Do I have to be ashamed that I worked and lived in Laguna but never visited the famous Pagsanjan Falls? In fact, this place frightens me. A Thai colleague was asked to pay a $50 tip after the ride. A pinay friend, with her Frenchy, backed out when upon arriving in Pagsanjan, they were harrassed by fellow pinoys haggling over exorbitant prices. Another french friend was asked to buy food for the two boatmen who asked another fee at the middle of the adventure to continue the ride and then another P2000 for the tip.. bat di na lang kaya sya nagpaampon?
But okay, I have to see it for myself. After an overnight stay in Pansol, Calamba (to celebrate Louna's birthday), we decided that a tour around Pagsanjan should be fun. Along with my whole family, off we went to that place. Just as we entered the town center, our vehicle suddenly transformed into a human magnet. At least 10 men followed us, putting both hands around their eyes then sticking them on the vehicle window to see the people inside. What a show! They already started to get on my nerves. I then asked the driver to move out of that area so I could ask Frenchguy to move at the back of the van just so I could get Filipino prices. But I told you, our vehicle transformed itself into a magnet. These hagglers suddenly became our escorts.
So, okay. What's the price? P660. Per boat? No, per head. Huwaaaaaaaaattttt?
Mga kababayan, with that amount, you could go up the Eiffel Tower - one of the most visited towers in the whole world (30,000 daily visitors during peak season). You could visit the Louvre Museum, the biggest museum in Europe where you could see the original Monalisa - me sukli ka pa nyan. You could visit 13th century wine caves in Burgundy with free wine tasting. So why the f*** should I pay equivalent amount in Pagsanjan?
Ano? Because the boatmen should consume all their energy just to bring you there? Oil ba na galing sa Iraq ang nananalaytay sa ugat nila? Sobrang mahal naman. E pamasahe na yan for two persons papuntang Zambales e. Me pambili ka na ng chitcharon nyan.
Natural park kasi. Ngek. Sige, go to world renowned natural parks like the Grand Canyon and see if you pay that amount.
My point is, why do we have to kill tourism in the Philippines? Why do we have to make the Philippines inaccessible to the Filipinos? Why do we have to level the prices with the prices practiced outside? Are we contented with 500 visitors daily ? Don't we want to aim more and create real jobs for Filipinos?
Call me kuripot or whatever but I don't support this kind of tourism (or however they may call it)!
Any violent reaction is accepted.
Picture taken in Jura, east of France.
13 years ago
26 comments:
I totally agree with you, Ana. The thing back home is that we don't have official guides for every touristic place, anybody (the locals) can sell their services so there's really no official price. It just depends on how you look :) But I also think that after years away from home, prices have really sky rocketted - wala ng piso piso, libo libo na.
Kasama pala si frenchguy eh, I thought I read on the previous post's comments na hindi :)
Hay naku, not reading kasi, that photo pala is in Jura - ibang falls pala yan, hahaha!
Makis, the P660/head fee is the official price from the tourism office. actually the hagglers offered us a cheaper fee of P500/head. but you will never know how much you will pay there.. me thinks it's too expensive considering the minimum wage practiced in the phils.. anyways, medyo nasanay na lang siguro ako dito na less fortunate people could still access to such getaway. im quite disappointed na rin siguro of always hearing my friends and colleagues here talking about thailand, china.. that philippines is too expensive and not worth it. hayyy...
frenchguy was with us, di lang kami pareho ng plane since he had to pass by bangkok for work, before and after the holiday ;)
i hate to say this, but it happened to us too during our recent trip to Siquijor. Nakakahiya mang aminin, pero mga tinamaan ng kidlat at GAHAMAN talaga ang iba sa mga kababayan nating mga Pinoy lalo't pag alam nilang balikbayan ang naglilibot.
wow! ang mahal naman niyan!!! I don't remember paying that much before... but then, I am not married to a foreigner.
Sad to say, whenever pinoys sees a foreigner, they see $$$$ signs!
I think the Mayor of Laguna and DOT officials should do something about this! What a disturbing site for foreigners and fellow Pinoys na rin!
There are so many good places to visit in the Philippines but they need to be organized! Fair is fair dapat. They need to put official people (with ID's) to access going to a certain place para naman hindi kung sino sino lang di ba! That calls for discipline na rin :) !
