Page 3 of jgibeault Travel Blog Posts


Asia » Philippines » Sagada January 3rd 2014

We'd put off our trip to Sagada until after New Year's, given that we had heard that the place really fills up between Christmas and New Year's day. But we'd felt like we'd waited long enough, and even though it was only just New Year's Day, we decided to roll the dice and head up the mountain to Sagada. For the first time on our trip, things were actually closed. It was New Year's Day after all, but we strangely had no trouble at all on Christmas Day. We had moved from San Juan to Vigan by bus and jeepney without an issue, but here on New Year's day we were having some trouble. There weren't any buses or jeepney's operating in Bontoc. But, as Sebastien has said repeatedly in our time together, “There's always a ... read more
The Valley Through Town
Cool Geology
Cool House

Asia January 1st 2014

With our tour of Mainit complete, it was time to leave the magic behind and head out on different sort of adventure. We went with Jones to take the Jeepney to Guinaang. We were going to start our hike to Maligcong along with Noemi and Sebastien. Kanam was heading to Sagada, and Jones had to get back to Baguio for work which would be starting up again for him after New Year's day. The jeepney was looking pretty full. In fact, it was completely full inside, and our only choice was to ride on the roof. Nothing about that seemed like a good idea on the surface. I can even hear my mother saying “No you did not.” But yes, we did. We climbed up the skinny steel ladder to the roof, and piled our bags ... read more
Riding on the Roof of the Jeepney
Group Shot on the Roof
The View Through the Valley

Asia » Philippines » Cordillera » Bontoc December 31st 2013

Mainit produced the type of unforgettable magic that keeps travelers like us, hooked. We were only in Mainit for maybe 16 hours, but it was enough time for an incredible string of luck to unfold, and to take in the other worldly beauty and mystery of this tiny mountain village. We'd end up having one of the best adventures of the trip (and our lives) in Mainit. We almost ended up homeless for the night, were invited to a traditional wedding in the village square, and went for an early morning walk through the village footpaths while steam from the hot springs rose up all around us. It was extraordinary. Here's the whole story: It was time to leave Baguio. It was definitely a bummer that we didn't get to meet Vanessa's sister in-law's family, but ... read more
The Whole Village is Out for the Wedding
Traditional Wedding Dance
The Crowd is Packed in

Asia » Philippines » Baguio December 29th 2013

So unfortunately our white sands beach experience was dampened (pun?) by the weather. At least we got some good beach (and surf) time in San Juan, so we were ok. It was pretty restful time in Pagudpud for us. We caught a tricycle back to town and took the bus to Laoag. We left fairly early, but it was a long slow bus ride and the exhaust filled the bus with diesel fumes. So that was not great. In Laoag, we stopped for some food at the Jollibee, and I left Vanessa with our bags while I went to grab some water and snacks for the bus trip. The supermarket had a travelator (moving sidewalk) at the entrance, so that was exciting for me... Then we took another tricycle back from the town square to the ... read more
The Worst Hotel Room in Baguio
Gridlock Here Too, Huh?
All the Way Up the Mountain

Asia » Philippines » Ilocos » Pagudpod December 27th 2013

Heading north from Vigan, we went to the bus station to catch a bus to Laoag. The first bus was full. The next bus standing room only. This is high season. We got on the second bus and stood, but not for long. Someone who was getting off in 5km gave up his seats to us. There are some very nice people. Actually, everybody is really nice. I'm confident saying that Filipinos are the nicest people in the world. I've not been everywhere and met everybody, but I will be hard pressed to find nicer people. Our experiences in the Philippines so far will be the measuring stick for nice people, and the rest of the world doesn't stand much of a chance... The bus slowly emptied as we moved north and soon everyone had a ... read more
Cloudy Beach
Rough Water
There We Are

Asia » Philippines » Vigan December 26th 2013

We left our surf/beach/friendship paradise and made our way to Vigan, a few hours north. But first we took a jeepney back south to San Fernando, figuring we'd have better luck catching a bus with some room. It was Christmas day after all. And San Fernando was bustling, with a festival atmosphere. Everyone was out with their families in the park and in the markets. It was a festival atmosphere. All of the shops were open, which was good for us, but also a bit of a shock. Christmas is definitely celebrated differently here. It's an outdoor party with family, friends, and the rest of the town. We bought ourselves some water at one of the open shops. In the heat, we'd each been drinking about three litres of water a day just sitting around and ... read more
Rice Fields on the Way to Vigan
Fountain Show
This One Was Really Good

Asia » Philippines » La Union » San Juan December 25th 2013

It was going to be a long haul to San Juan. It's only about 300 kilometres, but due to the nature of travelling on the highways, we actually couldn't do it one day. Our first day took 10 hours and included 4 different buses. First from San Felipe to Iba, then Iba to Santa Cruz, then Santa Cruz to Dagupan, and finally Dagupan to Baguio. Some buses were air conditioned, and some were not. Some had the standard 4 seats across, and one actually had 5. It wasn't as cramped as you might expect, but still... wow! Along the way we saw a lot of rice being dried on the side of the road. You use what you've got, I guess. Arriving in Baguio, which is built over top of ridges high up in the mountains, ... read more
That's Five Across On This Bus
Typical Town Along the Way
Jeepney

Asia » Philippines » Luzon » Zambales December 20th 2013

It was time to leave Manila, and after breakfast we said goodbye to Michael and Chris, and took a taxi to the bus station. Bus travel has an extra element of challenge to it here because there is no central terminal, and each bus company operates their own terminals, and each company has terminals scattered across the city, with each one serving different destinations. There are a few main areas where there is a high concentration of bus companies, so you head there based on which city your trying to get to. And have I mentioned the traffic in Manila? I have? Well, I'm going to mention it again. It's bad. Even in midday, it probably took the bus two hours just to get out of Manila. Traffic really is incredible here. And Manila is also ... read more
In The Bunkhouse
Hammock Time
Beach Time

Asia » Philippines » Manila » Malate December 18th 2013

To leave Hong Kong, we ended up taking the metro to the airport instead of the bus. It was more expensive, but it was fast, and we were running a bit short on time so we didn't want to gamble on running into any unexpected traffic on the road. The Hong Kong airport is really nice. Very modern, open, and bright. It's also pretty huge. After checking in for our flight, we grabbed breakfast and coffee, and then waited by the gate with a large crowd of Filipino's returning home before the holidays. A huge line started to form at the gate as our plane was about to board, and we noticed something different from all the other pre-boarding lines we'd ever been in at airports... People were actually happy. People were talking to each other, ... read more
Sunset
Baywalk
Sitting on the Sea Wall

Asia » Hong Kong December 16th 2013

I think I got a total of two hours of sleep the night before leaving on this trip. A combination of packing and getting ready plus tying up the loose ends at work kept me up. I was juggling a lot of different things and it was hard to shut off at 12:30 when I finally finished. It took me over an hour to start sleeping, and then I had to get up at 3:45am... So it was one of the shortest sleeps of all time. Still, it was easy to motivate myself to get up, and wake Vanessa up. We're on our way to the Philippines via Hong Kong, and it should be a great trip. In Asia, I've only been to Japan and Vanessa's never been. We were both excited to experience something different. ... read more
We Have Arrived!
Ocean Park!
Roller Coaster of Love?




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