So I’m finally starting on the Vietnam/Cambodia blogs.  I initially planned to create the suggested itinerary and budget estimate towards the tail end of the series but since I’m slowly beginning to forget details of the trip, I figured I’d do these two first before I forget a lot more.

My trip actually took 9 calendar days from start to finish, but it’s the 7 full days in the middle of it that involves the most activities.  This is just a suggested itinerary.  I intend to create a more comprehensive travel guide in the future with which you can cross-reference when reading this entry.

DAY 0
21:00 – Check in at NAIA 3 (Cebu Pacific)
23:00 - ETD Manila

DAY 1
—–subtract 1 hour upon arrival in Vietnam—–
00:30 – ETA Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City), Vietnam
01:30 – Check in at hotel/inn
02:30 – Sleep/rest
06:00 – Breakfast
08:00 - Depart for Cu Chi Tunnels tour with river cruise
15:00 – End of river cruise; arrival in Saigon
15:30 – Late Lunch
16:30 – Free time; Saigon Walking tour
20:30 – Dinner
22:30 – Sleep

DAY 2
05:30 – Breakfast
07:30 – Check out of hotel/inn
08:00 – Board bus (Mekong Express) going to Siem Reap, Cambodia
10:00 – Arrive at Moc Bai (Vietnam)/Bavet (Cambodia) border crossing
11:00 – First stopover at Bavet Municipality
14:00 – Second stopover at Phnom Penh bus terminal to change buses
18:00 – Third stopover at Kampong Thom Province
20:30 – Arrive at Siem Reap
21:00 – Check in at hotel/inn
21:30 – Dinner
22:30 – Sleep

DAY 3
04:00 – Wake up; prepare for Angkor Wat sunrise viewing
04:30 – Meet up with guide
05:00 – Arrive at Angkor Archaeological Park registration center
05:15 – Angkor Wat sunrise viewing
06:30 – Return to hotel/inn for breakfast
07:30 – Resume tour; Depart for Kbal Spean
08:30 – Tour of Kbal Spean
11:00 – Tour Banteay Srei
12:30 – Lunch at Banteay Srei compound
13:30 – Depart Banteay Srei
14:30 – Stopover at Pre Rup
14:50 – Tour Ta Prohm
15:40 – Stopover at Banteay Kdei
15:50 – Tour the Bayon
16:40 – Return to Angkor Wat
17:30 – Depart Angkor Wat
18:00 – Proceed to restaurant (Kulen II) for dinner buffet with Apsara show
21:00 – Return to hotel/inn
22:30 – Sleep

DAY 4
05:30 – Breakfast
07:00 – Meet up with Guide
07:30 – Depart for Beng Mealea
08:30 – Arrive at Beng Mealea registration center
08:45 – Tour Beng Mealea
10:45 – Depart for Koh Ker
11:45 – Arrive at Kuleaen District
12:00 – Lunch
13:00 – Tour Koh Ker
15:30 – Depart for Siem Reap
18:30 – Arrive at Siem Reap
19:00 – Dinner at Old Market Area
21:00 – Return to hotel/inn
22:00 – Sleep

DAY 5
05:30 – Breakfast
06:30 – Check out of hotel/inn
07:30 – Get picked up by service going to bus terminal
08:00 – Board bus (Mekong Express) going back to Saigon, Vietnam
10:00 – First stopover at Kampong Thom Province
14:00 – Second stopover at Phnom Penh bus terminal to change buses
17:30 – Third stopover at Bavet Municipality
18:30 – Arrive at Bavet (Cambodia)/Moc Bai (Vietnam) border crossing
20:30 – Arrive at Saigon
21:00 – Check in at hotel/inn
21:30 – Dinner
22:30 – Sleep

DAY 6
05:30 – Breakfast
06:30 – Check out of hotel/inn
07:15 – Board bus going to Mui Ne
10:00 – Stopover
12:30 – Arrive at Mui Ne
12:45 – Check in at hotel/inn; quick lunch
13:15 – Begin tour – Fairy Stream, White and Red Sand Dunes, etc.
18:00 – End tour
18:30 – Return to hotel/inn
19:30 – Dinner
21:30 – Sleep

DAY 7
06:30 – Breakfast
08:45 – Check out of hotel/inn
09:15 – Board bus going back to Saigon
11:30 – Stopover
14:00 – Arrive at Saigon
14:30 – Late lunch
15:30 – Free time; Saigon walking tour
19:30 – Dinner
20:30 – Free time
22:00 – Check in at Tan Son Nhat International Airport (Cebu Pacific)

DAY 7 + 1
01:30 – ETD Saigon
—–Add 1 hour upon arrival in Manila—–
04:30 – ETA Manila

One plank and two beached whales. (Photo courtesy of Ivan De Castro)

Lying down in a small tent without a makeshift pillow and with very little cushioning was quite uncomfortable, and I don’t think I would have been able to sleep if I wasn’t tired from the previous days activities.  I woke up ahead of all the others with a very painful back, making the act of sitting up excruciatingly painful.  I afterwards spent some time just soaking up the pre-dawn silence before the next person awoke.

BREAKFAST AND “BREAK CAMP”

As I didn’t bring my own food for this trip, I had to go out and look for a store that sold pan de sal, or any type of bread, really.  This wasn’t as easy a task as it seemed because there were many stray dogs roaming around and most of them were near the stores and bakeries.  (And yes, I have a legendary fear of unfamiliar dogs.)  Somehow, I managed to buy bread and 3-in-1 coffee sachets and I promptly walked back to the “camp”.

It turned out that the Brions were even better hosts than we originally thought and they prepared for us a breakfast of piping-hot coffee and kakanin.  It wasn’t all a waste though as we all proved to have huge appetites that morning. We made short work of the bibingka while consuming our own food.  So stories and jokes were exchanged, food was shared, and it was a generally nice morning to have breakfast.  Even the rain that was pouring just an hour before dawn stopped and the sun was actually peering through the clouds.

Soon after, it was time to break camp and pack our stuff for our trip to Torrijos. Mutual thanks were exchanged between us and the Brions for a very meaningful visit, and in no time at all, we were then on our way.

POCTOY WHITE BEACH

Poctoy White Beach is the main tourist attraction of the town of Torrijos in eastern Marinduque.  I’ve heard it being described as the “second Boracay” and – having been to both places – I can confirm that it’s just an exaggeration.  (For one thing, the sand has a golden tinge to it, and far from the white that Boracay is famous for.)  Having said that, it is a fact that the quality of sand in Poctoy White Beach is still better than most beaches in the Philippines.

