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. 

The Saigon Experience

I don't have my travel notebook with me right now so I won't be able to write about the details of the trip but I haven't blogged about the Vietnam trip so I'm going to share some pictures and some of the things I can remember.  It has been 2 years.



I don't have problems sleeping at airports while waiting for a flight.

Since it was only a 6-day trip I only have my North Face backpack with me, I used to be a champion of travelling light like that.  I'm re-learning that skill now as through the years I have accumulated several additions to my "travel essentials".   



Of course, the classic picture-taking at the airport.

 If I can remember it correctly, Vietnam is an hour behind Philippine's +8 GMT time.  We arrived late in the evening at Tan Son Nhat Airport in HCMC which I still prefer to call Saigon, it just sounds nicer for me.  Good thing we already pre-arranged a coaster to pick us up at the airport and bring us to our hotel.  HCMC looked like Manila in the dark except that they have a lot of streets lined up with huge trees even larger than the trees lined up around UPD's Sunken Garden.




Dong Song Xanh's facade.


Although the hotel is located near Pham Ngu Lao -  HCMC's backpacker's district, it was pretty difficult to find Dong Song Xanh because it was tucked into one of HCMC's tiny alley's.  We had to go around for a bit to find it because it was not familiar even for our driver.



Dong Song Xanh's lobby.


Dong Song Xanh looked like a typical 4-storey house (or was it 5?).  We got a room for I think just around $3/night.  Super tipid to think that it accomodated all 9 of us. We opted to get just one room since we just needed to have a place for us to rest a bit and freshen up since we were heading for Siem Reap early the next day.  The lady at the front desk didn't seem so happy that we woke her up that late, she was grumpy and not friendly at all.  She hushed us a lot of times and refused to let out bigger baggages up to our rooms since it would create noise.  We put up with her attitude since we were all tired and were all eager to shower.



Despite the modern-ness of HCMC, you still see a lot of locals wearing the traditional cone-shaped hats.


So we left the hotel early so we can at least roam around Pham Ngu Lao before we leave for Siem Reap.  Pham Ngu Lao seems to be more alive at night than in the mornings.  It was like visiting Malate on a Sunday morning where the bars are just closing up and the the loud music, the smoke and the alcohol from the previous night left a faint hint hanging in the air. 




Pho with beef and fresh mint which was too strong for my taste buds.



I was sooooo tempted to put this inside my backpack. LOL!


Before going to Mai Linh's office for our Siem Reap tickets, we had to meet our college friend, Brian, who is now residing as a designer in HCMC.  He helped us arrange this trip.  He brought us to yet another alley to have breakfast of pho.  There were several  vendors scattered around the area, similar to our pares vendors, they cook their soups and noodles right in their mobile kitchens.  We went to one who even had tables set up in one of the tiny spaces between two buildings. The kind where if you are not careful enough, someone's airconditioner's drips will merge right into your soup. The pho was good, my friends enjoyed it a lot but I wasn't able to finish my bowl since the mint was too strong for my tastebuds.



This is my kind of breakfast food - banh mi.


I found something that I love though, I think they call it banh mi.  This is the Vietnamese version of the French baguette sandwich. They have all sorts of cold cuts and spreads to choose from including the very familiar Laughing Cow cheese spread.  I bought one for myself and took it with me as baon for the long drive to Siem Reap.



Discussing our plan of attack. ;)



I have never seen a city with this many motorbikes!

Seriously.  



How could someone like me who is so scared of crossing the street survive in a city like HCMC.

 

Before boarding our bus for Siem Reap, a group picture with Baray who looks like a local in his motorbike.

It takes a lot of motorbikes to intimidate me because I grew up around some since my father was a motorcross rider.  I was freakin' dumstrucked with the number of motorbikes in this city.

Comparing to Cambodia, it was more difficult to navigate Vietnam as a backpacker not only because of the traffic but also because of the language.  There seems to be more English-speaking people in Cambodia.  Even around Pham Ngu Lao it was difficult to ask for directions since most of the locals speak only very little English.  I also prefer Cambodia's more laid back feel compared to HCMC's hustle and bustle.  


Our Vietnam experience was fun but definitely bitin since it was more of just a stopover.  I am looking forward to going back to Vietnam, maybe explore the more laid-back northern region and experience Ha Long Bay. 

