There are so many reasons why people travel but I believe the top most reason is to get some peace and quiet; basically, to relax the mind and body. I can’t say I’m stressed or tired, I might just probably weary of the city life and the daily work-home routine. So, when my friends agreed to go on a weekend trip somewhere north, I immediately jumped in.
We were initially thinking of going to Baguio but for some reason that plan got botched. And going to a beach somewhere in Luzon became a more apparent choice. We decided on this a day before the weekend, so we scrambled on places to go and ended up setting our eyes on Liwliwa, San Felipe Zambales.
Zambales is easily accessed through SCTEX and a visit to the beach is always a relaxing option in replacement of the cool mountain breeze and greens that Baguio has to offer. Liwliwa used to be a quiet fishing village just an hour outside of Subic Bay but has recently became a well-known surfing community and destination among Filipinos living in Luzon (which is why I always bring my snorkel set).
During the monsoon season it is one of the best places to go surfing since the swells here are great because it openly faces the West Philippine Sea. Even in the summer people flock there to surf. When we there the waves are strong, but the sea is still safe for visitors to swim. The beach is of black-greyish color. But you can see that when the waves pull back to the sea, you can see the sand underneath as black. I read from somewhere that the gray sand is actually the ashes dumped everywhere around Zambales during the eruption of Mt. Pinatubo back in 1991.
Sure, it isn’t my ideal fine white sand beach with aqua/turquoise blue waters, but I will never say no to a trip to the beach. The sound of waves and the view of the sea will always be a calming presence for me. And I believe the same thing applies to my friends.
On our way to Liwliwa, we made a stopover at Subic Bay for our brunch. We ate at Magic Lagoon which is a restaurant with a mini lake beside it. I’m not sure if that lake is man made or what. It’s just across Subic Bay Yacht Club and the ambiance is relaxing too. I guess this is Subic’s version of like the Gerry’s Grill in Manila. Their menu is filled with Western and Filipino dishes with reasonable prices.
Prep time for our orders took around 15-20 minutes and we ordered a couple of dishes which included a Big Breakfast, Baked Tahong, Grilled Liempo, Tortang Talong and Pork Sisig. All the dishes were good and comforting. We took time downing the food and appreciating the view. We were not that in a hurry to get to Liwliwa since our check in was still at noon.
Before finally heading off to Liwliwa, we dropped by Puregold Duty Free which was just a few meters away to get some snacks and drinks that we will bring to the resort. Took us a bout an hour to finish shopping because the place was on sale and there were so many people. But more on that later.
We drive to Liwliwa for an hour or so and finally reached the resort that we booked the day prior. I was asleep the whole drive from Subic to Liwliwa and was just awaken when we finally parked the car at Le Quvoh Beach Resort. We found Le Quvoh via surfing the net two days prior t this trip. It’s one of the few resorts we messaged that had an available accommodation and that replied to our messages.
Le Quvoh Beach Resort is one of the mid-range resorts in Liwliwa. The place isn’t as posh or Instagram-able resort in Liwliwa unlike the more popular ones (which were mostly fully booked). It didn’t matter to us really. First, because we looked for accommodations just two days before the weekend and secondly, it was one that fits our budget that is decent enough.
We occupied the Suite 1 on the main building of the resort which has a sea/beach view. The room can fit 4-6 persons with one queen bed and one double sized futon. The room has a pretty good working AC, a native looking couch without the plush, a table and a mini ref. Our suite also has its own private bathroom that is also pretty decent but didn’t came with toiletries or towel. But that was ok since we brought our own. The bed, futon and pillows were also covered with fresh clean sheets. We also have our won balcony facing the beach and the sea which was a nice space to have coffee during the morning.
Le Quvoh has a resto-bar and billiard table at their common recreation area. At that time though no one was playing with the billiards or drinking at the bar. Perhaps this resort is busier during the summer when tourists flock to Liwliwa. We also got our breakfast from Le Quovoh’s inhouse resto bar. All their silog meals are priced at 100 pesos. That’s the only food they offer there besides chips, drinks and alcoholic beverages. All in all, we had a nice stay there. The place is neat, and the staff is welcoming.
There are a couple of dining options in and around Liwliwa Surfing Community, but we were pointed to Mommy Phoebe’s by the staff of Le Quovoh where we can have our dinner. It’s probably the most famous eatery in the area as most tourist flock there to fill their tummies after a day of surfing and doing beach activities.
The eatery is a bit cramped but has ample seating. They offer ihaw-ihaw (grilled meats), silo meals, seafood, shakes and other Filipino dishes. TBH, I found the prices of their food a little steep for the quality and price. I ordered buttered shrimps and that was priced around 150 pesos and that came with 3 pieces of regular sized shrimps and a cup of rice. The grilled meats were ok only if they were not smothered with too much ketchup sauce before serving to their customers. We had no choice since it was the only place that looked opened that night and we don’t want to wander around anymore.
The following day, I woke up at around 5-5:30 am, l while my friends were still in deep slumber, for the sunrise only to realize that I am at the west side so there's not gonna be much sunrise action. Either way I enjoyed the serenity of mornings by the beach, drinking a cup of room temperature coffee, eating taho, watching the other beach goers wander around and all other morning activities at the beach.
After breakfast, we decided to go for some beach bumming and a little bit of swimming. No one felt like going for a surf. We were there literally to do nothing and relax. And that's what we did. At lunch time we checked out and headed back to Subic.