It was still early in the day when we arrived so there weren’t that much people yet.  Either that, or the rains the night before discouraged potential beach-goers.  In any case, it seemed like more people would eventually arrive because a large section of the beach was reserved.

Yan, Vernz and Madz.

Monte's version of the jump shot. (Photo courtesy of Jet Reyes)

During my last visit here, it was close to sunset and the Holy Week crowd was far too numerous that it was hard to appreciate the place.  Seeing it in broad daylight was a very novel experience and I can definitely say it’s a rather nice-looking beach, all things considered.  However, the waves this day were a lot stronger than what I remember and it looked uninviting.

What we didn’t expect was for us to discover a previously unknown primate species endemic to Marinduque.  This particular primate inhabits coconut trees.  It is so rare that it can only be found in Torrijos, in the vicinity of the Poctoy White Beach.  It is the Marinduque Giant Tarsier (scientific name: chonggus darius marinduquensis).  And you can see the only known photograph of this newly discovered species here.

GETTING WET

(Photo courtesy of Ivan De Castro)

We spent a lot of time taking pictures of the surroundings before somebody had the guts to actually take a dip.  I initially didn’t want to do so but since everybody was already going to the water one by one, I ultimately decided to apply the sunblock, change into my board shorts and join them in their aquatic merrymaking.

(Photo courtesy of Erwin Claver)

The strong waves had a way of battering us when we least expected it, whether we were actually in waist-deep water or just where the waves and the sand meet – which of course meant there were a lot of funny moments of people getting hit by the waves in the face, losing their balance and falling over, and/or getting a mouthful of saltwater with some sand mixed.

This is what "battered by waves" looks like. (Photo courtesy of Ivan De Castro)

True to “HLGG tradition”, we had lots of photographs here, taken mostly by Erwin and Grace, who were probably the only ones who chose to stay dry.  Thanks to Grace, she managed to capture convincing proof that I need to shape up.  Take a look:

Ugh. (Photo courtesy of Ivan De Castro)

In addition, I also participated in planking and jump shots – two things I swore I’ll never do.  Anyway, it was all in the spirit of fun.

See, I'm in this jump shot. (Photo courtesy of Erwin Claver)

Later on, when everyone got tired of the water, we all went back to the kubo we rented to have lunch.  Since I was still full from that morning’s breakfast and I haven’t had a decent shower (with soap) for more than 24 hours, I took that as an opportunity to sneak away and look for a place where I could take one.  I knew that once everyone was done eating, there will be one long line to the shower rooms so I wanted to be first.

So I was away for around 30 mins doing some vigorous soaping, scrubbing and rinsing, and when I finally got back to the kubo squeaky clean, they were done eating already cleaning up the lunch table.  So yes, I missed lunch, but it was totally worth it because I had a long shower without being rushed by the next occupant.

SANTA CRUZ CHURCH

It was literally a long and winding road going to the town of Santa Cruz in northeastern Marinduque.  The road snaked through the mountains and for the most part, we could only see cliffs and forests on both sides, only dotted every now and then by small villages.  Our last destination was to be the famous Santa Cruz church before finally exiting the island through its port.

Were it not for the frequent turns of the jeepney we were riding, we would have probably fallen fast asleep during the ride.  As it was, we only had very unsatisfying micro-naps before we get nudged awake by a sudden turn or brake by the jeepney.  Eventually, we reached the church and immediately looked around.

View of the main altar and the dome.

The Santa Cruz Church was built in 1714, but the parish itself is much older and according to a plaque in one of the walls, it recently celebrated its quadricentennial (400th year anniversary).  So far, the location of the church is consistent with what I’ve seen in other Catholic churches in Marinduque such as the one in Boac, and the one in Gasan, wherein the church is not necessarily positioned at the very center of the town, but instead is located at its highest point, overlooking everything.  (Although in the case of the Santa Cruz Church, the elevation is not as high as the churches of the 2 aforementioned towns.)

Close up of the exterior of the church wall.

Looking a the topography of Marinduque, it’s easy to see why unlike other Spanish-era towns in the Philippines, the churches were not necessarily built in the center.  While Marinduque has extensive plains, it is for the most part mountainous and and hilly.  I’m guessing the Spanish did not endeavor to found new towns but worked on the pre-existing towns, which were not necessarily located on the plains.  Since the land made it difficult to build churches in the middle of the preexisting town, they did the next best thing and built them on adjacent higher ground so as to give the impression of superiority, since churches were the foremost symbols of Spanish authority in the Philippines.

One of the side altars in the church.

Anyway, the Santa Cruz Church is reputedly the oldest church in Marinduque and is well known for its interior beauty as well as the uniqueness of the building materials used in its construction. I could not quite tell what architectural style the church had.  Old Spanish period churches in the Philippines were usually only one of two styles: Earthquake Baroque or Gothic.

The Santa Cruz Church resembled neither.  It had no pointed arches nor spires that resemble the Gothic style, and neither did it have the large buttresses that characterize Earthquake Baroque.  Nevertheless, the ambiguous architectural style does not deny the fact that the church is a thing of beauty, both inside and outside.

The convent beside the church.

Adjacent to the church is a century-old convent that that has been converted to a school.  The convent was built in the more conventional bahay na bato style, which is popular throughout the archipelago.  There is also a bell tower on the other side of the church, as a separate structure – no doubt as an anti-earthquake measure.

Detail of the wood carving at the main door of the church.

It wasn’t tourist season so we had the benefit of having the church for ourselves and we were free to roam around and take photos without some stranger straying into the frame.  It seems the town was also sparsely populated as there wasn’t any Sunday crowd at all.

THE NICER PORT

After we had our fill of sightseeing and picture-taking, it was finally time to leave the island by exiting through the Sta. Cruz port.  Once again, the road took us through winding mountainside roads shaded by forested areas.  I’d remark that the state of the road in this part of Marinduque is superb and it definitely helps cut travel time.

Eventually, we came to a point in the road where the trees cleared and it gave us a view of the sea overlooking the Sta. Cruz Port and surrounding islands and land formations.  As far as views go, this makes for very pretty scenery, and once again, it was an opportunity to take photos.

Group pic. (Photo courtesy of Erwin Claver)

The port was built at a natural bay that had an island in the middle of it.  This island acted as a natural rotonda which allowed ships to enter the port on one side, and left for the mainland through the other side.

This is, by far, Darwin's most favorite pose for the entire weekend. (Photo courtesy of Jet Reyes)

And since it would be our last chance to have photos taken in Marinduque itself, then some of us figured that wacky shots wouldn’t be such a bad idea.

