Sagada Weekend Quickie

Pagod levels ang inabot ko sa Sagada weekend but I think it was worth it. The first time I visited this place was 3 years ago. Boyfriend and I were still dating, habang ako ay isang dakilang kabit na mahaba ang hairrrrr. Ganda lang. Thank you. Tapos ngayon binalikan namin for our 3rd anniversary, with 3 other friends. We only had a day and a half to tour around kaya super madali factor lang naman. Sige I'll make kwento na rin kung paano kami nakapunta doon.

* Ahem.



The Victory Deluxe Bus from Cubao to Baguio is 700 pesos. Ha? Bakit kamo mahal? Kasi DELUXE nga ito. Derecho na ng Baguio, mas malaki ang seats at may sariling toilet. Kung gusto mo ng ordinary it's 430 pesos pero baka di ka pa umaabot ng Baguio, minantika na ang face powder mo sa dami ng stop over.



Ay, get this. May sariling Wifi internet connection pa sa loob. Kaya habang bumibiyahe ka, pwede ka nang maghanap ng hada sa Baguio through Grindr. CHOZ. Anyway, ang huling deluxe bus ride (daily ito) is at 12:15AM (midnight yan). We took that trip kasi ang estimated travel time to Baguio is 5 hours. But it actually took us only about 4 hours kasi walang traffic at parang nasa Ferrari race track si mamang driver. Tandaan, wag kalimutan ang iPod kung ayaw mong makinig sa Energy FM. LOL!!!

Punyeta.

Anyway, at around 4:30AM, wala pang traffic sa Baguio. Pwede kang bumili muna ng Bus ticket na Baguio to Cubao/Pasay before going to Dangwa Terminal para hindi ka maubusan ng Deluxe ticket pagbalik mo galing Sagada. Get the 1 or 2PM trip kung gusto mong tamang-tama lang ang alis mo once you return from Sagada. You can get to the DANGWA BUS TERMINAL via taxi in less than 15 minutes . The earliest bus trip to Sagada is at 6AM (GL/Lizardo Bus) so tamang-tama lang kami sa sched ng Victory. The bus fare is 220 pesos I think. Hindi aircon ang bus dito pero maginaw naman sa Benguet kaya wag ka nang maarte, ok? 6 hours ang biyahe from Baguio to Sagada pero may dalawang stop over naman every 2 hours.



Yung una sa Morning Star Canteen na may Bakery, Sari-Sari store at banyo para lumamon ng breakfast at jumingel. Pwede ka ring mag picture-picture kung feel mo. Walang Wifi, sorry ka na lang.

Babala. Wag matulog sa bus dahil baka may sira ulong kunan ka ng picture. Wehehehehehe. >:-)



The 2nd stop will be 2 hours later. May bayad ang gamit ng banyo dito. I think 5 pesos. Ihanda ang mga coins para sa banyo at ang smile para sa makakasabay na foreigner. Landi lang.

The recent typhoons caused landslide in some parts of the highway but it is still passable for buses. Medyo mabagal lang ang takbo due to road repairs. We reached Sagada at 12 noon. Deposited our stuff in our rooms at George Guest House (http://sagadageorgeinn.bravehost.com/) then we had lunch at The Yogurt House. The Guest house is just along the main road together with the other taveller's inns. Medyo malayo-layo ang lakaran. About 10 minutes ang walk from the bus stop kung priority mo pang kumembot. The place is very basic. May running water, electricity, satellite TV (o, bongga, right?) and a little cafe downstairs. It's 600 pesos for a twin sharing bedroom. 400 pesos for single occupancy. Kung nakuha ninyong mas mura, wag niyo akong pagtawanan. Kung nakuha niyo naman nang mas mahal, wag niyo akong awayin. HMPH!

The Yogurt House is famous for it's… HANUFANGAVAH… yogurt. After a meal of pasta and Sagada vegetable rice (must try in Sagada!), we had their specialty.



