Miles I've traveled for the passion of revealing

Friday, May 17, 2013

Lakbay Norte: Sagada, Mountain Province (Day 7 - 8)

Day 7 - March 20 - 21, 2012

***

Time flies so fast when you're having fun.

Mountain Province was our second to the last stop for our 10 day Northern Luzon expedition and it was one of the trips that I was really looking forward to.

***

What better way to travel towards Sagada than to experience toploading.on a jeepney.

Excuse my funny face in the photo. Hee.

The sun was really radiant that day however the cool breeze, the scenic mountain views, lush greens, soothing waterfalls and some impeccable rice terraces seem to add comfort during the risky ride.

Risky I say because we were just like a few meters away from the cliff side of the road. Anything could happen that time you know. God forbid. Good thing was the roads were cemented. However there were blind curves, there were no uneven paths or the like.

Moving on, we were totally enjoying the scenic ride to Sagada. It took two hours and I tried my best not to fall asleep. I could be narcoleptic sometimes you know. Haha. I could just sleep in any position I'm on. To avoid from being drowsy, we kept ourselves busy taking videos and joking about anything under the sun.

***

Finally, after a couple of hours we arrived in the sleepy town of Sagada. :)

I love the placid, strange, unfamiliar and rustic feel of the place.

***

If there's one thing that me and my friends are really good at is being spontaneous.

As usual, we did not have definite plans so we just go with the flow.

We wandered around the town and went to the cemetery, hanging coffins, Sagada Weaving House, souvenir shops, photos, etc. ... .

***

Sagada is famous for its hanging coffins. This is the traditional way of burying people. Not every one though is capable to be buried this way. As one of the locals said, someone has to be a pure blooded Igorot who had been married and had offsprings.

Some of the coffins appeared to be relatively small and we wondered how a person could fit in such a small funerary box.

We were then told that there was a certain burying process.

When the person dies, he/she was usually assumed in a fetal position. The locals believed that when a person dies, he/she should look like the first time he came into this world.

After which the remains would be placed inside their homes so people who knew the departed could come see him for the last time.

To prevent the dead body from emitting an unpleasant odor, the family burns certain leaves and let the smoke surround and consume the bad odor of the corpse.

After a few days, the dead body was then placed in the wooden coffins and hanged on the foot of the mountains or hills in Sagada.

***

Day one was almost over and we spent the rest of the time just strolling around the cold and quiet town. Not to mention, Sagada had great eats! Every restaurant we went to had surprisingly delicious food with really big servings in such reasonable costs.

We were like indulging in a food feast. Everything was so delicious whether it be a Filipino or American inspired dishes.

I apologize for not having to post some photos of the food we had eaten.

We just forgot about the cameras at those craving times. Hee.

***

Day two commenced with an early morning trip to Kiltepan Peak to witness Mr. Sun rising up from the fog covered mountains.

Our crowd grew as we tagged along our friend Primoz, from Slovenia.

He was traveling alone so he did not mind some crazy company. Haha.

***

I really thought we were over the body challenging physical activities but just not yet.

We carried on and went spelunking in the cave connection in Sumaguing Cave.

Surprisingly, we met Riko, the bubbly Japanese lady along the streets in Sagada so we invited her over to be with us during the cave connection.

***

The cave connection experience was not just about the adventure but it was educational as well. Stalactites, stalagmites, columns, drapery, etc. are just about few words that I added in my vocabulary.

***

After a long day, we gathered around in our favorite restaurant The Lemon Pie House for our supper as it was our last night in Sagada.

Our friend, Primoz from Slovenia tagged along as we exchanged interesting stories and travel experiences and indulged on some tasty lemon pies and hot lemon tea. :)

***

So it was time to bid farewell to this beautiful and tranquil town. We bought a few souvenirs. I remember purchasing organic orange marmalade and blueberry jam because it was soooo good. :) I got me some sweet smelling coffee beans as well as my mother is fond of drinking coffee.

***

Our next and final stop would be in Clark as it was our jump off point back to our home town, Cebu.

***

We finally left Sagada with mild sore bodies from spelunking, full stomachs from all the gastronomical delights, updated knowledge about some basic facts about the town and about life in general and a heavy heart full of happiness and laughter. :)

Damages:

Canaway Lodge P250/night (2 nights) = P500 Breakfast at Las Vegas lodge: P60 :water P25 = p85 Banaue to Bontoc jeepney fare = P150 Bontoc to Sagada = P45

Lunch at the Yoghurt House P40 mango juice + P90 chicken = p130 (Guide) Hanging Coffins = P100/5 = P25 each Dinner at Lemon Pie House; P100 dinner, P25 - lemon pie, P20 lemon team = p 145

Bana's Cafe for breakfast = P120 Coffee beans (pasalubong) = p120 Cave Connection (Sumaguing cave, Coffins, etc) P570 (transpo + guide)

Siesta time at Haddeku

sandwiches : P75/2

Dinner at Lemon Pie House; estimated = p 120

Day 9 Sagada to Clark

Breakfast @ Haddeku; p 75

6-hour Bus Ride from Sagada to Baguio fare: P220

Baguio to Clark bus fare: P306

Total Estimated Investment = p2,173.50

Thursday, May 16, 2013

Lakbay Norte: Batad, Banaue, Ifugao (Day 6)

Day 6 - March 19, 2012

I never thanked God that much til one beautiful morning I woke up to this.. .

The cool breeze, the radiant sun and the sumptuous breakfast we indulged that time prepped us for a challenging physical activity we were bound to experience that day.

To keep the long story short, we went trekking around the Banaue Rice Terraces which was proclaimed as the Eighth Wonder of the World.

Fast Facts:

* The Banaue Rice Terraces is a 2000 year old terraces that are engraved into the mountains of Ifugao in the Philippines.

* It was technically commenced and manually done by the ancestors of the indigenous locals.

* The terraces is nourished by an ancient irrigation system from the rain forests situated just above the rice terraces.

Source: Wikipedia

* Each terrace or more belonged to a certain family.

* The locals have this belief of associating their photos taken with death. So if you want their pictures taken, you have to ask for their permission first because some of them find it really undesirable.

Though some of them allow it in exchange for small bills / coins. :)

* Amazingly, the native people speak very good English. They even can not entirely comprehend the national language, Tagalog. I just found out from the sister of a friend of mine that long ago, they were educated by the missionaries.

Everything made sense. .. :)

***

One of the best things about traveling is you get to meet interesting people from different parts of the world. First off there were these travel enthusiasts from Australia. Actually one of them found out about the rice terraces through this book, 1000 Places To See Before You Die. Apparently he had done over 500 places already. OKAY. Haha. Seriously, I envy that man. Good for him.

Then there's Riko from Japan. She was very bubbly and her happy disposition lights up the mood of the day.

She's one kick ass lady as she also journeyed on a solo travel to India one time when she was 18.

Talk about courage and independence. \m/

Lastly there was Chris from Germany. After tagging along with us during the trek and playing card games with us during the evening back in the lodging house, he ended up with a face marked with red lipstick on. Haha. Super :)

***

The experience in Batad made me ponder about a lot of things pertaining life in general.

It positively altered my perception in the way I perceive and fathom certain matters in life.

For instance, it is amazing how they actually keep the tradition alive by persistently planting rice on the terraces manually with minimal equipment every single day under the scorching heat of the sun.

It's no easy feat and it's a great deal of sacrifice. They have to endure it every single day so they can feed their families and they could make income out of it. Cultivating the soil, harvesting the rice crops; they have been doing this for thousands of years and passed on the deed from one generation to the next.

More to that, in order for them to reach the upper town, they have to travel on foot for about 30 minutes or more up hill and on those uneven paths they have to cross or worse, if necessary, they would carry along on their shoulders heavy loads just to transport these items up to the uptown.

However, despite all the inconveniences, they all managed to live a peaceful, happy, simple and contented life.

***

I told myself then that I never had the right to complain in the first place.

That each and everyday is a new life and a new blessing.

That great sacrifice pays off well in time.

That it never hurts to live each day like it was your first time and we should appreciate every single circumstance may it be good or bad.

***

Damages:

People's Lodge Inn (p250/ night, 2 nights = P500)
Breakfast at People's
P100 - bf
P25 - h20
P500 - round trip + guide (jeep to Batad saddle point)
Lunch at Ramon's Lodge Inn and Restraunt
p100 - lunch
p50 - gatorade
p150 - 170 native souvenirs
Dinner at Las vegas Lodge P150

Lakbay Norte 2012: Idle Time (Day 5)

Day 5 - March 18, 2012

***

Fact: Traveling is never a convenient experience.

You have to be living on your rucksacks/ suitcases. You could never predict what will happen next. Moreover, some of your expectations are not met and some circumstances just don't allow matters to go on your way.

Well, fuck inconvenience.

Traveling will always be my passion.

***

So finally it was the fifth day of our 10 day expedition and some few interesting moments happened during the time we ventured from Vigan-Baguio-Ifugao.. . .

1) We had no definite plan as to where to go next from Vigan. Originally it was supposedly Vigan - Baguio - Sagada. However, we figured we had one extra day to spend an idle time. So we opt to go for Ifugao instead before going to Sagada because we figured things would work out well with that plan. We even had to research in the internet station just to figure out what to do and what not.
Whatever.
Just go with the flow, we muttered as we all shrugged off our dilemmas. Haha. :)
2) We had to take a bus ride from Vigan to Baguio which took around six hours. After we had our whole day tour around Vigan, we already checked out from the hotel at 12 noon that day. We just left our bags in the hotel for safety as we went wandering around the city. At the end of the day, we felt the need to wash up before we took the evening bus ride. The problem was we did not have a place to wash up. The hotel where in we left our bags charged us an impractical cost just for the use of their bathroom. We turned down the chance anyway and headed straight to the terminal.
Well, there's this thing called hygiene first before convenience.
So what we did together with a friend of mine is that we took our tumblers, found a bucket and good thing there was a faucet with running water and bathed ourselves inside the PUBLIC restroom in Vigan's bus terminal.
I know right?
3) The freezing atmosphere and the dark city streets welcomed us as we arrived in Baguio City round 4 am in the morning. We were all tired from lack of sleep so we rode towards the terminal where the bus ride to Ifugao departs. Hoping to get bus seats to Ifugao, we were told that the first trip would retreat not until 8 in the morning. Great.
After we secured bus tickets, we stayed in a 24 hour eatery to spend idle time until we have to leave from Baguio. Everything was going fine and we even caught up some shut eye until this drunk and incoherent man started approaching us. We totally ignored him at first but then he became persistent and annoying. I was starting to get pissed off but I did not blew up my temper because I knew something worse may happen at that time and our safety was at stake. Good thing the security officer of that establishment sought help from the police and eventually the drunk man left after almost 2 hours. .. .. for good.
Phew!
4) Finally, we ventured towards Banaue, Ifugao and endured another 8 hour long bus ride. Take note, 8 hours on broad day light. Kill me now.
Actually, I have no problem with regards to long bus rides as long as it is in an evening or night time because I could just doze off whenever I want to. But in day time, I get easily distracted with the light and I can not help but to stay awake. Good luck to me. My cryptochromes seemed to function well. (x.x)
It was my first time on the road for 8 long hours in broad day light but I was glad that I was able to manage. I mean I had no choice anyway. I am the type of person who does not skip meals but unfortunately I remember not having a decent meal at that time. My feast consisted mainly of soda crackers and water. And maybe some street food after we had a few bus stops along the way.
But who cares. I was going to Banaue, Ifugao. Not everybody had the chance to go there.
Yet I did. Screw inconvenience! Pssh.

5) Finally at around six in the evening, we arrived in the beautiful and bustling little town of Banaue, Ifugao. It was not what I was expecting. At first I pictured a quiet, quaint and rustic setting but instead, there were so many people out on the streets. Maybe half of the population were people from around the world. There were plenty of restaurants, the vegetable market was still alive and kicking, an array of souvenir shops and there were a number of accommodations to choose from so we did not have a hard time scouting for a place to stay.
The moment we checked in in our chosen lodging house we immediately grabbed some decent meal. And God, did it feel like heaven. :D

Damages:
Taxi cab ride (p47) to KMS Bus Liner

Andoks (breakfast : P57)

KMS Bus Liner to Ifugao, bus fare (P415)
Dinner at People's lodge inn (100 +)

Wednesday, May 15, 2013

Lakbay Norte: Vigan, Ilocos Sur, Philippines (Day 4)

Day 4 - March 17, 2012

After getting some quality shut eye, we woke up to a beautiful morning in Vigan, Ilocos Sur.

Realizing we had ample time to spend the entire day wandering around the Hispanic town, we decided to don our presentable ensembles to add up a stylish feel in our tour. Haha.

To mention few facts about Vigan, it is generally the capital of the province of Ilocos Sur, Philippines. It is a World Heritage Site and it is one of the few Hispanic towns left in the country. Vigan is recognized for its cobblestone streets and unparalleled construction that blends Philippine, Oriental and European inspired edifices and architecture.

As far as I am concerned, Vigan has the most delicious empanada ever!

Nothing compares! :)

*DROOLS*

***

Wandering around Vigan would mean riding on a horse driven carriage. And so horse driven carriage we did. :)

***

Vigan had a lot to offer.

We headed towards the humble abode of their reputable governor, Chavit Singson.

Little did we know this Filipino politician was fond of the wildlife.

Hence, the renowned Chavit Singson's Baluarte.

***

Baluarte was not just an ordinary zoo where in animals were surrounded with steel bars and maintaining a social distance is mandatory.

It was a different way in Baluarte.

It was more of an interactive wildlife sanctuary that allows its visitors first-hand experience in learning the protection and conservation of endangered species and wildlife.

More to that, the vast stretch of the field and scenic boulders were as captivating as the sky high trees and luscious greens that surrounded the entire landscape.