Hitchhiking in Philippines: Anguib Beach
15th of March, 2025.
Even though I am still very tired to wake up early in the morning, I rather to leave as soon as possible, so the chances of getting to Anguib Beach with enough time to enjoy it are higher.
Ricky wakes me up before 6 a.m. We have coffee and I finish my noodles from last night. Then he drops me off, in his tuk-tuk, at the highway.
After walking for some time, a car with three men stops for me. They are going to a strategic intersection in the North, where a town called Magapit is located. As we talk, and I tell them about my life and travel style, they seem to be part of that skeptic group of people who I meet who don’t believe that I travel without money. In the end, is just ignorance, I guess.
I wait for some time until an Indian man, S., stops for me. He’s from Punjab. We talk a little bit in Hindi, and he even helps me with some questions I have regarding the language. He is what people call here in the Philippines “Bombay”, people from India who lend money to Filipinos. As most Indians I meet, S. is very kind and he wants to help me as much as possible. He buys me a lot of food for my day (4 vegetarian cup noodles, two chocolate breads, one purple yam bread, and one big cheese bread), and he still wants to buy me some fresh lunch, but I tell him it’s not necessary. He drops me off after Santa Ana, right at the road which leads to Anguib Beach.
A nice man stop his car and helps me a lot simply by filling my big bottle with water.
Soon after that, a group of friends, travelling with two cars, stop. They had seen me earlier, when I was hitchhiking outside Tuguegarao, so when they see me again now, they decide to stop, as they are also going to Anguib Beach.
Vanessa and Jordan are from Manila, and their son is the other car with their friends, so I could have more space in their car. They are very nice and kind, and as I tell them about my travels, they are very surprised. They tell me that Anguib Beach belongs to a Senator, so it’s a private area. The land might be but I don’t think he owns the sea surrounding it.
As we get to the entrance, there’s a sign showing an entrance fee of 200 Pesos, something like 4 USD. Nobody should have the right to own some natural resources of a country like this, limiting people’s access to it, charging people’s access to it.
Vanessa and Jordan help me to talk with the staff working at the ticket counter. They tell them how they saw me hitchhiking in Tuguegarao and picked me up after in Santa Ana. Without too much delay, they let me in for free, as I tell them I plan to camp for one night only.
As I walk in, I see quite a few tents already around the place. They are mostly in the grass, under the trees, with only two tents actually at the beach, and a few ones facing it. There are small huts alongside the beach, with charging units; bigger huts for people to cook and eat, also with charging units; a big cooking facility, with many tables, stoves and sinks; and there’s also toilets and showers all over the area. Now, you might agree that this is the reason for the entrance fee, right? But why can’t they be more selective to who pays and who doesn’t need to? I understand these big groups of people, families and friends, who spend a few nights here, use the cooking facilities and a lot of the electricity; but single night campers like me, without lights for their tents and who not intend to use the cooking facilities, should not be asked for payment.
I decide to stay a bit further away from all of this, by the beach and under some trees. I must eat first, so I ask some of the staff if they can give me some hot water for two of my cup noodles. They are all very kind. I eat my two cup noodles, one third of my cheese bread and one chocolate bread. Then I swim for a while.
Apart from everything, this place is gorgeous. The water is crystalline, and of a gorgeous vibrant turquoise, while the sand is thick and white, the kind which doesn’t stick to your skin or goes everywhere. The sea is also calm, flat and shallow for many metres. There are some rocks here and there, and algae too, but you can easily see them and go around. I want to go further away, as I might see some fishes, but because of all my stuff at the beach, I don’t. I swim for a while and then come back to the beach and do some writing.
After sunset I prepare my camping. I come to one of the shads too charge my laptop and do some more writing. A lot of people have left by now, but still many remain camping overnight. Mostly big families, but some group of friends too. There are staff and security all over the place.
I get some more hot water for my last two cup noodles. I eat here. After that, I go to take a shower and wash my clothes. Before going to sleep, I watch a film.
Next morning, after a lot of consideration, I decide to live after breakfast, instead of staying and enjoying the beach in the morning. I don’t wake up super early though, and don’t rush for leaving or eating. I ask for some water for two different families, getting my big bottle of water full. I make the only instant coffee 3in1 I have, and finish all my breads. I leave Anguib Beach before 10 a.m.
10 Years Around the World 