Nao, naku sabi mo pa. nakakahiya talaga. hirap na ngang pagtakpan yang kaugalian na yan esp when these foreigners see it for themselves.
si frenchguy nga, nag rent ng bangka sa bandang amin na mismo. to fish. wala na nga syang nafish, (it seems daw na di tunay na fisherman kasama nya), binayaran na nga nya yung gasolina, nung nagbigay sya ng P300 for a tip, sinimangutan pa sya. pinoy nga naman.
Jo, a foreigner once commented nga to frenchguy that Pinoys see white guys as ATM machines, aray!
nope, the P660/head is the regular price talaga, foreigner or not.. ang mahal no. sabi ko nga sa kanila, how could a normal-paid pinoy afford that.. sabi nila, hindi daw yun ang usapan.. so i guess they don't want to listen to reasons.. i find a comment in one of the sites nga which said Pagsanjan is not the only falls on earth, you could find better ones for free..
Haze, disturbing site as in. imagine, they're like flies who saw a big merde, lahat nagdapuan hehe.. pero sa totoo lang, nakakainis.
wow from phils kayo, welcome back! sorry to hear ' bout your encounter sa mga mapagsamantala sa atin haha parang ayaw ko na ring pupunta sa Pagsanjan na yan kung ganyan pala ka overpriced. Kuripot din ako at ayaw paloko sa ganyan, kaya nga each time umuwi ako i just stick in our place kasi doon siguradong walang makapanloko kahit na foriegn si hubz ko, i have peace of mind pa.
I agree with u. Buti na rin u checked it before you finally go inside that park. Ako naman i check the place first me alone or with my siblings inquiring esp the price, pati taxi i ask first how much the fare. I don't show my hubz nor kids...haha. or else hanggang leeg yong hihingin nilang bayad.
Pati pa yang mga porter sa airport, kahit handcarry lang bitbit mo isang dosena kaagad ang mag-escort, pahawak-hawak lang tapos hihingan ka nang bayad, minsan magreklamo pa sa sila ibinigay mo.
I think it is because of poverty sa atin, sa isip nila basta lang magkapera, kaya halos mag-aagawan na, lalo na target nila yong foriegn kasi sa isip nila dami pera! lol
We will probably go home this summer (but 5O/50 chance) kasi wala pa kaming ticket. We planned to visit some nice touristic place sa PI, hopefully hindi kami maloko. Pagsanjan is out na sa lista..haha. P660per head? tapos dami namin, then baka may iba pang additional na bayaran sa loob...haay wag na lang. Si hubby ko naman, he's not that foreign also na bastabasta na lang bibigay sa mapagsamantala sa atin.
May mga abusado kasi may nagpa-abuso din.
wow super cute ni Louna! she's a darling! very nice photo, ang galing ng mag-pose huh?! pwede na yan mag model sa catalog..hehe (kidding) Cathy was once chosen for pictorial para sa catalogue maybe like for Verbaudet & La redoute, i was so happy & xcited kaya lang ayaw ng tatay, ako pa ang pinagalitan! lol
welcome back and happy new year ana! hindi ko pa nabasa lahat ang mga posts mo sa ibaba, inuna ko kasi ito eh. ;) grabe, ang mahal-mahal pala ng singil nila sa pagsanjan falls 'no? P660 per head is just ridiculous! hmmp, kalimutan ko na lang si pagsanjan. hehe!
i agree with lucille, super duper cute si louna sa kanyang update photo. ganda ng pose niya and her smile. pa-kiss naman! mwaah! =)
Lucille, naku isa pa yang porter na yan, mahipo lang bag mo, nanghihingi na ng bayad, ano ba yan. of course di ako nagbibigay no, did i ask for their service ba? pag kusang tumulong at pakyeme pang manghingi, saka ako nagbibigay, at least di ko feel na na-harasse ako hehe..
haha, ayaw ba ng tatay na maging model ang little cutie cathy? aba, nung nag pose si louna dyan, buong tropa yung nasa likod to make her smile no hehehe..
