April 9-12, 2009; The details of the trip!

i hiked Sagada! This is the shirt that simplifies the entire Sagada experience.

The pictures says it all. Now here's the detailed info about the trip! :)

There were actually no plans of going out this week, except for the Bagac trip. I never knew that we will leave earlier.

I woke up at around 9 AM Thursday, with all the bags ready and set. My parents told me to freshen myself up because we were about to leave. So there. Ate breakfast, took a bath, dressed up, and we're off!

Now here's the timeline of what happened the past couple of days.

04/09/09

11 AM- Left house, bought food and drinks @ Tropical Hut supermarket.

12 NN- Arrived at Filinvest 2 in QC to pick up my ninong Ken.

12:20 PM- Left Filinvest 2, off to the highway and NLEX.

Just moments after passing the San Fernando exit, our car stopped. The vehicles started to be bumper-to-bumper. It was due to the influx of vehicles travelling up north. We were stuck there for almost 2 hours. After passing the Dau Toll Plaza, we took the SCTEx. We arrived at the province of Tarlac in less than an hour!

3:30 PM- Ate our lunch/merienda at Huat Chan Tea House.

7:00 PM- Arrived at Baguio City.

Upon arrival, we ate our dinner, at Sizzling Plate! The tenderloin was so delicious! :) haha! Then, we check some hotels to see whether they are fully booked or not. Until we came across the Baguio Palace Hotel along Legarda Road. The room we got was the last vacant room. It was big enough for the 4 of us. Slept past 11 in the evening, and woe up at around 4:45 AM. It was cold during this time that's why I woke up! My parents and my ninong were also up during that time. We freshened up, fixed our stuff, and left to Sagada.

04/10/09

6:40 AM- Left BPH, looking for somewhere to eat.

7:00 AM- Saw that Jollibee La Trinidad was open, so we ate breakfast.

7:15 AM- Checked out the Strawberry Field.

On our way to Sagada, we passed by the highest highway point in the entire Philippines, along Halsema Highway, at 2,255 meters (approx. 7,900 feet) above sea level. The road was filled with hairpin turns, resembling those of a Formula One racetrack. Also filled with intermittent good and rough roads, which made the trip longer.

11:00 AM- Arrived at Sagada, Mt. Province. Ate lunch at Masferre Bar and Resto. Walked around the town, took some pictures, bought a shirt while simmering the fresh air.

1:00 PM- Left Sagada for Banaue.

And while traversing the roads leading to Banaue, we passed by another feat, the second highest highway point in the Philippines, at top of Mt. Polis, it's about 1,900 meters above sea level. Here we passed through foggy, muddy and rough roads, match it up with a strong rain. I prayed that no landslide may occur. We were all along on that road. And this is the place where the presidential chopper crashed, just last week. All of the 8 passengers died. The crash was due to bad weather and the zero visibility, which was also experienced by us. That made the trip extra special.

3:30 PM- Arrived at Banaue, took pictures with the famous RIce Terraces at our backs.

Passed by the provinces of Ifugao, Nueva VIzcaya and Nueva Ecija after this.

8:00 PM- Arrived at Guimba, Tarlac. Ate at Jollibee, because this was the only resto that was open during that time.

9:30 PM- Found the Sun Garden Hotel at the city of Tarlac. Spent the whole night there.

04/11/09

6:00 AM- Woke up, ate our FREE breakfast (which we never really expected upon arrival)

7:50 PM- Left the hotel, off the Bagac, Bataan.

Passed SCTEx once more. And we were in Bataan in no time! Took us just 45 minutes from Tarlac City to Dinalupihan, Bataan!

10:00 AM- Arrived at the Stella Mariz Beach Resort in Bagac.

In this town is where they shoot the telenovela "Zorro". The locals said that the stars will be there to shoot, but we never saw them, maybe they were on the other side of the beach that's why.

Ate, talked, laughed, walked along the beach and took some pics. Then, bade farewell to all of my relatives, as we go back to Manila. So that we could avoid the Easter Sunday comeback by most of the vacationers.

8:30 PM- Left the resort.

11:45 PM- Arrived at Filinvest 2 to drop off my ninong.

04/12/09

12:30 PM- Now back home! Woohoo! :)

Now I'm back from that terrific trip! It was one for the books! A once in a lifetime experience indeed! I want to greet each and every one of you a Happy Easter! :) Maligayang Pasko ng Pagkabuhay! :)

The Wizard was here... :)