24th - 30th March & 2nd - 3rd April 2007
The Philippines has often been in the news for all the wrong reasons- the huge income divide, political instability, insurgency in the south, and the list goes on. This has probably overshadowed its host of attractions. When I mentioned that I was heading there, people would ask me, why do I want to go there? But while the place is a little off the tourism trail, it has a lot going for it.
Like many people, I had never thought of going there. But that changed when I read an article on Mount Pinatubo, which erupted in the early 1990s. It's been a decade and a half since the eruption, and the mountain is now open for treks to the crater. The lahar-covered landscape looked really interesting, and I thought it'll make for a really interesting trek, and so I started planning my trip.
As I read more, I realised there were so many interesting places to visit in the Philippines. Eventually I narrowed the list down to those on northern Luzon. Yihan was interested, and the trip was on!
We flew into Clark Airport, which is somewhat of a hub for low cost carriers. And what do I see at the terminal building? A huge poster of President Gloria Arroyo welcoming overseas Filipino workers. An estimated 10 percent of Filipinos end up working overseas, attracted by jobs with salaries that far exceed those of jobs available in the Philippines.
From the airport, it took us about two hours to get to downtown Manila. The bus dropped us off at a location I can't recall, and from there, we had to find our way to the Pearl Manila Hotel, which is in Ermita. By the time we got there, it was already mid-afternoon. After putting down our bags, we headed for lunch.
After lunch, we walked around Ermita for a while before heading over to Manila Bay to view the 'legendary' sunsets. Lots of people were there as well. Apparently, the sunsets there are famous because Manila's smog supposedly creates spectacular light effects in the sky. It wasn't too bad, but I don't see what's so special about it.
After the sun set over the horizon, we walked over to Rizal Park. Clearly, it's a place where the locals like to hang out on a Saturday night. There were lots of people around. Some were picnicking, while others were playing games on the huge grass fields. We decided to return to the park the next day. The rest of the night was spent walking around Robinson's Place, which is a huge mall in Malate.
The next morning, Yihan wanted to work out at the gym in our hotel, so we set out at about 11am, which is very late by my standards. Our main destination for the day is the Spanish-era walled city of Intramuros. To get there, we had to walk through Rizal Park. The sun was blazing overhead, and not surprisingly, Rizal Park was almost empty. There are various monuments in there, the most famous being the Rizal Monument. It is dedicated to Dr Jose Rizal whose execution in the 1890s made him a martyr of the Philippine revolution.
From here, it's a not-so-short walk over to Intramuros. Built in 1571, Intramuros was the old capital of Manila. Literally, it means within the walls, and not everyone could enter. Only the Spanish elite and Mestizos (mixed race) were permitted to live inside Intramuros, where at night the city gates were closed. But alas, it was severely damaged in World War II and by some accounts, it never recovered from that devastation.
Nonetheless, it's still a pretty charming place, with some old Spanish-era influences. Our first stop was the San Agustin Church. The church, which is the oldest surviving church in the Philippines, is a UNESCO World Heritage site. I tend to like most UNESCO sites (I don't recall any which I didn't), and this is no exception. Its exterior looks a little run-down, but its interior is magnificent. And I was lucky enough to witness a wedding ceremony. But later on, I figured that the week before Holy Week must have been a good time to get married as almost every church we wandered into had a wedding going on.
After lunch (very nice paella by the way), we walked on to the Manila Cathedral, and there you have it, another wedding was going on. The church had been destroyed and rebuilt countless times since its first incarnation in 1581, and I hope the present one will buck the trend.
Our last stop in Intramuros is Fort Santiago. The fort is located at the mouth of the Pasig River, and it used to be the premier defense fortress of the Spanish Government in the Philippines. It was also where Dr Rizal was held before his execution, and today, the path from his prison cell here to his execution spot at Rizal Park is marked with brass plates in the shape of his feet. I tried to follow his steps but I couldn't find any beyond Fort Santiago. Oh well.
