18.02.2013 Angeles

In the middle of the night, I landed at Clark airport near the city of Angeles. Immigration procedures took ages, and when I stepped outside it was already 2:30 a.m. None of the three ATMs wanted to accept any of my three different cards. They must have been empty! My hotel pick-up service did not turn up. Fortunately a guard helped me out by exchanging a few Thai Baht, and a taxi driver took me for a very low fare… Welcome to the Philippines – where people are just friendly like that! 🙂

19.02.-20.02.2013 Baguio

A few hours of sleep in the absolutely overrated Tune Hotel, and off I was next morning to go on to Baguio. During the 6 hour trip, I met a Malay-Philippine couple. Mohana and Amy were travelling without a guidebook and soon offered me the following deal: We would travel together for a few days, I would do the planning and they would pay the bills. Okay… 😉 Our first night in Baguio, we found a nice bar right away, where they had live music – it was a happy start!

After a nice breakfast the following day, we tackled the big sightseeing tour: First, we visited Rizal Park, a relaxing leisure place of the locals. You can go boating there or rent a tricycle, and we did both. We then went on to the University of Baguio, home to an interesting museum on the culture of the mountain tribes. We could try out all the musical instruments ourselves, which was cool! 🙂 Right next door, there is a Buddhist temple – but, well… I’ve just seen too many great temples already. The Bell Church, actually a Chinese temple, equally failed to impress me. 😉
To conclude our sightseeing day, we went up to a viewpoint which was nice enough, but sooooo touristy. Funnily enough, though, the tourists were not Westerners, they were all locals! 🙂
In the evening we had a good time again, finding yesterday’s live band again in a different bar… No early night for us this time 😉

21.02.-22.02.2013 Sagada

A long, tiring bus trip revealed few highlights in the passing scenery – the weather being foggy with occasional showers – and brought us from Baguio to Sagada, where things didn’t look much better… The next day, defying the weather, we went on a tour to the Echo Valley, and also joined a little cave expedition, called Cave Connection. The Echo Valley obviously gets its name from the echo… but, well. I’ve rarely heard a weaker echo 😉 The hanging coffins are displayed there, a special form of burial which today is open only to the wealthy who can afford it…

The Cave Connection links two large caves and takes about four hours altogether. We definitely had no idea what we were signing up for! 😉 The tour led us through narrow gaps and across slippery rocks; in some places we actually had to climb, sometimes with the help of a rope… Not recommendable for anyone suffering from claustrophobia, and generally more a thing for the adventurous at heart!! It was fun, but I was also glad when we all returned safely, without anybody falling…

23.02.-24.02.2013 Banaue

A Jeepney brought us to Banaue via Bontoc. What sounds simple enough was in fact a loooong wait. In Bontoc we had a glimpse of the sun, a short-lived pleasure; in Banaue we were again greeted by fog and rain… Of course we could still not leave out the viewpoints around Banaue and hired a tricycle to drive us there. Rice terraces as far as we could see! Very beautiful…

The next day, we shared a Jeepney with a few other travellers and went to the departure point for Batad. Batad, a UNESCO World Heritage site, is a veritable amphitheatre of rice terraces.The weather continued to be rainy… but the tour was nevertheless a great experience! You wander along the thin walls that separate the individual terraces, rice fields filled with water and mud to the left, a sharp drop to the lower terrace to the right – luckily I wasn’t one of those who took a bath! 😉 Returning to Banaue, I hopped on a night bus to Manila…

25.02.2013 Manila

…where I arrived completely exhausted at 5 a.m. I was on my own again from here on. A few hours of sleep later I started my sightseeing. First, I wandered into Intramuros, Manila’s old town. There were some amazing old buildings – but there were also many annoying tricycle drives who failed to understand that not everybody needs a guide 😉

On to Chinatown – which I liked just as much as I always do. I just enjoy the chaos!

There is also a wonderful church, the Quiapo Church, and the Golden Mosque.

On my way back on the Jeepney, I stopped in Malate, visiting the church there and strolling along the waterfront promenade. I like Manila!
In the evening, I met up with Gion, a Swiss guy I had met in Banaue. After a yummy dim sum supper and a few beers it was decided that I could just as well go to the airport directly instead of bothering with sleep! No sooner said than done… (to be continued 😉 )