort).
What to wear…
Comfortable outdoor clothes obviously. I saw some tourist coming in heels and it isn’t exactly convinient if you have to rush about to take pictures or climb the lighthouse. But then again, by staying overnight, you need to at least bring a swimsuit (should you suddenly feel like swimming), jogging pants (because there are thistles and you don’t want to walk uphill and downhill itching), good running/walking shoes (I repeat, uphill walking and steep downhill walking), and slippers to rest your feet in the evening after your day’s activities.
What to do (Inland)…
There are plenty of things to do. The hotel offers other services and among them there are:
- Night Lateral Tour (P150/head) - it starts just before sunset. You get to visit the ruins of the old, cross-shaped hospital, the sunset at battery grubbs, the exploration of the Malinta lateral tunnels (with hardhat and flashlight), the sunrise the next day, and a short trek through the Japanese tunnel as a mini-exercise.
- Jungle and Tunnel Treking with a guide (P150/head) - you get to choose to choose your program from easy, medium, and hard. According to the guy promoting this to me during the Night Lateral tour, the difficulty depends on the length of time it takes to finish a route and I have a feeling it’s all about the “uphill” and thickness of the jungle flora.
- Kayak Rental - P500 for the initial 2 hours and P300 for the succeeding hours.
- Fishing ROd Rental - P150 for the initial 2 hours
- Zip Line - P150 for the express ride from the hotel to the beach
- Team Building Activities (P500/head) - From what I was told, it’s composed of jungle trekking, fun team activities, and something slightly short of “survivor.” Interesting, though it has to be arranged with the management (Sun Cruises) if your company decides to go here for bonding.
- Camping - I’m not sure if there’s a charge but it also has to be arranged with the management for safety reasons. There are camping areas and free if you bring your own tent. If you don’t, tents could be rented from the inn.
What to do (Off-Shore)…
- Fishing by the Boat (P3000) - includes the boat rental and lasts for 4-5 hours along the North or South Channel
- Island Round-About (P3000) - from the name itself, a tour around the island by boat
- Island Hopping (P3500) - takes you to Fort Drum or El Fraile and lasts for 2 to 2 and a half hours
Other Stuff:
I did attempt to explore the island on foot using the established road and as I have mentioned earlier, put an effort by printing your own map from the internet. The map from the hotel got me lost (delaying me by an hour) and you don’t actually get help from any sign post to go where you need to go. Also keep in mind that you may meet the local fauna (monkeys, birds, pythons, snakes, wild chickens) along the way so don’t be tempted to feed the monkeys (you’ll be mobbed) and there’s a phamplet wherein you are strictly instructed not to interact with the island’s big fat cats. They are well fed from a feeding area and get sufficient veterinary care, all funded by a cat loving charity. Oh yeah, well, you see, I threw one monkey a piece of bread (my bad) and one shy monkey turned into a horde of curious monkeys forcing me to stop moving else they chase me. In fact, the alpha male appeared and he got me walking away very slowly.
You will notice, on the pamphlet that will be given to you upon checking in, it says “no hiking at your own risk” - meaning, don’t go commando by exploring the forest trails on your own. The tourist guide on my day tour proudly showed his “treasures” - according to him, he used “secret” military maps and the likes to explore the jungle. Quite an inspiration to go on some treasure hunting expedition but then again, the guy has been going back and forth the island for the past 19 years + one has to remind himself/herself that the island was obliterated to the point of having destroyed the last blade of grass during world war II. But still, the guy made me envy his 30’s coca-cola bottle find.
Expense and Food…
I spent P4900.00 for my 3 day, 2 night stay at Corregidor Inn (single room, includes the back and forth trip via Sun Cruises’ cruiser + island tour). The first night is inclusive of the lunch buffet and the tram tour, breakfast, for day 2, and nothing for day 3. It’s rather steep, considering that the food at La Playa is P200-400/order and my only secret was instant noodles for lunch (second day) and breakfast (third day). If you will read other blogs, most of them will say that the food isn’t that exceptional but having had their breakfast and lunch (third day), I’d say that the price is worth the amount of the serving on your plate. I’d say the taste of the buffet isn’t that tasty but you can’t complain if it is part of the tour everybody paid for by just going there. Probably just don’t order pasta since you can buy better tasting pasta at Sbarro at a lower price (take note, that’s Sbarro), buy Filipino, buy their rice viands because I like their tapa (breakfast), chicken inasal (dinner, though it’s not Mang Inasal but it was decent and serving is not bad), and Clubhouse Sandwich (delicious lunch on the last day). I’d say one should alot at least P1000.00 for food for 3 days. There is a water dispenser for hot and cold water on the second floor (where the rooms are) so that is why it’s not probably bad to at least bring instant coffee and your mug or tumblr to fill your stomach in between meals. Brewed coffee at La Playa is P45.00, instant coffee at MacArthur’s Cafe is P25.00 (3 in 1), soft drinks, I’m not sure how much it is outside the inn (as in I only ordered them at the inn) but at La Playa, it’s 60+ per can. Now, before you place any prejudgement on the high cost of food we can normally buy in our urban lives for a cheapskate price, be reminded that the place runs on a generator and all goods are delivered via the ferry. Even if I encourage you to bring your own food, the thing is, buying from the inn also helps run the place so I’m not exactly unforgiving of the price. It’s like an indirect donation for the gas needed for electricity.
