I was up and ready by 7:30am. I waited for the tour van to come pick me up for today’s tour of the longest underground river in the world, the Sabang Subterranean River (which on November 11 this year, became one of the New 7 Wonders of Nature — based on public votes).
I was the first to be picked up. I was also given a bottle of iced tea and a Palawan souvenir pouch. I don't know if it was because I was the first to be picked up, but I didn't see other passengers get itOne of the members in our tour van had to be picked up from the Microtel Beach HotelWhich gave me the chance to check out the mangrove beach on this side of Puerto PrincesaIt was a bit of a wait, so we all went inMicrotel is one among the few posher accommodation options in Puerto PrincesaThe beach isn't great, but it's all you get near Puerto Princesa citytownWe headed back to our vanThe lobby of the Microtel hotel (Above photos were all taken using my phone)Once everyone was picked up from their respective hotels, we were on our waySince I was sitting at the back, I tried my best to take photos from behind the tinted glassThe hills of Palawan look lovely
To our right was Honda Bay
The smooth roads eventually gave way to bumpy ones
The van stopped at a viewpoint on the way for a break.
Yes mayor, I'm sure you did this with your own salary. Psssh.The locals sell food and other small items here -- and there's a toilet, thus the stopThe South China Sea
We got back in our van
The guide pointed to that big hillThe underground river is beneath that!After one and half hours of driving, we were by the seaAhh, finally! What I came to Palawan for. No, not the boats... crystal clear water!
Sabang beachIt was time for my group to begin our tour
I like these boats, they feel safeThe bamboo poles on either side prevents the boat from flipping over (well, in theory at least)Even though I've seen similar sights in Malaysia and Thailand, I never tire of these limestone rock formations amidst blue waters
We arrived at the Puerto Princesa National Park
Since our tour cost ₱1500 ($34/€25), all our charges were coveredLots of monkeys here too
I walked towards the underground riverThis place is a UNESCO World Heritage Site
The cave... beautiful, isn't it? 🙂We had to wait for our turn, as they only allow one boat in at a timeLook at the colour of that water!Yes, finally, a photo of me
When it came time for us to go in, the guide asked which one of us would volunteer to hold the light. When researching, I read that the person who has to hold the light gets to sit in the front, so I ‘volunteered’. Now, I needed to sit in the front if I wanted to take good photographs inside, because as it is, it was going to be dark. On top of that, I didn’t want somebody obstructing my view. Also, holding the light gave my camera a light beam to focus on — and I could only shoot with auto-focus on given my hands were now occupied with two tasks.
So I sat, adjusted my tripod’s height and set the camera’s settings. I was going to hold the light with my left hand and press the camera shutter with my right hand.
Helmets and life-jackets on, we followed suitHere we go! 🙂I knew it was going to be tough to shoot inside while moving and shooting in manual mode that too. I didn't want to use flash since I assumed it wouldn't be good for the eyes of the cave's creatures.But other tourists inside the cave were shooting with the flash on and the guides didn't say anything. So I switched my camera to Auto mode and continued shooting.
It was cool inside the caveOther boats were making their way back
Kinda looks like car in the distance doesn't it?
Besides the sounds of the cave dwelling fauna, the only echoes one could hear were the cheers of the tourists
The guide would point to many limestone formations that were moulded over hundreds of years into shapes resembling many things. Like these 'dinosaurs'.Scientists visit the underground river quite often
The 'candle' rockSpot the horse 🙂There are a lot of birds flying about insideThis is the only 'land mass' we came acrossThis was something resembling a 'religious' event, but I can't recall what the guide told us
There were many more object-shaped rock formations
We had reached the end point for tourists. Even though the underground river is the 8.2 km (5 miles) long, only a kilometre is allowed to tourists. To go beyond that, you need a special permit.The boat turned aroundBecause I was holding the torch lamp, these big bugs were all over me. I had no idea what they were, but they made my position all the more uncomfortable.This was a 'face' rock
Swallow birds, lots of them inside
Past the candle rock again
I don't remember if I took this shot because the guide told us it resembled Jesus' face
Yes, the boat went in between these rocks
After nearly half an hour inside the cave......"light at the end of the tunnel"
Here we go...
