Sagada Once Again

It’s true that you never travel to the same place twice. Each is a different experience. That’s why there is always reason come back. More so if the destination and its people are genuinely beautiful that they strike a chord in your heart.

Perhaps it’s true as well that there’s no travel which is a hundred percent smooth sailing. At any given time, there will be hiccups, mishaps of some sort. But these hiccups make travel more memorable, if not exciting.
This is the third time in 3 and a half years that I visited Sagada. This time, what started out as an over-drinks/slightly drunk plan with some travel enthusiast friends turned to be a family affair with my two brothers and our mom.

We planned to taker the Banaue-Sagada route to see the rice terraces during the short stop-over. But as we got to Florida bus station (one of two or three bus lines that have Banaue trips), the bus is full. We looked for Autobus, another bus line that supposed to service Banaue, but it seems that it doesn’t exist anymore. We found another line that services Banaue, Ohayami bus, but their buses were fully booked as well. Yes, we should have reserved tickets a day or so earlier, but I planned this trip to be a “bahala na” one. (What an irony.)

Changed plans.
We travel via Baguio instead. Thank you Lord for the empty seats in Victory Liner. We left at 11pm and arrived freezing in Baguio at 5am. We then took a cab to Dangwa station to catch a GL/Lizardo bus to Sagada. And woah, the line is sooo ling. A lot of travelers are going to Sagada at this moment. We were able to get tickets for 830am trip. Then off we go. Having no reserved accommodations and seeing the volume of travelers, I feel the need to book us a place to stay. Ms. ‘Bahala Na’ is a bit worried. Thanks for unlimited internet on my fingertips, I searched for Sagada accommodations and called all active numbers. Too bad though that all places I called were fully-booked. I was constantly silently praying that we get a place to stay once we get there.




Roadside View to Sagada

 We arrived Sagada at 130pm. We walked to the nearest inn, Gayudan Inn, and in God’s grace, there are vacancies just enough for us. P200/head, common bathroom. Not bad! Not bad at all.
So we thought everything will be smooth sailing since. But then, my youngest brother found out that he lost his wallet with all his money (P5k) somewhere between Baguio and Sagada. Having no ATM in Sagada, we have to make do with the cash we have. The tight budget of 3 persons must be stretched to 4.
And the trip must go on.

Cave Connections:

We enter through the burial cave and exit through Sumaguing.

Cave Connections in Sagada



We spent 3 hours inside testing our dexterity, limberness, and our upper and lower body strength. It’s my second time to do the cave connections, and it seems that some of the steps are harder and the gaps tighter (or perhaps I’m just getting bigger).

Cave Connections

Sumaguing Cave

Sumaguing Cave

Anyways, near the end of our trip, my mom slipped and sprained her foot. Oh no, injury!



As we got back to the town, we called a manghihilot, and he did a therapy on my mom’s foot. The pain was relieved and by the afternoon the next day, my mom was able to walk around town, and by night, she was able to party with the Igorots around a bonfire. (But we’ll get to that later.)

Bomod-Ok Falls

By morning, my brothers, my brother’s friends and I trekked to Bomod-Ok falls. This is the fastest and seemingly easiest trek I took to the big falls. In my previous trios, it took almost half a day going to and from, but only, we only took less than an hour to trek down and another hour to climb up. Well, perhaps it’s because I was trekking with 3 mountaineers (2 of which regularly run 42k for FUN), and a 17 year-old Frisbee player.





View from the trek to Bomod-Ok Falls



Trek to Bomod-Ok Falls



By the time we get to the falls, there were a lot of people. We stayed for a while, taking photos and a dip in the freezing water.





Sagada Bonfire



The climax of this trip perhaps is the bonfire party in the pine forest. 500 or so guests from different parts of the world partied the night away. There was dancing—the traditional Igorot way; dinner of fresh salad, adobo, and rice served in banana stem; 3 kinds of wine—rice, lemon, blueberry, and overflowing freshly brewed coffee and mountain tea. It reminded me a bit of the Igorot wedding we crashed a few years back, but this is much more fun.

Overflowing wine, coffee, and tea

Traditional Igorot Dance around bonfire

I feel so privileged to be part of this bonfire. I feel so privileged to visit Sagada again. And if given the chance and opportunity to do this over and over, I will definitely will.

Sagada, til we meet again.

Boracay with Lugawmates

Mag-lugaw. It's the act of not doing anything or more apt, the act of not doing what you're supposed to do.

They say that this use of term originated from merchandisers/refillers who in their breaktime eat lugaw. Until the term 'naglulugaw' eventually evolve to a slang conveying 'not doing work'.

Lugawmates-- ex-colleagues slash great friends, who have mastered the art of 'lugaw'. An unlikely group coming from various parts of the country, brought together by work circumstances, glued by the same firey passion and ironically equally chill disposition.

