Sagada: Kiltepan - What Happened?

I wrote a short one about Sadaga's Kiltepan sunrise here.

The first time I went to Sagada was back in the early 2000's and have been going back almost every year. Despite that, I never really went to experience Kiltepan until 2012 and I must say it was magical. 

We went with our good friends, Karen & Xy and we had a grand time taking photos and just taking in all the beauty of the sunrise over the mountains and the sea of clouds. There was only one other small group there with us. The other group left early and we also told our jeepney driver to go ahead because we plan to just walk back to town. Para kaming nasa kawalan, yung tipong matatakot ka kahit may araw na kasi walang ibang tao at feeling mo bigla nalang may werewolves na tatalon galing sa mga pine trees.

The following year (2013), we went back with my BIL, SIL and their friends. 

The view is still amazing although there is already a small crowd. 

Then a few days ago I saw some pictures taken in Kiltepan... and I was shocked. 

source

source

Andaming tao, Bes! Nakakaloka! I haven't been to Sagada since I had my son.  Honestly, I really don't know what happened. So I did some reading up and stumbled upon blogs/articles also taking about this. There must be a correlation on the sudden influx of visitors to Kiltepan and the fame of the movie That Thing Called Tadhana. The movie was released in 2014. It's actually nice that movies and local soaps are promoting different places of the country because tourism helps create employment and income for the community. It also encourages the local tourism, you know, 'wag maging dayuhan sa sariling bayan. See as much of the Philippines as you can. But there must be some sort of regulation in place and environmental protection should also not be taken for granted.

You can't really blame people for wanting to visit Kiltepan, pictures just can't do justice on how beautiful and serene the experience is, well, at least for us.  I'm wondering how the experience is now that you have to elbow yourself into the crowd so you can get a good spot or a good shot of the view. 

I hope the LGU is doing (or has done) something about it. Regulating the number of visitors and proper waste disposal. And I hope fellow travelers stay responsible enough, too. I hope Kiltepan is still as beautiful and as raw as we've seen it a few years ago. Because, sayang naman. I've seen one of the most beautiful sunrises here, next to the one I've experienced at Mt. Pulag. 

Vigan: Pagburnayan Experience

We didn't really have any itinerary prepared when we went for a quick getaway to Vigan.  I just wanted to see the old churches and just chill in Calle Crisologo.  The side trip to the Pagburnayan was courtesy of our kutsero. 

I was pleasantly surprised when he brought us to the Pagburnayan where I get to experience making a burnay or an earthen ware pot. Entrance is free. 

We were lucky because we got there when there were no other tourists and I got to take my time learning from the workers.  It was difficult putting the right amount of pressure on the clay while at the same time making sure it's wet enough and the wheel doesn't stop turning. Pottery is an art and not an easy one.  

Before we left though, a hoard of tourists arrived and lo, we got to have a picture with Congressman Crisologo, too. 

Ignorant me was hoping to bring the pot that I made but it still needs to be sun dried then baked in an oven before you can even use it. Hahaha. 

Random: Travel Itch

One Baguio trip circa 2001

I wanted so badly to get away for the weekend... I need to recharge. I miss those weekends when I'd just hop on a bus and go to Baguio to do random lazy stuff.  

I have a Sagada trip in two weeks so I guess I will just wait for that.  Cheers for wanderlust, for more lakwatsa and to fellow lakwatseras! :)  

Subic: The Cliff Royale

We came across The Cliff Royale through the net while we were looking for a place to go to for a family event. I can't honestly remember what that occassion was and this was a few months back (yes, this post is long overdue).

So anyway, as mentioned we were looking through the net for a resort for the family and The Cliff Royale seems to be a good option because it's just in Subic, J & myself are frequent Subic visitors - but that's a different story. The family did not end up going there but J & I decided to still visit the resort for future reference.

We decided to go there via public transport, aka, Victory Liner to save on gas and so J can also relax and have a day off driving. We went there on a weekend with a reservation for an overnight stay which I arranged a few days ahead through SMS.