Ahhhh....
The boat dropped us back to the banks where I collected my bag from the counter. Going inside the subterranean river is my second cave experience on this trip, the first being back in Sagada last week. I truly enjoyed this though! The above photos were just a few of the 140 shots I totally took from inside. 30 minutes went by really quickly and you don’t even realize it took that long until you look at your watch. I wondered what the remaining 7 kilometres must be like.
Walked back towards the boats
Our tour group gathered and headed back to our boat
Everytime I see islands like this, I'm reminded of LOST (man, I miss that TV show!)
Yes, our boat would go through these rocks as wellDon't know if the boat drivers do it as a challenge 🙂
I was looking forward to spending some time at the beach and in the waterWe walked back to the shore, where a buffet lunch was prepared for us
I thought of hitting the water before lunch but...... I don't know why it was so
I still went into the water, knee deep.
Panorama comprised of 7 shots
I then decided to check out the accommodation available on Sabang beach in case my readers were looking for information on where to stay on Sabang beach.
There weren't many beach front 'hotels' as suchGot a card from here. Some info: 09196011227/09215492156; e-mail: rebecca_nuevo@yahoo.comPh: 0910-978-4539/0926-701-9246; e-mail: rlenez80@yahoo.com (as mentioned on their card)
The lady at Green Verde curiously asked me where I was from, among a few other questions. I asked her if it was easy to get from Sabang to El Nido and she told the only way it’s ‘easy’ is when there is a group big enough to fit a private van that can be booked in advance. That’s it. Otherwise, its back to the junction at the main highway and wait for a bus to El Nido.
Considering how much time I spent yesterday, going back and forth thinking how to do Sabang and then El Nido, I guess it is far more convenient to do the Underground River tour from Puerto Princesa City itself.
I liked taking panorama shots of these trees (comprised of 6 shots)I had my lunch, which was mostly barbecued tuna and other dry dishes. (Didn't really enjoy it much)We left Sabang past 2pmNo matter how far or how small a village is, you will always find a basketball hoop in Philippines
The journey back was another one and half hours. In the end, I felt I made the right choice by opting to simply do a tour from Puerto Princesa itself, instead of attempting it myself. I mean, I would only suggest going at it alone if you plan on staying on Sabang beach a few days. It would have cost me about the same but had I done it myself, it would have proven to be quite difficult.
I spent the rest of the day back at Banwa Arthouse’s cafe, researching on El Nido, but as I went through my photos, newer guests who had checked in that day said their “hello” and began conversations. First a Japanese surfer, who spent a few months in Canada picking apples (seriously, some of the people I meet on my backpacking journeys) and then spent those earnings traveling throughout India and is now in the Philippines. (Sigh, it’s moments like this I wonder why I spent 8 years working at multi-national corporation back in Bangalore!)
Then a group of young Danes (I believe they told me they were Danish) asked me where I had been today. We spent quite some time talking and then, we decided to go to Baybay for dinner and check out what was happening there tonight.
We walked to Baybay expecting a crowded festival.
Hmmm, not quiteWe all bought some beer cans and decided to snack. We tried fried chicken intestine first.Had this next. Barbecued... something (I don't remember what)Quite a lot of Filipino cuisine is this shade of dark brownWalked around a bit with our beers in hand'Main course' was hamburger
Just as we were walking out, a b-boy dance battle was announced to begin.
Puerto Princesa's finest dance crews (I'm presuming) were on stageSome of the moves were impressiveWe didn't hang around for too long though
Back in the room, the Danes were curious about all the places I had already been to in Philippines and wanted to see my photos. After an hour of that, I paid for my two nights stay at Banwa Arthouse as I was checking out tomorrow early morning. I had to call it an early night. Tomorrow I was going to take the first bus to the final stop on my Philippines tour — El Nido.
The whole of today morning was spent in a jeepney – first from Banaue to Bontoc, and then again from Bontoc to Sagada. After checking-in to George’s Guesthouse, I went downstairs for lunch.
The George's Guesthouse restaurant had Filipino curry and it was the first time I saw curry in a menu here. I had to try it! It was quite spicy, mostly because of the pepper. Not bad.