Soon.

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. ;)

Moon Garden Tagaytay: Sanctuary

As I am writing this entry, I am in paradise.   I am not sure if I want to actually post this in my blog because of selfish reasons…  I don’t want to share this little space to other people.

It’s 6PM and the Tagaytay breeze is at it’s naughtiest.  I can hear the crickets and the frogs croaking from the pond around my gazebo.  

If you’re looking for a place where you can just retreat into silence and reflect on things, Moon Garden Tagaytay is the perfect place for you.  

Getting There:  I’ve read several blogs mentioning that they had a hard time looking for Moon Garden, if you/re not familiar with the Tagaytay area, it's a good idea to study their location map beforehand.  Personally though, I didn’t think it was that difficult to find. 

• Take SLEX and take the Sta. Rosa exit…  just follow the road to Tagaytay.    
• Turn right at the end of the Sta. Rosa-Tagaytay Road, you will then be on the Tagaytay-Calamba Road.
• Watch out for the SVD Road, it’s a narrow road to your right, there are no road signs except for a small blue billboard that says “Purok 162”, just before Estancia.
• Less than 2 minutes into SVD Road, you will see Moon Garden’s sign on your left, take that narrow graveled road, don’t be intimidated, it’s really narrow. 

After stopping at the gas station to fuel up and to check the tires, we left Manila at 1030AM and arrived in Moon Garden at around 12NN.  That was on a Sunday and on a leisurely pace.

I’ve noticed that there were only 2 other vehicles parked when we got there, which I think is a good sign, that means, the place is not full.  There were no signs on where the reception area is so we took the nearest concrete stairs we can find, we mistakenly turned left after the stairs and followed the path leading to one of the casitas.  So after backtracking, we found the main hall, there were no front desk, it was just a common hall where guests usually dine. We were greeted by Bong, whom I’ve communicated with days ago for our reservations. Before leading us to our casitas, he had us choose our breakfast for the following day. 

Food:  We initially planned to have bulalo for lunch at the Mahogany Market but upon seeing the menu, I suggested to stay in Moon Garden and try their food.  That decision actually turned out well.

Lunch: Fish & Chips (P240) and Paksiw na Conchinillo  (P260) both were served with a siding of pickled vegetables.  That was the best fish and chips I've had!

• Breakfast (Day 2): Homemade Corned Beef and Crispy Adobo Flakes both came as free for the overnight rate that we’ve paid for.  Breakfast was served with a kettle of kapeng barako, their own fruit shake, pickled vegetables and fresh fruits. I love the chunkiness of the homemade corned beef! I don't usually go for fried rice because I'm not a fan of garlic, but the fried rice they served was also really good, I actually finished mine (I usually just eat half a serving).

Accomodation:  This is what actually sold me out to trying Moon Garden.  Their rooms, which are called casitas, are comfortable and spacious.  Casitas are individually scattered in the area which gives guests some privacy.  You have to be intimate to share a casita since the bathroom do not have doors.

• Queen sized bed, 4 huge soft pillows, soft and comfortable mattress, warm comforter.
• Ceiling fan. No AC, but with the Tagaytay climate, who needs AC?
• Cable TV 
• Cabinets and rustic armoire plus a long table
• Hot shower
• Abundant fresh towels
• Basic soap, shampoo and toilet paper  
• Their own version of a bay window

Mosquitoes are nasty at night since well... it’s a garden.  If you plan to hang out in one of the gazebos, slather on some repellant and bring a blanket if you can, who know’s you might even fall asleep to the croaking of the frogs and the sweet sound of the crickets.  

Budget:  Now this little vacation cost more than the usual  "weekender" however, it is a worthy splurge. 

• Gas - PHP1000
• Toll (Sta. Rosa Exit) - PHP175
• Casita (overnight w/ free breakfast for two) - PHP3000
• Lunch - PHP500
• Coffee (Bag of Beans) - PHP390
• Dinner - PHP150
• Toll (Coastal) - PHP24

If you're wondering what we had for dinner...  we went to 711 and bought siopao and a can of pork & beans.