To get there:

• Victory Liner - from Pasay to Olongapo
• Jeepney - just near the Victory Liner Terminal in Olongapo, make sure you get the one with a roof painted in blue. Jeeps are color-coded in Olongapo, the yellow ones go around the city proper while the blue ones ply the neighboring towns outside the city proper. Ask to get off at Baloy Beach (this is pretty known in the area)
• The Cliff Royale is just at the corner of the street going to the resort strip along Baloy beach, they have a giant wooden gate with The Cliff on it. (just right beside Palladium Resort)

lovely lady, I mean, lovely windows ;)

We got the cheapest room because we're only staying overnight and honestly, their cheapest didn't seem cheap for me at all.

• PHP2000/night
• Two wooden double beds
• AC
• TV
• Hot & cold shower
• Personal refrigerator
• Nice stained glass on the windows and the bathroom door

What I didn't like about the room:

• It smells old - like wet wood or old blankets stored and forgotten in the closet, it's not mabango
• Poor ventilation
• Creaking beds
• Bathroom has poor drainage
• No towels - for the price, most resorts would provide fresh towels and toiletries
• It wasn't as clean as I expected

Naturally the room was our first stop and I was already disappointed with what we're getting for the price that we are paying for but I still kept my hopes high and looked forward to enjoying the resort, especially the pool.

the pool

see the color?

Much to my disappointment, yet again, it was nowhere near the clean blue color of a swimming pool, it was green... if I hadn't known better, if there weren't people in it and if I hadn't browsed on their website, I would have thought that it was just a giant pond! A freakin' pond with water lilies and koi -- I am exaggerating, no lilies and no fishes, but it was really moss green, warm and had a lot of sand and floating leaves in it. I confess, we took a dip in that dirty pool. At that point I was thinking that maybe, just maybe, they were gunning for a shabby chic look for the pool and intentinally colored the pool tiles green, I realised it I was wrong when we went in.
After that unfortunate dip in the pool, we just bid our time taking pictures around the resort.

the resort's up there, you have to go through a
cemented spiral staircase to go down the beach

one gazebo had a swing!

The Coffee Shop's famous tacos, yum!

The Coffee Shop is also just walking distance from the resort so I insisted that we have dinner there since it's going to be J's first time to see the giant tacos that Karen & I were boasting about.

After dinner, while walking back to the resort, we saw various bars and night clubs already open for business. I realized this must be one of the famous night strips back in the days when the US base was still here, there were still a lot of foreigners mingling around that night. It would have been an experience to go in on one of the bars to satiate the curiousity but I wanted a quiet night (read: I didn't want J oogling at those girls clad in itsy-bitsy tiny bikinis) so we just dropped by 711 grabbed a few bottles of...was it beer or vodka, I can't remember because I think I passed out just after finishing off half a bottle of whatever it was.

The next morning was a lot better... we went down to the beach, had our quiet time at the shore taking pictures and chatting with some fishermen.

the sun!

great view

effort!

The Cliff Royale seems to be a nice resort but one who has seen it's glory days. Maybe we just caught it in a bad time but they really could do better. Capitalize on their prime location, the beautiful beach, the great view from the cliff and improve on their services. I am nowhere near an expert on managing a resort but I am saying using the eyes of a frequent traveler and a guest.

• Centralize their reservation process - I confirmed our reservation several times, but when we got there it seems like the lady did not have any idea about it. I didn't know if there was really a room reserved for us or we just got lucky there was one available.
• Clean-up - they may be short of manpower or whatever but guests pay special attention on how clean the place is, they should prioritize this...from the rooms to the pool and even to the plants around the resort. If the kids were with us it would have been a disaster not having a clean swimming pool!
• Customer service - we could very well ran-away with the keys to our room because when it was time for check-out, their office was close and we couldn't find anybody except for the gardener. We handed the keys to him.
• Rates - I once stayed in a small resort along Baloy Beach (which was just a few minutes way by feet) - cleaner room, fresh beddings, and friendly staff.

