Enchanting Sagada

June 2-4, 2006. Sagada, one of my dream local destinations...a mystery I've long dreamed to unravel. I finally went there in June with Fil and have I gone there with a female friend or in a group with strangers, I may not have enjoyed the place as much as i did. This place is so romantic it's a sin to go there without your "palangga".

Sagada is a charming, peaceful and enchanting town in the Mountain Province. Life here is so simple but its natural beauty and the tranquility that prevails can heighten your senses, making even a simple coffee break an experience to remember.

The people are very friendly and warm too and the tour guides are surprisingly organized. All you have to do is register in the municipal hall (located right at the center of town, you won't miss it!), choose from the tour packages and the fixed rates and a tour guide will be assigned to you. It was a great adventure, we had a blast! In Sumaging cave, we climbed from rocks to rocks and walked/jumped through small bodies of water. We even had to slip through a number of cracks and a waist-high crevice - feet first - and walk along rocks beside deep ravines. Caving is so much fun, kakaibang level, and I want to do it again! It even made me forget about my claustrophobia!

After we have conquered the cave, we passed the hanging coffins held by the rock walls and went to see the Lumiang burial cave where wood coffins were laid inside the chamber on top of each other, even filling-in the small spaces that lead to the cave's mouth. Our guide explained that the coffins were small because the dead were laid in fetal position, believing that they will reincarnate.

Dining in Sagada was another great experience! Tired from all the climb and descent, we had lunch at Masfere's restaurant. Masfere is a spanish photographer who lived in Sagada during the 1900s and took photos of the town and its people. Thus, the restaurant does not only offer great food but showcases these photos which are not only posted on walls but printed on bags and shirts as well and sold to tourists. We also ate at St. Joe's cafe more than a couple of times because they offer food that satisfied both mine and Fil's contradicting tastes plus they serve great-smelling coffee that's perfect for the cool climate. Another must is dinner at the Log Cabin. We were lucky to get seats for a Saturday buffet dinner prepared by a "local" French chef and shared a table with Rey and Joyce who've been staying in Sagada for about a month already to learn Sagada pottery. Wow! Wish I have the luxury to do the same thing!

In the afternoon and the following morning before we left, we enjoyed leisurely walks with the view of the rice terraces, visited the episcopal church and bought souvenir stuff: must-haves are bags and wallets showcasing the intricacy of Sagada weaving.  

For those who want a more physically-challenging adventure, there are other interesting sites to see in Sagada - echo valley, small falls, big falls. You want privacy and hot shower? We stayed at St. Jo's and for P1,500/night, our cottage on top of a hill was really nice, clean and private and had a great view of the surrounding mountains. But for party rats looking for non-stop fun, this place is not for you. Sagada locals follow a 9pm curfew. No loud music allowed, aha! not for the noisy couples out there! hahaha... sssssshhhhhh!

We also went to Baguio and Banaue and these places are worth a visit too. If I may suggest, better go to Banaue first to appreciate the same view of the rice terraces in your P1,000 peso bill, proceed to Sagada then celebrate and party in Baguio! What we did was a reverse (Baguio-Sagada-Banaue) and we were already tired and uninterested (or maybe we were just too smitten by the beauty of Sagada) that by the time we reached Banaue, we only stayed for a couple of hours and took the bus back to Manila. But hey, I love Banaue too! I went there last year (check out my posts on the 8th wonder of the world, the amphitheatre batad rice terraces & the tappiyah waterfall).

So if you are planning to break away from your sedentary life - away from the urban jungle, far from the noise, traffic and confusion of the polluted city - pack your things and go to Sagada. Let me warn you though that it takes at least 12 -13 hours to get there from Manila (by land) but it is worth it. By the way, did i tell you about the landslides? We encountered a fresh one on our way to Banaue and that alone was an edge-of-your-seat-praying-and-fearing-death bus ride adventure! :-)

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new blog title: Whatever Makes Me Happy

it was in 2006 when my pregnant mind gave birth to this personal blog. that time, i had so many thoughts and questions in my head but was too lazy to write a diary the old-fashioned way so i turned to technology.

my first try was a Friendster blog in january 2006 which i titled "Ponder and Wonder." that time, i just finished my contract with the Supreme Court of the Philippines with no intention to renew, was waiting for an EU-funded project in La Union to commence where i would be a member of the project team and was struggling to keep a relationship which eventually faded away. Most of my entries were sad, depressing and dramatic albeit very deep, creative and profound sometimes obscure and with hidden meanings.

then i signed up for blogger in March 1, 2006 and titled it "Postcards from Heaven." i originally intended to use the site as a photo blog to feature my travels around the Philippines.  I subtitled it heaven is a place on earth, only if we bother to look. As you can see in my first few entries in this blog, i have nothing there but photos and captions.

