Alchemy: Year-End Vacation at Tidewater Resort in Matabungkay

I was planning to go out-of-town since September but my plans did not push through. I even check on different places to spend a vacation. My sister told me that she and her friends are also planning to have a vacation and she asked me if I want to tug along. Without any second thoughts I said yes.

We have several options. We first checked a resort in Bataan and Subic however it turns out they are already fully booked until December. Finally, we decided to look for a place in Batangas. This is how we stumbled upon Tidewater Resorts which is located in Matabungkay in Lian, Batangas. I always hear Matabungkay Beach from a friend because it was the place where her parents usually go in the past. She said that the “balsa” is a common thing in Matabungkay beach.

We booked an overnight stay in Tidewater resort after Christmas. It was raining a lot before Christmas and I was praying very hard for a sunny day for our trip. Fortunately, God heard my prayers. We meet up at Coastal Mall to ride a bus going to Lian. We left the place before 8AM and we reached Lian past 11AM. We went off the bus at the market place where we bought some pork and fish for our dinner. We also had our lunch in a place near the market. After having our lunch we rode a jeep going to Matabungkay. Unfortunately, the jeepney driver did not drop us near the resort and said that the place was only a few walk away which is not the case. So we walk for maybe 2 kilometers in the beach of Matabungkay to get to Tidewater Resort.

Matabungkay Beach

The guard open the gates of the resort and immediately the keeper of the resort went to us and accompanied us to our rooms. We have two rooms with a comfort room in the middle for us to share. Luckily, we picked the room that has the view of the infinity pool and the sea. The room was just small with one queen size bed and two small beds.

Outside our room is the porch where there are tables and chairs to be used for dining. They also have a couch in the porch. On our side of the resort is also a hammock which is near the infinity pool. I can just spend the rest of the afternoon sleeping on that hammock.

After we have finished fixing our things we immediately made a splash at the infinity pool. Too bad the pool wasn’t that big. The trees around the pool gave enough shade from the sun. The water on pool was also cold which is just perfect since we had a very hot day after walking. Unfortunately, we can only enjoy the cold water of the infinity pool because it was low tide and the beach has trash. The sand in Matabungkay is colored gray. Honestly, the beach is not very enticing to swim.

We went out the pool when we saw the setting sun. It’s a sign that we should start preparing our dinner. The resort has kitchen where you can cook your food. The good news about it is that you may use the gas range, grill, refrigerator and rice cooker for free. You may even ask the keeper to cook your food for a small fee however we didn’t bother her since the guest in the other room is already keeping her busy.

We had our dinner at the porch with the view night sky and sea. After our dinner we went to a bench near the infinity pool to play some games and drink our booze. A friend tried to swim but the water in the pool was too cold.

The next day, I and my sister woke up early to witness the sunrise. Another good thing in this place is that you are able to experience both sunrise and sunset. Early in the morning we already saw some fisherman getting their boat ready. One of our friends also woke up early and we decided to take a morning walk in the beach. We saw birds in the beach perched on the sticks that I think was put up for fish pens.

It’s swimming time again after breakfast. In the middle of the day, the beach gets busy with vendors selling souvenirs to tourists. There are also children playing on the beach.

But all good times has to stop and to be continued some other day. We left the Tidewater Resort with each one saying that they will come back again. It was just an overnight bonding but it was filled with laughter.