Sagada, Mountain Province

Sagada, a small town in Mountain Province. This is one of my "Dream Places", actually at first I have no idea of the things that I'll be seeing, I just want to be there just to experience the peaceful place I've been reading in books. What I thought was a peaceful retreat turned out to be the most adventurous trip I had. 

DAY 1

7:30 in the evening we left Manila, my trip became more exciting because I'm travelling with my friends. We are all sleeping in the bus all throughout the evening so that we can save our energy for the next days activity (Take note it's a 12 hour ride). We reach Mt. Polis at around 7:00 am and stop for a few sip of coffee, I'm not a coffee drinker but due to the cold temperature I was super delighted to have at least a cup.

Stop-over at Mt. Polis, here we are given enough time so we were able to explore the area and take some photos.

At around 8:30 in the morning we arrive in Sagada. We checked-in at a very cozy lodge were we can cook our own meals. We ate our breakfast, rest for a few hours and prepared for our trip.

What I like in the lodges in Sagada are the unique walls that are made from local logs. It gave us a very relaxing and homey feeling.

After lunch we toured around town. Here you can observe the simple life of the natives of Sagada.

One of the things that caught our attention was the old abandoned house. It looks scary but you can see the beauty of the architecture.

Another amazing stuff are the dogs that scattered around the area, they were very tame and sometimes they follow tourist in trekking the mountains. 

St. Mary's Episcopal church, it made us feel like we were not in the Philippines but somewhere in Great Britain complete with the cold weather and surrounding trees.

We choose to end our town tour by trying the famous Lemon Pie, we were super satisfied with the pie and the matching local mountain tea.

Because we are in big group we prefer to prepare our our meals and eat together, as always eating is the best bonding.

DAY 2

The following day we woke up early to prepare for the much awaited Sumaguing Cave Exploration. 

We prefer to walk going to the caves instead of riding a jeep, the entire surrounding was very fresh and a good exercise is  what we need with all the stuffs that we ate.

 

Walking also gave us the chance to have more time for picture taking :)

Finally we arrived at the mouth of the cave from here I can already feel the fear that I'm keeping, I realized that I can do all the crazy stuffs that concerned heights but if  I am in a closed area like this cave I feel like I am slowly losing my courage.  

It was a difficult and slippery trek inside but there are guides who gave us lights and help us along the way.

There were even small areas were we need to crawl for us to finish the spelunking.

Slowly I was able to conquer my fear and enjoy our adventure.

We have some stops to take picture and rest :)

To my surprise, there is even rappelling inside the cave.

It was a very tiring adventure but we all went out with a smile on our faces :)

This time we didn't cook for our lunch, there is a local wedding happening outside the lodge were we stayed and they invited us to join them for lunch. After lunch we rest for a while and after an hour we start to continue our tour in the rest of the town.

 Here we got the chance to ride on top of the jeepney :0

 

 First we visited Bokong Falls or the small falls

Next we visited Sagada Weaving a place where you can see how they make the famous weaved items.

We also passed by a local pottery shop.

One of the interesting sights in Sagada is the Local Cemetery, this is a modern cemetery but they have a special tradition during Halloween where they lit up a small fire beside the grave and then the cemetery will look like a burning hill.

We continued our tour by trekking. We visited Echo Valley and Hanging Coffins.

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 For the finale we tried the Famous yogurt of Sagada. 

We thought that our day ended but when the night comes we heard sounds coming outside. We went out of curiosity and found out that there is a party happening in relation to the wedding feast we attended during lunch time. Of course we didn't miss the opportunity and join the party.  

It was not the typical party we have in Manila, or in the entire Philippines, it was a traditional party of the natives of mountain province. 

What made this trip special was the company of my loving friends. It can never be as fun as what we had.

DAY 3

Time for us to go home but the fun never stops. We can finally say "I Survived SAGADA"

Till our next trip :)

For an adventure you will never forget you may contact:
Shaikha Travel and Tours Co.
Tel No: 02-4859696/ 02-5459977
Mobile: 09175928601
email: shaikha_travel@yahoo.com

Crucifixion Reenactment in Philippines

I grew up in a family and in a town where the occasion of Lent is strictly observed. On our family the tradition is to do the  Lent Procession, Pasyon or Pabasa and  Visita Iglesia (Church Visit), it never crossed my mind that I can experience an event that is "Holier", more "solemn" and more religious than our Visita Iglesia. I'm talking about the Crucifixion Reenactment at San Pedro Cutod  Pampanga. This is not the normal play that can be seen all around the world, this is one of the unique events that can be found only in the Philippines.  

Let me show you the reasons why...

The reenactment at Cutod will show you the real thing, when we say the real thing it means the they will repeat everything that happened to Jesus Christ including the Crucifixion, real crucifixion.


Early in the morning locals starts doing the penitence by walking around the town and continuously doing the self flagellation. 

It has been a tradition for most of the guys to join the long procession specially the ones who want repent from their sins.

Even small kids are joining the procession and participates in the flagellation.

Once in a while the guys will stop and utter their prayers in front of the chapel of the church.

The main event is the Crucifixion. It is what everybody is looks forward to.
I can say that I am one of the lucky people because I get the chance to meet main cast of the procession including Mr. Ruben Enaje who will play the part of Jesus Christ and the one to be crucified.

