baguio: short side trip is short

sagada day3: little steps to the big falls

Unplanned side trip. Originally planned after our Bomod-Ok tour was to buy souvenirs and pasalubong then head home. But we stayed for a night in Baguio because we were told it's not safe to travel back to Manila during night time. Luckily, Kuya Edgar has a contact in Baguio so we stayed there and paid another 3K for our group. Kawawang bulsa.

We then decided to make the most out of our extended vacay by roaming around Baguio first before finally heading to Manila. First stop, The Mansion.

The Mansion

me and my unruly hair

Right in front of The Mansion is the Wright Park. Isang tawid lang, next stop na.

Apple and Sheena at Wright Park

We also didn't miss to visit Mines View Park. This stop's highlight? The strawberry taho. Potential business sa Manila 'toh ah! *insert light bulb sound effect*

tahooo.. taho kayo jaaann..

Aside from that, we also bought pasalubong. Tons of them. Strawberries, Oranges, Peanut Brittle, Lengua.. Name it, they have it.

who can ask for more?

strawberries are ♥
photo credit to Lelai

We left our hauls in the van to make way for some picture picture over the observation deck.

holdin' tight! hahaha

Baguio's beautiful girls. chos!

Before leaving Mines View, tamang trip muna. Tadaaaa! For 10php, in full costume ka na! :))

wearing Baguio's latest trend

For reasons still unknown to me, we visited PMA as well.

can you still see me?

Lastly, we went to Good Shepherded Convent. Aside from the fact that I am not into anything ube, I was already drained then so I just stayed inside the van.  But Jun gave me a bottle of ube jam so I was forced to taste it. The verdict? Not a fan, still. =p

house of the best ube

We then headed to Manila. Sagada-Baguio trip was over!

*other Sagada stories by friends
tsinatown {Check out her blog for our Sagada expenses. That's coming soon. Pressure ito Sheena. (: }
kaladkarin-on-the-go {A friend who made it to Sagada before me. Oo, di nya ko ininvite! Haha! }

**credits go to Silin, Lelai, Jen and Jun's cameras + whoever took the pictures

sagada day1: pots, lake and then some

ELSEWHERE

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sagada day3: little steps to the big falls

sagada day2: certified spelunker, atleast for a day 

Just so you know, I have fever right now and is on sick leave. Crap, yes? And because I'm feeling a little better, I'm getting bored and can't think of anything else to do but.. BLOG! And no, don't expect too much from this entry. This will be more of a photo-dump since my braincells are still working below normal.

Anyhoo, for our third day, we went trekking to Bomod-Ok Falls. Yep, you read that right! T.r.e.k.k.i.n.g. again despite aching bodies and hurting legs. We were accompanied by Kuya Erick while Kuya Oscar accompanied another group.

Kuya Lando dropped us off to the entry point to the Big Falls. It's a basketball ball court come parking lot. I read somewhere that the place is called Banga-an. Few minutes after the start of the trek, we passed by Barangay Pidilisan where we had to pay 10php per head. According to Kuya Erick, they use the 'toll fees' to improve the trail leading to the big falls.

Indeed the downhill trek was easy because of the cemented walkways, though still tiring because the trek going there lasted for about an hour and a half. However, the view of the rice terraces was stunning enough to make us ignore whatever tiredness or other feelings of discomfort we have. 

didn't I tell you it's stunning?

During the whole trek, Kuya Erick was always ahead of us making us stop from time to time to take our pictures.

 

the trail says fall in line, else fall to the mud

We were also caught off guard with some stolen pictures. Pano, kanya-kanyang hirap na lang? Haha! =))

pag walang offer ng picture, nagco-concentrate kami

I also had my fair share of solo shots. Thanks Kuya Erick!

More of cool things during the trek? Well, I can access Facebook on my mobile phone. Sa Globe, abot ko ang mundo. Teehee.

Globe's newest endorser

Anyway, we also saw this hanging bridge on our way there. I thought this is the way to the falls so when Kuya Erick asked who wants to go first, I volunteered myself only to find out it isn't the way and he's just having fun. Grrr.

ooops, not there

And then finally, the breathtaking 200-feet tall Bomod-Ok falls was right in front of us.

if an hour and a half of trekking would mean seeing this..

