I Accidentally Ended Up in This Philippine Town and Honestly Didn't Want to Leave
so i landed here because my flight got rerouted and honestly i thought i was just gonna wait it out in some random province until i could get back to manila. spoiler: i stayed for two weeks. don't @ me.
Quick Answers
Q: Is this place worth visiting?
A: yeah, actually. it's not polished or tourist-ready which is exactly why it's good. if you need instagram-perfect everything, go to palawan instead. here you get actual Philippines.
Q: Is it expensive?
A: dirt cheap. i paid like 800 pesos a night for a decent room with ac. meals were 60-150 pesos. my coffee budget was embarrassingly low.
Q: Who would hate it here?
A: people who need wifi to work. people who need air conditioning everywhere. people who can't handle humidity. also, if you need english speakers at every corner, good luck.
Q: Best time to visit?
A: november to february is dryer but it's hot year-round honestly. i came in what felt like the wet season and it rained maybe twice a day for 20 minutes then sun again. no big deal.
Q: What's the vibe?
A: sleepy, real, kind of like the philippines used to be before everything got touristy. lots of jeepneys, random roosters, people just living.
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the weather right now is that specific kind of warm where you stop complaining and just accept you're gonna sweat. it's 25°C but feels like 26 because humidity is at 86% and honestly my shirt has been damp since i arrived. the pressure is low which supposedly means rain but honestly it just feels like breathing through a wet towel. locals told me this is their "cold" season. i almost laughed.
i'm writing this from this little spot near the municipal hall, got lucky with a coffee shop that has actual decent beans which is rare here. a local warned me that most places just serve instant so i should ask before i order. good call because the first place gave me nescafe and looked at me like i was crazy for asking.
here's the thing nobody tells you about this area: it's literally in quezon province, about maybe 2-3 hours from manila depending on traffic which is always bad so let's say 4. the drive is actually part of the experience if you're into jeepney culture which i now am, weirdly. there's this mountain nearby that locals call something like "the sleeping giant" but i never climbed it because i ran out of time. next time.
someone told me the town used to be a bigger deal during the spanish era but then the capital moved and it just... stayed small. i think that's why it feels frozen.
i met this guy who works as a scout for films sometimes and he said they actually use this area for shoots because it's "authentic colonial without the tourists" which is a weird compliment but i'll take it. he showed me this old church that was partially destroyed in an earthquake and nobody fixed it properly so now it's just this beautiful broken thing next to a basketball court. that's this place in a nutshell.
The Practical Stuff I Figured Out
*Getting around: jeepneys are everywhere and cost like 10-20 pesos. tricycles are the default taxi. don't expect grab to work well here.
Where to sleep: i stayed near the town center, walked everywhere. there's a couple of inns, nothing fancy. someone told me to avoid the one near the market because it's loud at 4am when the fish vendors arrive. learned that the hard way.
Food: the market has incredible street food. i lived on grilled pork and rice for like 200 pesos a day. the fruit is insane too - mangoes were in season and i ate probably too many.
Wifi situation: the signal is spotty. i had to go to this one internet cafe type place to actually work. my hotspot worked sometimes. don't rely on working remotely from here unless you have a very flexible job.
a local told me the best thing to do here is just walk around and talk to people. i thought that was generic tourist advice but honestly it was the best thing i did.
the safety vibe is honestly fine. i walked alone at night, never felt sketchy. one guy followed me for a block once but then turned away. standard city stuff. the police station is right by the town square so there's that.
Things I Would Tell a Friend
honestly? come with low expectations and you'll have an amazing time. this isn't a destination, it's an experience. there's no resort beaches nearby, no party scene, no shopping malls that would feel familiar. there's this raw quality to it that's hard to explain.
i heard there's a festival in march where they do some kind of street dancing thing that goes all night. i missed it but people were still talking about it months later.
for the digital nomads reading this: don't come here expecting to work. come here to reset. i met a few other travelers who all said the same thing - they came for one thing and stayed for the vibe. the air is different here, less polluted, less chaotic than manila. i don't know how to describe it but i slept better here than i have in months.
the pressure at sea level is 1010 which is pretty standard but the altitude is different here because it's not exactly sea level, more like elevated a bit. my body felt the difference honestly. less joint pain, easier breathing at night.
The Tea (Links I Actually Used)
i checked tripadvisor before coming and there was basically nothing which should tell you everything. yelp doesn't exist here really. i found more info on some random reddit thread from 2019 where someone asked about "is lucena worth stopping at" and the answers were either "no" or "only if you like jeepneys" which is now my vibe.
there's a local tourism page that is not updated since 2017 but has this one photo of a waterfall that i never found but now i need to find it next time.
Final Thoughts
i don't know if i'll come back honestly but i think about the jeepney rides and the old church and the guy who sold me pineapple juice by the road every morning. it's not a destination you choose, it's a destination that chooses you. or your flight gets rerouted and you have no choice which is basically the same thing.
pro tip*: learn "magkano po" (how much) and "salamat po" (thank you). everyone appreciated that i tried. even if my accent is terrible.
my flight back to reality is tomorrow and honestly? not ready. the humidity is gonna hit different in the city. this place was a necessary pause.
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if you're going: bring cash, bring patience, bring an open mind. leave your itinerary at home.
go here if you want the philippines before the instagram version. stay if you want to remember why you started traveling in the first place.
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