THE RIDE HOME

The ro-ro approaching the Santa Cruz coast.

While we were posing at the viewpoint, we actually saw the 2:00 pm boat docking at the port.  That means we won’t be able to make it to that trip and so we’d have to catch the 4:00 pm trip instead.  And since we still had around 2 hours until that trip, there was no rush to make it to the port.

Statues just outside the port compound re-enacting the beheading of Longinus.

The thing we didn’t expect upon entering the port compound were the hordes of men trying to sell us ferry tickets as well as bus tickets that would enable us to catch a connecting bus ride from Lucena to Metro Manila.  They swarmed all over the jeepney even when it was still moving and were quite annoying.

The canteen that earned a day's income from us. (Photo courtesy of Yan Bagarinao)

Our first concern was to first look for a place where we could eat.  Everyone is hungry by now, and most especially myself, because I haven’t had lunch yet.  There was one canteen right beside the port entrance and we promptly filled the place up.  After eating there, some of us were still quite hungry enough to go to another carinderia and have another meal there.

Exhibit A (Photo courtesy of Yan Bagarinao)

All this time, the port compound was slowly filling up with people and before we knew it, there was already a crowd ahead of us waiting for the 4:00 pm ro-ro.  We had to rush into the boarding area and jostle for space to be able to get seats once the ship’s main plank was brought down to allow people to enter.  As for me, I was quite okay with just standing so I looked for a space at the back that had a view and tried to be comfortable.

The crowd at the port.

Statue of Our Lady built on an islet off the port.

So after a considerable delay, the ship finally left the dock and we were on our way to the Luzon mainland.  As expected, the 3 hour ride bored the hell out of us.  So once one of us discovered there was such a thing as a roof deck at the top of the ro-ro, almost all of us trooped there.  You can probably accurately guess what happened next.  But here are the photos:

(Photo courtesy of Erwin Claver)

(Photo courtesy of Yan Bagarinao)

(Photo courtesy of Yan Bagarinao)

(Photo courtesy of Yan Bagarinao)

So we kept that up until the sun has completely set and our faces and arms were rendered sticky by the salty sea spray.  Soon after, we caught sight of the port lights at the Quezon coast.  Upon disembarking, we made one final dash to get to the bus that would take us back to Metro Manila (because we were not assured of getting seats even if we already had tickets.)  And once we were seated, we were on our way home.

And thus ends the story of HLGG Season 5, at least from my point of view. Definitely a meaningful and fun-filled weekend.  I like this group.  I think I’ll stick with them for a while.

(And if any participants have any objections or clarifications on the narrative, you’re free to do so in the comments section.  Hope you liked it overall.)

Encountering the first few Prasats in Koh Ker from Liquid Druid on Vimeo.

This place is way off the tourist map and, as the video shows, we were the only ones there.  It was really thrilling to be the only ones roaming among centuries-old ruins.

(Note:  You can turn off the audio if you like.  I can hardly bear to hear myself babble too.)

(photo courtesy of Leika Ramirez)

The gift-giving activity only lasted until mid-morning.  After exchanging farewell pleasantries with some of the older scholars, we then prepared for the climb.  The skies looked like it was going to rain soon, so it was settled that we would not go camping at Mt. Malindig.  Instead we would just spend the night at the foundation’s premises later, once we’ve descended the mountain.

I actually anticipated this and had the foresight to bring with me a smaller backpack.  My 40-liter Habagat backpack would be too bulky to climb with so I figured a smaller one will serve me in good stead.  Mountaineers actually call this an “assault pack”, but mine isn’t really a specially made one.  It’s just an old beat-up giveaway backpack I got at work a few years back.

Once we’ve arranged for food and transportation, it was then time to proceed to the jump-off point.

MT. MALINDIG

The jeepney ride to the jump-off point from the town of Buenavista wasn’t really a long one, but we got delayed for no small amount of time due to some formalities with the barangay authorities.  Once the guide services were secured, the climb started immediately.

(photo courtesy of Erwin Claver)

One interesting thing about Mt. Malindig is that unlike other mountains, the trail to the summit always went upwards (with just one exception).  So while the terrain wasn’t that difficult to negotiate, it was definitely exhausting and we found ourselves taking frequent breaks.  (As Madz remarked in jest, “hiking na puro assault“.)

The trail is almost uniformly of that angle.

At the start of the climb, I volunteered to carry the kaldero full of cooked rice.  Now, carrying a few pounds load in one hand while walking on even ground is generally a no-sweat effort.  But climbing a mountain, however, it’s as if the needed effort geometrically increases.  I frequently changed hands when the carrying arm started to ache, but whichever hand I used, the load was punishing my lower back.

One of the very few areas of level ground in the trail. The yellow plastic bag on the lower right contains the damned kaldero of rice. (photo courtesy of Vernz Fabroa)

[Ironically though, if it were possible to place the kaldero in my backpack, I don't think it would have hurt my back as much.  I went up Mt. Pulag with a fully loaded backpack and my back didn't hurt then (although almost every other part did.)]

Eventually, I threw chivalry out the window by accepting Tin’s offer to relieve me of the responsibility and thereafter, the climb instantly became a lot easier.  Later on, she likewise passed on the responsibility in favor of our guide (who seemed to find the climb too easy and, I think, needed to earn the money we were paying him.)

JELLYACE CONVERT

It used to be that I didn’t believe in trail food.  I thought it only induced thirst and made one consume more water than he/she should when climbing a mountain.  And I most certainly didn’t believe that Jellyace was useful – despite the fact that all my mountaineer friends swore by its effectiveness.  I mean look at it – gelatin, food coloring, water and sugar.  That’s all there is to it.

That's me brandishing a jellyace cup in my next hiking trip with HLGG (photo courtesy of Karen Reyes)

Everything changed when we had our second or third break on the trail.  Tin took out her pack of lychee-flavored Jellyace and offered me some.  Since I really didn’t have a reason to refuse, I took one and popped it into my mouth.  It didn’t have an instantaneous effect other than the fact that the sweet taste felt very welcome in my mouth and that I immediately wanted to ask for another.

Anyway, I guess Jellyace has a lot more sugar than I thought because after consuming each cup at every break, I felt as if I had more energy to expend afterwards and there was a noticeable change in the length of time it took me to be really exhausted.  At one point, I even ran up a steep slope.

So on my next climb, I made sure Jellyace was part of the supplies I bought.  (More on this in a later blog.)