We were told to rest for about 15 minutes before taking a dip to avoid hypothermia. Well if taking pictures can qualify as rest, then I can say we listened. 

tamang tambay

After taking the obligatory rest, we moved a little closer to the falls, transferring from boulder to boulder and getting our feet wet. Paa lang talaga, malamig eh! =P

Silina.Apple.Sheena ♥

Then I had my photo shoot in a rock that's almost in the middle of the water. I risked my life twice by simply going there and having my jump shot taken. Anobeee, maipilit lang ang gusto.

brave li'l kid, eh?

Then it was time to leave Bomod-Ok. It was an uphill trek which surprisingly didn't tire me. Feeling ko, kaya ko pang unahan si Kuya Erick! Hahaha! Yabang lang. Just let me go with it, after all I'm sick! :))

 

can you see who's in my background? =P

There you go. I should be sleeping now, ikr.

**credits go to Silin, Lelai, Jen and Jun's cameras + whoever took the pictures

baguio: short side trip is short

ELSEWHERE

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sagada day2: certified spelunker, atleast for a day

sagada day2: unwitnessed daybreak, shouting out loud and creepy coffins

Yay! My bucket list just got shorter by one again. Goal #12. Go spelunking in Sagada. CHECK!! ^____^

After our sinful lunch at Pinikipikan House, we were ready for our next activity. Well, ready or not wala din naman kaming choice. Bilang sabi ng itinerary, caving naaaa!!

Before the activity started, reminders were given by Kuya Oscar. Then he left us with Kuya Erick, our other guide, as he needed to prepare our caving equipments.

ready? not really :)

We chose to do the cave-to-cave connection, that is from Lumiang to Sumaging Cave. Kuya Erick brought us to Lumiang Burial Cave. Kuya Oscar was preparing our lamps when we arrived.

 

just before we say hello to darkness

Then we started our suffering, whoops, I mean spelunking. In Lumiang, we were divided in two groups. Sheena, Lelai and Jen were with Kuya Oscar while Silina, Juni and I were with Kuya Erick. Silina and I were lucky to have Jun right behind us, we had a good number of blog-worthy shots. Proof? See below.

picture muna bago stunt

I think we had to go down facing the wall here

While we were on Lumiang Cave, our tour guides kept telling us to not take much pictures there as Sumaging Cave is more picture-worthy. Medyo nakinig naman kame, ulit, medyo lang ah. :)) They also reminded us to save our energy by not laughing too much. Anobeee, hobby kaya namin un. Ayt, Sheena and Silin? Isang tawa naman jaaan.. =))))

Then finally we arrived at a spot where Kuya Oscar initiated to take our group picture. Mabuti naman.

our first group pic we owe to Kuya Oscar

you may not notice it but the rock we're stepping on looks like this
cool, eh?

Comparing Lumiang and Sumaging, the latter is easier as it requires less stunts. Yeah, stunts. We had to use a rope number of times to go down the steep parts of the cave. We also had to crawl and do the 'butt technique' from time to time. Much worse, we had to step on our tour guides' thighs often. Sabi nga ni Kuya Erick, apak sa bakal. Fine! :)

use a rope..

crawl..

and use the butt technique

Still about our stunts, the most difficult for me was when we had to step on Kuya Oscar's back. We had to give him a signal that we are already in a good position and that's the time he'll lift us up. It didn't stop there as we still had to do a difficult climb with Kuya Erick pulling us from above. Wheeew! And you can see total darkness below. Forever gone ka talaga pag nahulog ka. =p

almost done, onting akyat na lang

this was after we risked our lives

That most difficult part is actually the end of Lumiang Cave, hence the start of Sumaging cave. In the next cave, we saw countless wonderful rock formations. Indeed picture worthy.

go start imagining

stepping on the rice terraces

poor turtle :(

in front of a huge gelatin

Depending on your imagination, you'll see different animals, vegetables, rice terraces and human body parts {the private ones}. Lokong mga tour guide.

rock formations everywhere

slippery? definitely not!

can you see a frog, turtle and some body parts? :P

Another first in Sumaging cave was rappelling. That made me want to try it for real. Maybe my next bucket list can have that.

feel na feel teh??

Anyway, according to Kuya Oscar we started at around 3pm and finished at around 8pm. Fives hours? Not bad. It's also the average according to him. After all, they're not after how fast you'll be able to finish the activity. They're after the safety of everyone.

look who survived

For our dinner, Kuya Lando and Kuya Edgar prepared yummy inihaw for us. Since we had no plates and utensils, we ate in banana leaves using our bare hands. So many different experiences for just a day huh?

burpp! :)

**credits go to Silin, Lelai, Jen and Jun's cameras + whoever took the pictures

sagada day3: little steps to the big falls

ELSEWHERE

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