A Rundown of My 3-day Trip to Sagada

When Sagada was feautured in the movie ‘That Thing Called Tadhana’, I admit I was a bit disappointed. You may call it greed, but I don’t want people coming to this place. But now that the secret is out, I thought I might share why I felt the need to do so. This place is just pure majestic! It has everything that I like – food, chill vibes, cold weather, lots of exciting activities and wonderful people. I only stayed there for three days but I think of Sagada from time to time every time I feel like going somewhere nice.

What a beautiful morning in Sagada!

Masbate City in Four Hours

I only had very limited time left for Masbate City as I spent for time spending time with relatives in Mandaon. I tried to make use of the few hours I had before my flight left for Manila to try and see what the city has to offer. Fortunately, the province’s capital is quite compact and can even be explored by foot. This is a mini guide for some of the well-known landmarks and tourist spots that you can see if you only have 3-5 hours like me!

Back Home in Mandaon, Masbate

I admit it. I was actually born in Manila. For some years now, I have been claiming that I am Bisaya and was born in my mother’s province, Masbate. Growing up, I have always thought I was Masbateno. It is not a rare sight that people from my mother’s hometown of Tumalaytay would visit and often stay at our house that I somehow associated myself with their culture, even picking up Minasbate, the local dialect, unconsciously, which surprised a lot of my relatives. I have only been there once when I was five years old and thanks to seat sales that I was finally able to grab cheap fares to Masbate this year.

The Majestic Banaue Rice Terraces and Bontoc Museum

Whenever I talk to foreign travelers who are interested to travel to the Philippines, I always recommend seeing Banaue Rice Terraces. It will surely be a challenge before you get to reach the destination, but I am sure it will be worth it. However, access to the Internet and new online businesses provides opportunities for more tourists to travel with ease. In this trip to the Cordilleras, I joined a tour group for three days and only managed to spend 3,000 pesos without even worrying about the logistics and other details. It’s not the usual group tours (like what we joined for our HK trip) since it was only with a small group so we weren’t too restricted with the time and I had a nice time getting to know my travel group.

Ilocos Norte: Gem of the North

Traveling in a big group has its perks, you could just rent a van and let your driver take you to all the nice places. Our group only had to plan for accommodations and I am glad to have met a group of frugal friendly travelers who were up for anything. For a three-day trip, our contribution per person for the land arrangements, breakfast, and homestay was only 2,200 pesos, and this also includes our short stint in Ilocos Sur. Anyhow, for the remaining two days we took our time on seeing some of the most popular attractions in the different areas of Ilocos Norte.

Solo Trekking to Batad Rice Terraces – The Plight of the Frugal Unhealthy Traveler

Holy Week is one of the holidays that most Filipinos look forward to, not just because it's one of the holiest and most important time for Catholics, but we are given days off work so we can rest and get together with the family. I am not a very spiritual or religious person, but I do my best to find some me-time since I live in an overcrowded, polluted and crime-rampant city, it’s a bit difficult to find a place where you can meditate and reflect. I took this opportunity a couple of years back to go somewhere I have never been, a place shielded away from the dirt and noise of Manila, a place where I can get in touch with nature once again, the Cordilleras.

Cagayan, Palaui Island and Isabela 4 Day Trip – Itinerary, Travel Guide and Expenses

I have always wanted to go to Palaui. I have been invited to or initiated three different trips every year since 2011, with one group, we even bought our plane tickets already, but decided to cancel since there was a typhoon in Cagayan exactly on the dates of our trip. Finally, last 2014 (yes, this is a super late post!), we made this happen!A friend and I were talking a couple of months ago on how it would be nice if we went to Palaui, and some time in November, my friend called me again,  “Oi, tuloy na natin Palaui natin, holiday next week oh” and the rest is history.

It All Began in Vigan, Ilocos Sur

I used to be an active lurker of Philippine travel forums when I wasn’t still aware of the existence of travel blogs during the early 2010s. It was exciting to meet people who have the same passion as I do and I was amazed by how many Filipinos are traveling to the different parts of the globe. It was thrilling to read about their adventures even though I don’t really know them personally. It was also at a forum wherein I saw an open invitation to join a group on a three-day trip to Ilocos. I was hesitant of course, it would be a first to join strangers on a trip. So I invited a kaladkarin friend who was also up for some new experiences. We decided to take a bus, an exhausting 14-hour ride to the historical city of Vigan.

5 Days Around Sorsogon, Albay and Camarines Sur: Itinerary, Bicol Travel Guide, and Expenses

I have always been curious about Bicol. I have only been to Masbate, which is my mother’s hometown, but have yet to explore its sister provinces. During gradeschool, we were always taught of how beautiful Bicol is, with my teachers boasting of Mt. Mayon. I have no idea if they have even seen it up close or only in pictures, but when I had some free time before I start with a new company, I decided it was finally my turn to see it for myself.  My sister was also about to commence with her university studies, so as a gift for her for passing the entrance exams and also an initiation (college is hard!), I decided that she also tag along on this trip. Off to new beginnings and new adventures!

