Baguio City & Disappointment

The bus station that took us to Baguio was near the hotel that we stayed first in Manila. It was nice going to an area I already knew. We made it easily to the bus station and waited for our bus to leave. The waiting area was interesting because like many things in the Philippines it was open to the elements. Living in Seattle you find not many things are open to the weather that can't also be closed again. The bus station also had an odd combination of Internet and Massage upstairs.

I took some shots as we headed by bus to Baguio. It was nice seeing more of the city. The bus also play an unusual assortment of music and movies. Other than all of the entertainment being pirated, the first movie was a bit of a shock for me. You can see from the picture what about the movie was a shock to me :)

It took almost seven hours on the bus to Baguio City. We caught a cab to a near by hostel after getting off of the bus in Baguio City. The hostel was closed for maintenance. We had picked the hostel out of an outdated guide book. It pays to have a backup. We made our way to the backup...the hotel was full. We didn't know it but we arrived during a flower festival. The cab driver was nice enough to take us around to several hotels. All but a few were full and we went with the lowest bidder at Calalily Pension House. The place wasn't grand but it was well priced for the quality...just bring your own toiletries.

The next day, we went around the city a little. Cafe by the Ruins was recommended by the guide book and it had a good atmosphere. The food at the cafe was good but a little pricey. We made it to the main park after food, which was near by. At the park we caught some of the festivities. A choir sang both modern music like Lady Gaga and contemporary music. We also saw some dance troops and as we were leaving an orchestra was setting up. We made our way to a drug store for some pain medication for my cold, which was something similar to a market. We waited around a large counter and then gave our order. Later the cashier came back with my medication and we payed a very reasonable price. After I was feeling better we walked some more, than took a cab to the Botanical Gardens. The gardens were simple and plain. There were horses you could take for a ride around the place but it is so small it doesn't seem worth the price. A cave seemed an exciting option but was just a damp and very dark circle. There was some hope for the place, as a lot of it was under construction.

A view from within the City

Pictures from the garden (Botanical Gardens):

At the park festivities (Lady Gaga Tribute)

After the garden we made it to a small market area and purchased some veggie cookies. In the same area we found an English Pub and stayed a while. It made me feel like I was a little closer to home since everything had a familiar style and layout. We left early in the evening and went back to the hotel for some extra rest. Packing up after a long night of sleep, we made it out to the street more on time than usual. The trip to Tuplay/Acop was a cab ride to downtown Baguio City and a Jeepney ride from there. We were about to take part on a WWOOF adventure, as Peter met us and took us along.

Taal Volcano & a Whole Lot of Heat

Getting from Manila to Tagaytay took some doing. We made it late into the night. It wasn't hard to find our motel because the bus stopped right at the doorsteps to MC Mountain, and before you go thinking it was some sort of McDonald's theme park—temper those exceptions. We spent the night in a comfortable, warm (trying to get used to the weather, so no AC), and full of life (cockroaches, ants, and such) room. The place had WiFi at no additional charge, which gave me something to do while the cockroaches scuffled around my feet.

The view from MC Mountain was grand. The waiting and reception area was also nice to spend a few free moments in as well. We didn't spend any more time in MC Mountain than we needed to. We got the place from an Air BnB list. It was the first time I felt a little misinformation was given to us from a listing on AirBnB. The listing made it sound more that we be staying in someone's large home than a motel. The next day, the hotel was nice enough to try and arrange for a boat to take us across to Taal Volcano and a ride there. Some mis-communication led me to believe the ride was an extra 500 Pesos but it was in fact an extra 2,500!!! We spent less on the bus tickets there. I quickly let the owner know by another phone call we'd try our luck by Jeepney. We hadn't taken a Jeepney yet and they seemed a little sketch but I was willing to take the chance for the price drop. The gentleman that was the owners son tried to convince me that it would be at least 1,500 Pesos for a public option. I couldn't help but responding with a little bit of an annoyed tone that there was no way it could be that much if the bus ride to Tagayta was less than half that price. He immediately gave up his pitiful persuasion attempts. We checked out and were charge an extra 5% for using Credit Card to pay for in my opinion overpriced breakfast and at the time a reasonable sounding boat ride with a guide.