LUNCH AT THE RADIO TOWERS

(photo courtesy of Jet Reyes)

Eventually, we reached a point in the trail where a number of radio towers are erected.  Even when we still hadn’t reached the exact spot, we knew it was nearby because a lot of dogs began barking all at once, sensing our presence.  There were a few caretakers who manned the station and I suppose they needed a lot of dogs for security purposes.  (Probably more so back in the days when the NPA was still in the area.)

Since the weather progressively became worse (but not really bad yet), it was decided that the station would be our final stop and it is where we would have lunch.  We would have wanted to be at the summit but we were told that the station, as it is, was the highest point in the mountain that actually had a good view.  The summit itself, which was just a few more minutes away from the station, had thick vegetation and thus no view, we were told.

(photo courtesy of Yan Bagarinao)

I think I can certainly say that none of us really felt that it was a big loss not to have gone to the summit.  We were tired and hungry.  Most of us haven’t had any decent rest for the past 24 hours and the last proper meal we had was whatever we had the previous night.  So we stayed put in the station, shared food, cleaned up a bit, and hoped that the clouds would clear up so that we’d see the seascape.

Well, they didn’t.  The low-lying clouds blocked our view of the sea.  Occasionally, the clouds would come close enough and render everything foggy.  One cool thing though is that the fog around the towers made everything eerily Silent Hill-esque and made for a great background, as these photos show:

Yan, Madz and Vernz (photo courtesy of Jet Reyes)

Yan, Madz and Vernz with Leejay this time (photo courtesy of Jet Reyes)

Of course, jump shots generally aren’t supposed to go well with creepy surroundings, but based on what I know about these hardcore HLGG guys and girls, they’ll pose anywhere.  And besides, the photos look great anyway.

DESCENT

Remember what I said a few paragraphs back regarding Mt. Malindig’s trail being constantly upwards?  Well, one thing good about it is that it makes the descent a much easier (and therefore, faster) task to accomplish.  So easy, in fact, that I could only count one break we took while going down, and it wasn’t really to rest but to admire the view.  (I actually took a video of it.  You can view it here.)

(photo courtesy of Yan Bagarinao)

The on-and-off drizzle also became more frequent at this point that we took out and wore our rain coats for a stretch.  But thankfully, it didn’t deteriorate into a full-blown rain until we were very near the jump-off point.  At that time, I didn’t re-wear my poncho raincoat anymore as it would have only slowed me down.

We finally reached the village at the base of the mountain and by this point it was already raining hard.  We got lost for a bit as none of us remembered the path going to the road.  (The rain made pools on the ground which made the path unrecognizable.  Fortunately, some villagers saw us wandering around and signaled to us the right direction.  We then caught up with the ones who had gone ahead as they were huddled in front of a sari-sari store.

TOP LOAD

Toploading en route to Mt. Malindig (photo courtesy of Madz Crisostomo)

Our next stop after Mt. Malindig was the Marinduque Hot Springs, which was also in Buenavista.  For some reason, the jeepney just got a bit more crowded inside so three of us – Monte, Darwin and myself – decided to go “top load”.

“Top load”, for those unfamiliar, is the term used when passengers sit on top of a moving jeepney.  Although I’ve traveled to a lot of places where jeepneys regularly allow passengers to go top load, this was actually the first time that I did this.  It’s not that I was scared or anything.  It’s just that I really didn’t use to think it was that big of a deal.  Well, now that I’ve experienced it, it’s a much bigger deal than I thought.  First of all, it’s exhilarating.  With the wind on your face, the rain from above and a 365-degree view of the surroundings, I’d say there’s a sort of liberating feeling attached to experience.

Toploading en route to Poctoy White Beach (photo courtesy of Jet Reyes)

It’s just so unfortunate that the rain was strong enough to discourage us from taking any pictures at the top.  As a result, I have no photo of my very first top load experience.  The photos of others above were taken in sunnier weather.

HOT SPRINGS

(photo credit: http://www.visitmarinduque.com/wp-content/uploads/wppa/26.jpg )

Some time later, we reached the Marinduque Hot Springs.  We were all wet and muddied and we were certainly looking forward to a dip in the hot springs to soothe our aching muscles.  (And in my case, I suffered a bit of cramps in one of my legs when I was getting down from the roof of the jeepney.)

Our immediate problem was that the management of the resort had a clothing requirement.  For sure, most of us initially thought that the Marinduque Hot Springs was a natural spring where people could just come and go, and not a modern resort facility with landscaping, cottages, shower rooms, tiled pools, etc.  As a result, a number of us didn’t see the need to bring the proper attire.  It was decided that it would take too much time to go back to the foundation premises so we all just went in and hoped that the clothing policy wasn’t strictly enforced.

And fortunately, it wasn’t.  We all were able to take a dip.  As for me, I did a bit of laundering of my convertible hiking pants prior to taking the plunge as I didn’t want to be the douchebag who muddied the hot spring for everyone.  Once I was done with my bit of laundry in the shower room, I detached the portion of the pants below the knees and then I was off.

This is Darwin. Don't talk to him if you're hungry. He'll just multiply your hunger 10x. (photo credit: Yan Bagarinao)

It’s a bit funny because when we arrived, the spring looked peaceful and a bit of a paradise, really.  There were even not-so-bad-looking couples indiscreetly doing PDA in certain areas of the spring (thereby giving a double meaning to the term “hot spring”.)  Then we all came in boisterously to disturb the peace.  They left soon after we arrived.

Mr. Hardcore Jollibee Fan himself, Ryan Eres (photo courtesy of Erwin Claver)

I don’t know how it started but at some point, Darwin just could not stop talking about food, and this certainly didn’t help our hungry tummies. For his part, Ryan gained fame in our group for being the most die hard Jollibee fan that we’ve ever come across. By that time, it has already been about 4 hours since we last ate and we were really looking forward to dinner.

In the haste to take a dip in the hot springs, none of us saw the need to take pictures of ourselves.  And so once again, no pictures here.

INDOOR CAMPING

(photo courtesy of Jet Reyes)

It was close to sundown when we left the hot springs.  Since we no longer had the services of the jeepney that we hired, Pastor Rogelio offered to pick us up in 2 batches on our way back to the Foundation’s premises.  I belonged to the second batch and so by the time Pastor Rogelio returned for us, it was already dark and to make matters worse, it was raining harder.  Most of us boarded the back of the pick-up truck where, because we were drenched and no protection from the wind, we all were close to shivering by the time we reached the Foundation.

Once we arrived, the others were already drying themselves up and preparing for dinner.  We did the same and hung a lot of clothes and towels around the premises for them to dry.  We had a humble but filling dinner and soon after, it was time to prepare to sleep.  As soon as the tables and chairs were cleared, we began to set up our tents right in the foundation’s multi-purpose hall.  Some, like Leejay, Karen and Jet, didn’t see the need anymore to set up their tent so they just positioned their sleeping bags at the stage, which is, incidentally, where I also set up my tent.

