Ironwulf.net: En Route – The Philippines, Travel, Photography Blog

“Travel is glamorous only in retrospect.” – Paul Theroux

Can’t agree more with the author I thoroughly enjoy reading a lot from lately. People are quick to say how great and envious they are hearing about my travels to a certain place, probably thinking how glamorous it could have been. But it’s only half the story. Though I had a few trips this year where I was spoiled and pampered, most of my personal trips aren’t all that pretty. Long bus rides, unexpected obstacles and crummy weather were part of my personal journeys in 2011. I’m not complaining though, a little discomfort here and bumps there remind me I’m in the real world as a “traveller”.

Singapore is one expensive place to travel. Food is like SG$3-10 a pop and there are only a few choices for backpacking accommodations here and it’s not actually cheap. But I do love the ease of their transportation system here that it’s easy to find your way around the small country island by Bus or Train. And for such a small place there’s a hodgepodge of things to do and places to visit, even if they may be artificially constructed or whatever earthly natural attraction is left of the country.

I didn’t manage to go around the village that much since we only have a limited time. But I did manage to take a peek into their daily life. Let’s take a look.

I never thought that I’ll be back in Mt. Maculot so soon. But since I promised an old climbing buddy I haven’t seen for some time that I’ll take him here after seeing my previous post on Mt. Maculot, I scheduled our climb. Thanks to Cruise for inviting me here the first time around, it greatly added to my logistics of the area. Same as what we did, we went on a night trek, but the fun came much later as 2 new friends were added to our list during our climb.

Three nights have passed and just when it has begun, we realize we are about to leave. You’ll never get dull in this place as there are more to do and discover. I could have stayed longer but work beckons. I would gladly like to walk more on the pine forest and feel the cool fresh breeze. Or just lie down on the grass by the church and read a good book. Watch the glorious sunrise on a cool windy morning at Kiltepan or the scenic sunset while having a picnic at Lake Danom (Lake Bana-ao to those who live in Besao). Or further more discover more hidden secrets Sagada holds. We were conversing with some elders at a store and found that beneath Sagada there are more cave systems waiting to be explored.

Found a bit of time for some internet here in the north of Luzon, Tuguegarao. Doing fine here, and the past few days have been exciting. Will be back in a couple of days. Just checked my mail and will be rolling in a while. See you guys in a few days…