From Fort Santiago, we took a cab to the huge Ayala Mall in Makati before heading over to Sampaloc to board our 10pm bus to Banaue.
I would love to say that I woke up to find myself in Banaue, but it wasn't the case. The bus was unbearably cold, and to make things worse, all the lights were turned on whenever the bus stopped at a rest stop. It was an uncomfortable 10 hours, and as you can imagine, I was very relieved when I finally arrived at Banaue. When we alighted from the bus, we were immediately surrounded by dozens of drivers who asked us to follow them. We followed one of them eventually, and asked him to bring us to the Banaue View Inn. He's called Vic.
When we arrived at the guesthouse, Vic said he could bring us to the Batad rice terraces, but his fees were a little high. After taking a shower, and weighing the pros and cons, we decided to go along with Vic. That's because we were too lazy to search for another guide.
The starting point for the trek to Batad was a one-hour drive away. When we got there, we had to walk for another hour along mountain trails before we finally saw the famous rice terraces of Batad. These stone-walled rice terraces were carved from the high mountain slopes by Ifugao farmers more than 2000 years ago, and it looks like a giant amphitheatre. Some people have called these terraces the eighth wonder of the world, and indeed, it's stunningly beautiful. And the best thing is, because of its remote location, Batad is not overrun by tourists.
About an hour's walk away from Batad is Tappia Falls. We took a dip in its freezing waters. I don't know whether my muscles contracted after the swim or what, but the hike back to Batad was twice as difficult as the hike in to Tappia Falls. Well, part of the reason was that the way back to Batad involved climbing up steep, slippery slopes. As such, it was such a relief when we finally set down for lunch in Batad. Ellen, who's from Sweden was already having her lunch there, and we started chatting.
After lunch, we decided to head back to Banaue together. Once there, we split up to head back to our respective guesthouses to wash up, before meeting again at 8pm for dinner. Dinner was at a cafe owned by Vic's aunt and when Ellen arrived, we started singing videoke in the cafe. Apparently, videoke's very popular in the Philippines. People would take turns to sing, while the rest continued eating. It was quite an interesting experience. After dinner, Yihan wanted to rest, and so we split up.
The next morning, I got up at around 5.30am as I wanted to see the rice terraces at Banaue. Yihan wanted to sleep in, and so I went out alone. I took a tricycle from town to the Banaue View Point. The rice terraces here were mud-walled as opposed to those at Batad which were stone-walled, but unfortunately, it was very misty, and the pictures didn't turn out nice. But the good thing about waking up so early is that I had the entire place to myself. After sitting there for a while to take in the view, with just the occasional crowing cock disturbing the quiet solitude, I headed back to the guesthouse.
By then, it was around 7am. We had to catch a jeepney to Bontoc at around 8am. After a quick breakfast at the guesthouse, we went down to the tourist information center located in the main square. We soon managed to secure ourselves a seat on the jeepney to Bontoc. The ride there took about two hours, and along the way, we passed by many more magnificent rice terraces.
Bontoc was only meant to be a quick stopover en route to Sagada, but there were some places there which we wanted to visit. Yihan wanted to go for a massage, while I wanted to visit the Bontoc Museum.
I decided to take a nap while he had his massage. After he was done, we headed for lunch before going over to the Bontoc Museum. There are some headhunting relics, and photos of the mountain tribes indoors. And outside, there are some reconstructed traditional huts. It's interesting to see how these huts had such tiny entrances, which we had to crawl through to get in. I think this museum is well worth a visit.
Moving on, we boarded a jeepney for a one-hour ride to Sagada. As compared to Bontoc and Banaue, Sagada was much quieter. The town was very small, with only a couple of buildings around the municipal hall in the center. After putting down our bags at the Alfredo's Inn, we started walking around the place. Our first stop was the St Mary's Episcopal Church. It was just a short walk away from our guesthouse, but by the time we reached there, the sky had turned ominously dark.