Jeepney's are fun!!! A Jeepney ride reminded me of a thrill ride. Outside of the Manila area Jeepneys are as common as in. The first one we caught was empty, which made it easier to get in and ask a few questions about our trip. We only had some basic printout instructions from the motel. We caught a few Jeepneys and a “Tricycle” to the resort that we'd get our boat ride from. Other than being a great experience for talking with locals, the public option saved a load of Pesos. The total trip to the destination was less than 150 for the two of us.

It was “fiesta” in the small city that we came to. “Fiesta” is used to describe most celebrations in the Philippines. At the resort we came to, most of the workers were busy slaughtering a cow for the event. It was a little worrisome that they just washed the blood and extra bits right into the nearby water. The water seemed littered with garbage but still mostly clear. After a little wait for someone(s) to become available to both take us across and be our tour guide that was when I took a look around, and I found we'd be duped again by MC Mountain...booking straight through the resort was only 1,000 Pesos. We payed 2,000 P through MC Mountain. If you find yourself trying to get to Taal Volcano, than you're better off bartering for a price than going through any hotels, motels, or resorts unless you stink at bartering.

We set off and once I was moving to a lush sight, I let money woes sink in our wake. The beaching was easy and people came to give you a ramp to the shore as there not many docks available for use. There is a 50 Peso per person fee for going to Taal. You'll pay the fee before getting on the trail but it was included in our package price. We opted not to take a horse ride up, as this is about 500 Pesos and unless you're headed up on a very hot day or very out of shape, I'd recommend not getting a horse. I'm close to being in shape and I made it up with my girlfriend and guide in about an hour. I was rather warm reaching the top, so bring water. On the top of the ridge to the volcano there are drinks and such for purchase and as yes, way over priced. I didn't find use for a face mask on the way up but I'd buy one before coming or you can get one from one of the locals for about 50 P. On the top there are plenty of souvenirs and such for purchase in addition to drinks and simple food. I'd opt not to by a coconut drink as it is all just thrown to the side of the stands in a large pill. From the looks of things, I recommend hiking your own garbage out if you can. The view was excellent. Our guide wasn't much more than an escort. It was his second time up. We trailed another groups guide and were shown some cool paths to the right of the ridge.

    

    

     

On the way down it got a little dustier but I managed without the face mask. I found it interesting that every Korean person I saw took a horse up & down, and looked way over dressed for the weather. We made it back to the resort well around 4 P.M. and after getting soaked on the boat ride. I wished we'd have gotten the light showering on the way there instead. We made it back to were the last Jeepney dropped us off by walking instead of taking the tricycle. The first Jeepney we needed to take back left much later than we'd hoped. There was some discussion on how much everyone wanted to pay. Jeepney's typically only travel if full or near full. If the amount of passengers is too low from the start on less traveled routes the driver will negotiate a price but will typically want at least 600 P per trip. We didn't want to pay 80 P per person, so we held out for a while. At first, no one wanted to pay the rate and at some point everyone but Meg and I agreed on the price. We waited probably an additional 30 min. from the time everyone else agreed because no one told us that anyone else agreed. If we'd known we were the last holdouts, we'd have caved sooner.

We crammed some food into our mouths before leaving for Manila. We made it back to Manila late at night. We thought we might be able to use the MRT to get to the place we'd be staying. We waved down a taxi and were told that he wouldn't give us a metered rate for the distance we were going because of traffic. There is always traffic in Manila but we just jumped right out. We waved down another taxi driving on the road and he agreed at once to give us a metered rate. We stayed with a women named Kim that is a friend of a friend to Meg. We had some more Jeepney adventures to a near by mall the next day. She had Internet so we spent most of the day just catching up on things. We took the computer in shifts and turns sleeping. I started feeling sick as well so I took it easy. Finding cough drops is an ordeal, when you're not sure what people call an item you only know by one name.

Some Food in Manila:

After Kim's we stayed another night with our friend that we'd left some items at in Manila and headed for another adventure toward Baguio City, which would be a stop on our way to ENCA farm that we'd WWOOF at.