Laki Beach:Laki-ng Sakit ng Ulo. #TheNotSoLakiTrip #HolyWeek2017 #Mariveles #Bataan

Note: For the many whose vacation  on April 14-15 2017, Good Friday and Black Saturday were ruined, this is for you.   - Anton

DISCLAIMER: It is not my intention to demean the place. I just want to share the bad experience we had on Good Friday of 2017 when we decided to pick Laki Beach in Mariveles Bataan as the place to spend one night for the long Holy Week Holiday. This could be an isolated place due to the nature of the holoday but this was what happened anyways.


#LakiTravelToMariveles 
We decided not to go with the main exodus Tuesday and Wednesday nights so we decided to take the trip to Bataan at around 2am Friday. We left 5- Star Cubao Terminal via their affiliate bus company Bataan Transit at around 3:00 am. We were #laki we were able to board the bus without the long lines and got to Mariveles at around 7:00 am. So easy! Had a quick breakfast in town. Thank God there is Jolibee in Mariveles town. We were on board a tricycle (75 php per tricycle) and got to Brgy Porto in no time.

About Laki Beach
Laki beach is a beach-in-a-cove located in Mariveles Bataan which is roughly 4 hrs by land from Manila and 30 minutes by boat from Brgy Porto Mariveles. It is a white sand beach with fine sand the length similar to that of Anawangin Cove in Zambales. Since it is a cove, access to the beach is only via boat. The beach is pristine with very clear water. It has the same vibe of that of Puting Buhangin in Pagbilao Quezon so I actually call it "Little Puting Buhangin".

How To Get to Laki Beach

1. Ride bus from Cubao via Bataan Transit or Genesis bound Mariveles Bataan. Travel time is approximately 4 hrs. Fare is approximately 280 pesos. 

2. Alight at the bus terminal in Mariveles Bataan. This is the end of the route so you will not miss it. 3. Take tricycle or jeepney to Brgy Porto. In our case, we took tricycle for 75 pesos. 

4. Board the boat frm Brgy. Porto to Laki Beach for 30 minutes or so.

Brgy. Porto
The set off point is Brgy Porto as it is a fishing village so many boats are based here. They ask you to register simply by signing your name in an ordinary notebook given to you by your boatman. All they ask is your name. They didn't even ask for place of origin or contact #. I was tempted to write more as I find those info very important so as they can keep contact of their passengers but I was told name is enough.

Organized but Not Organized
Everything seemed so easy. We were on board a big boat with a family of 13 in no time. That's one good thing about it, their dispatch is so fast. But before you become thankful, I figured out that there is something wrong about it. The thing is, unlike in Anawangin/ Capones/ Nagsasa, they you are not assigned a single boat and a boatman to be with you all the time. Regardless if it is a day tour or overnight, they bring you to the coves and leave you there and they keep transporting people so schedule for return could be quite a challenge specially because there is not mobile signal in Laki Beach. Also, we were told to look for the same boat the next day but it is very difficult to recognize the boats because they all look the same --- yellow -- and 90% of them don't have names or any markings on them. I find that a bit annoying. Sure, these are fishing boats locals use during off season and they convert them into passenger boats during tourists season but shouldn't they still have some markings?

New Attraction
Laki Beach just opened to the public September last year and the overwhelming exposure it got from social media meant a sudden surge of local tourists especially during summer. That said, fishermen turned tour guides/ boat operators are obviously overwhelmed their system is still not very organized.

Sure the area is also known for its beach coves located in what they call Five Fingers (because the coves are so next to each other separated by thin strips of land that they look like five fingers from above) which includes Camaya Coast among others but nothing beats Laki Beach. You can tell even from afar. Finally, Mariveles Bataan has a star destination. But not too quick, Laki Beach is shrouded with controversy.

