Blogs from Sagada, Mountain Province, Philippines, Asia

6 et 7 avril Au fond d'une mini van, entassé sur d'autres foreign, je feuillète mon Lonely Planet à la recherche d'une auberge où loger à Sagada. On pousse donc tous notre exploration plus au creux dans la Cordillère. La boîte mobile se met en marche. Je cache mon livre et agrippe la poignée en ravalant. Les routes zigzaguant en montagnes ont toujours été un bon moyen pour revoir la couleur de mon déjeuner. Effectivement, la route est propice au mal de cœur. Vitesse et précipices. Heureusement, les garde-fous longent les routes pour nous éviter une catastrophe. Après plus ou moins 3 heures de route, la mini van finit par nous débarquer sains et saufs à Sagada. On est 14 touristes à atterrir dans le paisible village montagnard, dont Iness et Vincent les Dutch. Des restaurants ... read more

All of 12 hours on the road? I had 2 issues here. Reason enough why a local like moí never made the trip till now. The long drive is half a day. Bad for my back. And butt. No flights. No trains. There's the bus. We chose to go on a hired private van, so we can stop to stretch whenever the bad back becomes a problem. The intended, well-intentioned rest and stretch stops..... That's a big joke. Having gone on a long weekend, we felt like half the city people had the same idea as our group of 7 pax. Traffic was B.A.D. And so, there were literally more stops than intended. You bet it proved to be longer than 12 hours! And obviously no rest and stretch stops for the last 3-4 hour zig ... read more

Three different bus stations without luck, it’s a four day long weekend after all. We took another chance and went to Cubao Victory Liner as chance passengers unsure when we would actually be able to get on a bus. Who would have thought we’d end up on a comfortable deluxe bus with reclining chairs and a shorter five hours ride?! Now all we had to do was to get ourselves on a bus to Sagada. Supposedly this should be easy since we arrived in Baguio ‘early’. After taking our breakfast, we went to the only bus line that have direct trips to Sagada just to be told that at 7:00 in the morning ALL their buses have already left!! But some luck maybe, a barker later announced that there's one more bus bound for Bontoc (a ... read more

Perched on a remote mountain top, Sagada has a reputation for being an idyllic back packer haven. From Banaue we took a 2 hour jeepney ride to Bontoc (the provicial capital) from there it was another hour to Sagada. This jeepney ride will likely be the most memorable of our trip to the Philippines. We decided to do as the locals do and ride on the roof of the vehicle. Sitting on our backpacks and gripping tightly on the roof rack we were treated to a magnificent view of rice terraces/ fields, mountain valleys and the Chico river.We also saw recent landslides which is a reminder that this is a very trecherous road. As we got closer to our destination we noticed more pine trees, cooler temperatures and an almost Alpine sorroundings. The town is indeed ... read more

Anything outside my comfort zone never fail to amaze me. I so so love traveling, the outdoor activities and meeting new and interesting people. If there’s one thing I don’t like much is the goodbyes. So here’s a tip, never ever let yourself be attached deeply with the place and its people, else, going back to your normal life would not be easy. You’ll end up nursing a hang-over for a week or two! It is not healthy you know. Oct 18, 2008 *Off to Sagada Most travelers advise you to always check or surf the net before visiting a place. Crap, it’s no fun! The excitement will drop. (Photos over the net are just not enough). If you will see the place the first time, it’s perfect because you don’t know what to expect and ... read more