I am not picky traveller. I can do with rustic, I actually love rustic, but at least give me clean. Looking back, the resort would have been okay... but the room and the pool did it. Maybe they just magnified the things that I would usually overlook.

I didn't want to show J my disappointment, afterall, we planned this weekend getaway to unwind and enjoy by ourselves. I still did my best to enjoy and we did enjoy our weekend although I don't think I'll be recommending this resort to any of my friends and definitely not to the family.

Sagada: Kiltepan Sunrise

Of all my trips to Sagada, it is the first time that I've decided to trek to Kiltepan to see the sunrise. 

I am definitely not a morning person but getting up at 4am was well worth it.  Sitting at the edge of the cliff, enveloped in the chilly Sagada fog while waiting for the sun's first rays was nothing short of magical. 

Caylabne: Las Casas De Cala Buena

The name sounds really posh - Las Casas De Cala Buena...  and it really was.  This is yet another random trip that we took with the FamBam because... wala lang... just because we love random trips.  I'm actually amazed at how we were able to push through with these trips since it's really not easy travelling with more than 20 individuals at a time.

Las Casas is part of the Caylabne Bay Resort, it is a group of mediterranean-inspired villas separate from the resort's hotel itself.  From Las Casas, it's probably a good 5-minute scenic walk to the beachfront from where the hotel, the restaurant and the other facilities are.  One will pass by a nice bridge (see pic below) where you can take postcard-wannabe photographs of the mountains, mangroves, and the estuary - where the river meets the ocean and where the boys were able to catch a lot of fish.

Ironically, as this is a trip to the beach and although I was able to enjoy the beach, I had more fun taking in the serenity of the mountains and the forest hence I realized I only took very few photos of the beach itself. 

We stayed in a villa with its own private pool. Imagine the joy of the kids swimming and playing in it until the wee hours of the night! :) It was nestled between a forested mountain on the left and a healthy mangrove swamp on the right.  Although the place, not just our villa but the whole resort, seem to have seen its better days, there is still this distinct luxurious feel to it.  It looked like an old and deserted mediterranean subdivision.

Deserted was nice since we seem to have the place to ourselves (I will not tell ghost stories in this blog).  We were able to play around, relax and bond.

I could not imagine how one can get to this place without private transportation since it seems complicated doing so.  It is located in Ternate, Cavite and is near Puerto Azul (which I gather is pretty well-known to everyone, well, except myself) and we also passed by what they call the "magnetic hill".  It is also near the jump off point for trekkers to Pico de Loro - the mountain not the beach club in Nasugbu.  The drive was quite fun and scenic especially once you leave the main road.  We spotted birds, eagles, lizards, and monkeys!  Lots of monkeys!

Monkeys wearing blue rompers holding on to a camera while two other little monkeys looked on.

Not the usual beach weekend for us but definitely one for the books.

VICTORY LINER: ZERO CONTINGENCY PLAN

At 10:30AM last April 29, 2012, we were finally aboard bus #846 bound for Olongapo from Victory Liner’s Pasay Terminal. That was after lining up at the ticket booth for more than 30 minutes.

The moment we reached our seat, I immediately placed my bag on the floor, checked the AC, reclined my seat and prepared to doze off for the most part of the trip. Although it was one of Victory Liner’s older buses, it was okay, I am not a very picky traveler, I was even happy that it had a free wi-fi connection onboard.

There was a delay from the original 10:30AM departure since the ticketing agent messed up the tickets and overbooked the trip. There were several passengers holding the same seat numbers.

When we were finally north-bound, near the MRT Taft Station, we went on a halt without knowing why. Apparently the bus hit a vehicle so the driver and the conductor need to settle it with the owner and the traffic officer. We only knew of this because some passengers went up and checked the commotion. No one from the bus company relayed the incident to us.