We went in to take some pictures, and left the place soon after in case it started raining. We then started walking back to our guesthouse, but after a while, it seemed like it wasn't going to rain after all, and we decided to continue walking down the main (and only) street through Sagada. It was lined with souvenir shops and restaurants, and we kept popping in and out of souvenir shops. After a while, we had walked so far that there were no longer any souvenir shops, and as fate would have it, it started raining.
We sought shelter wherever we could, and whenever the rain showed signs of easing, we moved on. It took us more than an hour to get back to the guesthouse, but fortunately, while we were wet, we were not drenched. We decided to check our emails at the internet cafe before heading for dinner.
By the time we logged off and decided to head for dinner, we realised to our horror that most of the shops were closed. It was half past eight, and the entire town is virtually dead by then. That's because Sagada still strictly adheres to a 9pm curfew.
After asking around, we finally found an eating establishment that's still open, and we hurriedly ordered our meal and wolfed down our food.
The next day, we got up early. It was a day for hiking and adventure. We hired a guide from the tourist information centre. He brought us first to Kiltepan Point, where we could look into the valley below. It was a gorgeous sight, and I could have stayed there for hours. Yihan, on the other hand, was feeling jittery as it's a high way up, and he has a fear of heights. The guide (I wish I remembered his name but I don't) and I had a good laugh at his expense.
From Kiltepan Point, the guide brought us to Bokkong Falls aka the small falls, which is nearby. There is a rock pool at the foot of the waterfall, and I went in for a swim. Just like in Batad, the water was freaking cold. A while later, some Americans came along, and they started jumping off the top of the waterfall into the pool, and I did likewise. The waterfall wasn't very high, but the first time round, it took some time before I finally jumped into the pool. It looked so much higher from the top. But the second time round, I didn't need much convincing. It's actually quite fun to jump into the pool.
Our next stop was to Echo Valley, where the hanging coffins are located. We didn't get close to the hanging coffins and only viewed it from a distance. It is very interesting to see these coffins, perched high in the limestone cliffs, seemingly defying gravity. According to our guide, some of these coffins are hundreds of years old, while the latest addition was only put in place a couple of months back. Apparently, the privilege of being buried this way was only accorded to those who were married and had grandchildren. As our guide put it, you were not considered old until you had grandchildren.
After lunch, we decided to explore Sumaging Cave, but along the way, we stopped by Lumiang burial cave. But first, our guide had to retrieve a key to unlock the gate to the cave. He had left the key somewhere along the footpath in. He said the caves have to be locked as the coffins are highly valued by thieves. Before the gate was installed, he said thieves made off with many of the coffins, especially those with lizard carvings. Even the bones were stolen.
The coffins were carved out of enormous pine tree trunks, and they are piled up against the walls, as you can see in the picture below. Interestingly, these coffins are shorter than usual as the bodies are laid in a foetal position.
From the Lumiang burial cave, we walked over to the Sumaging Cave. Also known as the big cave, it was created by water erosion, and apparently, even President Arroyo came to do a bit of caving here, though she didn't wander far. At the entrance to the cave, our guide started lighting up a kerosene lamp. It was to be our only source of light within the humongous cave complex.
The first part of the way into the cave was over treacherously slippery rocks covered with bat dung. There's no other way around it. You're bound to get bat dung all over, unless you're a guide. While we were clinging on to every rock for dear life, he was walking with relative ease, and he was holding a kerosene lamp as well.
Soon, he told us to remove our shoes. We were pretty far in, and there was no more bat dung. We were now climbing over limestone formations like the one you see in the picture below. While the surface looked slippery, it was actually not and bare feet gave surprisingly good grip.