Holy Week Vacation Spoiled for Hundreds of People-- Laki-ng Sakit ng Ulo
We arrived 8:30 am and set up our tent immediately by the beach. We were almost sleepless so we were there laying by the sand enjoying the cool shade of coconut trees. It was a nice chill. Despite the many other campers occupying the length of the beach and inner sections, it didn't feel crowded at all. The weather was perfect; sunny, blue skies with cottony white clouds. The sea is so blue and calm. The sand glows white and people were swimming as if there is no tomorrow. We got to enjoy a few hours of this beauty until we noticed people around us growing restless. Then the announcement at around 10:30 am that we should vacate the beach. A certain Atty. Gonzales called the night before and told the caretakers he will be coming and he doesn't want anybody there by 4:00 pm.

Who The Hell is Atty. Gonzales?

So who is atty Gonzales (z). That was the question that puzzled everybody in Laki Beach that day April --- Good Friday. Is he the owner of this beach? If he is, were we trespassing? But the caretakers collect 100 pesos per head entrance fee so he must be aware. Did he approve of this of was it the sole decision of the caretakers of the place? So many questions, as many as the curses people hurled at the name. In the minds of the many who's vacation got spoiled because of the arrival of a certain Atty. Gonzales, pakyu ka!

According to the Caretakers

So we also packed and had all our things ready for pull out by 12:00 noon. But it was not until 3:00 pm that we were taken out. Boat operator were overwhelmed and assistants were so tired running back and forth to assist clients to move out. All we had to do is to be patient and make the most of the wait. I got to talk to one of the caretakers and raised the question to him " who is atty. Gonzales?".

According to the tricyle driver in Town 

I was still ranting on our way back to Mariveles town proper the next day and mentioned to the tricycle driver the inconvenience the whole #AttyGonzales'Arrival thingy. He said, " di naman talaga public ang Laki Beach na yan. Pag aari yan ng isang tao na dati pag-aari ni atty Gonzales. Wow! So that is now confusing. So is the beach public or own by Atty Gonzales or another private individual?

Lusong Beach

Lusong Beach was where we were transferred and that's where we camped overnight. The beach is twice the length of Laki Beach but the sand is brownish compared to the former which is fine and white. We were really disappointed once we got ashore. What made the situation more disappointing is that 95% of the beach is already owned by San Miguel Corporation so you see signs of "PRIVATE PROPERTY, NO TRESPASSING" all over the place except for the remaining 5% separated by a bamboo fence at the Eastern edge of the beach. That's where displaced Laki Beach visitors camped. The area lacks any form of appeal and is well exposed to the sun. Imagine how hot and sticky we felt and we bared that situation for hours. It got much better at night and we tried to make the most of our stay,

A Call To the Tourism Board of Bataan 

And the Local Government Unit 

This is finally the go-to-destination that Mariveles has to compete with other tourist hot spots within 4-hiur drive from Manila and a a good source of livelihood for the locals and income generator for the LGU. I hope they can be clear if the beach is really open to the public or not. Not only the visitors during Good Friday were affected but also on Black Saturday when a lot more tourists arrived to go to Laki Beach. They were unfortunately taken to other beaches including Lusong beach where we transferred and camped overnight. I am sure many were disappointed like the group we shared the boat back to Brgy Porto. They were so unhappy with Lusong Beach that they decided to go back to Porto, refund the money they paid and went somewhere else. Back in Porto, I talked to the wife of Mr. Tikboy, our boatman, and she said "sirang sira pangalan ni Tikboy sir, nakakahiya". These boat operators were so helpless about it so I didn't rant that much. I just aired a simple statement of disappointment.

Travel At Your Own Risk
This blog post is not meant to discourage you to go to Laki Beach in Mariveles Bataan. Consider it as a warning that your vacation could be spoiled. Better have close coordination with your boat contacts and clarify if Laki Beach or open or not. It could be open on a particular day, others it might not. I also see fault with the coordination between the caretakers of the beach and the boat operators in Brgy. Porto because if it is true, Atty. Gonzales called the night before then why they still took people to Laki Beach only to be transported back. I see cheating in that.