Tuguegarao Dec 22

I got up early to take my laundry down to the desk and had toast and coffee. Then realized I was still tired so went back to bed.
After a few hours I went out to explore and found this beautiful old church. The Archdiocese of Tuguegarao.

It was one huge space inside.

I loved the brick exterior.

Here is a little outdoor sanctuary behind the church.

Nice doorway on one side.

There are manger scenes everywhere in The Philippines.

That little tour took it all out of me and I went back to the hotel to lie down. I was beginning to think I might be sick but I think I am just burnt out. I would stop somewhere a while to recover but waiting to get to somewhere I like.

So I stayed in most of the day, cleaned and sorted the stuff in my pack and washed some undies. I have a nice room here with hot water and air conditioning so it is pretty good to lay low here today.A couple of times I went out to get a meal took forever because everywhere was so crowded.

I had to try 3 different ATM machines at three different banks before finding one that worked. Also had to line up at all so it took almost 2 hours just to do that. If it hadn't been for my nice hotel room to go back to I would have had to cry.

This morning when I called the desk to see if the laundry was back they said "Oh, we forgot." and brought it back dirty.

It's funny, you know, how I was taking all this stuff in stride and then suddenly it is too hard. It must be the "crash zone" all the travel blogs talk about. I am assuming that a little rest will take care of it.

Anyway, I am off to Manila this morning by plane. I have a dorm room at a nice place and I will be there 5 days. No more buses in the near future.

It seems like I have been in the Philippines for months but actually only got here on the 9th.

I have a couple of things I'm hoping to do while I'm in Manila and there is always the Mall of Asia where it is cool.

The Filippino Butterfly. Dec 21

I grabbed the 7AM rattle trap (say ordinary) bus this morning and was successful in getting a seat. Soon a young man with a four year old girl squeezed in beside me. We were traveling happily along when a cockroach came walking up my back-pak at eye level because my pak was on my knees. I tried to knock it off but it was hanging on tight. Then I started yelping and doing the bug dance even while holding my pak on my lap. I asked the fellow beside me, whom I almost knocked onto the floor, if he could get it. He did and everything (me) settled down. His girl was looking at me like I'd just come unglued humm, I guess she might be right. Then the fellow said, "It was only a butterfly"! Very nice re-frame! They are only butterflies walking around under the bed at night.



So I got off the first bus at the junction where I am supposed to pick up another bus and several go by but are too full to jam anyone else on. People say wait until eleven o'clock for the air-con bus. It didn't show. Wait until 12:30 for the air-con bus. It went by, too full to even stop. Right behind it was one of the ordinary buses with open seats. My little thermometer was reading 40 degrees by then. A young man waiting with me said "Should we get on?" I figured that 40 degrees would be better on the bus with wind in my face than sitting by the road hoping for an air-con bus. At least we were moving. The bus was like a school bus with bench seats and not much padding and we got moved to an even more uncomfortable one half way there. This second portion of the trip took 5 and a half hours.

What an unfortunate way to run busing. You just stand by the road and take whatever rattles up.



Well that journey is behind me and I am installed into a pretty nice hotel in Tuguegarao. It was dark when I arrived but I seem to be in a downtown type of area. Tomorrow, I will check it out.


I didn't even get the camera out today.

Banaue is Awesome! Dec 20

Sorry, this post accidentally posted before I was finished.

I am at the People's Hotel here. Looks pretty ordinary right?



Then I went to the balcony on the back of the main floor and OMG! The back was eight floors above a beautiful valley. I could see rice terraces from there. The main floor looks pretty good.

My room turned out to be down a steep flight of stairs. OK, it was reasonably clean looking. The bed has one thin blanket and the top sheet was not even close to dry. It is cool here so I took back the wet sheet. Turns out they are all wet and folded in the cupboard. I settled for an extra blanket instead.

Later I sprayed the room with bug spray because it helps with the tiny little bugs which nip in the night. Turns out it is good for cockroaches also. I looked at other places and I don't know that they would be any different so I opted for one more night with the roaches and tomorrow I'm outa here.



Another view from the balcony last night.
It was rainy today too and hard to get pictures but at least I saw some good rice terraces.

This is the main town centre. Halfway down the street on the right is my hotel.

I decided to take a tricycle taxi and see some rice terraces. Here I am inside the cab that is attached to a small motorbike.

This is the windshield of my sidecar. I could see plenty out the side which had no door.

We headed off to Bangaan Village which is part of a series of UNICEF Heritage sites in the terraces.

The road was rough and muddy with mud slides in places and water running over the road in others. My arm was hurting from hanging on so tightly on the way out because I was afraid to find out how much worse it could get. Ha! Face a fear and do it anyway. My driver was careful but the trip out took one and a half hours. I did relax a bit more on the way back.

I could have walked all the way down to the town but it had been raining and I was not wearing good shoes.

It is hard to believe they chopped out the rocks by hand to form these but they seem to be perfect for the job. They can easily control the water in each one. I am so glad I got to come here and see them. I missed the really big site though because it is a two hour trek in to it from the road and the dirt trail would be terrible with the rain. Also, the weather is not good for visability either.