Tips:

• Make your reservations ahead of time especially if you are going on a weekend, you can email them at moongardentag@gmail.com or send an SMS to Bong at 0939 913 9097.
• If you prefer to be “alone” I highly recommend going there on weekdays or maybe do a Sunday-Monday like we did.
• MGT is awesome at night. Despite how tempting it is to stay in bed, I strongly encourage you to explore the garden at night.
• Get to know the plants and flowers around... including the bugs and the insects.
• Look for that pretty cat we saw, who stared at me and allowed me to take a picture. 
• Enjoy the whimsical figurines, statues, and what-nots scattered all over the garden.

If you are looking for activities, there’s none… and that added to the charm.  No pools nor ziplines.  I went there to reflect on what’s happening with my life, read a book, have good conversations… Moon Garden gave me that.  Although I did not go far with the pages of my book because I almost always fall asleep after a few sentences read, the experience brought me to a world where I can say that life is indeed beautiful. 

Yeah, I am posting this entry… to pay it forward. Afterall, they say, happiness comes easily when you give it away.

....
Just before we left we had a chat with Peter, who owns the place, apparently Ayala Land is developing the adjacent lot... which is a shame because it will definitely ruin the view, the silence and the rustic charm of the place.  :(

Sagada Love!

For an overdue "away-from-city-life" escape, I went to Sagada with some friends a few weeks ago.  It's not my first time in this shangri-la but in a lot of moment, I'm still left in awe.

Getting There:

• Cable Tour Bus (MLA-Bontoc) - 12 hours, P650/pax, you can find them along E. Rodriguez Ave, QC.  It's quite tricky finding their terminal, it's inside a compound between St. Luke's Hospital and Trinity College.  Ask around, if I didn't I would be able to find it AT ALL.  I love it that the bus is air-conditioned yet I can open the windows so I can take pictures. Buses leave at 830PM daily. Contact them: 09185216790 / 09282305330.

• Jeep (Bontoc - Sagada) - 45mins, P50/pax, ask around where you can find these jeeps as they don't really have a terminal. We wanted to ride topload but the jeep loaded sacks of cement & rice so we decided to stay put in our seats.

Stay:

• George Guesthouse - P200/pax per night - private toilet/shower, hot water, free wifi, tv. Cheap! :) We made reservations prior to our arrival which I highly recommend that you especially if you are going in a big group or during peak season. Contact #: Teodora +639185480405 or Irenius +639206070994. 

Eat: 

• Bana's Cafe - all breakfasts were taken here.  Food is great and we adored their homemade bacon! Average cost per meal - P80-P150.

• The Yoghurt House - I love this restaurant when I first visisted Sagada back in 2004. I wasn't that impressed this time - service was really slow and food was just so-so.  I still love their yoghurt though.  I had the one with banana & muesli, K had strawberries... we mixed them together. I'm a big yoghurt fan, so I'm happy.

• Vincent's Cafe - first thing you'll notice here are the paintings on the door and a mural on the wall.  Those were done by Russel who we were able to share a couple of beers with. Had a very relaxed, fun, and cozy feel.  We met new friends here since the place is very conducive for conversations. We were the only Pinoys when we went there. Very global, we made friends with Russel (Canadian), a British guy and two Aussie girls. Order the fish & chips!

• Lemon Pie House -  hands-down, my favorite! It's very homey, coffee (P30/cup) is good and pies (P25)are cheap yet very yummy.  Free wi-fi and stories from Ate Loida. This place is really love.

  Coming Back:

• Lizardo Bus Line (Sagada-Baguio)  - P220/pax, approx 6-7 hours, last trip leaves Sagada at 1PM.  This part is a blur to me (and to my friends) - reckless driver, highest highway in the Philippines (Halsema Highway), and super thick fog. Such a shame because the view in Halsema was really great but we weren't able to enjoy it since we were busy holding on to our seats. Driver drives really fast, takes the counterflow lane even on blind curves, and ignored our not-so-silent gasps. Hmp. Will not recommend this bus line - at all!  Just take the Sagada-Bontoc-Banaue-MLA route.
• Victory Liner (Baguio-MLA) - P460, 7 hours. Leg room, comfortable seats, deep sleep. 'Nuff sleep. :)

These are just the basics.  Will blog about our activities next time. Sagada is really LOVE. :)

***click on pictures to enlarge