Me and my tent. (photo courtesy of Vernz Fabroa)

(It wasn’t really necessary for me to set up my small tent, and I definitely would have been more comfortable without it.  But I purchased the brand new tent for the sole purpose of this trip, and – damn it – I was going to use it no matter what!)

Evening socials (photo courtesy of Vernz Fabroa)

Actually, we held a sort of evening socials that night before sleeping seeing as there were newbies, like me, who haven’t been properly introduced to the group.  There were also some announcements on other activities we might want to join.  I remember Karen missing the first half of the socials because she suddenly fell asleep right after she unrolled her sleeping bag.  Good thing she managed to wake up a bit later.  Erwin and Ryan though (who shared a tent) slept through the whole thing.  Not even Jollibee jokes was enough to wake Ryan up.

That's Karen, right there. (photo courtesy of Jet Reyes)

Well, it was nice to be properly acquainted with everyone.  Spending the entire day with people half of whose names I didn’t know can be pretty uneasy.  Soon after, I began to feel my head bobbing up and down and my eyelids getting heavy.  When there was nothing left to discuss, it was finally time for “lights out”.

Next, beach bumming, planking and the ro-ro ride back.

Returning to Marinduque wasn’t really in my plans for 2011, even though I thoroughly enjoyed my visit during the Holy Week of 2010 (Moriones and all.)  What made me accept the invitation of my friend Madz Crisostomo to return to Marinduque is the prospect of doing some charity activity while traveling.  This is something that I’ve never done before, but which I was very much interested in doing.

A secondary reason was the fact that the proposed itinerary would bring me to places in Marinduque that I was not able to or just barely visited back in ’10, this includes a Mt. Malindig climb, an extended stay in Buenavista, daytime beach bumming at the Poctoy White Beach in Torrijos, and visiting the town of Sta. Cruz and exiting the island through its very picturesque port.

“HAPPY TO LIVE, GLAD TO GIVE”

If you recall, I got to know Madz when I was researching on Biri Island last year and I found the information in her blog really useful.  Madz started this group called “Happy to Live, Glad to Give” (HLGG, for brevity) which always pairs a mountaineering activity with a charity activity benefiting a nearby community in need.  Ever since I’ve read about this group in her blog, I’ve always wanted to be invited.  And so once I finally got an invitation last October, I did not hesitate to join once I ascertained that my schedule was free for the dates indicated.

Mt. Malindig as seen from Poctoy White Beach in the sunset.

For this dual-purpose activity, the mountaineering part would be done at Mt. Malindig – the highest mountain in Marinduque.  We actually had to secure a military permit for this climb because, until just a few years ago, Mt. Malindig and its neigboring mountains were infested with the NPA.  Nowadays, it’s already safe for mountaineering activities, but the military still maintains camps in the mountain.  The permit is really for our own safety, lest we ourselves be mistaken for NPAs.

(photo courtesy of Jet Reyes)

As for the charity part, our intended beneficiary was the Praiseland Foundation based in the town of Buenavista.  It describes itself as, “…a non-stock, non-profit, inter-denominational, para-church foundation with the purpose of serving the Body of Christ in and outside of Marinduque specifically through Bible camping  ministries, scholarship and feeding programs.“  For our part, HLGG’s intention was to give school supplies to the 100 scholars of various ages currently being supported by the foundation.

We had to undergo a pre-climb meeting for this activity (held in the Megamall Food Court) just to be apprised of the details and the expectations for the activity.  It was the first time I met Madz as well as my other online friend Tin, whom I asked to be invited too.  Once the pre-climb meeting was done, then we were all set.

THE NIGHT BUS & NIGHT BOAT

(photo courtesy of Jet Reyes)

So the plan was to assemble at a bus station near Kamias Rd. corner EDSA before boarding the bus that would take us all the way to the Lucena Port in Quezon Province.  From there, we were to board a Ro-Ro ferry going to Marinduque.  This was a route I was familiar with because it’s exactly how I got to Marinduque back in ’10.

So there we were with all our bags and stuff when it started to rain.  But that was the least of our worries because there were still a few people in our group who haven’t arrived yet.  It’s a good thing that the bus schedule wasn’t rigidly followed and even the latest of the late (haha) was able to make it.

It was a long drive from Cubao to Lucena and we could have taken advantage of the long trip by sleeping were it not for the fact that we were forced to wake up every now and then for various reasons (ticket payment, bad music, sudden braking, etc.)  As a result, we arrived at the port with that not-very-pleasant feeling of having one’s sleep cut short repeatedly.

Entrance/Exit of the Cawit Port (photo courtesy of Jet Reyes)

If the bus ride was bad, the boat ride was much worse.  Granted that it wasn’t as bad as the insanity that I experienced during the ’10 Holy Week, the boat still was crowded enough to be uncomfortable.  For one thing, the seats were not conducive for trips lasting for more than an hour in the middle of the night.  You simply won’t be able to sleep unless you’re callous enough to occupy and lie down on an entire row.

It was still an hour before sunset when we arrived at the Cawit Port in the town of Boac.  The port was well lit, but by some unfortunate coincidence, a power failure occurred right before we disembarked.  We then walked towards the exit in almost total darkness.  Somehow, we all made it to the exit and negotiatied with a local jeepney driver to transport us to Buenavista.

Whiling away the time on a bridge while the jeepney was stalled. (photo courtesy of Karen Reyes)

ARRIVAL AT BUENAVISTA

(photo courtesy of Jet Reyes)

After our jeepney briefly got stalled somewhere between Boac and Buenavista, we arrived at Praiseland Foundation.  The main avenue was empty of people as it was still very early in the morning (although there was already daylight).  Pastor Rogelio Brion was already waiting for us by the side of the road and he generously served us piping-hot coffee and pan de sal for breakfast.  At that time, there were already a few early birds at the premises.  Since the actual gift-giving affair was still an hour away, we whiled away the time by strolling through the main avenue until we reached the recreational park by the sea, where a lot of us had photos taken.

Eventually, we were asked to proceed back to the foundation’s premises as the giftees were already starting to arrive.  In a span of less than an hour, the number of giftees swelled from 2 to around 50, and more were coming in every minute.  Aside from the place getting crowded, the noise level was also increasing because, well, children are children and they’ll always make noises.