One thing though, I don’t really understand tipping the tourist guide and the driver. Maybe it’s aimed at foreign tourist for a trip that only lets you enjoy a place for 10 to 15 minutes but I don’t have it in my budget to give a guy P100 when a number of other tourist (foreigners) are able to do so and if there were 5 tourist who gave P100, the man will almost match my daily rate in a highly stressful job!
Another expense that I saved on was the decision to walk to the Spanish Lighthouse. While it was an unpredicted fail, I chose to trek the road because it was exercise and I wanted to drown in the experience. Truthfully, you can rent a jeep or a motorbike to get there pronto and without a sweat but I don’t drive and I have never ridden a motorbike. The service fee, should you hire someone to bring you up there is P300. Again, it’s the issue of the transportation of gas and rising fuel prices so you can’t really complain.
Otherwise, with the tips I provided, you can actually work on a budget to get around the island and enjoy your stay.
Things that are left to be desired…
The map, repetitively, got me lost. The road doesn’t really tell you where to go to get from point A to B (something left to be desired) and there was a time I was tempted to turn my shirt inside out because the thick grove of trees reminded me of horror stories about malignos, no thanks to the fact they are Balete, Mango, Sampaloc (Tamarind), and Bampoo trees. The climb uphill was a feat in itself but then facing the fact that I reached the correct road by 4:30pm had me turning back even if I assessed I will get to the lighthouse by a good 30 minutes to an hour because there were no lamp posts to rely on when it gets dark going back (and remember, there are 160 transient employees on the island and since all tours end at 3, no one is around to help you), I did a Wainwright and headed back after taking pictures of my last stand, Battery Geary.
It was the same story on my trek to the tail of the island. The uphill part was harder than that going to Topside but much more pleasant in the sense that the trees were not that dense and the view of the ocean is very exhilerating. I faced two dead ends going back, not much of a regret because it gave me the opportunity to see the Beach Resort and the West end of the Malinta Tunnel (where the light and sound tour begins). Still, it got me an hour behind because I had planned to chill out at MacArthur’s cafe before returning to the inn and prepare to check out. Otherwise, I was pleased to be able to pass by the Filipino Heroes Memorial, which was not included in the Day Tour, much to my disappointment. I mean, I’m Filipino and why can’t I pass by there just because we had Japenese tourists on our tram? Ah, because the paintings on exhibit were anti-japanese…but that was decades ago and the cruelty of war under their hands really happened. It’s “peace time” and while I do not demand any apologetic statement from the current generation of Japanese, they were just paintings depicting the hard reality of the Philippines during WWII. I probably spent 45 minutes there, enchanted by the waving Filipino flag hovering over the monument of the Filipino Guerilla.
So, should I return, I will definitely bring my own map and a water bottle. Being faced with odd decisions defintely made me realize some overlooked facts like the importance of having a decent bottle of water to carry along when “walking” no matter how simple the path looks. On my trek to Topside, I only had 75% of a bottle of rehydration drink and for the trek towards Bottomside, I had none. Haha, stupid but yes, I was that naive and inexperienced. For both paths, it took me 4 hours going up and down and to this day, i have nothing but laughs when I recall getting lost, feeling unnerved by the fact that there wasn’t a soul in sight, singing a Mary Poppins song (“i Sing a happy tune, whenever I’m afraid”), weeping in front of Manuel L. Quezon’s statue because I was overwhelmed by the quotes by everyone posted everywhere, and just the simple joy of being alone and shouting every now and then because I know no one is there to tell you to shut the hell up. And about “water” - there was this part wherein I was really thirsty and I told myself that I must at least reserve the remaining 5% in case of an emergency should I find myself lost and had to be rescued (haha, what an imagination).
I definitely do! Come alone, come with your loved ones or friends - the experience is unique and there is something about the ruins of war that will make you appreciate the so-called peace most of us enjoy (I say “most” because in some parts of our country, ideology divides us in arms). On my last day, I had this wish to live in such a place, so simple and serene. But yeah, maybe it was an escapist paradise for me, aside from the fact that I have been dreaming of visiting for the past years (due to financial reasons). As my friend told me on ym, upon my return, a vacation far away is like a drug, it’s okay for as long as you are taking it (ya know, things get ugly during the withdrawal period).
As I sit writing this, I’m on my second day of withdrawal. Later, I’ll be back at work to slave for another day so I could take another lovely vacation. I shall return, if not within the year, probably the next.
I hope my office mates will accept the “bleeding” rocks I brought back with me - I’m not sure if it’s unique but they’re so cute and nature artsy - I’m sure we all need paperweight.
