Site-seeing in Sagada

When Niño told me that we’ll go to Sagada, I was hesitant to go. Knowing how dangerous the roads to Sagada are, and how long we’re going to travel on a motorcycle, made me nervous. We missed MoTour’s Sagada Trip, and we really want to see what’s out there. However, I’ve heard so many beautiful things about the place, so I agreed to go anyway. And I’m glad I made the right choice.

We left at 5AM and headed to Bocaue exit to get into NLEX. We took the road less taken by heading to Nueva Ecija, then to Banaue, then to Sagada.

The journey from Bulacan to Nueva Ecija took around 5 hours, with a few short stops for gas and breakfast. Of course, as the temperature became colder, we knew that we’re getting close.

We reached the Banaue Rice Terraces viewpoint by 12:30 PM. By then, we were starving, so when we heard a motorcycle-delivered pandesal vendor’s bell, we happily tried the pandesal. To our surprise, the pandesal there didn’t taste quite normal. It tasted organic. LOL. We munched on our treat as we stared at this UNESCO World Heritage Site:

Note: We just found out that we have to go even higher to see the entire Banawe Rice Terraces as in the 20 peso-bill. That’s for our next trip, definitely!

Anyway, it was one hell of a view. To see the site I used to only see in postcards is just amazing.

After taking a few pictures, we headed for Sagada. It took as another 3 hours to get there, and to say that the road was difficult is an understatement. However, the trip was bearable and enjoyable, even, because of the astounding view of the mountain stretch.

The 70-kilometer trip from Banaue to Sagada was eye-opening even. It made us realize how much we’ve destroyed the country because of so-called development. How we’ve replaced these green stretches with gray, dull, non-Oxygen producing buildings that eventually become dilapidated when they grow older.

We had our late lunch at the Salt and Pepper Restaurant in Sagada. We specifically looked for this place because it was featured in Biyahe ni Drew, and we wanted to try their famous Etag pizza. However, we ended up buying something else. Sobrang mahal! (It’s too expensive!) The food was okay and the ambiance of the place is homey. The staff wasn’t very accommodating, though.

 

After our pricey lunch, we headed to Sagada Brew for a fresh cup of coffee. The price here is more affordable. The coffee is superb, and the cake is interestingly good. You’d expect that it’s sweet, but you never quite get to that sweet spot. Simply put, we loved their Arabica cake!

After dessert, we headed to our accommodation for the evening. It’s one of the best spots to stay in Sagada, for sure. Ina-Picaw’s D’ Carpenter house is located away from the busy Sagada main road. It’s got a great view of the mountain and its rich pine trees and has cozy rooms. Since it’s quite cheap, we really appreciated the place. Waking up with a cup of hot coffee in hand and this view is just one of the best feelings in the world.

The next morning, we left early to leave Sagada for Buscalan and meet Apo Whang Od. Again, I was hesitant because I was not sure I’m ready to get a tattoo. But since we’re only 50 kilometers away from the legendary tattoo artist, I agreed to go anyway.

We got there after about an hour. The journey, again, was quite difficult. But I’d rather have this over the overcrowded streets of Metro Manila any day. On the way there, we passed by a woman in her 60s carrying a sack of potatoes, barefooted, walking to get to the next village. She seemed to be walking with her dog, who chased us away when we passed. This could be one of the many reasons why people here live long. Regular exercise plus fresh air could easily add 10 to 20 years to your lifespan.

As Google maps failed to point us in the right direction after a few mountain crosses (and the lack of signal), we had no other choice but to ask around, so we won’t get lost. We saw a group of kids playing and asked if we’re near our destination, they said, “Jan. Layo pa!” (Go straight. You’re not near just yet.) We initially thought they’re quite a snob. But then, after a few encounters, we realized that they’re not really snob. They are just uncomplicated. We found it quite refreshing to deal with people who don’t go round in circles just to make you feel good.

When we reached Buscalan, we were met by locals who asked us if we have contacted anyone to guide us to Apo Whang Od’s village. We told them that we don’t. They explained to us that the guide fee costs 1000 pesos for the two of us. Aside from this, there’s a 100 peso registration fee per person. The signature tattoo costs 150 each. We counted our money to check if we can afford it:

• Registration Fee – 200
• Guide Fee – 1000
• Signature Tattoo – 300

Our money on hand at the time was 1700 pesos. We are 200 kilometers away from Baguio City, and we still need to get gas. We tried to haggle with them, but being the straightforward people they are, they said they can’t go any lower. They won’t allow us to go on our own either (we can literally see the place and imagined that it’s only going to take us 30 minutes or less). However, since it’s impractical, and we don’t want to risk not having a budget for gas, we decided to skip the tattoo and just go back to Sagada (one more time) for lunch.

For lunch, we had Pinikpikang Manok at Pinikpikan Haus. It’s this kind-of cruel way of cooking chicken, where they hit the poor bird, alive, repeatedly so it’s body bruises before it finally dies. Personally, I didn’t like it at all. The chicken was too chewy, and it didn’t smell nice.

After lunch, we headed to Sagada’s tourism office to see if we can still get a glimpse of the Hanging Coffins before we leave. To our utter surprise, there’s s fee to get there again. There’s a 50 pesos environmental fee (which I was willing to pay), plus an 800 peso guide fee. Again, when we checked the map, hanging coffins isn’t that far from the main road. However, they require a guide, and you’ll pay the same amount regardless of how many tourist spots you go to. Being the practical people that we are, we skipped the hanging coffins again and decided to come back next time and join one of the groups to save money.

We started heading to Baguio at around 12 PM. We didn’t want to travel so late, so we left Sagada right after lunch. The journey, at that point, wasn’t as fun, probably because we were too tired. What made it even scarier is when our motorcycle’s oil level has gotten so low. We were hoping for downward slopes to save gas, but the mountain roads were tricky and seemed to be going up more often than we hoped for. To our horror, there weren’t any gasoline stations anywhere (cause, hello, mountain). We were both nervous and losing hope when we saw this shining Caltex in the midst of nowhere:

Miracles do happen! We filled up the motorcycle and went on our way again. 

We reached Baguio at around 4 PM and went straight to Good Shepherd to buy pasalubong (hello, Ube jam!). Then, we headed to an apartelle in Marcos Highway to get some rest.

After dropping our stuff at our lodging, we visited Baguio’s Athletic Bowl to watch a Muay Thai Competition.  (You know how much Niño loves Muay Thai. Check out his competitions here.) The competitors were students aging 6 years old to about 15. The kids seemed to have competed a few times before, as some of them were allowed to fight without gears. It made me realize how great someone can be at something if they start young and really put their mind into it.

For dinner, we headed to Good Taste Restaurant. As before, the food was more than we can take, so we were more than satisfied.

We had breakfast at Good Taste as well the next day. We also visited the market to score some vegetables, strawberries, and coffee. A kilo of the Sagada coffee only costed us 270 pesos, and I couldn’t be happier.

We started our descent to Manila a little after 11 AM. It only took us 4 hours to reach Bulacan again. By then, we were dead tired from the long journey. Surely, we will never forget the lovely pine trees, the carless roads, the fresh air, and the quiet. It’s the closest we’ve got to nature, and we couldn’t wait to go back.