GIFT-GIVING

Finally, the program started .  Actually, there wasn’t really any planned program as we only went there to deliver and give the school supplies to the recipients.  Ivan, one of the leaders of our group, got a bit dumbfounded when he was asked by Pastor Rogelio to say a few words to all those assembled.  He did manage to say a few words and introduce each of us to everyone.  Pastor Rogelio then gave a few words of his own just before the gift-giving proper commenced.

Mayor Russel Madrigal of Buenavista, Marinduque (photo courtesy of Madz Crisostomo)

The intention was to start with the youngest (Grade 1) giftees and to work our way to the succeeding grades.  We got to the Grade 2 giftees before the program was temporarily halted to acknowledge the arrival of Russel Madrigal, Mayor of the town of Buenavista.  He gave a few words of his own expressing his appreciation for what HLGG was doing and he then stayed for the rest of the program and graciously chatting with a few of us every now and then.

By this point, the number of children in attendance further swelled until it seemed like there were a lot more than 100 children there.  This certainly posed a bit of a problem because we brought school supplies only for a specific number of scholars, and seemed as if we won’t be able to provide for everyone.  Pastor Rogelio explained that the number swelled to over the official figure because it was usual practice in their place for children to tag along when news of free giveaways gets out.

Since it would be very unchristian to ask all those unlisted children to go home, HLGG remedied the situation by doing some “dagdag-bawas” with the pre-packaged gifts in order to be able to ensure that each child gets something.  (And we made it!  All the way to the 4th year high school level.)

HLGG's version of "dagdag-bawas".

DISPROPORTIONATE EXPRESSION OF GRATITUDE

What was totally unexpected was the fact that they prepared a thanksgiving song and “participatory” dance number as an expression of their gratitude to us for giving the school supplies.  Since I realized that we were about to witness something special, I immediately set my BlackBerry in video mode to capture all of it from the very beginning.  Here’s the video:

HLGG serenaded by the Praiseland Foundation kids from Liquid Druid on Vimeo.

I’m saying it’s disproportionate because I felt that we did not deserve to be thanked in such a grand way.  We only gave them school supplies and a simple “thank you” would have sufficed.  Instead, these children spent a lot of time and effort in practicing and eventually performing their song and dance number that, in hindsight, I actually felt guilty I didn’t give more.  It’s as if we gave them a winning 6/55 Grand Lotto ticket.

I learned something that time:

For some people, a little kindness indeed goes a long, long way.  On the subject of generosity, we oftentimes confuse size with significance.  How many times have we stopped ourselves from giving something to people who are really in need because we were ashamed that what we’d end up giving might be perceived as too paltry to be significant?  If one is in the habit of imposing too many conditions on one’s own generosity, then one might end up not giving at all.  As far as results go, imposing conditions has exactly the same effect as making excuses not to do something.  And in that case it won’t really matter even if one had the intention to give.

As the words in the HLGG Facebook page says, “A small step taken in the right direction is better than no action.“

It’s also sometimes a matter of pride and humility.  Right or wrong, we all have an inclination to pride.  We want to be recognized and acclaimed for anything good we do.  Sometimes, we’d rather not do something if we think we won’t get recognized for it.  It is an ugly reality about ourselves that we all have to deal with and is something which I personally struggle with.

I was humbled by what those children did.  They didn’t care about how little I felt I gave to them.  They thanked me just the same in a manner that they felt was commensurate.  If there ever was proof that pride has no place in generosity, then that was it.  And I’m thankful that I experienced that humbling moment.

Here we all are. (photo courtesy of Monte Corpuz)

= = = = = = = = = =

Next, Mt. Malindig, Marinduque Hot Springs, and “indoor camping”.

Motorcycle Madness in Saigon from Liquid Druid on Vimeo.

Try crossing the street through that!

The first clip above shows a busy intersection at night in Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City) which I took when I was roaming the city on foot.  It might have been the corner of Nguyen Thai Hoc St. and either Pham Ngu Lao St. or Le Lai St.  (I don’t really remember.)  The second clip below was taken from the back of a motorcycle being driven by my guide, Mr. Binh, when I was touring Mui Ne – a place that’s 5 hours away east of Saigon.  Note the disparity of vehicular volume in the 2 scenes.

“Easy Riding” in Mui Ne from Liquid Druid on Vimeo.

One of the most common ways of seeing the sights in Mui Ne is via “Easy Rider” – tour guides on motorcycles that offer to take individual tourists from one spot to another for a fixed fee.

(photo courtesy of Gwen Librodo)

Butuan has gotten a raw deal from our group.  We’ve used it as a home base of sorts, having gone to this city 3 times in the past 5 days of our northeastern Mindanao swing, yet we’ve never really treated it as more than a jump-off point going to other destinations.  On the penultimate day of our tour, we decided to at least give Butuan the attention and appreciation it deserves.

Butuan is located at the very center of the province of Agusan del Norte and used to be the provincial capital.  Since its classification as a “Highly Urbanized City” in 1995, it has become independent of the provincial government, although a lot of the latter’s offices are still located in Butuan itself instead of the new provincial capital of Cabadbaran. The city is also the seat of the Caraga administrative region (Region XIII) and thus also hosts its offices.

THE ANCIENT AND MODERN CITY

At the end of the previous entry, I’ve described Butuan as an “ancient and modern city”.  The “modern” part is pretty evident once you arrive there.  It’s a bustling city with wide avenues, an active public transportation system, malls, schools, hospitals, electricity, pollution, etc.  In a past entry, I made mention of the fact that Butuan is a transportation hub for northeastern Mindanao.  This was actually an understatement because it’s the biggest center of commerce in Caraga, with extensive economic dealings also with the Visayas, towards which its coast faces.

It is however its “ancient” aspect that makes it special and important as far as tourism and historical awareness is concerned.  Evidence of a rich prehispanic civilization exists in Butuan and it is this forgotten face of the city that we intended to see for ourselves.  Butuan is such an archaeologically-important area that the National Museum has built and maintained facilities in the city, rather than transporting important historical artifacts all the way to Manila.  This is something that I find myself agreeing with because I believe historical artifacts are best viewed within the context of the locale where they were originally found.  Of secondary importance is the fact that it also encourages tourism to Butuan.  (Because anyone who has ever gone to Butuan will readily admit that it lacks the natural beauty that the nearby Surigao provinces possess.)

A MUSEUM VISIT

(photo courtesy of Gwen Librodo)

Naturally, the first place we visited was the National Museum’s branch in Butuan.  We actually arrived at lunchtime when the museum was closed so the guard apologized to us as he asked us to return after an hour.  Fortunately, there was a nearby well-shaded park across a stream where we could hang out while waiting.  We each found spots at the circular concrete benches and spent the time just taking it easy.  As for me, I tried to sleep for a bit but later on got restless, so walked around and went to the stream to watch the fishes.