I stopped here to take pictures and was inside this road-side store which is also their home. It is pretty bare.

Back in town and looking for a money changer. There are no ATM's here either. Fortunately I had some US money left so I can now afford to get out of town.

Here is my hotel from the back. The main floor is second from the top and I am on the floor below.

This is a view of the hotel dinning room.

Tomorrow I catch the bus at 7am for the three-hour ride to the junction. Then I get out and stand on the side of the road and literally flag down another bus going to Tuguegarao. Apparently there is a bus along every 15 minuets so if my flagging technique doesn't work I will get another chance. I expect the second bus will be standing room only and not looking forward to that.

Baguio to Banaue Dec 19

Well, today was a weird travel day but I made it.

Last night I spent hours trying to find out how and where to get a bus up to Banaue. The hotel desk wasn't much help except for help with calling but apparently the bus depots don't answer their phones. The deal seems to be, to take a bus you pack a bag and head down to the depot.

I searched high and low on the Internet and finally found a company that comes to Banaue in the daytime leaving Baguio at 9:30 am. Since they don't sell tickets until one hour before departure I decided to go early to be sure I got a seat. I arrived at 8:05 and the bus was just leaving 5 minuets late. So much for that Internet info. Well they were full and telling me to wait until 6:00 pm for the night bus. The taxi guy said something to them and eventually there was one free seat. I think they had to bump somebody out of a seat for me. Later, we picked up more people all along the way until the isle was full of standers. Two people were using my back-pak for a seat. So much for "one seat left"! I think we only made a few hundred miles in total, out of the mountains on one road and back in on another, but it took 10 hours. For the last 100 miles or so we stopped to make deliveries every 20 minuets too. Great for experiencing life with the people.

The closer we came though the happier I got. It is a beautiful mountain forest with a generous sprinkling of towns.

Here are some pictures along the way:

Leaving Baguio.

Some rice fields on the lowlands. It will get better tomorrow.

This is the front of our bus with normal decorations plus a few added for Christmas.

This is the bus. The company is KMS. Note the gingham curtains. No air conditioning but the breeze in the windows made it quite comfortable and the seats were good. It did heat up to 34 degrees for a little while after we left the mountains.

Now some views as we get closer to Banaue.

This town is built on the sloping sides of the mountains but the buildings are many stories tall. I am staying at the People's Choice, right at the town centre. It was dusk when I arrived. I entered a small building on the ground floor and there were 2 floors above. If you walk through and go out the back there is a hundred or so foot drop to the valley below and an amazing view. My room is down some stairs into what looks like a basement but also has a great view out the back.

Expect lots of pictures tomorrow.

I booked a trek up to the rice fields but am feeling a bit scammed so will check with the tourist office tomorrow. If I need to dump the expensive version I am not out much money thus far.

Bussing to Baguio Dec 18

Just had to show the hallway from my hotel last night in Vigan.


There was a little coffee area.

And here is my bed. Ta-da! A $30.00 room is elegant.

Now some pictures along the way to Baguio.

We saw the ocean.

Several small towns had festivals on.

As we climbed up the mountain we reached cloud level or fog.

There were many magical, misty views.

Eventually, we climbed back into sunshine and into the town of Baguio. Had to take another expensive hotel here as the few cheap ones I tried were full.

I had to locate the place to catch the bus from tomorrow to go to Banaue. It is a non-air-conditioned one but should be OK as it is much cooler up here in the mountains.

Then I decided to pre-book my room so everything is set for tomorrow and my terrifying mountain drive for eight more hours. The views are said to be fantastic though.

Enjoying Vigan - Dec 17

This is a view of the breakfast area in "the ruins" of the original hotel building. I am at the Gordian Hotel, one of the picks from Lonely Planet. I am in the restored old part and it is nice but a bit pricey for me. $1400 pesos which is about $30.00 in Canadian. I know that sounds chintzy but remember I am traveling for 6 months. I am trying to keep the rooms under $15.00 per night.

Another view of the ruins area.

This is a building near my hotel. It has not been restored but it is also not in the designated Heritage area. The historical area with from the 1500's to 1800's has been declared a UNESCO World Heritage site.

This door is in the heritage area.

Many horse drawn carts (taxis) add to the charm.

This Cathedral on the Plaza was still in use.

I am guessing this is a bell tower. It is across the street from the Cathedral. See the golden arches behind.

This ornate vehicle is a hearse and was about to be used in a funeral just taking place inside.

Statue on the front of the cathedral.

The church offices were in here and a museum and the back portion of the looked like a rectory.

This is the world heritage monument.

More doors.

A door cut inside another door. These were common.

Finally found a flower.

The shuttle to the river cruise was unavailable so I was offered a trip in the cart. My horse and driver.

Me and the river-boat cruise driver. I was the only one again.

This is the river boat.

The motorbike taxis here look different again. They have silver metal plates on the passenger cab.

The town was clean and nice but the historical area was especially beautiful with the Spanish architecture and cobblestone streets. This town is a must-see for the Philippines.

Another door just outside the historical area.

Tomorrow I am getting the 9AM bus to Baguio which will take about 5 hours.