I sat at the table and had a slow lunch (even though I couldn’t honestly afford to). My plan was to try and see if I could finish seeing Sagada’s famous caves and hanging coffins by end of day. Both attractions were among the “must see” sights for me on this Philippines trip.
Today was a Tuesday and I had to be in Angeles City at the most by Thursday, because on Friday, I needed to be in San Fernando town for the Good Friday activities. Trouble is, I was really worried about the Holy Week national holidays and all the talk of everything shutting down as Good Friday neared. So I wondered if I could finish seeing everything by today evening and then leave for Angeles City tomorrow itself, just to be safe.
At 2:30pm, I decided not to waste anymore time and decided to begin my tourThe perks of living in a hilly villageI went to the guides' office because I read that you are not allowed inside the caves without a guide!
Inside the office, I speak to the guides and I tell them what all I want to see first. They told me the caves are doable but I may not be able to see the hanging coffins by sunset — nor the church (which wasn’t high up on my list of things-to-see anyway). I told them I needed to be in Angeles City by Thursday and the guides informed me I first would have to go to Baguio city and catch another bus from there to Angeles City. It was going to take an entire day, and if I had to see the church or the hanging coffins, I would have to do it before the last bus to Baguio leaves in the afternoon.
I thought to myself about the journey to Angeles City and realized I would be cutting it a little too thin if I left Sagada in the afternoon (and I may have to spend the night in Baguio if I miss the last bus from there to Angeles City!)
So I decided not to waste any more time ‘thinking,’ hired a guide and told them I’ll try to see everything I wanted to see today itself. The other guides were pessimistic, but I was quite adamant.
The guide and I walked down the road towards the cavesJason, my guide, pointed to these limestone rocks and asked me if I could spot the hanging coffinsThere they were. (By the way, these are not the main hanging coffins site)
I was impressed by how clean and neat Sagada village wasAfter 10 minutes of walking, Jason asked me to wait here while he went inside the store to get his lamp
Jason led me up the path to Lumiang burial caveIt was a short walk
We slowly climbed downLumiang burial cave...and this is what it's famous forHundreds of coffins which have been placed here for more than 300 years, the last one being in 1986The coffins are made of pine wood and have stood the test of time quite well(Panorama comprised of 8 shots)
For more on the Lumiang burial cave, check out this video.
We climbed back upWalked back out to the main roadJason pointed out to me coffins buried below here as well (bottom right)
I sat a few minutes for a breather. As it turned out, my body hadn’t fully recovered from its abused state from yesterday.
But I couldn't afford to sit around for too long, as I was the one who told the guide I wanted to see as much as possible by sunsetIt only looked like the views were going to get better on this tourWalking these neatly paved roads, all I could think of was: "Wow, a village here has such nice roads where as many Indian cities don't even have them!"
Looked beautiful even through these treesWowEven their rice terraces are prim and properPanorama comprised of 8 shots
Another 10 minute walk later, we reached the entrance to Sumaguing cave.
