Floating Away at Matabungkay Beach

The armada of floating rafts ashore Matabungkay Beach

Vivid memories of summer of my childhood. Floating rafts at the sea while watching the sunset over the western horizon. This is how I remember the ever famous beach of Matabungkay in Batangas Province. Tagal na pala nun! The last way I went here, it was during my childhood days. I remember eating our merienda to dinner in the middle of the sea…err, just a few meters off shore actually. Together with my family, I was reunited with the pigment of my past.

Matabungkay Beach is situated at the town of Lian (nope, its not Nasugbu which is north of the town), more than a hundred kilometers south of busy Manila. Passing through the panoramic Tagaytay and down into the foothills of  Batulao and Pico de Loro, Matabungkay was 0nce one of the most popular recreational sites near the big city. Because of its easy accessibility from the capital and the rest  of the Region Tagala, it became a tourist fave. Kaya pag-weekend, dagsa ang mga tao dito, mula noon hanggang ngayon!

The floating cottage raft of Matabungkay

What made Matabungkay distinct from other beach destinations in the country? Well, we all know that beaches here in the Philippines have cottages at the beach coast right? Matabungkay offers something different–floating cottage rafts a few meters of the coast. Yes mi cmpadres y compadrinas! Tama narinig nyo. Cottages are floating at the sea! You get to experience eating at the sea. Roast your barbecue, seafood and have your picnic offshore and just swim just beside your cottage! No need to endure running the sandy shores just to get your refreshment under the sun and salt water! Andyan lang ang tubig sa tabi ng cottage mo!

Nope, hindi sya na-Ondoy. He's just selling ice cream to customers at the floating cottage rafts

Banana Boat anyone?

Don’t panic! The shores are shallow enough for a grown-up man to stand. Of course, safety first. Have a life vest or salbabida–pero wag naman yung built-in na sa katawan mo ah!

Like any popular beaches in the islands, it has its own share of water and dry activities. You can rent a jetski (I don’t know the price) or your own pedal-powered boat for P200 per hour per person. What I took though was that banana boat experience for umm, P200 for 15-minute ride-to-experience-thrill-falling-at-the-sea activity. If those doesn’t sound interesting, try singing your hearts out at the nearest videoke–basta walang ‘My Way’ at “Skyline Pigeon.”

Cottages crowding at Matabungkay Beach's shore

This is Matabungkay Beach Today

However, over the years, the beach became overcrowded. Due to its over-popularity, urban growth has somehow became uncontrolled. The view of the sea from the coastal road that runs through Matabungkay is no more. The coastline is full of structures of concrete and makeshift houses. And the once tranquil and relaxing beach is now like Boracay or Copacabana–crowded. Even the floating cottages crowd the shores now–therefore its difficult to maneuver your floating raft at sea!

Summer Girls at Matabungkay

I even saw a discarded floating diaper while swimming. For crying out loud, can you just practice being a responsible and mature citizen of this republic! Kung kanino man yun, nanay naman huwag ka namang burara! Di lang kalikasan ang napapahamak! Pano kung ikaw ang nasampal ng diaper sa mukha no? Anong pakiramdam ‘nay?!

Talk about dating far from the crowd!

Despite its shortcomings, I still would go back to this beach. I just hope that Ate Vi, the local government and/or the Tourism Department to execute proper  urban planning in this place in order to promote sustainable growth of tourism and environment–wag na po sanang humantong sa isa nanamang sakit ng ulo tulad ng Boracay.

Fortune Island looming over the horizon. Beneath the sea lies the shipwreck of the Spanish galleon San Diego

Too bad, we need to leave before sunset. We have to rush to Taal to visit the Sanctuario de Virgen de Caysasay to fulfill the Sunday obligation. As the sun sets over South China Sea, that vivid memory of orange and pink gave me a flashback of my childhood memories. As we leave the beach and headed inland, the escort of hundreds of fire trees gave a fiery and breathtaking colour of the afternoon. Indeed, Matabungkay still lives in my memory…and its nice to be back once more.

P.S. There is something with the official barangay emblem…hehe!

The barangay seal of Matabungkay, Lian, Batangas...something peculiar, hehe!

More photos of Matabungkay Beach and Western Batangas here: