Our world Travel On 10th May 2007 I fled the UK on a journey around the world with a long list of places to go. Got as far as the Philippines where I met my wife. We got married on 11th May 2010 and are now sharing the experiences of travelling the world together

I spent ages yesterday on the net trying to find out information and there is so much conflict in what you read. The biggest headache is to find out which bus goes where you want to go, and getting a valid phone number and address. They seem to change a lot and also move location, making it a logistical task. I found out that Banaue is served by two bus companies directly, being the Florida and Autobus companies, both based in the Sampaloc area.

Well the above was the plan....

Decided to not bother with an alarm clock and just wake up when I was ready, and then just head off north as best I can during the day. Would sort out some breakfast at the bus station. Out of bed and on the street looking for a taxi shortly after 9am, feeling ok after about 6 hours or so sleep. In a taxi within a couple of minutes and heading to Sampaloc area. According to the latest information, there were three companies running buses...Dangwa, Victory line and Philippine rabbit, and now planning on Baguio rather than Banaue, as all of the buses to Banaue leave after 10pm. Tried three bus stations and eventually ended up at Dangwa, which supposed to run buses every 2 hours, with them claiming that the next bus was at 12! So, paid off the taxi driver and tried to buy a ticket. They laughed and said they meant 12 midnight and they had stopped the other day buses a while ago. Damn! Manila is a pain. So, back into another taxi and headed back to the other stations. Settled on the Victory liner which did have a bus going at 10:30am and costing 430 pesos (Galicia street, Sampaloc tel: 741-1436). That gave me half an hour to have some breakfast and stock up for the journey...phew...On the bus, which was aircon and fairly empty, and time to relax. Travel here can be a little stressful when you don't speak the lingo and are reliant on taxis.

Mabalacat bus terminal was the first stop at noon for 10 minutes. Some small sari-sari stalls, but not long to do much. The next stop was in Tarlac city for 15 minutes with lots of eating options and clean too.

The terrain is mountainous as we progressed north with fantastic views as the bus swept around hairpin bend after bend. A little bit grey today, so not at its best, but still superb. Arrived at Baguio at 5:15pm to the station near to the 'Session road'. There are others in town. An information counter/hut had plenty of brochures for accommodation. Although I had thought of going to the Red Lion pub, went to a home stay instead, called the Angelita T.Tuvera  Tansient house, on the DPS compound. Expensive at 800 pesos not including breakfast but with hot shower. The average I had seen in the brochures was above 1200 pesos, so it is an expensive place in general.

As we are at a much higher altitude now, the temperature was noticeably colder than in the lowlands...time to dig out my long clothes and fleece. Hadn't worn this for many months. In fact I think it must have been in the Cameron Highlands in Peninsular Malaysia in early October.

I reckon on spending a day here before moving on to Banaue. The buses there leave early in the morning and take 9 hours, so that would be another long travel day, hence, better to take a break here tomorrow.

After settling in, it only took about 10 minutes to walk to the SM Megamall. Much like all other malls in the Philippines with plenty of good shops and eateries. Dined at 'David's Tea house', a Cantonese restaurant. I did think the Philippines would be cheap to eat out, but it isn't, and accommodation is dearer than other parts of Asia in general. As it was cold, I didn’t walk around for too long as preferred to wait and see it in daylight tomorrow.

Tue 6th Jan - Last night was freezing. I went to bed wearing three layers of clothes and a blanket and socks. Woke up early and wanted a shower, but had to limber up to the idea as that meant getting out of bed and undressed. It was worth it though, as the shower was hot.

On with the day and pain that this place doesn't do any breakfast, so off to do some sightseeling and breakfast n the way. I hadn't really got a full idea on where I was staying as didn't have a proper map of the place. Turned out that I was a fair bit south of the main center. I had seen Baguio Cathedral last night from the back of the SM Mall. It was lit up then and seemed worth a look. A dazzling pink against the blue sky today, so stood out in a dramatic way. The weather was warm, and I was overdressed, expecting it to be cold, so soon got overheated. In front of the Cathedral are a couple of large cages housing birds..budgerigars, parakeets, doves, and a nice colourful planting arrangement.

One of the main sights I wanted to see today was the Tam-Awan cultural village. Tucked away on a hill to the north west of the town, I got a taxi there after an explore of the town itself from the central market area for 60 pesos. Could have done it by Jeepney for a fraction, but at least I got there in comfort.

The Tam-Awan village has been in the process of development since it open in 1998. Ifugao people's huts have been transplanted here from the Cordillera mountains, along with Kalinga houses, in an authentic was as possible. The original buildings were re-used but new Cogon roofs had to be fitted. An art gallery is also present depicting the style of the Cordillera peoples. Some of it resembled a similar style used in Africa, with stipled paint techniques.

When it came to leave, I had a dilemma, as there are options. There are Jeepneys close by, but I had also seen a couple walking around who had their taxi wait for them outside. They agreed to give me a lift to the main road, from where I got a Jeepney back into town easy enough. It is easy enough to work out if you fix a couple of prominent landmarks to get your bearings. The Jeepney is fixed at 7.5 pesos. Jumped off earlier than I planned, as I saw a sign for Burnham Park, a centre-piece of the town. It has a large boating lake with pedaloes and plenty of grassed area, where people where picnicing. Nice place with a wooded mountain feel to it.

I still had to work out where to go next after here and how to get there, so managed to track down the Tourist Information office on Government Pack road. Got a free map and some useful help from one of the staff. Seems as though part of my plan would involve a crazy amount of time back-tracking, as one of the roads shown on the map hasn't been constructed yet. It became apparent, that the best plan was to go to Sagada tomorrow morning, and then either stay for a day, or go straight to Banaue by a sequence of Jeepneys. The buses to Sagada leave early in the morning starting at 6:30am, and every hour until 1pm. The main problem at this time of year is the mists that make it better to start the journey early rather than later. It also means a better chance of getting to Banaue the same day.

Wed 7^th Jan - Had  disturbed night's sleep and also got woke up at 4am by a noisy group in the next room who were leaving. Some people ore so inconsiderate! Couldn't get back to sleep and so at 5:45 decided to get up and go to the bus station. Ironically I had reset my alarm last night for a later time as didn't want to be up that early!

Up, dressed and out into the cold morning air and cied up a taxi easily, to go to the Dangwa bus terminal by the central market. Not the prettiest of sights at this time in the morning. Like many bus stations here, an ungly mess of old scrufy buildings and dozens of Jeepneys puffing out fumes. Bought a ticket for Sagada on the 6:30am departure, costing 230 pesos, and then grabbd a quick bite to eat and a hot coddee from the café whilst waiting. The Lizardo Trans bus arrived on time and left at 6:45am. An old non-aircon bus, I guessed that I would be in for a rough ride.

Nestled in amongst the mountaines, Baguio is a mixture; on one hand a nice city with some attractions. But on the other, a congested jungle of tightly packed old buildings and traffic generated smog and billowing diesel fumes. My chest was beginning to feel tight and throat dry within half an hour. Plenty of stops on the way out of the city to pick up extra passengers. Got a box of chickens dumped next to me, so that was about normal! By the way, did I mention that the Filipinos (Pinoy) have a major craving for eggs in so many forms. One that yo see a lot have been dyed a reddish/purple colour. They have been soaked in a highly salted water for over 2 weeks and then cooked. Dyed to distinguish them. They eat Balot - partially incubated so that the chick has mostly formed inside, and then cooked. There are so many variations in between, plus quail eggs threaded onto skewers. Full of protein, but an acquired taste.

Beyond La Trinidad municipaltity (the Strawberry fields of the Philippines), the situation improved a little, and soon changed into mountain vistas as we climbed higher into the Cordilleras beyond the Baguio-Bontoc road toll booth.

The road zig-zags its way around numerous bends with crops and rice paddies clinging to the hillsides. With knees squashed against the seat in front and no space to rest, it was just what I expected. Fortunately, the scenery was enough compensation.

The box of live chickens gave way to other luggage along the way as passengers got on and off. The orad petered out into a dirt track on many occasions, and regularly vanished under the remnants of a rock slide. The drivers of these buses have to cope with terrible conditions, but do so skillfully. Many villages along the way were no more than dust buckets, collecting a layer of grime and dirt from the passing traffic. One village, Natubleng, had a nice welcoming sign on its entrance arch...'Drug pushers and Users not welcome'. Well, they have to be careful, don't they!

Made it to Sagada at 12:45, exactly 6hrs. The bus stops next to the Municipal hall, which is also the Tourist Office, where we have to register on arrival. Registration costs 10 pesos and you fill in a book, including where you are going to stay, if you know. A coloured map of the area cost 25 pesos, and is worth it as the back of it has a great introduction to everything you need to knoe about the Cultural history of Sagada. Wiped my face with a tissue after getting off the bus, and was disgusted at the layer of dirt I had accumulated on the journey. Yuk!

Decided to not do too much searching for a room as was tired, and noticed the Sagada Inn & Restaurant perched just above the drop off point, so went there. Single room with no view at all and a shared shower for 200 pesos, but I opted for a private room in the annex with hot shower for 600 pesos and a reasonable mountain view. And a bloomin cockrel doodling away merrily. What's the betting it starts up at 4am tomoro. I think this afternoon's mission should be to find out where it lives and strangle it, so that I don't get disturbed!

It had started to drizzle but wanted to get out and explore a little. Didn't really make a plan other than to walk and see what happened. Sagada is a small village with enough to occupy a day or so within easy reach. Surprised at how many resthouses and hotels there are here, and plenty of eateries. Carried on south past the Hall and ended up walking a few kilometres to one of the burial cave sites at Sumaging. On the way, the valley below and its faces were adorned with the colours of the crops. Bright green rice paddies, orange and red of other crops; all being irrigated by the steady flow of running water. I should have gone to one of the caves nearer at Lumiang, but it isn't signposted, so missed it. Luck had it that a guide with a gas powered lantern was already in the cave, so didn't need my torch that I had brough just in case. Winding downward along a stepped entrance.

One noticeable feature of the housing here, is that most are covered in metal sheeting. Definitley insulates them against the rain and wind, and some are brightly painted.

Later I had a nice lunch/dinner at the Masferré café & restaurant, named after Eduardo Masferré, a cultural hero, photographer and artist, born in this region over 90yrs ago to a Spanish farmer and his Filipino wife. Hadn't eaten much since a burger for breakfast at 6am, so the good food here was welcome, and the biggest mug of coffee I had In a while.

It was raining heavily now and getting late, so just went for a quick look at the church opposite to where I had been sitting in the café. Will take another look at this tomorrow when the lighting is better.

Managed to get on the internet which surprised me. Problem was that they closed at 9pm and thought I would then go and eat, to find everywhere closed at 9pm. No eating places at all open. Now that wasn’t well thought out was it! Went everywhere, which isn’t very far here…and found a store where they were prepared to make me a sandwich and a cup of coffee. Better than nothing and will know better for tomorrow.

Thu 8^th Jan – Breakfast at the Masferre café and then had to go to the tourist counter In the Municipal hall to organize a guide for the morning. For 400 pesos, you choose three sights from a list and the guide is yours. My guide was called
Bosiley. At 18 yrs old, he will be a guide for his career although he did say that he would like to go to college. Unfortunately, he wasn’t the most communicative of chaps and had to extract almost every bit of information from him along the way. Also, the path was extremely muddy due to the rains; He was wearing flip-flops on his feet and kept slipping every few minutes on the steep paths. I had walking boots and managed it ok, without a single slip. So, he wasn’t really prepared for what he was being paid to do. Anyway, on with the journey….

After passing the St Mary’s church we headed down to ‘Echo valley’.
So called because you hear an echo when you shout…echo…echo…Can you hear me?...Yes…who said that?....I think they are trying to stretch the list of their attractions here! However, from there you can see the first of the ‘Hanging Coffins’. The Igorot people have two methods of burying their people. One is conventional in a graveyard; The one above St Mary’s church is the only one in town. The other, which has been the more traditional method, is to place wooden coffins made from pine tree trunks, into hollows in the limestone rock faces. This is still the method in use today. The person or the family choose which method, but most will opt for the latter. The reason being that the spirit gets released, which isn’t felt to be the case when interred underground. There are two noticeably different style of coffins, one short, and the other long. The short one doesn’t mean that it contains someone short! They choose to bury the person in ‘Foetal Position’, as this is the way they entered their life, so this is how they exit.

By the way…I learnt why everything was shut last night at 9pm. A curfew is in operation from the hours of 9pm thru to 4am. Any local caught out on the streets during those hours will be put into jail and fined 300 pesos when they are released the following day. The reason is to control drinking! The irony of it is that, before we set off this morning, an old guy was as pissed as a fart outside of the police station! Shouting at everyone and rolling around the place. Now either he was homeless and needed a bed for the night, or he was stupid…If you are going to be drunk…not outside of the police station!

On with the story….The burial sites are generally high up in the rock faces and have to be hoisted up there with ropes. Most times they are grouped into families, and sometimes have the name written on the side, but not always. As the trek progressed, and my guide slipped and slid his way down hill, we passed more cave burial sites. When one fills up, another one is hewned out form the soft rock by the family. At the bottom of the valley, we entered the ‘Under Water River’. We could have delved deeper into this but took a short cut out another way to emerge back into the town on the main road. They say that many tourists have got lost on this route, and I could see why. It isn’t that clear, but you could do it and save yourself the 400 pesos, but it is worth it for some local knowledge.

The next place I was interested in was the ‘Lumiang Cave’ Burial site. Easily accessible from the road south out of town and no need for a guide, but was useful to have some insight. I asked why they no longer buried people here…by the way, they use the term burial site, when most of us think that term means to be interred underground? The answer is that the Municipality decided that it wasn’t fitting for its continued use on the grounds that the smell from decomposing bodies, wasn’t a good tourist attraction! Plus there are plenty of other sites around for the locals to choose from. Lumiang is interesting as the coffins are stacked around the walls and easily viewable from up close. The light over time has caused the growth of lichens on the wood. One coffin has a hole in its side with a skull facing out….eerie!

Finished with the guide and stopped off at the ‘Lemon Pie house’ for a delicious slice of Lemon meringue pie (yummee and only 20 pesos) and coffee. The owner Joseph Daoas was terrific to talk to. Spent a couple of hours there just chatting. A very knowledgeable man in all Igorot ways in the area, having spent all of his life here. The wood lined building he has made has a homely feel to it and you spread yourself out on the floor, on mats with short legged tables that he made, being a carpenter. Progress has lead to the extinction of some of the Igorot ways, although many traditions are still upheld. The old Nipa hut style housing has gone completely from the area, but he would like to see it return, as would I. Building anything here is straight forward, as there are no rules! If you own the land, you can build what you like on it without any consideration to anyone else. No planning permission or discussions. Being a small community news travels fast and so the word gets around what you are planning to do, and anything someone disagrees with will soon get back to you. The only exceptions would be if for example a gas station was being built. That would have to go though the Municipal Hall for permission.

The other thing we talked about was the standard topic of conversation in the Philippines…Corruption! Plenty of it abounds, although not so much in small communities like this, only on a national level. The maps we use show many roads that don’t actually exist. They were planned and the money set aside, but apparently, will never occur as the money is no longer available! This is part of a problem I mentioned recently. To go to Vigan from here would be easy if you looked at the map. In reality, not so, as the road isn’t there. So the only way is to go a long way south, to then come a long way back north. Have decided not to bother going on this occasion. For information, Joseph can be contacted on http://sagadalemonpiehouse.blogspot.com.

Will be moving on tomorrow from here to Banaue, to visit some of the famous rice terraces. The only option is to go via Bontoc, a 45 minute Jeepney ride from here. Will report on that another time…..