The idea if Boracay sprung about from one of those lugaw email threads.
I don't remember whose idea was it, next thing I knew, I was booking online tickets for some of us.

Then the Boracay weekend came. True to our name, lugaw was what we did. With no definite objective or itinerary (we didn't even had reserved accommodations that morning of our trip) , we set foot to the island of Boracay.

But things unfold rather positively (despite the flight delays going to and from Kalibo) .

Free accommodation in Casa Pilar, courtesy of Baby's mom :)
Proposal story of Baby and Remus over cocktails.

A refreshing half day in Shangri-La Resort and Spa .

A bit of Swimming,
A lot of Lounging and People Watching.

And just chilling is quite cheap. I spent only about P2700 for the trip plus the P3000 roundtrip plane fare.

The art of just chilling are lugaw moments at its best. :)

Dive or Surf

I've been asked by a friend...
Friend: What do you love more, Diving or Surfing?
Nel: Hmmmm... If I were a guy, Diving is like my wife. It's first love. Surfing is like my mistress, it brings the thrill.
Friend: Bakit, di ba pwedeng magka-mistress ang girl...Mister-ess?

Travel Buddies

Travel--a passion I have ever since I can remember, a passion shared with a lot of people, and an aspiration for many others.

For those who share this passion and aspiration, keep traveling. Travel wide and deep. And keep in mind that traveling, most if not all of the time, is a shared experience.

It is not just where you go but who you are with that makes traveling memorable and enriching. Traveling does not only allows us to discover places and cultures, but it leads to further discovery of oneself and of others.

And with that, I urge you to travel with different groups of people, and in moments, travel solo.

Travel with your family. Even if you're all grownups, travel with your parents and siblings. It breaks monotony from your daily home lives. It may be the most stressful travel you may have, but surpassed the stress, the memories are more meaningful.

Travel with your best friends. With them, you can be just as you are, with zero inhibitions. They know your ins and outs, strengths and weaknesses, and every mood swings. Traveling with them is like a long sleep over -- non-stop teasing, joking, and laughing. But beyond the bickering and laughter are strokes of deep conversations rooted from real caring.

Travel with friends of friends. There's a certain thrill and excitement in meeting people with common interests and sharing the same experience with them. In tag- along trips, you grow your circle, you meet acquaintances and cultivate friendships.

Travel Solo. It requires a whole lot of courage to travel alone, but this can be the most enriching travel experience one can have. In moments of solitude, introspection happens. In introspection, a better understanding of yourself and of God.

But again, no one walks alone. In the course of solo travels, you meet people along the way, people from different walks of life, from different states of being, with different levels of life experiences. And as you cross paths, from those single-served chitchats to long-engaging conversations over meals and drinks, you're sharing a part of yourself and receiving a part of theirs.

In solo travel, there is always a sense of solitude and community. You are one but one with others.

To my fellow wanderers, and to aspiring travelers, just keep exploring. Visit new places and meet new faces.
Travel and be one with the world.

Seoul, South Korea

Date trip: July 1, 2011

Our bus from Busan to Seoul arrived earlier than expected. By 4AM we set foot on South Korea's capital. Still sleepy and tired from yesterday's long day walk, we were zombies walking aimlessly on the streets of Seoul before sunrise.

Our original plan was to go to the Floating Island and wait for the sunrise. But since a typhoon hit Seoul a couple of days before and had been raining continuously until we got there, we were informed by the grocery man in the bus station that the Floating Island is flooded and advised us not to go.

So we walked towards nowhere until it led us to another bus/train station where we rested until sunrise. By morning, we circled the block looking for a Western place to eat but with no avail. We hailed a cab and asked the driver to drop us at McDonalds. Our first meal in Seoul--Bacon Mc Muffin, hashbrown, and pancakes.

Then we traveled our way Suwon, outside Seoul to see Hwaseong Fortress. After an hour or so of travel, 2 train rides and a cab ride, we arrived at Suwon, Gyeonggi-do.

The cab driver dropped us off in a touristy destination which looks like a small royal palace. We paid the entrance fee, went inside, and saw, well nothing. There was a shoot ongoing and we were hushed off. We went back to the ticket station and asked where the Fortress is and were told that it's about 5km hike from where we are. That would take us an hour or so by foot to get there. So will we proceed? Well, we traveled all the way here so why not? We're willing to walk in Seoul (except for Anna B). :)

So we hiked for about 200m. Then we were exhausted. Good thing there was another tourist stop slash ticket office for the Hwaseong Trolley. Hwaseong Trolley is a tourist train that travels along part of the perimeter of the Fortress.It's firey red and its front shaped like a fierce dragon's head. For me it looks like a fun choochoo train. And since we're more willing to pay than willing to walk in Korea, we rode the 30-minute dragon-trolly ride.

