I ♥ Gen. Nakar 11/27/2011

Gen. Nakar - An Eye Opener

Traveling is a wonderful experience, you can be in one side of the planet one moment and find yourself on the other side of the world in a few hours. But as with anything traveling too comes with its benefits and dangers.

One thing to remember is that in today’s world, there is no place on the entire earth that is perfectly safe. No matter where you go you could be hit with crime, terrorism, natural disaster or some other calamity. Traveling to a remote land is exciting as well as risky. The reasons for excitement and risk are the same - new places, new people, etc. If you are planning to make a foreign trip in the near future and do not want to become a victim of violence or face unwanted situations and difficulties. You must be very careful and try to read through the travel article to know some safety tips for traveling .

 My story starts with a typical group of friends planning to go to a friend's hometown to have a weekend getaway. Everything was going according to plan but there will always be a moment in your trip when you'll experience an ugly situation. I was really excited at the chance of going to Gen. Nakar for the first time. I heard a lot of stories about the place being a refuge of gun-for -hire or leftist group and these stories adds up to the excitement of travelling this place. We were also going to travel along Sierra Madre Mountain which is the longest mountain range in the Philippines so I was really looking forward on this trip.

We commuted by using a private van that can accommodate 16 persons.Although, we have an option to commute via public transportation, the air-conditioned van was way more convenient. We met at Robinsons Galleria around 9 in the morning and we were off to Infanta Quezon. We followed the national road heading to Famy and passed along several towns like Antipolo and Tanay Rizal. The trip got really interesting when we headed up the beautiful Sierra Madre Mountain Range. I realized how remote and mysterious this part of Quezon was. It was around 12nn at the time when the van stop for a quick break. We just stop in the only restaurant I found near the road called KM3. We didn't eat our lunch there because some of us don't have enough money to spend. We just pee and grab some snack then were off the road again.

After crossing a lot of remote towns, a small patch of the Pacific Ocean started to peek through the trees - we just arrived in Real, Quezon.  Even though the  the coastal area of Real Quezon was breathtaking I can clearly see a lot of warning signs scattered in the area, a gentle reminder that you can swim but at your own risk. I also heard that this part of Quezon was hit by Tsunami a year ago - What a scary place to stay.

We've finally reached Infanta Quezon around 4 in the afternoon and stayed at a friend's house. We were having a great time chatting, joking around, sharing stories and drinking lambanog. Everyone was enjoying each company. We also appreciated the simple life in the province. We wanted to do a night swimming at Gen. Nakar beach. However, the locals warned us that a nursing student was kidnapped a week before. From that moment on, I just realized that I was not in a very safe place. We've decided to go to the beach the next day ignoring the warning of locals.

I really felt uncomfortable the next morning. I suddenly miss my family and it really bothered me. I guessed knowing that someone was abducted at the beach a week before adds up to my worries. I told my mates that I'll just go home after I visit the beach. My mates said that we should stay together and we will just go back on the next day. I never insisted of going home and  just agreed to stay. That was the end of the excitement for this venue.

After loading ourselves and all our goods in an old and slow tricycle, we were once again on our way, from Infanta to General Nakar. As I watched the rice fields on one side of the road and the mountains on the other, I reflected how far from home I was. I suddenly realized that if an emergency happens, we were miles away from rescue. After 2 agonizing hours of  bumpy ride,
we've finally reached our destination.

I have visited the beaches of Cebu, Palawan, Bohol, etc. I must say that I was not awestruck by the beach - it is just ordinary looking for me. It is just black sand, rocky beach and salty water with some rustic fishermen boats. Probably I wasn't paying attention at the beach because we haven't eaten our lunch yet. Although, I know that we were really far from the luxury of restaurant service but this place doesn't have any decent convenience store that can sell decent food. How can I appreciate the beach if I can hear my stomach growling and keeps on reminding me that I need to eat. My mates were still cooking our lunch but the real problem here was that I didn't have a full meal since yesterday. I know it's really insensitive to complain but imagine yourself in my situation I think you'll feel the same way.  But I already signed up with this trip and wished I never had.

We stayed at a house near the beach. It was actually a shanty housing constructed from materials that can be salvaged around the area. I am not a really meticulous person because I don't mind sleeping on the dirt but the real problem in this place is the security. I know that it’s not a private resort and we were miles away from our neighbor but I've never been in a very unsafe situation before. No one even advised us that we are just going to sleep in someone else house. I don't mind paying extra bucks for comfort and security. The house that we rented was far from a transient house, because at least in a transient house you have door locks. 

We were having a drinking session when suddenly a stranger enters our room without notice. He wanted to join our drinking session and started to be comfortable.  He began telling stories that we don't care at all. We don't know what his intention was but it's already passed 10 in the evening and I really felt that we were in a big trouble. My mate said that he saw him with a gun. I knew then that he was not just an ordinary man. The atmosphere becomes so awkward when everyone got quite when he was talking nonsense. It's like we were talking to a psychopathic or a criminal. Fortunately, the man got tired of talking when he notice that no one seems to listen to his stories. Then something bad happened….and I don't want to talk about it anymore. Its just that someone was abducted here and I keep on praying that it won't happen to us.  I just followed my instinct and didn't sleep, fearing that I wouldn't be able to go back home. On the back of my mind I began to blame myself of being too comfortable of socializing. I told myself that from then on I will be cautious and alert whenever I plan to do an out of town trip...

We left Gen Nakar early in the morning and made our way back to Manila. I was really thankful that such dilemma was finally over. Deep inside I was very disappointed visiting this place. I may never look at Gen. Nakar and Infanta the same way. I was really stressed out and I thought I was almost going to pull out of the whole vacation and maybe lose my sane. I'm just glad that it's over.

I am type of person who likes to discover remote places but after travelling in this unknown part of Quezon province I had a change of heart.I  learned that traveling to a remote place is a unique experience it taught me to be cautious and wise - CAUTIOUS because I don't know if  I will have enough money to spend or what kind of people will i meet and WISE because I needed to be observant in case there will be unfortunate event that will happen. My journey to Gen. Nakar was quite an eye opener the stuff I learn along the way knocks off the destination.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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