I woke up at about 8 AM. After taking a quick shower, I realized that my video camera wasn’t working for some reason. I couldn’t even view the videos that I had already recorded. I gave up trying to fix the issue and continued with my plans, hoping it would start working later.
Sunlight came through the balcony, although it didn’t reach the room very much. It was the first bright view of Sagada since I had arrived the previous night. My lodge was close to a popular local bakery called Sagada Homemade Whole Wheat Bread, so I decided to go there first in the morning.
As I went outside, I saw a family staying at the lodge eating breakfast together. They watched me as I walked past them. I guessed they were wondering why I was traveling alone. I had experienced the same feeling before when staying in places where family bonds are especially strong.
The bakery had only three kinds of bread. I bought a chocolate bread, which was quite large for only 50 PHP ($0.80). Although I had wanted to try a freshly baked one, it still tasted great. I sat on the side of the curved road, enjoying the bread while watching the surrounding nature and the dogs passing by.
After returning to the lodge, I admired the beautiful view outside. I tried to write in my personal journal on the balcony, but it was too hot to sit on the chair or even touch the table. Instead, I sat at the table inside next to the balcony, where I could still enjoy the view of nature.
After that, as planned, I started recording audio for my YouTube videos. Since I usually stay in cheap hotels, I rarely have a good opportunity to record in a quiet environment. I managed to record two episodes.
Once I finished, I checked out of the lodge and left. I wished I could have stayed longer. I hoped I would be able to find another place with such a good deal in the future.
That morning, I had two things to do. The first was to check the bus schedule to Banaue, a renowned municipality near Sagada, where I planned to visit the Batad Rice Terraces—the main reason I had traveled north from Manila.
I walked up the road and found the bus ticket office after asking a few locals for directions. There was nobody at the reception at first, but a woman appeared after I called out, “Hello.” I found out that there was only one bus to Banaue each day, departing at 2 PM. As I had experienced in Baguio, I could buy the ticket on the day of departure, so I decided not to purchase it in advance. Still, it was good to know the departure time.
The second thing I needed to do was book some tours. There were three main attractions I wanted to visit in Sagada: Marlboro Hill, Sumaguing Cave, and the Hanging Coffins.
Although there were several tour agencies in town, I first went to the Sagada Municipal Tourist Information Center. As I entered, there were two young staff members, a woman and a man, at the reception. Once the woman realized that I spoke only English, she stepped back and let the man assist me.
He explained how the tour system worked. First, I had to fill out a registration form. Second, I needed to pay a 100 PHP ($1.60) environmental registration fee and receive a receipt. I was told to carry the receipt with me wherever I went during the tours. Finally, I had to book the tours through one of the accredited tour agencies in Sagada.
I was given a guidebook containing information about each tour agency as well as the main tourist attractions. Since I had no idea which agency to choose, I simply walked down the road and entered the first one that caught my eye: SEGA Sagada Tour Arrangement Services.
The office was located upstairs. Several local guides were sitting outside. One of them recognized that I was looking for a tour and guided me into the small office, which contained only a chair and a small table. The man, who spoke very little English, showed me a sheet listing the available tour packages.
I was surprised by how many activities were available. However, I only had 7,766 PHP ($125) in cash. Considering that I still had about a week left before leaving the Philippines, I had to choose carefully.
Although the Marlboro Hill and Blue Soil package sounded appealing, I decided to visit only Marlboro Hill, Sumaguing Cave, and the Hanging Coffins.
Whenever you visit tourist destinations as a budget traveler, you always have to decide what not to do. During this trip, I learned that it’s okay to miss some famous attractions. If you have unlimited time and money, you might be able to experience almost everything. But for most people—including me—that simply isn’t possible.
The three tours cost a total of 3,300 PHP ($53). I hoped the expense wouldn’t leave me without enough cash for the final few days of my trip.