We passed by endless chambers, and many fascinating rock formations, which looked like cauliflowers, and rice terraces amongst other things. At some point in time, we even had to wade through chest-deep water. There was another part where we had to cross a pool of water by hanging on to a rope. I found it truly exciting but Yihan thought otherwise. He found it scary. He even wanted to stop and wait for us while we explored the other parts of the cave. But our guide lied to him that bats would attack him if he's alone. As such, he tagged along reluctantly.
We soon came to a pool where we could swim. I couldn't wait to wash off all that bat dung and so I decided to take a dip in the pool. Given the fact that we could see our breath, the temperature in the cave must have been pretty low. The pool was freezing. I went in and my teeth started chattering. After swimming around a bit, I left the pool to rejoin Yihan.
We went back the way we came in. After we got out of the cave, our guide confessed to Yihan about the bat story, and we had a good laugh. When we got back to town, it was already dark. After bidding farewell to our great guide, we headed for dinner before heading back to our guesthouse for a good rest.
The next morning, we got up early as we had to travel to Baguio. Sagada had been been great, and I wished I had more time to spend there. I'm not so sure that Yihan thought the same way though. Haha.
After breakfast, we headed over to St Mary's Church. They were having mass in there, and we sat in for a while. After that, we spent some time walking around town before boarding the bus to Baguio.
Baguio is about a 7-hour ride away from Sagada along the zig-zagging Halsema Highway. This highway reaches a height of 2255m, and it's the highest road in the Philippines. Contrary to what I expected, Halsema Highway was a smooth ride most of all the way. There were some rough patches here and there, but they were few and far-between. And the best part thing was, the highway is super scenic, with gorgeous views of the rolling mountain ranges and rice terraces.
But nice as the view was, it couldn't stop me from drifting in and out of sleep. I didn't even know when we passed through the highest point in the highway as Yihan was asleep as well. But there were several stops along the way where we could stretch our legs. We also passed by several mountain towns where people got on and off the bus.
We knew that we were close to Baguio when the roads started clogging up. We've been away from cities for only a couple of days, and I wasn't looking forward to returning to one. But fortunately, Baguio's still quite pleasant.
Located at an altitude of about 1500m above sea level, Baguio enjoys a pleasant and cool climate all year round. That's why it's also known as the summer capital of the Philippines. When the bus dropped us off at the terminal, we walked over to our guesthouse along Session Road, which is the main avenue of the city.
After putting down our bags, we headed for a late lunch. After lunch, it was already dark. We decided to take things easy and we walked around a couple of shopping malls, including SM Mall.
The next morning, I got up early for a morning jog. Yihan wanted to sleep in, and I went out alone. I jogged over to Burnham Park, which is located at the centre of the city. In the middle of the park is a man-made lagoon where rowboats are available for hire. At about 8 on a Friday morning, I was surprised to find so many people around Burnham Park. Clearly the park is quite popular among locals, and I can understand why. It's a pleasant place to be in.
After running a couple of rounds around the park, I headed back to the guesthouse to find that Yihan was still asleep. After waking him up, we went for breakfast before walking over to the Baguio Cathedral.
The rose-coloured Baguio Cathedral, with its twin spires, is located on top of a hill. Once again, there was a wedding going on so we didn't go in. From here, we walked over to SM Mall. It is a pleasant though nondescript mall, but the good thing about this place is that there's a nice view of Baguio from here as SM Mall is situated on top of a hill.
From here, we walked over to the Maharlika Centre which is at the other end of Session Road. There's quite a lot of stuff to buy in there, like clothes, souvenirs, bags, etc, but we didn't have much time to spare as we had to check-out of our inn. After grabbing a few food items and souvenirs, we rushed back to the inn to check-out. After lunch, we took a bus over to San Fernando, and the travelogue continues in the San Fernando page.
Three days later, we were back in Manila. We had flown in Laoag.