Beautiful Churches That You Must See in Isabela Province

After we accomplished our main goal of visiting Palaui Island, my companions left for Manila, and because I still had one day vacation leave left, I took this as an opportunity to see Cagayan’s neighboring province, Isabela. It’s probably one of the provinces in Luzon least visited by bloggers and travelers that’s why there’s only scarce information available even on the World Wide Web. If you have been following my posts recently, you would know that I have developed a fascination with old colonial churches, and because I have limited time and money left :( I though this activity would exactly fit the bill.

Bawal ang Sawi sa Palaui! (Island Homestay and Views at Cape Engaño)

Everybody has been raving about Batanes, and I have no doubt that the place is majestic. But with only one airline carrier dominating the sales for this route, it’s a no-brainer that the price of tickets are skyrocket high. In recent years, a certain island became talk of the town for having similar heavenly views, and even though it is also located way up North, the province is reachable by bus or plane. After convincing some friends to finally put this plan into motion, we were off to an 11-hour bus ride to Cagayan to finally see what everybody has been talking about.

Tayo na’t magpagulong gulong sa Palaui Island!

Charming Churches of Camarines Sur and Exploring Naga City

Last from our Bicol itinerary is a visit to the province of Camarines Sur. We originally planned to go to Caramoan and explore the beaches there, but since it was only me and my sister, I did the math and it seems like our budget would not be able to hold up if ever we pushed through. The province is also famous for water sports but it looks like it will be another expensive activity for the both of us.

Old Beautiful Churches of Cagayan

I wasn’t a big fan of visiting churches whenever I go on trips around the country, I ONLY thought of churches as a sacred house and things such as taking pictures and talking non-religious stuff would be an act of disrespect, but this changed when I visited Cagayan. We were a bit constricted when looking for things to do in the province since most involved extreme activities like cave spelunking (we were able to go to Callao Cave though, because it was endorsed to be safe for beginners, and indeed it was) and we were with my friends’ parents so we wanted to keep the whole trip light yet still enjoyable as possible, thus we decided to visit several churches located around the different parts of the province. I am glad we did this because I finally found appreciation for the magnificent artistry and history that these churches possess.

Modern Eats Around Albay

I don’t normally look up good restaurants or must-eat delicacies when I go on trips to new places, something I think I must do on my next travels because I miss a lot of opportunities to try out good food. Most of the time, I usually just eat at places nearby places tourists spots, and this is what we did when we went to Albay. I later found out after the trip that some of the places that we went to were quite popular. This would be sort of a mini review of some of the places we dined at and interesting grubs we sampled.

Playing Hide and Seek with Albay's Mayon Volcano

Seeing Mayon Volcano is probably one of the highlights for tourists visiting Albay, it would be a lie to say that we did not put this on our top agenda for this trip. All throughout Grade School, we’ve been told that Mayon is one of the country’s most beautiful landscapes, known for its “perfect cone”, so we wanted to see it with our own eyes. Unfortunately, some things just don’t go as planned.

"Mayon, where na u? Dito na us!"

More Superb Sights in Cagayan: Anguib Beach and Crocodile Island

We went to Cagayan during the rainy season, but it did not stop us from going to Palaui Island. However, before even reaching our main destination, we decided to take a layover to some of the province’s notable beaches. There are actually quite a few, but some require longer travel time and extended time with our boatman such as Mapurao and Nangaramoan will add up on our transportation costs, both we cannot afford at that time. So we decided with two places that fit our budget and schedule.

Lost No More at Ligao City's Kawa-Kawa Hill and Natural Park

We thought Albay was only all about Mayon Volcano. Turns out, there was so much more to see.
First, there was Hoyop-Hoyopan Cave that kept us occupied for half a day with its amusing history. Our next destination the following day was a breath of fresh air, figuratively and literally, since we got to travel away from the city center.

Inside Cagayan’s Callao Cave

The weather was threatening us not to push through with our trip to Cagayan. A few days before our trip, I have watched out for forecasts but it will tell me of a predicted typhoon. I kept on checking with my travel buddies whether we should still push through, since our top priority was to see Palaui Island, and yet everyone was optimistic which helped me keep my hopes up. It was an 11-hour drizzly bus ride with Florida Bus, we still chose this bus provider despite having been suspended and started operation a couple of days before. I was just glad that I was traveling with a big group, and a cool one at that.

the famous "postcard view" of Callao Cave

Cooling Off at Hoyop Hoyopan Cave, Albay

It has been amazingly hot at Bicol, most especially in Albay, and we realized that we cannot endure this weather with our bodies that were probably designed to enjoy strong blows of wind. I hoped for that refreshing summer breeze, that’s why we went here during first week of June, but it seemed like we will never achieve that. We only planned to see attractions that concentrated around Mt. Mayon, Bicol’s pride and glory, but one friendly local suggested that if we were looking for a place to cool off, we probably should head to Hoyop Hoyopan Cave.

at Hoyop Hoyopan Cave with a birdie photobomber.

Holy Week Penitence and Crucifixions in San Pedro Cutud, Pampanga

Spending the Holy Week in the Philippines can be a colorful and almost as festive as the major holidays in the country. Lenten traditions that have been passed from different generations are still practiced, making this season not just religious but culturally relevant as well. One province in the Philippines that surely has an interesting Easter tradition is Pampanga. It annually gathers thousands of local and foreign tourists for an event that literally shows true Filipino sacrifice and "blood". This is a famous sacred practice in the country that is mentioned in almost every travel guide about the Philippines.