Sagada 2023: Fulfilling A Childhood Dream

"Bata pa lang ako, pangarap ko nang makapunta sa isang lugar na malamig kapag Pasko, iyong tipong ang taas ng araw pero balot na balot ang buo kong katawan."

This would have never happened this year. After feeling under the weather for over a week, I convinced myself this trip had to be canceled. Thanks to my partner, he persuaded me to go on this trip with him, of course.

Packing for a trip had always been a challenge for us, and it's no different this time. After four hours of packing, we finally went to the bus station. As an additional challenge, taxis were nowhere to be found. So, we decided to just take a tricycle. The bus left the station at exactly 07:00 PM, just five minutes after our arrival. The trip was smooth as I expected, with occasional coughs and sneezes in the background from several passengers, including myself.

After five hours, we arrived at the Baguio City terminal, but we had to wait for almost two and a half hours for our connecting bus trip to Sagada. At the bus station, people flocked as we waited for the first trip, which thankfully left around 02:30 AM. It took us six hours to get to the Sagada Centro, after several stop-overs and many steep zigzag roads, just in time to register at the Tourist Information Center.

Our supposed check-in time was noon, but the guests before us had already checked out a couple of hours ago; that was why the receptionist checked us in around 09:00 AM. After settling in, we decided to have a late breakfast at the inn's restaurant. The food was generally good, except for some weird combinations of vegetables and mixed condiments. After, we decided to take a nap and explore the nearby establishments in the afternoon.

Around 03:00 PM, we went to the only museum in the town proper, Ganduyan Museum. It showcases things that the people of Sadada use in their daily lives. There's not much in the museum except for the catalogs with short narratives of the artifacts in the exhibit. There's an entrance fee of Php 100.00 per person.

I know that it's for the maintenance of the museum and the salary of its personnel, but I think it's a bit much. For one, the artifacts don't look well-maintained. It's as if after putting them on the shelves, that's it, no cleaning of any sort. Also, visitors have to remove their footwear before entering, which I understand was a measure to keep the place clean. But if you're exploring in slippers, good luck with the cold floor. All-in-all, it's a good experience to see what the lives of their ancestors looked like, but the museum could use some more love and care.

After spending half an hour in the museum, we decided to grab some snacks at Yoghurt House and Gaia Cafe. Yoghurt House's best-selling yoghurt was amazing. I think the coconut shreds and honey elevated this dessert, not to mention the perfect strawberry marmalade. We also ordered Bolognese pasta. I think there's nothing special about this pasta, except for the fact that the pasta was cooked al dente. Also, toasted bread could have been a better side. After an hour here, we decided to visit Gaia Cafe. From Yoghurt House, we had to take a roughly 10-minute tricycle ride. Good thing, our driver was so chatty that she informed us that it would be better if someone would fetch us after our stay, since tricycles were rare in the area. We ordered coffee and cookies while waiting, and we just basked in the cold breeze of the afternoon with the picturesque view of the fields at the back of the cafe. The cafe closed at 06:00 PM, but our tricycle driver arrived 15 minutes later because of heavy traffic.

We spent the time before our dinner at 08:00 PM just resting. I was able to catch some sleep while my boyfriend was browsing social media. Dinner at the Log Cabin was exceptional. We had to wait for almost 30 minutes while standing because many customers were still in the queue when we arrived. Good thing, the line for two people was very short. I ordered their smoked ham, and it's the best homemade ham that I've tasted so far.

For our second day, we woke up around 04:30 AM to catch the 05:00 AM bus to witness the sea of clouds at Isang Wow Cafe during sunrise. Unfortunately, the place was already crowded with other tourists, so we decided to only order a cup of coffee. It was disappointing, though, that it took them almost two hours to serve two cups of coffee. And the coffee tasted of nothing. It's as if it's just hot water with black food coloring. As for the view, it's nothing less than spectacular. We were able to see the clouds moving, and if they had moved a little towards us, we could have touched them.