After putting down our bags at the Pearl Manila Hotel, we took a taxi over to Malacañan Palace, which is the official residence of the President. I was hoping we'll get to see the main palace building, but we only got as far as the outer cordon. We spoke to some guards and they told us we'll need to make an online request if we wanted to enter the museum within the palace. Well, they'll need three days to process the request and three days later, I'll be out of the Philippines. Anyway, I thought the next best thing is to take some pictures from the outside, but darn, no pictures were allowed.
From here, we took a jeepney to Quiapo, which is at the far end of Chinatown. We alighted near the Quiapo Bridge. There's said to be lots of Filipino crafts and delicacies sold in the market under the bridge, but Yihan didn't feel too comfortable here. He said the area didn't give him good vibes. That's because this area is evidently poorer than the other areas in Manila that we've been to, and there were lots of people around. Well, I didn't get those vibes, but since he didn't feel comfortable, we didn't linger long.
We soon arrived at the Quiapo Church, which is one of Manila's most famous churches. That's because the church contains the Black Nazarene, a life-sized image of Christ said to be miraculous. Well, there were lots of people in the church, and I could only stand at the back. As such, I couldn't tell which is the Black Nazarene, but let's just take it that I saw it. ;)
It soon got dark, and despite following the map, we failed to find the Central Market. And Yihan was getting increasingly uncomfortable now that it's dark. So we took a taxi over to the Mall of Asia.
The Mall of Asia is the largest mall in the Philippines, and the 7th largest in the world. After walking around the mall, which has an Olympic-sized ice-skating rink inside by the way, we took a taxi over to Remedios Circle, which is the hub of Manila's nightlife activities.
From here, it's a short walk over to the Manila Baywalk, which is along Roxas Boulevard. It's a very nice place, with lots of outdoor restaurants and live bands, and not surprisingly, there were lots of people hanging out here to chat, eat, or just to listen to the live bands.
The next morning, I was back at the Manila Baywalk. I had jogged from the hotel to Rizal Park, and then to the Manila Baywalk. At about half past seven, the area was surprisingly teeming with activity. Some people were swimming or washing themselves in the sea, while others were fishing or chatting.
After jogging, I made my way back to the hotel to wake Yihan up. After breakfast, we headed to the Divisoria Market. It is crowded and chaotic, and once again Yihan was feeling those vibes. But I wanted to buy some cheap shorts, so we walked around a bit. Indeed, the prices here were very low. The infamous slums of Tondo are only a short distance away and Divisoria has been described as a slum market. But do I feel those vibes that Yihan's feeling? The answer is no, though of course I take the usual precautions when I'm in crowded areas.
We spent only around half an hour in Divisoria. That's because we had to buy some stuff at Robinson's Place before catching our flight in the afternoon. A short walk away from the market, we passed by some railway tracks, and there were families living in makeshift huts along those tracks. Yet another sobering reminder of the poverty divide in the country.
At Robinson's Place, we had to pass through the usual security checks before being let in. Regardless of whether you're entering a shopping mall, or a hotel, or a train station, you'll have to pass through these security checks. Anyway, we didn't have much time to spare in Robinson's Place. After sending a postcard, buying some ensaymada (Filipino sweet bread), and grabbing lunch, we headed back to our hotel to grab our luggage.
After a long jeepney ride, we finally arrived at the bus terminal that has a bus service to Clark but we figured that we'll miss our flight if we took the bus. So we took a taxi even though it cost us 2000 pesos. It was a heart-stopping ride. The clock was ticking away and we were stuck in Manila's awful traffic jams. After we got out of Manila, the traffic was much better but we didn't have much time left.
About two hours later, we finally arrived at the airport half an hour before the flight was due to take-off. I was thinking it's going to be a repeat of Paris 2005 when Prema and I missed our flights but fortunately that didn't happen. The ground staff agreed to reopen the check-in counter for us. What a relief!
After 11 days in the country, our trip in the Philippines ended with us boarding the plane, and I've yet to visit Mount Pinatubo. We had seen it from far on our way to the airport but it's not the same. Fingers crossed, I'll be back.