I’m not sure how long the settlement went on but after that the bus U-turned and went south-bound when we reached Magallanes. Some of us speculated that we are going back to the Pasay Terminal maybe to transfer to a different bus. When we reached the terminal, we were not asked to alight the bus, so we stayed in our seats and after a few minutes, we were north-bound again only to turn back south AGAIN when we reached Magallanes. Ang gulo ng sentence, ang gulo kasi talaga ng nangyari. This time, the bus went inside the terminal.

We have been around Edsa for a good 2 hours. No one from the bus company spoke to us nor kept us informed of what the plan is. I went up to the driver’s seat and asked them what’s going on and I admit, I already raised my voice. Another guy who was travelling with his family (with two kids) also came up and demanded an explanation.

We went to the office and the staff there are already taking their lunch, before we could get an answer from them, we saw the other passengers alighting from our bus and transferring to another, so we ran back to where the bus was parked. Amidst the high sun, passengers were hauling kids and baggage to the new bus assigned to us.

So we did transfer to a different bus and finally we were off to Olongapo. I am so close to calling the trip off and getting off the bus but we had reservations with a resort. I am still lucky because the other passengers mentioned that they were already late for some appointments and some mentioned that their kids are already hungry.

Accidents happen and the passengers understand that.

The problem is, we were expecting for Victory Liner to be ready with a contingency plan for such events. WE NEVER GOT AN APOLOGY NOR AN EXPLANATION FROM ANYONE FROM THE BUS COMPANY AT ALL. It was a blatant disregard of the welfare of the passengers.

I went online to their website and tried to fill-out their Customer Satisfaction Survey – (1) there’s no option for the Pasay-Olongapo route (2) after filling out the form and clicking on “Submit” the page froze, it did not go anywhere. I’m not sure if the survey got submitted at all (even after trying thrice) because up until now I did not receive any communication from Victory Liner even if I left my mobile number and my email address. Very poor customer service.

I cannot say that I will never take another Victory Liner trip again but in my next travels, if there is an option, I will definitely go with a different bus company.

Little Bridge Resort: Beautiful Sunset

Earlier this month, we went on a random trip to Taal, Batangas just to unwind and to make the most out of the holidays and the summer vacation of the kids. 

Main reason of going though this trip is to go swimming and enjoy the beach.  My excitement was however on checking the town - old houses and of course, the famous cathedral. I've been to Taal thrice and I can never get enough of the old Spanish colonial architecture, the grandeur of the Taal's St. Martin of Tours Basilica and the magic of the Our Lady of Caysasay's well. 

We stayed at The Little Bridge Resort.  I didn't have any hand on planning this trip and as mentioned, it was pretty random, we just went on not questioning where we're going. Yeah, there's a hint of disappointment there because we never get to try swimming in the beach - it was super crowded and the water doesn't seem clean.

Thankfully resort was clean and looks well-maintained.  The staff are also friendly and accomodating.  We stayed in one of their cabanas - we requested for extra mattress since there were around 7 kids and 15 adults in our group. I didn't believe we could fit in one cabana, but we made it happen.  I love how huge their pillows and how soft yet firm their mattresses are, plus their AC was working really well. 

Photo courtesy of The Little Bridge Resort

So aside from our disappointment with the beach, we still had a lot of fun - the kids especially.  The resort's pool was clean (I think they had a total of 4 big pools) and I love how it made me swim long laps.

Photo courtesy of The Little Bridge Resort

I actually had a lot of fun in the waters I wasn't able to get a lot of pictures... but I was lucky to have gotten my camera from the cabana in time for the sunset.   That was one of the highlight for me - the beautiful sunset. 

We never get to explore the town though, which was really ok since Taal is just a few hours drive from Manila, we can always go back.  There were too many of us and we left the resort at around noon, it was too hot to roam around with kids in tow. We just decided to drop by Calaruega on our way back to Manila - that's a different story I have to write about.

At the end of the day, it's the company that makes every vacation fun and memorable. I will never get tired of doing these trips. ;)