V is for Vanessa

Being back in Manila feels strangely like going home. A dirty, hot, chaotic second home.
I only had two days in the city, but I got to see ate Nellie, chat with Benjie and hit up my favorite places to eat in Malate.
Next stop: Borneo.

After a day and a half in Sagada, I caught the morning bus from Sagada directly to Baguio. The route takes 6 or so hours and traverses the scenic Halsema Hwy, including passing over the highest point on any road in the Philippines. I tried, unsuccessfully, to take some pictures/video out the window of the bus. I also scoped out where my stop would be the next day to make my start on Mt. Timbak.

When the bus arrived in Baguio, I managed to make my way to my hotel. The room was small and musty, but I only needed it for about 36 hours. I arranged to sleep there one night and leave for my 2 am bus the following evening. I took the time to buy my bus ticket and buy a few snacks for the next day. Knowing that I’d be getting up early the next day, I tried to sleep and ignore the mustiness and occasional cockroach in my room.

Early the next day, I set out for the bust station to catch the 6 am bus back toward Sagada. The ride took almost two hours and I nervously watched out the window for my stop, worried that I’d miss it and end up going farther than I wanted. When I asked the bus driver a few times about my stop, he reassured me “not yet!” Eventually we stopped and I was the lone person to get off the bus.

Following the rather steep road up and up, it eventually changed from a paved road to a dirt path. I followed the path past houses and farms, calling out to and wishing a good morning to all that I passed. Nervous that I may not be in the correct place, I asked several women out working in their gardens the way. Each time, they gestured me along the way I was going.

After a while, the path turned into some of the gardens and across the stone and dirt ledges of the terraces. As I climbed, I gained a small entourage of young boys and a couple dogs.  They asked me where I was going (in true Pinoy fashion) and tagged along for a while. After a while, I came out on the top of the hill and I could see my destination in the distance. The remainder of the way involved bushwhacking through some tall grass across a ridge to the peak of the mountain. At the top, in addition to an antenna, there was a shrine and three crosses in the Calvary style. I paused here for lunch and some photos before making my descent.

I was a bit worried about making my bus back to Baguio, I knew that the buses didn’t run very late into the afternoon and I had no desire to get stranded in the Benguet countryside with my things in my Baguio hotel room and a ticket for a bus that evening. My fears were completely unnecessary, since I’d gotten such an early start on the day I was back at the road around noon and back in Baguio before 3 pm.

After braving the shower in my hotel, I ventured to a local vegetarian restaurant much beloved by PCVs for a late afternoon meal and continued to wander around downtown Baguio. Failing miserably at napping in my stuffy hotel room, I packed my things and failed miserably at using Jedi-mind-trick to persuade a couple of cockroaches to “go out the way they came.” Eventually, I decided it was fruitless to wait around in my room; I checked out and made my way to the bus station to wait for my early morning bus back to Manila for the last leg of my time in the Philippines.

Yesterday morning I just barely caught the jeep that went from Banaue to Sagada. It was a bumpy scenic ride, and we stopped a couple times long the way allowing us time to get generous glimpses of the mountains surrounding us and the scenic valleys below. The ride to Sagada takes the better part of the day, leaving at 8 am we don’t arrive until mid-afternoon.

Once I arrived in town, I made my way to my guest house and ended up with a double room with two double beds all to my self. The cold water shower was down the hall, and the staff kindly informed me I could purchase a bucket of hot water if I so desired. After settling in, the remainder of the day was spent wandering around town and eating delicious food at the Yogurt House.

The next morning, I picked up a not-to-scale map of the local area and chose nearby Mt Ampacao (more of an overly large hill, really) to scale as part of my efforts to prepare for climbing Mt Kinabalu. The day was sunny and I quickly became warm, though the breeze was cool and refreshing.The path was well-worn and generally traversed along a steep grassy hillside, with little shelter from teh sun.

