By LPJ
The Laiya, Batangas beach resort experience during my recent vacation in the Philippines was somehow different. Though the surroundings and ocean view were just as alluring as the previous beach R&R’s, and the enjoyment just as much, the company was unusual. This time, many millennials joined us, tennis buddies of my niece Nikki and her husband Gab Arellano. The conversations were hip; the teasing interrogations were lighthearted but at times serious; playfulness dominated; laughter competed with the ocean breeze, and there was music. This Lola felt young again, like I was in my 20’s or 30’s.
The lovely setting was La Luz Beach Resort in San Juan, Batangas, around 3-4 hours drive from Manila. The rambling property features a line of cabanas on the beach, several cabins behind the cabanas, an oversized pool between the cabins and the shore. The large, comfortable restaurant offers a wide choice of continental, Philippine and other Asian cuisine. Outside the restaurant is a sizeable spa and massage center. At the end of the property on the beach is a hill rich with vegetation and with a path for easy hiking. Remarkable about La Luz is the preservation of tall, shady trees around which buildings and landscaping were purposely designed. The charm of the resort is the unique blend of beach and mountain ambience.
My brother Tzetzu and sister-in-law Rorie show off the scenery outside the pool by the beach at La Luz (photo by Rorie Pandes)
Little Eli sifts sand through her tiny fingers as she watches her brother Zi (right) and cousin Tian-Tian (left) build a sand castle (photo by Rorie Pandes)
The millenials before the boodle fight (photo by May Gordoncillo)
Relaxing with my sister Chichi and brother Tzetzu stretched on our cabin’s balcony ledge (photo by Rorie Pandes)
The boodle fight readied on the beach (photo by May Gordoncillo)
Cabanas on the beach (photo by Rorie Pandes)
The few that arrived early enjoyed a quiet, relaxing respite, time spent exploring the vicinity, walking on the shore, sitting stretched out on the balcony ledge just watching incoming guests, boats carrying tourists on the ocean, children running to grab space under the shower after cavorting in the pool, or simply waiting for the grandiose dramatic sunset. The evening had a special treat – a one-hour soothing massage from the facility’s masseuse, a luxury to end a most relaxing day.
We welcomed the excitement of the next day. Nikki and Gab’s tennis buddies came to celebrate my niece May Gordoncillo’s birthday. My sister Chichi and brother-in-law Dodong had planned a native celebration with a “boodle fight”, a style of serving and eating in Philippine parties. Either a long and large banana leaf or a large container is used to hold a rich variety of food. For boodle, diners position themselves on both sides, and eat their choice of food with their hands. At La Luz, we had an attractive and abundant array consisting of fried fish, crab pieces, barbecued chicken and beef, vegetables, rice and slices of watermelon, pineapple, papaya and melon. It wasn’t exactly a “fight” for food, for there was more than enough. A lot of extras on the table when we left to rest in the cabanas.
Music was the segue from lunch. Two young men who brought their guitars started a singing shindig that teetered between a “harana” (serenade) and quasi-rap. I’m guilty of insisting on a ”harana”, for I told these young folks about the old- fashioned courtship that usually began with serenades. In the early days, suitors made their interest known by singing love songs below the maiden’s window especially on moonlit nights. And often, haranas were followed with visits in the female’s house for dating was not allowed or frowned upon then. A few exceptions perhaps, but certainly not in my family up to my college years. What I didn’t tell these young people that away from home and in grad school, I did go on dates. But even during my grad school years, there still were haranas.
Now back to the celebration of May’s birthday. We were privileged to listen to wonderful music from a band that entertained a company party right outside the restaurant where we were dining. It was almost like we hired the band for May. We thoroughly enjoyed the music and even hummed and sang along on familiar songs. To boot, the band performed a sleuth of lovely Tagalog songs that we swooned to. Earlier that day, I asked the two guitarist-friends of Nikki and Gab for romantic Tagalog ballads to serenade the ladies in our group. They sang some, but didn’t know many. That evening of some company’s party at La Luz, we got our fill of winsome Tagalog melodies. We were happy.
What was different about this Laiya beach resort experience was the group dynamics. Since there were more millennials that included a newly married couple and another duo in the cusp of early courtship, conversations abounded in teasing, laughter and flippant rapport that made me realize that the gaiety of these young folks rubbed off on us, the older ones. They made me feel young again. So, I sang with them, told stories with them, joked and laughed with them, but short of playing frisbee on the beach with them. I think the older generation in our group enjoyed as much.
The La Luz resort event was definitely one of the highlights of my recent Philippine vacation. As I mentioned in my previous blogs about my vacation, the bonding with family, relatives and friends old and new was super outstanding. On top of the beauty, ambience and excitement of the lovely and scenic places we went to, bonding was always the crème de la crème. Most likely, that’s why whenever I get the chance to travel, I often choose the Philippines.