Around 07:00 AM, we decided to go back to downtown to get our breakfast. We initially planned to eat breakfast at Sagada Bistro, but we found out that they open around lunchtime. We then opted to eat breakfast at Salt & Pepper. However, around this time, they only served breakfast items on their menu. There's nothing much to say about their breakfast other than marami, but your typical Pinoy breakfast items. After, we decided to have dessert at Lemon Pie House. Their lemon pie and egg pie were to die for. I will go back to Sagada to eat them again. They were perfect with their hot lemon tea.

After this, we returned to our accommodation to get some rest and resume our tour in the afternoon. Around 01:00 PM, we were already heading to Sagada Pottery. It's very near our accommodation, but since we didn't know that at first, we took a tricycle to get there. The demo they provided cost us Php 200.00 per group, regardless of the number of people in a group. I'd say it's a very short demo. It only contained a 2-minute brief history of Sagada Pottery and almost 10 minutes of telling us the basics of making a vase, pitcher, bowl, and cup. The items on sale cost at least Php 700.00. They also had an online shop, which was why we decided to only buy one item, and thought that it was better to buy the rest online since they sell them at the same price. After spending 45 minutes here, the extra 15 minutes waiting for another tricycle, we went to Sega Tours to book our Hanging Coffins itinerary.

It only took us 15 minutes to book our tour, and then we found ourselves already having a mini trek to go to the starting point, St. Mary's Church. I think this was the most challenging part of this activity since, instead of utilizing the paved road, to avoid traffic, we took some outskirt paths through the residential areas. Before we started our trek, we had to pay an entrance fee of Php 10.00 per person. While on our way to the scenic site, we passed through an Anglican cemetery. After almost 10 minutes of downhill and uphill trekking, we finally reached the hanging coffins of Sagada. As a talkative person, I was able to get as much information from our tour guide. Knowing the rich culture and tradition behind this practice was worth the breathtaking trek. After our trek, we decided to rest in front of St. Mary's Church. We just sat there, appreciating the beauty of the structure itself. Sobrang peaceful sa pakiramdam just sitting there with my partner kahit na medyo marami ring tao sa paligid. And I found myself daydreaming that someday somewhere I'll be in a place in winter enjoying the first fall of snow, holding a hot coffee in my left hand and a croissant in my right hand beside my partner with our dog. Then, I was pulled back to reality when my boyfriend said that we had to go and eat a late lunch.

So we walked to Sagada Bistro, it's just walking distance if you're used to walking. I had their pork sisig, and it's the best among all the sisigs that I've tasted. The ambiance of the place was very homey. Though I just didn't like that the place was a bit warmer than I would have wanted it to be, probably that's just because they wanted to keep the warm air inside since it's very cold during the night. But their food was very good, even the baked chicken that my partner ordered.

To cap off our day, we decided to have coffee at Bana's Coffee. I ordered their Spanish latte and it was one of the best that I've ever tasted. Although their al fresco tables were already occupied, we decided to stay for an hour while having our coffee. The place was decent enough for me to enjoy my stay while drinking my coffee, despite not being able to order any pastry.

Once we were back at our accommodation, we decided to take a nap. However, it led to a full-blown sleep, at least for me. Around 09:00 PM, my partner was a little hungry and decided to have cup noodles downstairs. I was so recharged after this much-needed rest because we had to check out around 07:00 AM the following day to catch the bus to Baguio. The trip was a bit longer than we anticipated because of traffic. We arrived at Baguio around 02:30 PM. Since a Good Taste branch was only a few steps from the Dangwa Bus Terminal, we decided to have a late lunch there. Their food was still as good as our first lunch there a few years ago. And their servings, good for two people, were still good for four to five people, just like before. As expected, we had to take out some leftovers.

Around 4:00 PM, we checked into our accommodation, City Center Hotel, which was just a walking distance from the bus terminal. Unfortunately, we were unable to participate in some nighttime activities, such as the night market and dinner, because my partner fell ill. We just slept in since our bus trip down from Sagada was also very taxing. Around midnight, I woke up and decided to eat the leftovers from the restaurant.

