When Storms Threatened: Our Lambug, Badian Beach Trip

Hey there, fellow Hivers!

As the raging winds of Typhoon Mawar, also known in the Philippines as Super Typhoon Betty, finally bid farewell to the Philippine area of responsibility, we couldn't help but breathe a collective sigh of relief. Our long-awaited beach trip to the picturesque shores of Lambug Badian almost fell victim to the wrath of the typhoon. Fate played a peculiar game, as it was on the same day of our trip that Typhoon Mawar entered the PAR, threatening to dampen our plans. The looming uncertainty stirred a mix of emotions among our group, and some of our friends teetered on the edge of canceling the adventure at the last minute. However, driven by a shared spirit of adventure and a stubborn determination to seize the moment, we decided to brave the coming storm and embrace the beauty that awaited us at Lambug Badian.

After numerous cancellations of this trip due to conflicting schedules among our friends, we finally resolved to pursue the long-awaited beach getaway.

Out of the original 11 heads, only 8 remain.

Our initial plan was to stay near Lambug Beach. However, upon discovering that an event was scheduled to take place there on the same day as our trip, we opted to change our plans and booked accommodations far from the event. Let me clarify, we are not party poopers; our intention is not solely to party but to relax and enjoy each other's company. Fortunately, one of our friends has relatives residing in Badian and has a connection to one of the resorts in the area. Thanks to her, we were able to secure reservations at World Big 4 Resort.

The Commute

We set the rendezvous point at a supermarket inside a mall near the bus terminal, where we bought all the ingredients for our dinner and breakfast the next day, which we planned to cook at the resort.

After waiting for our other friends to arrive and purchasing items at the supermarket, we found ourselves walking to the bus terminal.

Before reaching the rendezvous point, while @iamcjestrada and I were still on the bus from our place, we decided to try booking the bus ticket using the new ticketing app called Topline Travel, just to test its efficiency. This app is only applicable to routes in the south of Cebu.

Upon entering the terminal, we showed the QR code to the guard and skipped the line at the ticketing window, which was nice, especially when the line was long. @iamcjestrada and I waited for our other friends who were in line at the ticketing window for a few minutes. Haha!

We walked to our designated door number, where the staff scanned our QR codes and provided us with two tickets, which seemed redundant and time-consuming. LOL!

Finally, the bus departed around 10:30 AM from the terminal. Badian is almost 100 kilometers away from the terminal, and the travel time is approximately 4 hours.

At the Badian Public Market, we searched for a place to have lunch and luckily found a spot selling affordable fried chicken.

On our way to the resort, we hailed two tricycles from the public market. However, if you prefer to be dropped off at the junction leading to the resort from the bus, it is also possible, and it also offers a cheaper tricycle rate.

The Accommodation

World Big 4 Resort is located atop a cliff, just to the left of the main Lambug Beach. We booked 2 air-conditioned rooms that can accommodate a maximum of 7 people each. However, since we were eight, we decided to split ourselves into groups of four.

Each room is equipped with its own toilet and a bathtub.

Unfortunately, according to the staff, the night before our arrival, their water supply was disrupted by a fallen tree, resulting in low water pressure or no water at times.

The resort also boasts its own pool and a small private beach, accessible only via a long set of stairs. LOL!

Getting drunk by the beach isn't really an option, as it may pose difficulties when trying to climb back up while intoxicated.

As the sun was about to set, we began preparing for our dinner. Just a few meters outside our rooms, the resort provided a grilling station where we cooked our marinated pork and chicken. We also rented a single burner and a canister of butane for 350 pesos, which included a frying pan and a small pot for cooking our rice.

The resort was almost fully booked that night, as most of the resorts near the main Lambug Beach were closed due to the typhoon. Fortunately, the resort we were staying at remained open.

After dinner, we gathered for our socials inside the girls' room. This group of friends of mine are heavy drinkers. LOL! I had a traumatic experience the last time we got drunk at one of my friends' house. I ended up with a fever and chills the day after and couldn't even get out of bed. HAHA! So this time, I promised myself that I wouldn't get too drunk. Luckily, at almost 3 AM in the morning (yes, we were still drinking at that hour), HAHA, I managed to sneak out and head to our room while they continued laughing and chatting until 4 AM.

The next day, I woke up to the sound of people knocking on the sliding door. Haha! It was already 9 AM, and we still had to prepare our breakfast.

While I was busy washing the dishes, some of my friends decided to take one last swim.

We requested at the front desk if we could check out at 1 PM, as I still had to finish washing the dishes and the water pressure in the bathroom was still low. Luckily, they agreed to extend our check-out time by an hour.

We left the resort with heavy hearts, knowing that the weekend was almost over. HUHU

How to get there

If you're commuting by bus, go to the Cebu South Bus Terminal and book a ticket bound for Bato via Barili. The travel time is around 3-3.5 hours, depending on the traffic in the towns of Minglanilla and Carcar.

If you decide to bring your own car, you can check the resort's location on Google Maps. The resort has a spacious parking lot, so finding a parking spot is not an issue.

Summary of Rates & other Expenses

The room rate for our stay was initially supposed to be ₱3,500 (62.48 USD), but they gave it to us for ₱3,000 (53.55 USD). And since the room couldn't accommodate all eight of us, we booked another room, and they offered it to us for ₱5,000 (89.26 USD) for the two rooms, making it ₱625 (11.16 USD) per person. Haha!

If you buy the AC Bus ticket from the Cebu South Bus Terminal, it costs ₱228 (4.07 USD), while it's ₱238 (4.25 USD) if you use the Topline Travel app with a ₱10 (0.18 USD) booking fee.

The tricycle fee from Badian Public Market to the resort is ₱70 (1.25 USD) per person. We also chipped in ₱500 (8.93 USD) each for the food, which included dinner, breakfast, liquor, and chips. On the way back home, we rode a Librando AC bus for ₱225 (4.02 USD).

And for less than ₱2,000 (35.70 USD), you can enjoy a weekend getaway to the south of Cebu.

This just proves that we can always enjoy and have fun even when on a tight budget. As long as you are in good company, nothing beats the bond we shared and the stories we have to tell.

See you on my next trip! 😉

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