We went back to Puregold Duty Free to take advantage of the sale. I guess no trip to Zambales, or Subic is complete without dropping by Duty Free. We ended up buying lotsa of food and other unnecessary stuff that we just convinced ourselves with the fact that they were on sale and some were even buy 1 take 1 hahaha! Ok lang, we don’t go to Subic naman that often, so we'll just let this one slide.
We had our lunch there too at the S&R outlet where the chicken wings were on sale at 6pcs for 99 pesos. Which we got all over satiated with because they weren't fried but instead were baked. Then we went on our way back to Manila with one stopover at the Shell of Asia for some coffee, milk tea and CR stop.
Although it was a quick weekend trip, which all hope good last for another day, I can say it rejuvenated me. The sea and the sound of waves really do some great things to the mind, body and soul. That's a fact, studies have been made about it. Have you been to Liwliwa before? Did you enjoy it as much as we did?
LE QUVOH BEACH RESORT
We were initially thinking of going to Baguio but for some reason that plan got botched. And going to a beach somewhere in Luzon became a more apparent choice. We decided on this a day before the weekend, so we scrambled on places to go and ended up setting our eyes on Liwliwa, San Felipe Zambales.
Zambales is easily accessed through SCTEX and a visit to the beach is always a relaxing option in replacement of the cool mountain breeze and greens that Baguio has to offer. Liwliwa used to be a quiet fishing village just an hour outside of Subic Bay but has recently became a well-known surfing community and destination among Filipinos living in Luzon (which is why I always bring my snorkel set).
During the monsoon season it is one of the best places to go surfing since the swells here are great because it openly faces the West Philippine Sea. Even in the summer people flock there to surf. When we there the waves are strong, but the sea is still safe for visitors to swim. The beach is of black-greyish color. But you can see that when the waves pull back to the sea, you can see the sand underneath as black. I read from somewhere that the gray sand is actually the ashes dumped everywhere around Zambales during the eruption of Mt. Pinatubo back in 1991.
Sure, it isn’t my ideal fine white sand beach with aqua/turquoise blue waters, but I will never say no to a trip to the beach. The sound of waves and the view of the sea will always be a calming presence for me. And I believe the same thing applies to my friends.
Le Quvoh Beach Resort is one of the mid-range resorts in Liwliwa. The place isn’t as posh or Instagram-able resort in Liwliwa unlike the more popular ones (which were mostly fully booked). It didn’t matter to us really. First, because we looked for accommodations just two days before the weekend and secondly, it was one that fits our budget that is decent enough.
We occupied the Suite 1 on the main building of the resort which has a sea/beach view. The room can fit 4-6 persons with one queen bed and one double sized futon. The room has a pretty good working AC, a native looking couch without the plush, a table and a mini ref. Our suite also has its own private bathroom that is also pretty decent but didn’t came with toiletries or towel. But that was ok since we brought our own. The bed, futon and pillows were also covered with fresh clean sheets. We also have our won balcony facing the beach and the sea which was a nice space to have coffee during the morning.
Le Quvoh has a resto-bar and billiard table at their common recreation area. At that time though no one was playing with the billiards or drinking at the bar. Perhaps this resort is busier during the summer when tourists flock to Liwliwa. We also got our breakfast from Le Quovoh’s inhouse resto bar. All their silog meals are priced at 100 pesos. That’s the only food they offer there besides chips, drinks and alcoholic beverages. All in all, we had a nice stay there. The place is neat, and the staff is welcoming.
The eatery is a bit cramped but has ample seating. They offer ihaw-ihaw (grilled meats), silo meals, seafood, shakes and other Filipino dishes. TBH, I found the prices of their food a little steep for the quality and price. I ordered buttered shrimps and that was priced around 150 pesos and that came with 3 pieces of regular sized shrimps and a cup of rice. The grilled meats were ok only if they were not smothered with too much ketchup sauce before serving to their customers. We had no choice since it was the only place that looked opened that night and we don’t want to wander around anymore.
The following day, I woke up at around 5-5:30 am, l while my friends were still in deep slumber, for the sunrise only to realize that I am at the west side so there's not gonna be much sunrise action. Either way I enjoyed the serenity of mornings by the beach, drinking a cup of room temperature coffee, eating taho, watching the other beach goers wander around and all other morning activities at the beach.
We had our lunch there too at the S&R outlet where the chicken wings were on sale at 6pcs for 99 pesos. Which we got all over satiated with because they weren't fried but instead were baked. Then we went on our way back to Manila with one stopover at the Shell of Asia for some coffee, milk tea and CR stop.
Although it was a quick weekend trip, which all hope good last for another day, I can say it rejuvenated me. The sea and the sound of waves really do some great things to the mind, body and soul. That's a fact, studies have been made about it. Have you been to Liwliwa before? Did you enjoy it as much as we did?
LE QUVOH BEACH RESORT
Liw-Liwa, San Felipe, Zambales
Contact Nos:
Email: lequvohbeachresort@gmail.com
Facebook: facebook.com/LeQuvohBeachResort
MAGIC LAGOON
Bldg. 716, Bicentennial Park, Rizal Highway,
Subic Bay, Olongapo, Zambales
Bldg. 716, Bicentennial Park, Rizal Highway,
Subic Bay, Olongapo, Zambales
Facebook: facebook.com/magiclagoon
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