I had my first taste of yogurt in this place 3 years ago and I HATED IT. Pero siguro hindi pa adjusted ang taste buds ko sa asim. Or pang ice-cream lang talaga ang level ng beauty ko. CHOZ. But lately I have been a consistent yogurt lamonero in Manila kaya I decided to give the Sagada yogurt another try. And finally I can confirm na it is DE-LI-SHOZ. Even if it wasn't very cold, it blended well with fruits and berries.



Obvious bang nagiisip lang ako ng magandang sasabihin? Ehehe ehehe. But really, masarap talaga. Trust me. :)

After an hour's rest, we were picked up by our guide for the afternoon to bring us to Sumaging Cave.


The walk going to Sumaging Cave.

When in Sagada, you HAVE TO TRY Spelunking at Sumaging Cave. Medyo delikado. But with a guide's help, you'll be safe.



Kung itinerary mo ito don't bring a lot of things na. You'll need a pair of shorts na pwedeng mabasa, sandals or water proof shoes (which you'll have to take off anyway at one point) and water proof camera. I remember nung first time kong pumasok dito, I was actually using a DSLR with 10mm lens. I don't remember how I got away with it. Pero this time Ixus lang dala ko with waterproof casing.


A shot i took in Sumaging 3 years ago using a DSLR that miraculously survived. :D

The whole caving tour would take about an hour. Sorry na lang kung hingalin ka.



And so we were free for the rest of the day. On our way back to the guest house, we spotted this little place called Lemon Pie House. We tried a slice of their specialty and it was amazingly good. The boys decided to buy a couple of boxes before going back to Manila. 20 pesos per slice, 150 pesos whole. They also serve egg pies, other pastries and meals.



We had dinner at the newly renovated Cafe. St. Jo. And I had the whole plate of meat spaghetti all for myself. In fairness, masarap. Hindi masyadong Italian ma-asim, hindi din masyado Pinoy-ish tamis. OH HECK I just wanted to EAT!

Kung nagtatanong ka kung ano ang night life sa Sagada, heto ang sagot…



WALA!

Pero madaming beer at pulutang aso. Wehehehehe. And speaking of aso, it is also advisible to bring a flash light kasi hindi well lit ang kalye dito at baka kapag nagmumuni-muni ka sa dilim, bigla kang makatapak ng ebak or mahulog ka na lang sa bangin.

I LOVE mornings is Sagada. Malamig, malinis ang hangin, foggy.



At dahil merong libreng WiFi (sushal na ang Sagada ngayon, may mga WiFi na rin ang mga establishments, salamat sa Smart Bro), we went back to the Lemon Pie House the next morning for breakfast. Their breakfast meals are only 90 pesos: Garlic Rice, Omelet or fried egg, longganisa or Sausage, and tea or coffee.



Medyo nagmamadali nanaman dahil ang next activity namin ay ang bisitahin ang Big Falls (or Bomod-ok falls, ayon sa Wikipedia). Ang biyahe ay 20 minutes na jeep ride and AT LEAST 1 hour na lakad crossing the fields and terraces. Depende na rin yun kung mabilis ka maglakad or madami kang stop over para kumuha ng mga litrato tulad namin. Wehehehe.



At sa kalagitnaan ng lakad ay magbabayad ka ng 10 pesos para sa community na nagme-maintain ng pathway papuntang Big Falls pero ok lang yun dahil ANG KYUT-KYUT-KYUT naman ng mga chikiting doon.



Becareful while walking the trail. Most of it have been paved but there are parts that you need to step on rocks and this can be a bit tricky. Some are slippery kaya you need to be extra careful. Hindi ka naman tipong mahuhulog sa bangin. Pero loss ang beauty mo kung madapa ka sa harap ng hotness na afam, di ba?



Hindi siya mukhang BIG sa picture pero BIG naman talaga siya. There's a big pool below that you can swim in. Pero natakot ako kasi super ginaw. Si Hani nagtampisaw-tampisaw na naka brip. Feeling Brooke Shields in The Blue Lagoon.