After an hour, we finally entered the museum, but we were disappointed to find out that we were not allowed to photograph the exhibits.  This is one policy that is common to all museums that I’ve been to, and I find it rather pointless because photographs of the exhibits, if anything, even serve to entice people to go visit the museum.  So no potential revenue is really lost.  It’s especially pointless in the case of the National Museum in Butuan because they didn’t even collect an entrance fee.

Anyway, as what might be expected for anything run by the government, I wasn’t too impressed with the appearance of the exhibits and I really think they could have been improved.  By their nature, exhibits should be primarily visual.  The highlight should be the exhibits themselves and any explanatory text should be brief and concise.  People go to Museums to see things and not to read about them (which they can certainly do in the privacy of their own homes.)

On that point, a large portion of the premises were used to explain in detail the centuries-long geological processes that formed the land where Butuan is now located – a dreadfully boring subject matter unless you’re a geologist - and it seemed as if the text of an entire study was put up as an exhibit, dwarfing the illustrative scale model itself.  It’s like creating a PowerPoint presentation and putting paragraphs of font size 10 text on the slides, instead of helpful graphs and bullet points.

THE MORE INTERESTING ROOM

Needless to say, we spent a lot more more time in a considerably more interesting section of the museum, which is an air-conditioned hall where all the historical artifacts are exhibited.  Except for a few pieces with gold and various precious metals on them, most of the items in the exhibit were purely historical (rather than monetary) in value.

Like most Philippine museums I’ve been to, a large percentage of the exhibit is composed of earthenware/ceramic pieces of different periods and origins.  While this does not look impressive to the casual observer, it does give an idea of the extensive trade links of the ancient kingdom with other kingdoms/empires in the region such as China, Siam (Thailand), Champa (Southern Vietnam), Khmer (Cambodia), India, and even as far away as the Persian empire (!).  There were also human bones on exhibit, as well as some other tools used in everyday life, i.e. cutlery, wooden oars, cookware, goldsmith-ing equipment, etc.

The Golden Tara of Butuan (photo credit: http://butuantoday.blogspot.com/2009/03/golden-tara-of-butuan.html)

It was unfortunate that the famous Butuan Golden Tara that’s on exhibit in this room is only a replica, the original currently being held in the Chicago Field Museum after being recovered from the left bank of the Wawa River after a flood in 1917.  The Golden Tara, a Buddhist figurine with heavy Indian influences, is perhaps the most salient evidence of cultural linkages between itself and India, as well as Butuan’s identity as an Indianized kingdom.  (This Indian-Buddhist heritage is something that is awfully absent in history textbooks in Philippine schools.  Many writers seem to believe that the only culture of any significance prior to the arrival of the Spanish was Islamic culture.)  The official brochure dates the image to 900-950 AD or the Saliendra period of the Sri-Vijaya empire.  This makes the image as old as the Borubudur Temple in Java, Indonesia.

The Butuan Silver Paleograph (photo credit: http://mandirigma.org/?p=269)

A particularly interesting exhibit there is the Butuan Silver Paleograph.  As the name denotes, it is a small silver strip with inscriptions.  It was found by treasure hunters who unearthed a burial site.  Attempts to decode what the inscriptions mean have so far been unsuccessful.  An expert from Indonesia who studied the inscription gave the opinion that the script was similar to one that was used in Java in the 12th-15th centuries.

There were supposedly two of these found and only one was secured by the city government.  The other one was kept by a treasure hunter who vehemently refused to part with it, claiming that it will help him find more treasures.  (If you find that dreadfully vacuous, then I completely agree with you.)

While I found this room fascinating, I also found myself silently lamenting the rich past that we have forgotten, a time when we were not subjects of a western power and that we were more regionally integrated with our southeast Asian neighbors.  I’m a huge fan of Spain and Hispanic Philippines, but I deplore the way relics of our rich past were forgotten, erased and, in a lot of cases, systematically destroyed in an attempt to adopt the new western culture and beliefs brought by the Spaniards.

WHEN TRASH BECOMES PRICELESS

After about an hour of touring the museum it was time to proceed to our next destination.  We hailed a passing tricycle and rented it for the rest of the afternoon as we had two more places to go to, the next one being the Bequibel Shell Midden in Barangay Bonbon.  We had a bit of a hard time looking for the place, but we did manage to find it by asking around.

What is a “midden”?  Basically, it’s the trash of prehistoric people, and thus are considered unmistakable evidence of prehistoric human settlement and habitation of a certain area.  For archaeologists, it’s a gold mine of information on how people lived in prehistoric times – what they ate, what tools they used, changes in geological and meteorological patterns, etc.

(photo courtesy of Gwen Librodo)

Unlike most archaeological sites in Butuan, this shell midden actually sits on private land, and thus was named after the owners of the land – the Bequibel Family.  (This was also the reason why we had difficulty in finding the place – we were under the impression that “Bequibel” was the name of the place, when in fact is was “Bonbon”.)  Fortunately, the head of the family, Mr. Horacio Bequibel, was there during our visit and he was very wiling to give us an impromptu lecture on the midden.

(photo courtesy of Gwen Librodo)

According to archaeologists who studied the midden, the land where Baranggay Bonbon is located was already settled 7,000 years ago, albeit in a different form.  At present, ricefields are located there, but it used to be a shallow riverbed that has since dried up when the river changed course.  Aside from the shells, the excavations conducted in the midden unearthed pig and deer bones, tools and even human skeletons.

Mr. Horacio Bequibel

Mr. Bequibel explaining to me the composition of the midden. (photo courtesy of Cha Balmes)

Mr. Bequibel claims that when he was a kid, the site used to be a much higher mound where children used to play.  Everyone was so oblivious to the archaeological significance of the midden that nobody made a big deal of it when a truck carted off most of the mound to be used as filling material (“panambak”) in a construction site.  It was only later that they realized the significance of the site when scientists made a visit and informed them of what they had.  It was a good thing that despite the loss of a substantial portion of the mound, they were still able to get valuable data because the midden went deeper underground than anyone had realized.

Present specimens of the same species of mollusks as the ones buried in the midden for thousands of years.

We were told that the land where the midden sits is currently embroiled in a soft tug-of-war between the city government of Butuan and the national government.  To simplify things, the latter, through the National Museum, wants to take possession of the land for study because of its archaeological importance.  On the other hand, the city government wants it for the same reason, with the added hope that it could generate revenue for the city by developing it as a tourist site.  Regardless of which entity eventually takes possession of the land, I realy do hope that the Bequibel family is justly compensated for it.