Mr. Ruben Enaje, he has been crucified since 1985. I got the chance to have a little chat with him and found out that this Crucifixion is his way of giving thanks for his second life, he survived without serious injuries when he fell out of a building where he is a construction worker.

In my hands are the nails that are being used for the crucifixion.

When you check Mr. Ruben's hands you will not believe that there isn't a single mark or scar from the nails that were used.

He is the one preparing for the nails to be used. He makes sure that it is sharp and clean to avoid infection.

While Mr. Ruben is preparing his stuffs, other cast are also preparing for the procession.

At exactly 12 o'clock the entire crew line up and prepare for the procession.

The procession will follow the Via Dolorosa or Way of the Cross. On each stop there will be a reenactment of the Station.

The procession will continue until they reach the hill where the crucifixion will take place.

Along the way we can still see men doing the self flagellation.

It is a bloody scene and even I got bloods from the flagellants.

We cannot endure too much heat from the sun so we didn't finish the procession and proceed directly to the hill.
(We are in VIP area very near to the crucifixion site)

We sat there and waited for the procession. Here you can still see other devotees who volunteered to be crucified.

The procession arrived still following the script of the play. You can feel mixed emotion from the crowd when Mr. Ruben who played Jesus Christ walked in the area. For me I cannot explain what I feel, I'm excited, scared, teary eyed, mix feelings are inside me.

Few lines and conversation are thrown, this made me think of how it feels like during the real crucifixion, where people were condemning Christ and he was suffering a lot from all the scars and bruises as well as the insults from people. What I am seeing was not eve 1% of the real one but the emotion I feel was too much.

The crucifixion finally took place. Considering the number of people present you can still hear the painful shout of Mr. Ruben as the nails are hammered in his hands and feet, you can also hear the reaction of viewers in the background.

Slowly they raised the cross. Everyone fell quiet and it seems like each are offering their own prater and repentance.

This is such a sight to behold. Being there and seeing everything made that day one of the most unforgettable Holy week in my life.

If you want to have an up-close and VIP experience of this event please contact the details below:

Shaikha Travel and Tours Co.
Tel No: 02-4859696/ 02-5459977
Mobile: 09175928601
email: shaikha_travel@yahoo.com

Hot Air Balloon Festival in Philippines

To see a real Hot Air Balloon.. .. This is just one of my childhood dreams that I didn't know will happen. I'm living in the Philippines and this stuffs are usually seen in only in the movies or in books or in the internet.

 I actually forgot about this dream of mine, I grew up and here comes college. I was studying Bachelor of Science in Tourism Management and during one of our class discussions our Professor, Miss Yolanda Montaces informed us that currently Philippines is hosting the one and only Hot Air Balloon Festival in Asia, and that is happening in Clark Pampanga, the country has been hosting it for quite some years ago but I think it was not advertised like the way it is now so only few people knows about it. Upon hearing the good news I got excited think of ways how to get there but because I'm still a poor student during that time I wasn't able to go to the Hot Air Balloon Festival.

Years passed and I graduated College. I was immediately employed in a travel agency located in Intramuros area. Part of my work is to develop new products or travel ideas for the company. This is the chance I've been waiting for a long time, the season for the hot Air Balloon Festival is coming so I made out a proposal for a tour on this Festival and luckily it was approved!

With months of preparation finally the Long wait is over. February 2012 arrived. I can still remember my excitement while I was travelling to the area where the event is about to take place. We arrived there at around 5:00 in the morning, it was very early but I am very much awake. We patiently waited at the viewing area, slowly the 4 by 4 jeeps arrive one by one carrying the things needed to set-up the balloons. 

Preparation for the Balloons

Balloon burners starting to light the area

The program officially started and from the background the National Anthem of the Philippines played. A plane got near to the event area and suddenly around five or more skydivers jump from it. We were surprised to see that one person is carrying a very huge flag of the Philippines. Seeing the flag being blown by the wind was very breath taking and it is a rare experience to have a Flag Ceremony of this kind.

The Flag of the Philippines

The most awaited moment finally came. The balloons are all prepared in the ground and slowly being inflated.

Balloons Preparing to Fly

I was expecting only the normal shaped balloons and to my surprise there are different shapes as well.

Mr. Sun

The flight of the balloons was like magic to me. I suddenly realize that one of my dreams finally came true and it's in front of me. I was like a little child who is enjoying a balloon but this time a very different one.

Flight of the Balloons

Suddenly the Hot-air balloon became like a yearly tradition for our company. We wanted to share the experience we had to different people.

A wonderful experience for the YOUNG ONES

YOUNG AT HEARTS

Perfect Family Bonding

This year (2014) will be a different Hot Air Balloon Festival, it was themed "It's more than just Hot Air. It's a celebration of life in times of adversity". The festival will not just showcase the famous hot air balloon but it also aims to help the victims of Typhoon Yolanda. Part of the proceeds will be allotted to rehabilitate the areas damaged by typhoon. 

This photo was taken during last year's Festival. It was recovered by our friend, Mam Nice, from the remains of Typhoon Yolanda

This will be a great year to visit the Hot Air Balloon Festival because aside from enjoying this one of a kind experience you will also get a chance to help the victims of typhoon Yolanda.

For details on how to be part of this Festival please contact:
Shaikha Travel and Tours Co.
Tel No: 02-4859696/ 02-5459977
Mobile: 09175928601
email: shaikha_travel@yahoo.com




Credits to Mr. MJ Ebuen fro some of the Pictures