After having breakfast, I went to Baguio Public Market alone and just let my partner rest in our suite. I bought our supply of coffee beans, strawberries for my homemade jam, some lemons, and honey. Around 11:00 AM, we decided to check out already and left our bags in the reception because we still had some plans before heading home.

Right after checking out, sakay kaagad ng taxi pa-Camp John Hay. Since we were only there to have coffee, we were seated in a cozy corner near the coffee bar. I had a cappuccino and jowa and I shared a slice of ube cheesecake with macapuno. One of the best cheesecakes I've tried, I must say. Masarap din na may caramel sauce. We also spent some minutes strolling around The Manor and taking some photos.

Massage at North Haven Spa

Dinner at Tsokolateria

Left Baguio at 1145PM

Coping With A Baguio Hangover

"Travel! Money spent can be earned but not time."

I saw this line in a Facebook post that encourages people to experience Filipino hospitality by traveling all around the country. To be very honest, I think this line spoke to me more than it should. With everything happening in the world, loved ones and friends bidding goodbye, and a future full of uncertainties, investing in experiences is a very personal way of enjoying my limited time.

Our recent trip to the City of Pines made me realize some things.

Working from anywhere is now my number one priority when looking for a job.

With the work set-up that I have right now, working 8 to 10 hours, 5 days a week in the office is no longer an option for me.

Working from anywhere eliminates my worry of doubling the workload of my teammates while I'm on vacation for the obvious reason that I still get to do my tasks. Also, my setup makes filing a vacation leave way easier than it was before.

Of course, in any work set-up, boundaries should always be set. Once I clock out, I no longer entertain work-related conversations so I can focus on enjoying my vacation.

Save and set a budget for a trip pero 'wag naman masyadong magtipid.

Setting a budget for a trip is a good way para hindi maging burden ang trip expenses sa finances ko.

I had a 10K budget for our 5-day and 4-night stay in Baguio. It was easy to spend this amount since I saved for it and I wasn't also guilty for spending it since before I even saved for it, I already made sure that all my financial plans and obligations were cared for.

Masayang mamasyal na hindi iniisip na baka mapasobra ang gastos since guided naman ako ng budget ko, I even had a set amount to spend daily.

Take pictures to remember that trip but don't over-do it.

It's alright to take photos of every place I have on my itinerary pero 'wag naman yung bawat galaw na lang eh may picture.

With this Baguio trip, may mga lugar na halos hindi ko na na-appreciate just because I was no longer in the moment. Focused na lang sa kakakuha ng picture at naubos na ang oras ng hindi man lang nag-sink in yung feeling na andoon ako.

Moving forward, I will just get 2 or 3 photos per place and will then just enjoy the moment of being there, letting myself be in that place, at that time.

Eat and eat and eat. Just bring some meds and probably some toiletries.

One of the best things when I travel? Foods!

As someone who loves to eat, ang makakain ng mga pagkaing wala sa Maynila eh ang perfect lang. Or at least, eat in a restaurant na wala sa Maynila. I know naman na eating at this kind of restaurants can be pricey sometimes. Kaya syempre hindi naman kailangan na sa lahat ng meals throughout the entire trip ganito ang sitwasyon.

As I learned from this trip, you may do this probably once or twice daily. In our case, we were able to eat in six cafes and restaurants within our 5-day stay, most of them during lunch and dinner.

In between these food adventures, palaging may mga pagkaing hindi mag-a-agree sa aking tyan kaya palagi akong may dalang Imodium, wet wipes, tissue, alcohol, at kung minsan eh sabon.

Have a local experience of the activities that you usually do when not traveling.

May mga bagay na masarap ma-experience sa ibat-ibang lugar.

For me, it's massage. It's my monthly activity kapag andito lang sa metro. And yes, ang sarap ding alalahanin ng mga pagkakataong na-experince ko din 'to sa Baguio.

We went to North Haven Spa, their branch at the back of SM. I got to experience a full-body scrub, their sauna, and a full-body massage.

***

Okay, I'm cutting my story here. We'll probably go back before this year ends, kwento ulit ako ng mga bagay-bagay.