When I reached the top of the mountain, I stopped for a snack and chatted with the only other hiker I encountered on the trail. He was a European ex-pat living in the area, and seemed somewhat surprised that I’d make this trip alone. He mentioned to me the American hiker who was killed in Batad a few years earlier and I told him that she was my friend and fellow volunteer. He seemed surprised that this did not discourage me from setting out alone. I told him that, despite that unfortunate incident, I still felt that the Philippines was one of the safest places I had been.

From Manila, I decided to head up to Banaue and go where I wanted from there.

This leg of the trip was a mix of emotions. I remember that I really enjoyed my first trip to Banaue with my mom in 2007, but this was also my first time back to the region after Julia died (which was about 6 weeks after my initial trip). I really wanted to make the trip back out to Batad, I’ve had her on my mind a bit lately (perhaps because I knew that I wanted to visit the region) and I was hoping that making the trek out there would help give a little more closure- especially since I wasn’t able to make it to the park dedication ceremony.

When the bus pulls into town, it doesn’t really pull into town-town. Like last time, there are a bunch of guys waiting there to “help” you plan your stay in Banaue and take you wherever they think you should go. One guy offered a free shuttle ride to town (I should know that nothing is ever really “free”), and then pretty much took it for granted that those of us who took his ride would be purchasing his services for something. I went and found a room at a nearby guesthouse, dropped my bags and returned to the restaurant where several other backpackers were eating breakfast and trying to figure out what to do. Our general consensus was that we wanted to go to Batad, some wanted to stay overnight and some, like me, wanted to return to town that evening. The jeep driver kept trying to offer alternative plans that involved long day trips around the area and staying overnight in Batad, but eventually we found a plan that worked for everyone.

All together there were seven of us: me, a Canadian guy, a French woman, two German-speaking Italian women, and two German women. The German women had a bus back to Manila that night, so the three of us were definitely planning to ride back to Banaue before dark. The others wanted to go to the waterfall, sleep in the village and maybe go see another terrace area the next day. Much to my chagrin, the jeep drove us all the way from town to the saddle (I wanted the 3km walk up the hill to help train for Mt Kinabalu, but oh well) and we only had to hike down into the valley from there.

When we reached the village, we all had lunch and much to my surprise we saw Eddie, the guy who was my guide on my last trip to Batad- 3 years ago. We hiked around the terraces a bit, without a guide- despite one young gentleman’s insistence that we might want some help- and made our way back up the saddle in good time. On the path, I kept an eye out for any marker or mention of Julia, but I didn’t see anything. Perhaps there is one there and I just didn’t cross that path, or perhaps there isn’t anything at all. I didn’t really want to ask about it because I know that it’s a bit of a sore subject and something that’s quite shameful and upsetting to the generally friendly and helpful people of the area. I was a little surprised, given the Catholic love of putting up crosses to memorialize people- but not too surprised.

Once back in town, I had dinner with the two German women (both named Anke) and gave them some tips for pearl shopping in Manila. During dinner the electricity came back on after a day-long brown out, and I was even able to get a hot shower before bed. My room was pretty quiet, but the couple next door seemed to talk as if they were mostly deaf. Or maybe the walls were just a little thin.

In the morning, I was still a little unsure if I wanted to head out or where I wanted to go. I stopped at the tourist info office and found out that the only jeep going to Bontoc left at 8:30 (this was at 8), so I told the driver I was coming, ran back to my room, threw everything into my backpack and rushed back to the jeep. Sure, I only had Sky Flakes for breakfast, but it was lucky that I was able to get everything together quickly and make the trip. I don’t think that I really would have been up for another day in Banaue.

After a few days in Boracay, soaking up the sun, sand and surf, it was time to head back to Manila (which feels, scarily, like a second home).

This trip to the Philippines wasn’t very long and I didn’t have time to plan a trip to Bicol, so I was worried and disappointed that I probably wouldn’t get to see some of the people that I love and care for the most in the Philippines. As luck would have it, there just happened to be a language training camp in metro Manila that started the day after I would be in town, so I made plans to meet up with Eva and Elena- two of my favorite language trainers. In addition, my friend Richard was free and even had a holiday Monday (Presidents’ Day?) so we were able to go out to my favorite Indian restaurant for lunch.

