Sagada is charming. Especially compared with the rest of the tourist mountain towns in the north of Philippines.
There’s a big legacy from Christian missionaries. In 1909 local tribes were still hunting heads!
A voluntary 9pm curfew. How about that?
see more on flickr
Dengue fever is bad. And getting worse.
… The incidence of dengue fever has increased dramatically since the 1960s, with around 50–100 million people infected yearly. …
About 40% of the world’s population is vulnerable.
Sisters, gymnasts from Manila, were just recovering from bouts of Dengue fever. The first people I’d ever met who had been afflicted.
In Philippines, 300 died from it in 2008.
Here it’s most prevalent in the big cities like Manila. That species of mosquito bites day and night.
… Happily I’ve seen very few bloodsuckers in December.
There are people working on a cure. Here’s one very optimistic scenario.
Infecting Mosquitoes With Bacteria To Keep Them From Infecting Us With Dengue Fever
That’s on Co.Exist, a site dedicated to WORLD CHANGING IDEAS AND INNOVATION.
I had an upset stomach for a few days. (Not Dengue — rather traveler’s diarrhea.)
If you have to be sick, you might as well be sick in paradise.
This is Sagada. (pop. 10,930)
Boys playing basketball, girls volleyball. Christmas carols boom from the Church. A little girl plays with a kitten. Very domestic. Very rural.
In these limestone mountains almost anything will grow: cabbage, tomatoes, green pepper, potatoes, carrots, beans, and other temperate products. Coffee. Citrus, mainly lemon, lime and Valencia oranges. Strawberries and apples.
This is the coldest place in the Philippines. But I’d still call it tropical. There are exotic flowers and flowering trees everywhere.
Formerly a hippie hangout, the tourists here right now are an older, savvy crowd. French, German, Polish, Australian. I met one other Canadian. There are a number of excellent restaurants, a legacy from the hippie days.
Even with my bad stomach, I got out once or twice a day for hiking and jogging.
… Departing Sagada, it feels like I’m finally starting my trip home for Christmas. Home is Parksville, B.C., this year.
The famous rice terraces.
I’ve had a bit of stomach distress the past few days, but feel great today. Movin’ on a couple of hours to Banaue, Ifugao.
Longs made it to one of the hottest attractions.
details on their blog – New Zealand Day 7: Hot Water Beach and Cathedral Cove
Not far off life in the street myself, I’ve long been a student of the art and science of begging.
I’ve seen some good ones. Especially in India.
My philosophy on how to deal with beggars is posted here.
On the world famous resort of Boracay, Philippines you’ll meet many kids like this.
They wear torn, dirty and hilariously over-sized t-shirts. It works for me.
See more of Dennis Lee’s photos and find out what happened when he gave a mother enough money for food for a week.
These cute, tiny ragamuffins are the best beggars I’ve seen since the Chicklet girls (PHOTO) of Mexico.
A Chicklet girl, going restaurant to restaurant, might earn more than a Mexican police officer.
Randor has a Boracay blog. On one post he mentions that a beggar can easily earn more than a chambermaid at your resort ($.18/hr).
Before you hand that little guy a dollar, think on how that makes YOUR personal employees feel. Instead leave that dollar for your hotel staff (under your pillow) when you check-out. Give the little guy an orange.
Don’t reflexively go all Holier than thou, like this guy — Boracay Native Child Turned Beggar due to Island Invasion — ask the locals what’s really happening with the beggars in front of their shops. They know.
It’s more complicated than it first appears.
In Manila I stayed at a 5 Star hotel for a week. On Saturdays a vehicle pulls up and delivers a row of pitiful looking mothers with tiny babies. It’s business. You have to wonder how much of the money they collect the ladies get to keep.
I saw the same exact same mothers & babies on Sudder street, Calcutta.
The baby is not necessarily the child of the mothers. They mix and match to get the best donations.
Lonely planet, as they often do, nailed it:
Beautiful Boricay manages to meet, exceed or defy expectations. It rarely disappoints.
That’s surprising since this is likely the single most touristy destination on all of Philippines 7100 tropical islands.
A beach holiday is low on my personal priority list. But the 5 nights flew by. Very relaxing.
Once or twice a day I ran the beach. Mid-day I went exploring. It’s a small island. I covered most of it.
I recommend Boracay if ever you get the chance to visit. Solo, no go. Bring a date or come with a group.
It’s definitely good for kids. A safe beach.
Considerations:
• you still need barter for everything on the beach
• touts and hawkers are annoying
• quality of most goods/services is low
• there’s no reliable tourist information
• there are no hostels here — a shame since it was first “discovered” by backpackers
• motorized roadways are Hellish
Recommendations:
• 99% of tourists stick to White Beach. If you leave that strip, even to either end of the Beach, life improves.
• if you are looking to save Pesos, the best value White Beach accommodation is in a quiet dead end alley near Station 3. The top pick is Dave’s Straw Hat Inn. Recommended by Lonely Planet, it’s usually full. Prices are now up to $35 / night or more. Others nearby are almost as good and half the price.
• I stayed in the ($19 including breakfast) fan rooms at Orchid Inn. If you come with 2-3 people, better are the upscale Orchid Inn Private Villas (3ys old). Compare others against that option. Prices vary wildly. Barter.
• I did finally see dormitory beds for about $8.
• Hundreds of restaurants on the beach did not impress me. The only one I can recommend is the German hangout, Kurts.
Be careful with the famed buffets. Food often sits long, under-heated. The famed Mongolian barbecues are better.
• Dana would like Boracay — Starbucks is here.
Stay out of the ocean. Fish pee in it. ☺ … I have no idea what all those happy people are doing out in sailboats.
The two activities I was willing to pay money for did not seem to be open during my stay:
• Ariel’s Point
• Ride the Zorb (not actually affiliated with the original Zorb, New Zealand)
More of my photos:
• White Beach
• Bulabog Beach
• Boracay random
related:
• 10 Commandments on the Beach
• Lonely Planet – Boracay – Fantasy vs. Reality
One of the great backpacker hangouts in the world.
Sagada is famous for its “hanging coffins”. This is a traditional way of burying people that is still utilized. Not anyone is qualified to be buried this way; one had to, among other things, be married and have grandchildren.
Popular activities include trekking, exploring both caves and waterfalls, spelunking, bonfires, picnics, rappelling …
… a 12hr bus ride is the easiest way to get there.
I forgot to take my camera on my daily sunset run. … So I grabbed this pic linked from Twitter.
Twitter is a good way to get the most up-to-date information and pics.
All trip reports and photos are now posted. I hiked in Japan, Hong Kong and Macao.
On the Dragon’s Back, Hong Kong island
Hong Kong is the best major city in the world for hiking. Here are my 3 trip reports.
Japan did not go well for me, hiking wise. But here’s my definitive recommendation for anyone going there for a hiking holiday who wants to do it right – best hikes Japan.
And here are my hiking posts / trip reports tagged Japan.
If you have any questions or suggestions, leave a comment.