I decided to visit Sumaguing Cave that afternoon. After paying for the tours in advance, I was told to wait at my homestay, Baey Bogan, at 2 PM, where the guide would pick me up.
After leaving the office, I ended up at the Yogurt House, one of the most famous restaurants in Sagada, especially known for its yogurt. Before arriving in Sagada, I had heard that yogurt was one of the town’s specialties, so I was determined to try it.
The truth is, I don’t like yogurt. But traveling gives me the courage to try things that I would normally avoid.
I went inside, picked up a menu, and walked upstairs, where customers could sit either indoors or on the terrace. The outdoor seating offered a wonderful view, so I chose a table there.
I noticed two local people having lunch and a foreign traveler chatting with them in fluent English.
There were several yogurt options on the menu. I ordered the fruit yogurt with honey for 250 PHP ($4). It arrived surprisingly quickly.
The yogurt was topped with bananas, melon, passion fruit, and a drizzle of honey. It looked so photogenic that I instinctively took a picture, just like many teenage girls would.
Still, no matter how beautiful it looked, it was yogurt.
I was slightly intimidated by the innocent-looking bowl in front of me. I started by eating a few pieces of fruit as a warm-up. They were delicious, but nothing extraordinary.
Then I cautiously took a small bite of the yogurt. It was much less sour than I had expected, making it surprisingly easy to eat.
I took another bite, this time with the fruit and honey, and it tasted even better.
I eventually mixed everything together and kept taking bites. The more I ate, the more I liked—or perhaps simply got used to—the yogurt. I was satisfied more by the sense of achievement and the feeling that I had eaten something healthy than by the taste itself. Still, I was glad that I had tried it. I don’t think yogurt has become one of my favorite foods yet, but I hope it will in the future since it’s good for your body.
As I walked inside, I noticed that the white guy who had been talking with the locals outside was now eating with them. I wondered who he was as I left the restaurant.
It was still around noon, so I decided to go to Bana’s Coffee. The entrance to the café was unique—you have to walk down a short flight of stairs to enter. I ordered a hot Bana’s Black for 150 PHP ($2.40). I sat down to continue updating my blog.
The coffee tasted amazing, although I honestly can’t tell what makes a truly good cup of coffee. Maybe it was simply because it was my first coffee of the day. That first proper dose of caffeine helped me lock in and focus on writing for the next 90 minutes.
At 1:30 PM, I left for Baey Bogan to check in before heading to the cave tour. The homestay was about a five-minute walk from the main road after turning onto a narrow street. The entrance was also difficult to find. There was a pink gate that guests could unlock from the outside.
I felt like the word “robbery” didn’t exist in Sagada. Earlier, I had even seen a small shop displaying all of its goods with no one watching over them.
I unlocked the small gate and entered the house through the front entrance, which was left open. As I stepped inside, a woman who looked to be in her fifties or sixties (I later found out she was 60) warmly welcomed me. I filled out a registration form, and we had a simple conversation about where I was from, how old I was, and a few other things.
Afterward, she showed me to my room on the second floor. She told me I would be the only guest that night, so the other three rooms were empty. After giving me a quick tour of the house, she told me to call her “Nanay,” which means “Mom” in Tagalog.
She asked whether I had already booked my tours. I got the impression that she wanted me to book them through her. I told her that I had already booked and paid in advance, and she replied that I shouldn’t have done that.
By that point, my guard against scams had become surprisingly low. I trusted that people in Sagada would provide the service I had paid for.
It was already five minutes before 2 PM, so I headed back to the main road where I had been told to wait. The guide I had met at the tour office, who spoke English well, was already there waiting in his van. He opened the door for me, and I got in.
As you might have guessed by now, I was the only participant on the tour, even though the van could accommodate up to five people. My guide’s nickname was EJ, and he was from Sagada. During the short drive, we had the usual conversation about where I was from and what I was doing in the Philippines.
