Week 73 - Manila, Baguio, Sagada, Banaue (Philippines)

Our flight from Puerto Princesa to Manila wasn’t until 13:45 so we had time for a lazy breakfast. We wandered back to Neva’s where we’d eaten the night before and had coffee and eggs in the garden. Once at the airport we indulged in some more souvenir shopping (there are hardly any touristy shops in Puerto) and were pleasantly surprised when our flight left on time. 

We checked in to the same hotel in Panay, close to the airport, where we’d stayed on our first night with mum - although this time we got a room with some delightful (that’s sarcasm) planet decorations. Me and Rhys rushed out to buy bus tickets from the nearby terminal for the following day and on our return asked to move rooms to something less planet-y. After a brief visit to the mall next door with mum we headed back to the hotel where we ate dinner in the rooftop bar.

The next day Mum’s flight left at 11am so we jumped in a cab to take her to the airport. I think we planned a good balance of relaxing beach time and adventure, a bit less strenuous than when she came to Ecuador but just as exciting. Again, like in Ecuador, she was a pleasure to travel with, she just joins in with whatever we want to do and we don’t have to change our plans one iota for her to fit in. The only problem was that it all went too quickly!

We got the cab to take us back to our hotel from the airport where we had time for a yucky breakfast and chill time in our room before heading to the bus station. We’d bought deluxe tickets and had a very comfy 6 hour journey to Baguio. After asking a couple of policeman for directions our taxi driver finally found our hostel and we checked in. Baguio is a busy mountain university town and although there’s not a whole lot to do there, it has a certain appeal. We wandered out to check the bus timetables for our next stop and walked back to the hostel via Session Road, the main street lined with cafes and shops. As it was already dark we stopped for a £2 steak (food in the Philippines is so so cheap) before turning in for the night. Unlike in Manila and even Puerto we felt incredibly safe in Baguio and had no qualms about walking around after dark.

The only plan we had for the following day was to visit the central market. We found lots of souvenir stalls, lacking in Puerto before turning a corner and finding the fresh fruit and veg area. The aisles were stacked full with bags of the freshest looking veg we’ve ever seen with whole lanes dedicated to bright orange carrots and deep green brocoli heads. We bought a massive lemon and explored further, every turn taking us into another area of the market, meat and fish, shoes and sewing machines, flowers and sausages, we were blown way with how big it was and how clean and open, every part of the country we’ve been to so far has been incredibly clean and has fines for littering, it’s a real contrast to most of the other countries we’ve been to on this trip. We ended up buying lots of odds and ends, and I had a £2 haircut before we wandered in to the big modern shopping mall where we had a Taiwanese bubble tea.

Carrots for sale, Baguio Central Market.

As it was Valentines day we’d intended to head out for a romantic meal but the town was heaving. They take Valentines very seriously here and there are people selling roses and balloons on every street corner. We struggled to find a free cab and ended up choosing a little place on the highstreet thinking we’d never get a table at the restaurant we’d hoped to go to, my meal was good but Rhys’s was just mediocre. 

We had another 6 hour bus trip the next day, to Sagada. The road wound through the mountains and was incredibly scenic, passing over the Halsema highway. It wasn’t the most comfortable journey as the bus was pretty basic but it arrived on time and we headed in to town to find a hostel. We checked in to a cheap place on the main street and spent the rest of the afternoon wandering around the town, peering in the souvenir shops and watching the weavers at work. We stopped for some yoghurt at a little place with views down the valley and ventured out again later for dinner. It’s a very quiet, relaxed little town, nestled in a valley lined with pine trees and vegetable terraces.

We spent the next morning out walking with a guide. It was only a 2 hour walk but the sun was shining and the fresh mountain air and the chirping of the birds made it feel a world away. Our first stop was at a view point of the Echo Valley from where we descended in to the valley to see one of the locations of the famous hanging coffins. It sounds quite morbid but was actually quite peaceful, a bit like a cemetery but instead of being buried, the coffins are mounted on the cliff face. There was only a small cluster of coffins there, dating from 200 years ago to 2 years ago and our guide gave us a bit of info about the practice, how the dead are put in their coffins in the foetal position having been carried through town and how the thinking is that the dead are closer to heaven up there rather than being trapped by the weight of the earth. Further in to the valley we saw another small cluster of coffins before walking across to the underground river, much smaller than in Sabang obviously but still a pretty impressive sight. We could only visit the entrance to the river before climbing back out of the valley to the Bokong waterfall for our last stop. As it’s dry season there’s not a lot of water but it still has a nice natural swimming pool at the base, too cold for me to brave though. 

