i crave travel...: sagada trip: day 1 - manila-banaue-bontoc-sagada

note: this is a re-post from my multiply site. i figured it is much better to move all my travel related posts into one blog and this is it. i hope this will help in planning your trip. enjoy!

date of travel: April 2008

just came back from our sagada trip...soooobrang pagod! but worth it naman...we promised ourselves to go back, pero wala ng trekking at caving...tamad mode na lang...hehe...

stop-over at banaue rice terraces

as planned, we took the manila-banaue-bontoc-sagada route in going there...we asked the florida bus line beforehand kung kelan pwedeng magpa-reserve ng tickets...sabi, wednesday daw (friday ang byahe namin) and so, hubby went there on wednesday after office to buy/reserve the tickets...and guess what? 2 tickets na lang ang available at magkahiwalay na seats pa...2pm daw sila nag-open for ticket sales, at naubos na agad...dahil ayaw na namin maghanap pa ng ibang bus at dahil iisa lang din ang byahe ng florida going to banaue, we took the tickets and pray na pumayag makipagpalit yung katabi ko ng upuan para naman magkatabi kami ni hubby...we're lucky, 'coz hindi dumating yung nagpa-reserve na katabi ko...meant to be talaga...hehe =)

typical rice fields at sagada

we left manila at around 11pm and arrived at banaue at around 730am...pagdating sa banaue, merong mamang umakyat sa bus at nagtanong kung sino-sino ang pa-sagada...swerte naman dahil marami ang pa-sagada kaya nakisabay na lang kami...250pesos per head daw from banaue to sagada, with stop over sa view deck ng banaue rice terraces, bontoc museum, etc...ok na rin para hindi na kami magpalipat-lipat pa ng sasakyan...nag-breakfast muna kami sa banaue, then off we go...maganda pa rin naman ang banaue ric e terraces, marami na nga lang mga nakatayong bahay...kaya siguro natanggal na ito sa 7 wonders of the world (nasa 7 forgotten wonders na lang sya ngayon)...sayang...hindi kami naidaan ng driver sa bontoc museum, nagtaka nga ako...pero hindi naman ako nagtanong, maganda pa naman daw dun (kung mahilig ka sa museum)...my mistake...if you're planning to buy some souvenirs, bumili na kayo sa banaue dahil doble na ang price pagdating sa sagada...we left banaue at around 830am and arrived at sagada at around 2pm...grabe ang byahe, sobrang rough road! rough road na nga, maliit pa ang kalsada and to think na nasa gilid kayo ng bundok, bangin na agad ang makikita mo, zigzag pa! pero maganda din naman ang view...i did not sleep the whole time...ninamnam ko ang sariwang simoy ng hangin...pati ang alikabok ninamnam ko na rin (much better than the polluted air in manila)...ninamnam ko ang magandang tanawin...

st. mary's church

pagdating sa sagada, diretso kami sa municipal hall for tourist registration...then we checked-in at residential lodge...pahinga muna ng konti, freshen up and then lunch kami sa yoghurt house...the food is so so lang...nothing really fancy...but hubby liked the potato salad na medyo me katagalan bago na-serve kasi mukhang dun pa lang din niluto pagka-order...ok naman yung yogurt, pero sobrang dami sya, isang bowl, na tingnan ko pa lang eh naumay na ako...kaya syempre pa, hindi namin naubos...

a big serving of yoghurt at yoghurt's house

after lunch, we roam around the town by ourselves...going back to the lodge, we saw the l emon pie house...must try ito, sarap ng lemon pie at egg pie nila...

lemon pie and egg pie at lemon pie house

tambay ng konti sa lo dge, then dinner naman sa bana's cafe...nasarapan naman k ami sa food dito, nagustuhan kasi namin yung rice toppings nila...actually, century tuna lang ata yung toppings nun rice, pero masarap kasi yung rice (parang java rice na me veggies) kaya enjoy kami...ok din yung green vegetable salad nila...mas nag-enjoy kami sa food dito kesa sa yoghurt house...medyo me katagalan mag-serve ng food sa mga resto sa sagada, kasi pagka-order tsaka pa lang din nila hinihiwa, binabalatan, at niluluto...hehe, kita kasi yung kitchen that's why i'm able to observe what they are doing =)

rice toppings at bana's cafe

after dinner, balik sa lodge...tambay sa labas, ninamnam ang malamig na simoy ng hangin...we asked winston (son of tita mary, the owner of residential lodge) about the tour guides...para hindi na kami pumunta the next morning sa municipal hall to get a tour guide...and he was kind enough to look for a tour guide for us...talked to the tour guide and agreed on the time for him to pick us up at the lodge ...

this entry is quite long...kaya hanggang dito na lang muna...this ends our first day at sagada =)

click here for more pictures.

i crave travel!