Suwon Trolley

The tour ended (if I'm not mistaken) in the western side of Suwon fortress. More touristy photo ops, and we proceeded back to the station. We had an unexpected stop in a mall where we spent considerable amount of time shopping in Uniqlo and Longchamp. Then had lunch in Lotteria, a local fastfood chain.

Then we traveled back to the city of Seoul via train. Our next stop was the Gyeongbokgung Palace, Seoul's royal palace. We witnessed the ceremonious changing of the guards outside the palace gate. Then, we went inside the palace and listed ourselves to borrow Korea's national costume.

Gyeongbokgung Palace

Changing of the guards

So there we were, 5 grown-ups playing dress-up. And mind you, there was a little squabble who gets what costume. In the end, Anna, Aisa, and Cali were dressed up as Maidens, while Apple and I were dressed like Royal Guards. Royal Guards who look more like Hobbits than Royal Guards.

After touring the Royal Palace, we went to Myeongdong Shopping district to well, shop. And yes, we shopped. :)

Our last stop for the night was Seoul Tower. What makes this spot special was on the railings are millions of padlocks with special messages. This is where lovers and friends symbolically lock their love and friendship. Some couples lock their lips after putting their padlocks, and we can't help but cheer, quietly though, "lips to lips. lips to lips" while giggling like little school girls. Mature, I know. :)

We ourselves, the Magic 7, put a padlock with a love note on a heart-shaped rubber pad. Today we lock and celebrate our 15 years and counting of friendship. We're friends more than half our lives now and will be friends for the rest of our lives.

19 waking hours. 5 friends. 1 amazing city.

Flights

Everytime I fly I always request for a window seat. I'd love to stare by the window and take photos of the view. I probably got hundreds of photos of sea of clouds, airplane wings, miniature buildings, rivers and mountains, ports and seas, etc etc, but by far this is my favorite...



Mayon Volcano, October 4, 2010



Taken during trip to Legaspi for 2010 Marketing Advance in Misibis Bay.





Busan, South Korea

July 1, 2011

This trip is probably one of the most special and memorable travels I have this year. It is the first out of the country trip with my highschool barkada, perhaps in a way celebrating our 15 years of friendship. Also, this is the first time we will be meeting baby Leila, Aisa's adorable little girl.

For the first leg of our trip, we explored Busan in a borrowed luxury Sedan (thank you Law's boss).  Busan, located in the southeast tip of Korean peninsula,  is South Korea's second largest city after Seoul, and the country's  port capital.

Our first destination is Haedong Yongungsa Temple. This Buddhist temple was built in 1376. Unlike most temples in South Korea (or perhaps the world), Haedong Yongungsa Temple is located not in the mountains, but on a cliff along the coast.   A temple standing on a rock along sea, with waves crashing against the rock provides an awesome view and background for our photoshoot.

We travelled to Haeundae, an upscale touristy city with lots of hotels and high-end condominiums. This is home to majority of expats currently residing in Busan.

We had our lunch in a small family restaurant in Haeundae. Since this is our first authentic Korean meal (last night we had Bonchon-like chicken and Korean instant noodles), we ordered almost everything in the menu--maki roll, Bibimbop, Beef Stew with glass noodles, Spicy Beef Stew with Rice, Spicy Beef Stew with Octopus and rice.

After lunch, we strolled along  Haendae Beach, one of the most popular beaches in South Korea. This beach is popular among  locals and is the venue of the various cultural events and festivities. During summer, the beach is literally filled with hundreds of thousands of guests.  Luckily during our visit, the beach was not that crowded.

We walked towards Dongbaek Island, south of Haeundae beach. Dongbaek, popular site for line fishing, was a separate island long before, but years and years of accumulation of sand and earth, a land bridge was formed connecting Dongbaek to the main land. 

Fishing by the cliff

The Mermaid

Dongbaek garden is lush with camellia and pine trees. It's relatively cooler here amidst the humid sea breeze. We strolled along Dongbaek Garden taking photos along the way.

Hanging Bridge in Dongbaek Garden

The Lighthouse

At the peak of Dongbaek lies Nurimaru APEC House, the venue of 2005 APEC Summit. In Korean, Nuri means "world" and Maru means "summit".

APEC House

Inside the APEC House

We headed back home, rested for a while, and went out for dinner in what they call "The Tent". Here we had Korean Pork Barbecue and Soju--a Korean alcoholic drink made from rice which tastes like a sweeter/lighter version of vodka or gin. During dinner, Aisa crashed coursed us with the basics of Korean meal manners--how to wrap a Korean barbecue, how to pour Soju etc etc.

After dinner, we headed back home, prepared ourselves and our stuff for our midnight trip to Seoul.
It's going to be an exciting long day ahead. :)