Ligaya, happy new year ligz and ninev.. i've been visiting your site and wanting to leave you a message kaya lang each time, di pwede..
that's an overkill. for that same price, you can fly shorthaul within europe with one of them budget airlines. sad, really.
exactly my point, sobrang mahal talaga.. you could do a lot of more interesting stuffs here in europe with that price.
kakapagtaka na walang nagre-regulate ng fees sa pagsanjan... it's one of the major tourist attractions pa naman...
nakakahiya kay french guy... :( and to the others who were "victimized"...
oo nga, but the P660 is the regulated price na. it's even posted at the entrance. me thinks the price is not justified.
pumunta kyo dun? si ate ghee [www.akoni.info] dun din galing at pareho ang experience nyo! ang mahal nga, grabe tlaga. nkkhiya sa mga bisita. nkklungkot din :(
experience nman namin sa airport, pero di sila nakaisa sa akin.. kuripot na kung kuripot, pero wala sa lugar ang panghihingi nila. wish ko, sana yung mga opisyal ng bansa natin hindi lang pagpapayaman ng sarili ang isipin, magtrabaho din sana sila para sa ikakaunlad ng buong sambayanan! kainis sila! hmp! :P
'o nga pla, ang cute-cute ni louna!! kakagigil!!! :)
hi there!pareho nga tayo...
yun nga lang 660 per head,namahalan na ko,imagine,almost 5,000 php entance pa lang yun!tapos sa kalagitnaan na ng tour nyo,biglang sasabihin sa yo na 2000 php each boatmen??shock talaga ako at di ako pumayag,i gave them 500 php each!
3000 php for boatmen!goshhhh,ang dami na naming narating sa 8000 php..grrrr,pag naaalala ko,kumukulo ang dugo ko,kaya ang sabi ko sa kanila,ikakalat ko kayo sa net.yun,kaya inexposed ko sila kahit nakakahiya para sa pinas.
salamat sa pagdaan! :)
Ang mahal! Terrible... Okey, it is a beautiful place but I'd rather go to Zambales(like you said) where they do not overprice (My family is from Zambales).
I have been there long ago when boatmen were not that greedy. Hay naku...
dumalaw ulit bading.
at dadalaw. at dadalaw pa ulit.
good morning sayo dyan :)
Ghee, P500/boatman is even too much for me. Nakakakulo talaga ng dugo. And to think frenchguy does kayaking, so he knows how to glide in wild rivers, baka batukan pa nya yang mga boatman pag nanghingi ng tip hehe..
Al, where are you from zambales, i'm from there too..
Nao, miss mo ko no hehe..
next time, try Bohol. together with my family and frenchcharming, we had great experience in the island last year. my frenchcharming finds it a paradise and would like to go back on our next visit. the whole time we were there, nobody bugs us with exorbitant prices. everything is regulated and most of the tourist spots (like the hanging bamboo bridge)just ask for donation. pay as you want. and my biggest trick is to teach frenchcharming this: everytime someone tries to sell something, he'll say 'hindi, walang pera.' then he'll point at me and say 'siya, may pera'. that keep those pesky vendors away from him. :-)
haha, kaka init nga ng dugo, korek ka dyan, ana. What a robbery!
di nyo naman balak bilhin ang water falls ha, ano sila.
Never ako napunta dyan. Kasi ang tubig brown, lol
Ana, Ay ano ba yan. With P660, you can ride the luxury Victory Liner from Manila to Baguio, may pang merienda pa. Ang tawag diyan, hold-up. Nakaka-turn-off. I'll make sure not to go there. Thanks for sharing.
I like the new look, btw.
mrs14, hehe, good tip! a lot of people already adviced us to visit bohol, esp divers. so i thought, bohol would be the next diving site for him..
Francesca, haha, akala ng siguro bibilhin ko ang falls..
kk, turn off nga. next time, lalayo na talaga kami ng manila, seems the other parts of the phils are still ok to visit.
Naku, nakakatakot naman pumunta sa Pagsanjan, pag sinama ko hubby ko sigurado lalangawin din kami. So pag nagbalikbayan ako, I will just try other resorts and maybe teach him what mrs14 taught her hubby.
now u understand why i dont enjoy my holidays there esp the swiss cheese is with me!
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