Anyway, it was really nice to see so many friendly faces in Manila and get a chance to visit some of my old haunts in the city. I only had about 36 hours in town, and still didn’t get to see some of the PC staff members that I was hoping to see, but I did get to eat some wonderful food and even meet the volunteer who’s placed at my old site in San Jose. They told her that I ate everything and give her crap for being a vegetarian- I set the record straight, much to her glee.

Time in Manila is short, but I’m coming back before I head out. Now, north!

There’s nothing like a windy, cold Korean winter to drive one to the beach. Not a Korean beach, a warm tropical beach. Having never managed to go to Boracay while a volunteer, I thought it would make a nice first stop.

Boracay is exactly what you’ve heard it is. Beautiful. Touristy. Overdeveloped. Amazing. Fun. Wild. Lazy. Expensive. Has all the conveniences of home. A place you have to leave after a few days. A place you can visit and never leave.

While certainly not the best beach in the Philippines, White Beach is definitely in the top 10. The sand is white (hence the name) and powdery. Resorts, restaurants and bars span the length of the beach offering cool drinks, tasty treats and lounge chairs for all-day sunbathing binges.

I was lucky enough to book a dorm bed at Frendz Resort Boracay, which is a bit back from the beach but right on tho price and a great place to meet fellow backpackers (or English teachers from Korea on winter holiday) and hang out.

With my beach time, I did little that was productive. Basically, my four days alternated between walking on the beach, swimming, sunbathing, eating and sleeping. One day, in preparation for diving in Sipidan, I did two dives.  The reefs and fishlife are ok, but nothing like I’m used to seeing when I dive here.  Funny thing, though, the dive shop I happened to go to just so happens to be the dive shop that employs a fellow former 265 PCV as a dive master.  I was sitting there waiting to get my gear when I hear someone call out, “Hey Ward!” to which I look up and also shout, “Hey!  Ward?”  It was nice to chat and get a bit of chikka, as well as an inside line on where to get some delicious fresh yogurt.

All in all, it was a nice trip.  Expensive, but not too out of budget.

Recommended:  Yes.  But don’t go crazy.  Unless that’s your plan, of course.

After much anticipation (on my part), I finally arrived in the Philippines. I managed to get a half-price one way ticket from Incheon to Manila for about $120 on Cebu Pacific. The flight doesn’t have a lot of perks but at that price, it’s no problem to pack a sandwich and enjoy.

Once I got to Manila, I had about eight hours to wait until my Cebu Pacific flight to Kalibo. Trying to sleep in a Filipino airport is an exercise in futility. When we arrived, pretty much every surface available for sitting was occupied by someone who was both sacked out and snoring. After searching out a bathroom that wasn’t closed for cleaning, I managed to find a low windowsill that was good for taking a nap. Unfortunately, I had approximately 45 minutes trying to get comfortable before people started arriving for the 4am flight to Davao. I’ll just say, it was a long morning.

I’m at the airport, thoroughly enjoying the free wifi and trying to pass the time until my flight. By this time tomorrow I’ll be enjoying the beach and warm weather.

To summarize: can’t wait to get the hell out of Korea, I’m impressed with how awesome and useful my new ipod touch is, and I’m cold.

And I’ve got a Dr Pepper & a Quizno’s sub in my bag for later. Life is nice.

After three weeks of visiting and traveling with my mom in Hong Kong, Macau and Korea, I’m starting my next backpacking adventure.  Tonight I fly from Incheon to Manila and from there to Boracay for a few days of much needed sunny RnR on a pretty beach.  I know Boracay is “overrated” but it’s one of the places I didn’t go as a volunteer, and right now I could use comfort and a few familiar treats.  The getting there is going to be a long trip, I’ve got an 8-hour layover between flights, but I’m looking forward to sunny days, sandy beaches and nothing to do but read.

It’s the end of an era. Maybe that’s overstating it slightly, but it’s pretty big news for me. My mom comes to Korea soon, we will go to Hong Kong and travel around Korea for a few weeks. After she leaves…I’m off on my next great adventure.