Bohol Yoga Festival, April 21-22, 2024

Beach Life at Phaidon Beach Resort

Location : Phaidon Beach Resort, Pandan (municipality), Antique (province), Philippines

Austerity
After spending 2 nights in a P100/night room with galvanized sheets for a ceiling, I was already on the way out of Pandan with no more than P400 left in my pocket. But I needed to stop by Phaidon Beach Resort to briefly talk to its owner. The owner is a sensible no non-sense guy who liked my internet marketing program. I ended up staying 2 nights there + meals and laundry. Needless to say, I was back on Easy Street. One thing I like about dealing with foreigners is that they already know what they like and are straight forward about it - no mind games and no nickel-and-diming if they see value in the package.

The Resort
Phaidon is a luxurious beach resort in Pandan. It has a huge 1-ha ground, occupying an area from the highway all the way to the beach. They are currently constructing an infinity pool and a few more rooms. I liked my stay there - they were doing all the right things. The water pressure was high, TV resolution was clear with a lot of cable channels to choose from. Beer is served ice-cold, the fish is cooked to perfection (Chef Amor, thank you!) and dining area fronts the beach. My benchmark for room maintenance is the aircon filter. That's usually the first thing I clean when I check into a hotel room. But even the filter was clean!

Yes, even as a hotel guest, I treat my room like my own personal property - I tighten loose screws or hinges, I close the lights, turn-off running water, shut the a/c when I leave my room. I clean the a/c filter and generally fix what I can fix.

Packaged Tours
Phaidon is not just a beach resort. They have packaged tours and scuba diving offerings. Together with the resort guests, I managed to tag along the Malumpati Tour which includes transport, resort guide, lunch, Malumpati Spring swim and trek, rapelling, ziplining and rock climbing! That was chock-full-of-nuts! More on this on the next blog.

breakfast by the beach

Yoga with Megan and Anthony
Like I always do, I enjoin everyone to take part in my morning yoga practice - free of course (it's my way of giving back for this privileged life). A new young couple from the UK joined me - Megan and Anthony. They were new to the practice so I kept it light with emphasis on pranayama and meditation. This always starts the day right for me....for them too, I hope.

Beach Life
Aside from keeping up with my backlog, I was essentially living the lazy beach life - staying a lot of time in my comfortable a/c room, surfing on their multi-channel cable tv, eating good eats and walking along the beach, striking a conversation with the locals who had a fishing livelihood. I knew it would be back to the uncertainties of the open road soon, so I felt no guilt taking advantage of the pleasure. Life is good at Phaidon Beach Resort!

Ending Thoughts
My visit to Pandan is interesting for a number of reasons.

First, when I came to the resort, I was down to my last P400 (US$8). With no home, no job and nothing to pawn, I could easily end up sleeping on a sidewalk, hungry. But somehow, I remain assured that there is a repeating pattern in nature, much like fractals and the Fibonacci Sequence, that money will come in the dying seconds, in the amount I need. That has happened so many times in the past, I'm not even worried anymore. I see it as a natural law I somehow stumbled-upon. And I repeat - it's a natural law that is available for the taking by anyone. I just haven't gotten down pat how to consciously avail of it. Like I said, I stumbled upon it somehow, and it just happens spontaneously now. But affectionately, I refer to it simply as the unseen hand looking after my well-being.

Secondly, shortly before coming to Pandan, I didn't even know there was such a place as the Phaidon Beach Resort. I didn't know anyone, didn't know the place and didn't know the local Kara-iya dialect. But I was curious what would happen. But as I leave Pandan, in the short 4 nights I stayed there, interesting things and abundance happened - I got to go back to basics by sleeping in uncomfortably cheap loding places with a swarm of mosquitoes to contend with, discovered and perhaps even made friends with a cafe owner (who was kind enough to even offer me compli-lodging in their family farm), hacked the cheapest way to Malumpati on my first visit, got an unexpected 2-night stay in a luxury resort, drank the water of Malumpati Spring from the source itself and even took some of that water with me - did wall climbing and rapelling too! I met interesting people at Phaidon Resort (staff, owners and guests), savoured its delicious meals and conducted a yoga class. Whoa!!! As my friend Greg Hutchinson recently told me, "Your cup overflows". With deep gratitude, I will have to say, "Yes".

