I woke up at about 8 AM. I had slept fairly well. In the morning, I still didn’t see anybody on the same floor. I felt as if I was the only person staying at the lodge, although that wasn’t actually the case.
As usual, I took a quick shower. I packed everything except the clothes I was going to have washed. Pretty much all of my clothes needed laundry.
As I went outside, a young cleaner, either a woman or a man, asked me, “Are you checking out?” I replied, “Yes.” As soon as I left the room, the cleaner immediately started cleaning it. I thought to myself, Why are they in such a rush when the other rooms are empty? But it wasn’t my business, so I went downstairs and checked out by simply returning the room key.
I left my shoes and cap in the luggage storage area with shelves because I didn’t have a clean pair of socks, so I wore sandals instead.
After leaving the lodge, I walked to a laundry shop just a little uphill. When I arrived, two women who looked to be in their forties were chatting outside. As soon as they noticed me, one of them went inside to help me while the other walked away. I assumed she was a customer.
I asked to have my clothes washed, and she weighed the laundry. It came to about 3 kg. She asked whether I wanted fabric softener, and I replied, “No, just detergent is fine,” thinking I might be charged extra for it. At that point, I was trying to save every peso of cash that I could.
The total came to 246 PHP ($4). At first, I thought it was expensive, but considering the average food prices in Sagada, it seemed reasonable. Besides, I was washing almost every piece of clothing I owned, so it was probably heavier than a normal load.
She asked for my name and wrote the spelling perfectly as I slowly spelled out each letter.
I asked, “What time will it be finished?”
She answered, “Ten.”
I asked, “10 PM?”
She replied, “10 AM.”
I asked, “Tomorrow morning?”
She smiled and said, “Today.”
I was surprised. During this trip, I had used many laundry shops, but they usually took at least six hours, and often I had to wait until the following day. Was it because it was the low season, or was the service simply that efficient? Either way, I was impressed.
Without the heavy bag of laundry, I walked to Bana’s Coffee, which I had visited before, to write a journal entry for my blog.
A young woman who looked to be in her early thirties took my order. I ordered Bana’s hot coffee and a slice of lemon cake. Both were 150 PHP ($2.40), and I felt like I needed the extra calories. I had become noticeably leaner in Sagada after trying to save money on food.
She was much friendlier than the older staff member who had served me on my previous visit.
I took a seat and started writing in my personal journal while updating my blog. As I stayed there, customers came and went. It was busier than before. For some reason, it also felt as though there were more people walking around town than during the previous couple of days. I saw not only Filipinos but also international tourists.
The sponge cake was fairly dry, but the whipped cream helped. Still, I didn’t really mind, as long as I was getting some extra calories. I definitely don’t usually eat cake for breakfast.
The coffee, however, was excellent.
I had so much to write that it took quite a while. I stayed there until about 12:30 PM.
After leaving the café, I headed to Sagada Bistro for lunch. There were no customers inside, only three staff members—two at the cashier and another peeling garlic.
I ordered Pancit Canton, a popular Filipino noodle dish made with stir-fried wheat noodles and chicken, for 300 PHP ($4.90).
The serving was much larger than I had expected, which was a pleasant surprise. It tasted similar to Japanese yakisoba, with its savory brown sauce. What made me happiest was that it contained plenty of vegetables, since it’s difficult to eat enough vegetables while traveling.
I was satisfied with the meal and paid the bill with the help of the two kind and polite young staff members.
After lunch, I walked to Baey Bogan, where I was going to spend my last night in Sagada.
Nanay—”mom” in Tagalog—is the owner of the lodge. During my previous stay, she had offered me a cheaper rate than the online price if I extended my stay, so I decided to return.
When I entered, she was sitting on one of the couches, knitting as she usually did. She recognized me immediately and handed me the key to the same room. She also told me that the other guest who had stayed the previous night had already left to meet a friend somewhere else.
Once again, I was the only guest.
I rested in my room for a while before walking about five minutes to the Ganduyan Museum.
By the way, Ganduyan was the old name of Sagada before the Spanish colonial period.
As I entered the museum, which looked more like a small lodge than a museum, I saw a sign asking visitors to remove their shoes. The entrance fee was 100 PHP ($1.60).
Upstairs, a guide who looked to be in his fifties greeted me. After I paid the entrance fee, he explained how the museum worked. He gave me a pamphlet that matched the layout of the exhibits, making it easy to follow as I explored.
The second floor was quite small but packed with fascinating displays.
After about ten minutes of reading the pamphlet and looking around on my own, a group of four girls who looked to be in their early twenties arrived.
The guide collected my pamphlet and began explaining each exhibit and its history to all of us. Although his English, spoken with a strong local accent, was sometimes difficult for me to understand, the tour was very informative. By the time it ended, I had become even more interested in the history of both Sagada and the Philippines.
After spending about ten more minutes with the tour group, I left the museum. It was around 3 PM.
Since the laundry shop was nearby, I stopped by to pick up my clothes. The same woman, who was sitting inside this time, recognized me and handed me my neatly folded laundry, packed in a plastic bag.
After that, I didn’t really have anything else planned, so I returned to Baey Bogan and spent the afternoon editing a YouTube video while sitting on one of the couches until dinner.
For dinner, I planned to eat at Vincent’s, which I had visited the previous evening because the young female owner had told me it would be open the next day.
However, it was closed.
I felt a little disappointed, but I told myself they probably had a good reason.
Although Sagada Brew briefly crossed my mind, I decided to have dinner at Sagada Bistro instead.
Unlike at lunchtime, there were already several customers inside, so I chose a seat on the terrace. I picked up a menu at the entrance and waited for one of the two young staff members I had met earlier, who were busy cooking in the kitchen.
About five minutes later, one of them came to the terrace to take my order.
I ordered a pasta dish made with etag (traditional smoked pork) and fresh tomatoes. I also asked whether they were busy.
“Not really,” she replied.
About ten minutes later, my food arrived.
To be honest, I thought it tasted even better than the Pancit Canton I had for lunch, although the portion wasn’t as large.
As I ate, more customers continued to arrive. If you want to avoid the busiest time at Sagada Bistro, I’d recommend going there for lunch instead of dinner.
After finishing my meal, I walked straight back to Baey Bogan and took a shower.
Back in my room, I started thinking about my next move.
My original plan had been to travel to San Juan the following day and spend about two days there. However, I was almost out of cash. I only had 840 PHP ($13.60) left. While that was enough to get there, I decided to stay one more night in Sagada and then return directly to Manila.
The main reason I had wanted to visit San Juan was simply to see the beach, and that wasn’t enough to convince me to make the trip.
For the rest of the evening, I watched YouTube videos about Philippine history.
I went to bed at around 11 PM.
Bana’s Coffee
Sagada Bistro