Hanging coffins in Echo Valley, Sagada.

After our walk we stopped by a little coffee shop for lunch, watched the locals play baseball and generally just mooched about. We had dinner at the same coffee shop before retiring for an early night. The village has a self imposed curfew between 9:30pm and 4am and nowhere serves alcohol after 9pm so early nights are the norm. 

We met up with the same guide the next day and headed to the Lumiang cave to begin our cave connection tour. At the entrance to the cave was a burial mound with coffins stacked along the rock face at the opening. Lit only by the gaslight carried by our guide, we descended into the cave, squeezing ourselves through holes just big enough for one person and sliding down guano covered limestone ledges. There were a few points where the guide has to lower you down or pull you up and a couple of parts where you hang off of ropes to move between the caverns. Towards the end of the trip we arrived into the Sumaguing cave, it was pretty spectacular, a waterfall of calcium and limestone deposits forming bulging steps and terraces that continue down in to the lowest point of the cave. After two hours we returned to the surface and headed back to town. We left our guide at a little vegetarian cafe on route, Gaias, where we stopped for lunch, sitting on a bench overlooking the rice paddies in the valley below.

Burial mound at the opening of Lumiang Cave, Sagada.

A very happy Rhys scrambling through a hole on the cave connection tour, Sagada.

Limestone rock formations in the Sumaguing Cave, Sagada.

Rhys enjoying a well earned milkshake, overlooking the rice terraces, Sagada.

As the previous day, our morning activity had worn us out and we spent the rest of the day chilling, popping out to the Lemon Pie Cafe for, yes, lemon pie and endless cups of lemon tea. Dinner was at an empty little Korean bar and was one of the best meals i’ve had in the Philippines.

The next day we left the guesthouse and climbed the hill to the jeepney stop for a 7am jeepney to Bontoc. Rhys asked if we could sit on the roof so we braced ourselves against the fresh morning mountain breezes and climbed up. The 360 degree views were spectacular as the bus followed the Halsema highway back to Bontoc. The driver dropped us off by the jeepney for Banaue and we transferred our bags to the new bus. We had an hour to wait so hopped across the road for a coffee, meeting a Dutch couple who were waiting for the same jeep. At 8:30 the driver of the new jeep said that he wouldn’t be going to Banaue with only the 6 passengers he had so far and offered to take us on a more leisurely journey with stops at viewpoints if we hired the whole jeep. It cost an extra £1.40 each and was well worth it. We sat on the roof again and spent the 1 3/4 hour journey waving to everyone we passed and delighting at the ever increasing number of rice terraces wrapping the mountains. Once in town, he dropped us at the tourist info booth where we had to pay our entry and ended up booking a 3 day trek. We had the rest of the afternoon to explore Banaue.

View from the roof of the jeepney on the road leaving Bontoc.

After wandering around town we decided to grab a tricycle to head up to the main viewpoint, a couple of kilometres out of the centre of town. The view was stunning and even more exciting were the souvenir shops - we ended up buying yet another wooden bowl and a chopping board for stupidly bargain prices. Preparing to walk back in to town along the road, we ran into a local boy, Owen, who told us about a route that would take us through the rice terraces and past a waterfall. For a small fee he offered to guide us for the 2 hour walk and even carried our purchases for us. It was very peaceful off the road and surrounded by the terraces and we learned a bit about the rice farming process as Owen described the work that was being carried out around us.

View of the rice terraces on the way from the Banaue Viewpoint to Banaue town.

Me balancing on the edge of one of the terraces on the way to Banaue town.

Back in town we bought supplies for our hike, handed in our laundry and headed to our room for an early night after a freezing cold shower. Yet again, the Lonely Planet had let us down on our accommodation choice!