FACE TO FACE WITH THE BALANGAY

Balangay no. 1

As I explained in a past post, every grade school Filipino student knows that the word barangay, pertaining to the most basic unit of local government, is derived from the much older word balangay, a wooden boat used by prehispanic Filipinos where the social hierarchy observed in the boat paralleled their social roles when they settled on land.  For the most part of modern Philippine history, references to the balangay were based purely on sparse eyewitness accounts during first contact between the Spaniards and ancient FIlipinos, most notably those by Antonio Pigafetta, chief chronicler of Ferdinand Magellan’s voyage.

As no Illustrations were ever provided in these early accounts, consequently, no one was really sure of what a balangay looked like for a very long time.  It was noted though that even back in Pigafetta’s time, the word balangay was already being used as a local government term.

In the 1970s, a treasure-hunting craze swept the city due to some valuable artifacts being found.  In the process, a number of remarkably well-preserved balangays were unearthed.  Since these were considered worthless by treasure hunters, they were simply reported to the authorities for possible study.  The immense historical value of these relics were immediately realized and both the national and city governments cooperated to establish a branch of the National Museum in the city to safeguard and further study the balangays and other related artifacts.  Right now, the National Museum has an onsite facility that houses three balangays and has balangay no. 1 (i.e., the first one to be found) enshrined as the centerpiece.  Even the site where it was dug out of was preserved.

Close-up of holes in the balangay where wooden pegs were inserted to hold together the wooden planks.

For a history buff like me, I can’t help but feel overwhelmed upon seeing balangay no. 1 face-to-face.  This was much older than the boat-shaped stone markers of the Nakamaya burial grounds in Batanes (and I found that one pretty overwhelming too.)  Seeing an actual balangay is by far the oldest direct link to anything man-made in prehispanic Philippines that my eyes have ever set on.

Some human remains and coffins recovered in the same vicinity.

It’s kind of sad that we don’t have enduring stone structures like the other nations do, and all we Filipinos have are fragile artifacts.  But I’m nevertheless thankful that I had the chance to see and touch something that was made by the hands of people whom I could reasonably ascertain are the oldest of my ancestors.  (Balangay no. 1 was encased in glass, but nos. 3 and 4 were not, and so I was able to touch them.)

The actual site where balangay no. 1 was excavated.

AT THE END OF THE DAY

By the end of our trip we were already very hungry and there wasn’t really any reason not to ask the tricycle driver drop us off at the to Gaisano Mall to gorge on foooooooood.  It was an awkward time to eat a heavy meal as the sunset was still 2 hours away.  But we’ve long since ceased to care about proper meal schedules and we decided to have combined lunch/dinner that afternoon.  We were flying back to Manila the next day and had to leave for the airport early anyway, so we planned to retire early for the night.

That afternoon, throughout the social media, everybody was talking about the huge storm that was about to hit Manila the next day, but we could not bring ourselves to worry about it, possibly because we were too tired and we were having far too good a time during the entire trip (except for the accident at Tinuy-an, that is.)

It was a hectic, tiring, eye-opening, fascinating and overwhelming first ever visit to Mindanao for me.  I’m glad I started with the northeast.  I’m looking forward to discover more of Mindanao in the future.

(photo courtesy of Gwen Librodo)

I’m planning an exploratory trip to Carles in Northern Iloilo to visit the Higantes Islands and other nearby islands.  I will most probably do this on March 23-26, 2012.  (The date can change a bit as long as it includes the March 24-25 weekend.)  I can travel alone but I was hoping I could cut costs by inviting others to join me.

Just so you know what to see there, here’s what fellow bloggers have written about Carles:

A Paradise Called Carles

Higantes Group of Islands / Islas de Gigantes, Carles, Northern Iloilo

To set expectations, this will mostly be a backpacking trip.  The tourism industry in Carles is underdeveloped and there are certainly no first class accommodations.  Your sense of adventure should be a bit on the rough side.

I’d need a maximum of 7 adult companions of any gender, preferably in the age range of 20 to 45.  Sorry, I can’t take minors, senior citizens and those with seriously debilitating medical conditions.  (Allergies are okay though, as long as one brings his/her own medicines.)

If anybody is interested in joining me, just leave your contact information in the comments section so we can work out the details.  (If you want your contact information to remain private, just indicate it in your message and I’ll simply not publish it.)

Thank you!

Click to view slideshow.

For this trip, I joined Travel Factor in one of their package tours.  Just the weekend before, I also joined them in their Pahiyas trip in Quezon.  That summer in 2010 was my most travel-packed in living memory and I felt that I could go anywhere I wanted, even if it meant climbing up the highest peak in Luzon.

I had to attend an orientation prior to the climb that would set our expectations as well as give us the dos and don’ts for this particular trip.  If you remember, my work colleague Danna was supposed to join me, but she had to beg off because of her accident during our Taal Volcano trek.  It’s a good thing that my friend Fung, whom I met in TF’s Marinduque Holy Week trip, also joined so I at least had a familiar face to talk to at the start.

Despite the fact that the Ambangeg trail is one of the easiest by any mountaineering standard, what was quite unexpected was the extreme cold and altitude sickness that I encountered at the start of the climb.  The moment I realized I was possibly in over my head was when I already began to pant when I was just in the act of wearing my backpack.

Later on, i had to stop and rest barely 5 minutes into the hike.  It was quite humiliating, and I guess that’s why porters are a big thing in Mt. Pulag.  Unfortunately, I only realized I needed a porter when we have already begun.  Fortunately, I somehow found the strength to continue and even got ahead of the tail-enders in certain stretches of the climb.  It was half-desperation/half-pride that propelled me to make it to our campsite.

(By the way, one of the good things about being at the tail-end of a climbing party is that once you finally arrive, all the tents have already been set up.  Hehe.)

Even though for the most part the experience was all sorts of discomfort, on a deeper level, I was happy with the fact that I was doing something new: I was exploring and I was pushing my limits.  The summit assault the next morning was really great.  I’ve never experienced a night trek before and I was surprised that it wasn’t as scary as I imagined, even at times when the person ahead of me and the person behind me were both already too far to see in the predawn darkness.  The trail leading to the summit is mostly safe and easy and one would not encounter any accident if one just stays on the path.

Overall, a Mt. Pulag climb ranks high in the trips I’d recommend to my friends.  If you are physically fit and without any serious heart condition, it’s a must even for non-mountaineers (like me.)