I woke up at 5:00 as usual, had coffee, and took a shower. After that, I again went to the eatery near the sea and ordered the usual Filipino breakfast. I also bought some binungey, a sticky sweet rice cooked in coconut milk in a bamboo. Patar is also known for this delicacy, aside from its beach.

By the time I came back to the accommodation, Lee was already waiting for me (waiting for his breakfast, to be more accurate) outside his room, rubbing his eyes.

We enjoyed our breakfast and we prepared to go back/we started our long trip back  to Quezon City.

Lee had to go back to our accommodation back in Alaminos  to get his phone charger which he left in his room. He told me to wait for him at the town center. I spent time looking around, just observing how the locals went about with their daily lives.  After about 15 minutes, Lee was back.

As we sped away from Alaminos back to Quezon City, Lee played, for the nth time, the music of Jason Mraz. I felt a little sad that the trip had to end.

Lee and I knew that it was a long drive back to the city, so I pretended to help Lee drive. When he turned the steering wheel, I also turned my imaginary steering wheel. When he stepped on the accelerator, I also did the same, when he stepped on the brakes, I also did the same.  When  he coughed, I also coughed. 

I was copying exactly what he was doing because I wanted to “help” him drive.

Along the way, we got weary, so we had to look for a diner to take some rest and enjoy some coffee.

At 6:00, we were in Quezon City.

Lee parked his Avanza in front of  my house and gave me instructions on how to take care of the car while he was away. He promised to buy me Korean cosmetics when he came back, but he did not fail to remind me to cook steak, just like the one I promised on our first stopover in Baguio.

Lee and I shook hands. He had to go to his own house to prepare for his midnight trip to Korea.

And that was the end of our first road trip.