Ambishoza.

We trekked back to the jeep for another one hour. Kaloka. Ang daming lasing sa daan. Wag kang magtaka kung ini-english ka ng mga matatanda dito. Hindi dahil lang sa lasing sila. Mas marunong mag-English ang mga tao dito kaysa mag Tagalog. So go ka lang. Englishan kayo dito.



Lunch was at Shamrock Cafe, habang kaganapan ang Pacquiao fight sa TV (keberrr). I don't know the specialty of this place. But we were all very happy with our orders. Take anything with chicken. They're all GOOD. The old lady who served us was really nice pa.



While everyone was having an afternoon siesta, Boyfriend and I decided to visit Echo Valley and take pictures of the hanging coffins. Nung dati kasi, hindi maganda yung mga kuha namin. Hani was using just a pro-sumer camera while I forgot to bring my zoom lens. Kamusta naman, di ba. And we didn't really go further down to have a better look kasi natakot ako sa trail that time. So anyway, we visited it again.



Passed through the old cemetery...




...admired the different views from the cliff, nag-pose for pictures, nag-tanghal ng beaucon (CHOZ!!!) at sumugod sa mga hanging kabaong ng mga dead.



Afraid ako sa trek na dinaanan namin dahil unang-una wala kaming guide. Pangalawa, ilang beses ako nakakita ng bangin. At pangatlo, ilang beses akong gumapang sa lupa sa takot na mahulog sa trek. Waah!! Pero tinuloy ko pa rin at wagi naman. Nakita namin nang malapitan ang hanging coffins.

Pagkatapos niyan bumalik kami sa guest house to meet up with our friends para magawa na ang last Sagada activity namin: to visit this lake (Lake Danum ayon ulit sa Wikipedia) and the top of the hill (di ko mahanap sa Wikipedia… ehehe) to take sunset pictures.



The Lake was a disappointment because one, may punyetang masungit na cow na gusto kaming sugurin dahil akala niya papatayin namin yung anak niyang mukhang kambing. Bwiset. And 2, brown ang color ng lake ngayon because of the rains daw. Pero yung reflection naman ang habol ko na meron naman nang SLIGHT.



Chaka.



Then we went on top of the hill and waited for the sunset. Malas lang ayaw lumabas nung araw. it was cloudy and the sun was behind the clouds most of the time. I just made do with what ever shots I could take then we went back to the town before it got too dark.





Last dinner was at the Guest House mismo. Ayaw na siguro namin mag-isip pa kung saan kakain dahil maaga pa ang gising namin the following morning.


Long exposure shot of the street when we stayed in.


View from the back of George Guest House at night.

We woke up the next morning really early to catch the 5AM bus ride to Baguio only to find out na 6AM ang earliest bus ride. So yeah, MENTAL NOTE, Alas-6 ang pinaka-maagang trip pabalik ng Baguio. LOL.


View of the town from the Bus Stop.



It again took 6 hours for us to reach Baguio. That still includes 2 stops for lamon and wee-wee. The ride would have been boring if not for the awesome view that I was getting from my window. Although there were parts in the trip that the bus was already too close to the ravine; it was freaking me out so much that I was squeezing on Boyfriend's arm.



We arrived in Baguio on time naman for the 1:15PM bus to Cubao. Actually, delayed pa nga siya. Nagkaroon pa ng time na tumaya sa lotto si boyfriend. Ehehe ehehe. Hay jusme. Frustrating yung trip pauwi dahil sa sobrang bagal mag drive ni Manong, na-over take pa yata kami ng flying kalabaw. CHOZ sa flying Kalabaw.



I knew I was back in polluted civilization when I saw the NLEX toll way.



I picked up my car at boyfriend's house and drove myself home back to Alabang. And my weekend was officially over on a Monday night when I got stuck in traffic… sa SKYWAY!



It was another amazing weekend with the boyfriend and friends. Nakakapagod at nakaka-haggard but it was alright. We all had fun.