By late April 2006, i met Fil and everything changed. I was lying on a bed of roses again...i was happy...and i ran out of sad thoughts to update my friendster blog so i got rid of it. It suddenly became irrelevant, i even deleted most of my entries without even bothering to keep a copy in my files.

But i decided to keep this site to continue to inspire me to write, to think, be creative and share.  After i met Fil face-to-face, i was overflowing with happy thoughts and experiences. The title "Postcards from Heaven" no longer represent my blog posts so out of nowhere, like manna falling from heaven, i grabbed the title "Whatever makes me Happy."

Yes i still believe that heaven is a place on earth only if we bother to look.  Heaven is the simple everyday ordinary things that make us happy.  It is our daily adventures.  It is making other people happy by being happy yourself.

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the historical city of Melaka, Malaysia

I visited Melaka (also spelled Malacca), Malaysia on October 14-16, 2005 as a belated birthday trip.  The state of Melaka is the third smallest Malaysian state located on the southern region of the Malay Peninsula.  The capital is the historical town of Melaka which is about 150 km south east of Kuala Lumpur. 

Melaka is unique because although it is the location of one of the earliest Malay sultanates, it was abolished when the Portuguese came in 1511.  Since then it has been under the Dutch, British and Japanese control until it was incorporated into the Federation of Malaya in 1948 and eventually became part of Malaysia in 1963.  Just imagine the rich mixture of culture and history playing up in this small unique town. 

I went there via Singapore and was met by a friend at the Changi Airport and immediately we headed to cross the border.  If I remember it right, it took only about 20 minutes to cross the Singapore-Malaysia border.  Still feeling sleepy from having to wake up early that day, my adventure started when at the immigration checkpoint (it was like a toll gate where you have to open your car window and present your passport and ID) the officer motioned me to follow him to the office.  Inside the officer excitedly told another officer (maybe his boss) "she just landed! she just landed!"  while pointing at the Singapore entry stamp in my passport.  The other officer looked at me and i calmly explained that I already travelled to Singapore earlier that year (he checked the old entry/exit stamps and nodded) and that this time I want to explore the southern part of Malaysia.  I explained further that I was going there with my friend who already resides and works in Singapore.  Both officers scrutinied my passport one more time while talking in their language and to my relief, they stamped it, handed it to me and i was escorted back to the car. Whew! how's that for starters? haha.

The drive to the town of Melaka took another 4 hours and it was the cleanest highway i've been to in my life so far, both sides of the highway lined with tall green trees (i wish i knew what they are called) to complete the setting of a very relaxing stress-free drive.

The good thing about Melaka is that the town is so small you don't need a car to hop from one tourist spot to the other  or you can choose to ride the fun-looking colorful tri-shaws.  Here are some photos i took during our walking tour of this historical town:

Fort A Famosa constructed by the Portuguese in 1521 and suffered
severe damage during the Dutch invasion

local kids having their class photo taken in front of
the surviving gate of Fort A Famosa

Proclamation of Independence Memorial
built by the British in 1912 and formerly known as Melaka Club,
it now houses a rich memorabilia of Malaysia' struggle for independence

wooden replica of Melaka's Sultanate Palace built in 1984 which
officially became the Cultural Museum in 1986

must-ride: colorful trishaws draped in garlands

Stadthuys also known as the Dutch Square or Red Square was built in 1650 as home
to the Dutch Governor and his Deputy; now serves as Museum of History and Ethnography

Christ Church Melaka built in 1753 exhibiting true Dutch architecture

climb to the ruins of St. Paul's Church built by the Portuguese in 1521
located on top of a hill overlooking Melaka

top: colorful flowers line the streets; shops at melaka
bottom: Dutch Windmill; Youth Museum; Maritime Museum; statue of St. Francis Xavier

top L-R: the straits of Malacca top of photo; Hotel Equatorial; Sultanate Palace
bottom L-R: view from Hotel Equatorial; welcome sign; residential buildings

We also checked out Jonker Street famous for antique goods and had lunch at an antique shop (i can't remember the name) which offered free internet surfing while they prepare our food (weeee!) :)  The best part of the trip was dinner at Hotel Equatorial where, to my surprise, the strings quartet played the Malay version of the song "Anak" made famous by Freddie Aguilar, a popular filipino artist whose song was translated into various languages.  What a pleasant surprise, indeed!

The drive to Singapore to catch my flight back to Manila was uneventful.  No more drama at the immigrations stop.

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