The drive didn’t take long before we reached the entrance to Sumaguing Cave. Before beginning the tour, I handed my registration receipt to a woman who appeared to be in her forties, and she stamped it. I realized that this was why everyone had to carry the receipt. Every time you joined a tour, you needed to present it to be admitted. If you joined several tours, your receipt would gradually fill up with stamps.
EJ and I entered the cave. After descending the first flight of stairs, we began walking across countless uneven rocks. He warned me to be careful because they were wet and extremely slippery.
I was given a helmet, and we chatted as we made our way deeper into the cave.
At one point, EJ himself slipped on a rock and landed on his butt.
His outfit was surprisingly casual. He wore shorts and thin slippers without socks. He laughed and said he was used to it, so it wasn’t a problem. Seeing my guide slip made me even more careful with every step.
Eventually, we reached a point where we had to remove our shoes to continue. Walking barefoot actually felt wonderful and made it much easier to grip the wet rocks.
Throughout the tour, EJ carefully lit the path with his flashlight and constantly made sure I didn’t slip. He also stopped several times to take photos of me at some of the cave’s best viewpoints.
Finally, we reached what he called the “small pool,” where water had collected beneath the rocks.
He told me that some European visitors dive into it when the water is clear. However, because it had rained the previous night, the water was murky.
Then he smiled and said, “If you want to try it, you can.”
That simple sentence pushed my courage button.
Ever since I was a kid, I had been one of the worst swimmers. During swimming lessons, I had to practice separately from the other students with a small kickboard. I’m confident on the tatami, but not in the water. That fear had even made me give up on scuba diving when I was in Nice, France.
Standing on the rock above the pool, knowing how deep it was, took all of my courage.
I took off my tank top and handed all of my belongings—including my glasses—to EJ. Without my glasses, I could barely see anything, which only made me more nervous.
After taking a deep breath, I pushed aside my fear and jumped.
The few seconds underwater felt much longer than they really were.
As soon as I surfaced, I desperately swam toward the edge where I could finally stand.
Although I felt proud of myself, I also thought I had been too scared. Maybe I could have stayed in the water a little longer.
Still, it was a significant achievement for me, even if it might seem like nothing to most people.
EJ seemed to enjoy watching the whole process of me overcoming my fear. More importantly, he took great care of me throughout the tour, which I really appreciated.
On the drive back, we confirmed what time we would leave Baey Bogan for Marlboro Hill the following morning (decided at 4:45 AM).
When I returned, Nanay was relaxing on the couch, knitting while scrolling through her phone. I spent the next couple of hours catching up on my blog until around 6:30 PM.
Later, I asked Nanay which restaurant she recommended. She suggested several places, but I was especially interested in one called Pinikpikan Hous, a local restaurant whose sign I had noticed earlier.
It was only a short walk away.
When I entered, a group of locals were gathered together chatting and enjoying themselves. They all looked at me as I walked past.
The restaurant itself was empty. A large whiteboard displayed the menu.
A very friendly woman, who looked to be in her sixties, kindly explained each dish and gave me her recommendation.
I ordered Pinikpikan, a traditional chicken dish from the Cordillera Mountains of the Philippines.
After taking my order, she went into the kitchen, and I could hear her cooking. About five to ten minutes later, my meal arrived.
It included Pinikpikan, a flavorful soup with vegetables, pieces of chicken, smoked duck, and a serving of rice.
The soup had a rich, gamey flavor. The chicken wasn’t especially tender, but the smoked duck was my favorite part. It was slightly salty, making it perfect to eat with rice.
At the end of the meal, I poured the rice into the soup and finished everything. I don’t like leaving food on my plate.
I’m not sure whether Pinikpikan became one of my favorite dishes, but I’m glad I had the chance to experience another local specialty.
After dinner, I stopped by a small roadside shop to buy a few snacks because I was still a little hungry.
Back at Nanay’s house, I ate the snacks, organized the videos on my DJI camera, and went to bed at around 9:30 PM.
Sumaguing Cave
Pinikpikan Hous