--- Gigit (TheLoneRider)
YOGA by Gigit | Learn English | Travel like a Nomad | Donation Bank

Reader Comments:

Next Traveling story:


Exploring Malumpati Spring with Phaidon Beach Resort Tours
(Dec 5/7, 2016) Not too far from Boracay is the town of Pandan, home to the increasingly popular Malumpati Spring. I hear from people that it's the cleanest river (spawned by a spring) and that the water is therapeutic. Coming from Sebaste, Pandan is a short trip away. Time to pack-up!....more »»

Pandan, Philippines

tourist attractions

• Malumpati Spring - clean, clear and cold spring water
• Pandan - main town and municipality for Malumpati
• Sto. Rosario Junction - this is the landmark for the turn to Malumpati from the main highway
• Bugang River in Guia - alternative swimming with same Malumpati Spring water

beach resort hotel

• Phaidon Beach Resort - white sand | beach house | scuba diving | resto and bar | house reef
  Pandan, Antique, Philippines
• Pandan Beach Resort - packaged tour to Malalison Island, floating gazebo, beachfront resto, hammocks, souvenir shop
  Barangay Dionela, Pandan, Antique

How to get to Malumpati Spring

1. from Boracay - take the Ceres Bus bound for Iloilo (via Pandan and not via Capiz). Get off at the Libertad Junction. There should be tricycles there to take you to Malumpati Spring
2. from Pandan - you may have to take a tricycle to the bus terminal or better yet, take a tricycle bound for the hospital and wait for the bus there - same P10 rate but you're closer to Malumpati. Take the northbound Ceres Bus bound for Libertad (not Kalibo) and get off at the Sto. Rosario Junction (P10, 10 mins). At Sto. Rosarion junction, take another tricycle for Malumpati Spring (P50, 15 min). There is a paved road all the way to the resort area.

How to get back to Pandan from Malumpati Spring

Take a tricycle to the main highway (P50, 15 min). You can take another tricycle bound for Pandan which locals take (P15, 15 mins). On the highway, you can also wait for the Ceres Bus bound for Pandan (but you may have to overshoot Pandan and get off at the terminal - this means you take another tricycle ride back!). The local politics of Pandan is mired in self-interest!

Tips

As a cheaper alternative, try swimming instead at Bugang River in Guia. It's the same river spawned by Malumpati Spring. This is where the locals now go for a free swim on the river. Go there on the high tide - the spring water and the sea water combine to make it swimmable, otherwise, it would be too shallow.

Malumpati Spring Fees

• P40 registration (mandatory)
• P100 picnic huts
• P200 water tubing
• P150 guided hike (guide is mandatory for the trek)
• P200 zip lining (200 meters + 300 meters)
• P50 rapelling (13 meters)
• P50 wall climbing (13 meters)

Pandan Blogs by TheLoneRider

1. Exploring Malumpati Spring in Antique Dec 5/7, 2016
2. Beach Life at Phaidon Beach Resort Dec 6-8, 2016
3. Exploring Pandan, Antique Dec 4-6, 2016

Suggested itinerary on the WEST coast of Panay Island from Boracay going south

1. Boracay - most popular beach in the Philippines
2. Malay - Nabaoy River, Pangihan Cave, Nagata Falls, Agnaga Falls, Naasug Point, Malay Ecological Park, Motag Living Museum
3. Nabas - wind tubines, Hurom-Hurom Cold Springs
4. Pandan - Malumpati Spring
5. Libertad - Maanghit Cave, Ati Cave and Bungan-Bungan Spring
6. Sebaste - Igpasungaw Waterfall
7. Culasi - Malalison Island
8. Tibiao - hot kawa-bath, white water river rafting, Bugtong Bato Waterfall, rice terraces, Tibiao Bakery, pottery, fish spa
9. Anini-y - Nogas Island, scuba diving

Suggested itinerary on the EAST coast of Panay Island from Boracay going south

1. Boracay - most popular beach in the Philippines
2. Malay - Nabaoy River, Pangihan Cave, Nagata Falls, Agnaga Falls, Naasug Point, Malay Ecological Park, Motag Living Museum
3. Nabas - wind tubines, Hurom-Hurom Cold Springs
4. Kalibo - Bakhawan Eco-Park, Tigayon Hill
5. Tambak - oysters
6. Capiz - Roxas City
7. Carles | Estancia - Gigantes Island Boat Tour, Lighthouse of Gigantes Island and Bakwitan Cave of Gigantes Island
8. Iloilo - Batchoy Indulgence

»» next Traveling story: Exploring Malumpati Spring in Antique
»» back to Traveling
»» back to Homepage

ARCHIVE: 2024 | JAN | FEB | MAR | APR

1970 | 1973 | 1975 | 1976 | 1979 | 1981 | 1996 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | ALL BLOGS