Down we went againThis was the big one (Panorama comprised of 3 shots)First step: Take a lot of steps down
Second step: Wait for guide to light the lanternWaitingOkay, I guess we're readyFinal step: Descend into the darknessI used the lantern as the point for the camera's auto-focus to lock on toJason told me from here on, it's best that I walk barefoot -- and be prepared to get all dirtyVisitors are advised to walk barefoot because the grip is betterAs for the getting dirty bit, the rocks at first are all covered in bat droppings (a.k.a bat shit)The bat shit-covered rocks eventually give way to the smooth limestone rocksWe kept descending furtherThe rock surface is super-smooth... and wet, with water dripping from aboveJason would stop at places to show me unique formations inside the cave. Guess what this looks like?And it's highly unlikely that a T-Rex dinosaur took a stroll through these cavesWe still had more darkness to cover
One of the few photographs taken using flash. Most of the photographs I took using the tripod and on long exposures -- and some even hand-held. (Most were shot at f4-4.5 and exposure ranging from 1/10 to 1 second)Jason helped carry my tripod so my hands were free to climb down (the camera was on the neck strap)Be prepared to get wet tooIt was quite chilly inside and you could see vapour every time you breath out or speak. Even the rocks were cold and walking on them felt really soothing.I got this blur-free shot after six attemptsEven the chilly waters felt therapeutic, don't know if it was the minerals or notThis is for those asking why there isn't one single photo of me in these postsHere's an example showing you how the caves look with flash and without. See how the characteristics of the cave differs?A formation that resembles molar teeth (Panorama comprised of 4 shots)
Yes, there was more going down to do
There were few other tourists/visitors inside the caves as well, mostly FilipinosThe guides all knew each otherAnother shot which took up to five attempts to get right
You reach all the way down when you get to this pool of water, in which you can swim if you wish. Given how cold the water was (and given the lighting conditions), I chose not to.It was time to head back (Panorama comprised of 2 shots)
One of the most photographed rocks from inside Sumaguing caveThe moisture in the air when you breath out inside this chilly environment. Amazing thing is, despite the chill factor, you don't shiver one bit!Jason, my guide, isn't much of a 'smile' person
There was water inside this, making it a jacuzzi of sorts (minus the bubbles)The obligatory "Hey foreign guy with DSLR, take photo of us" shotTried a shot without flash on long exposure before this, but all I got were the people in the backThat's the only way to go back up
It must be a challenge to visit this cave with family
Jason suggested we wait for other groups to go firstIt was our turn nowI can't remember what this rock shape resembled but Jason did say it looked like something (a hippo?)The stars alignOh look, Jason is smilingBack up to bat shit territoryI know using flash would be wrong (and Jason reminded me not to do so) so I tried my best to try and capture the bat clusters using long exposure. I wasn't in a position where I could set up the tripod well.
Another attempt to capture the bats (ignore the large shadow, that's me). The bats weren't flying about inside. Maybe they were camera shy.And then there was light...We had spent nearly 2 hours doing the Sumaguing cave part of the tourBut the reason why it takes that much time is because you have to tread very carefully! This is why they insist you hire a guide, because they know the caves and the trail to follow.I had never been inside a cave like this before so this was quite an amazing experience!This is an Inn just outside the caves (thus the clever name)Shot this at 5pmSagada is a truly beautiful place to visitThese trees are everywhere here in Sagada (Are they a type of pine trees?)I can highly recommend Sagada as a pleasant trekking destinationHad to stop and get one final look of the rice terraces as we walked past it againReally beautiful
Pff, so outdatedAs we walked back to town, I asked Jason if there was anyway we could go to Echo valley and see the hanging coffins today itself as I didn't feel like staying back another day just to see them -- and I REALLY wanted to see them!Jason, took a pause and said: "Sure". I told him I wouldn't mind walking a bit faster, and then he told me there was a shortcut we could take.So I followed my guide, through small alleyways and past village houses
This is the famous church. You normally come here through another path from the village center.We were nearSigh, I officially hate climbing nowThis is Sagada's main cemetery, where they bury people nowadays
After 15 minutes of 'speed walking,' we were in Echo Valley
Echo valley earned its name for obvious reasons. You could see visitors shouting to hear their echoes in return. Though, I’m not sure the dead who were laid to rest here really wanted to hear “I love Justin Bieber” and the equally famous “Justin Bieber sucks”. I’m not kidding, Filipino kids were having a blast shouting it out.
See, even the dead aren’t spared from the Bieber.
Jason pointed to the coffins... and if you can't spot them...
(takes out the 70-200mm zoom lens…)
There!The lens was at 200mmThere were a few older coffins a bit further away
Even after witnessing the hanging coffins from up here, I still felt ‘incomplete’. I knew I would feel like this unless I went all the way to the coffins and took photos from up close, because that’s how I saw them online. And I wanted that.
I asked Jason if we could get a lot closer. He sighed and asked me if I was willing to climb down (he knew I was a bit tired). I told him that I had come this far already, no point in coming back tomorrow just to go up close to the coffins.
And down we went, to get a closer look at the coffins. Took just 5 minutes.
Eerie as it may sound, I felt much better coming down hereEven though this is originally a centuries-old Chinese tradition, it isn't practiced anymore. Despite that, the brown coffin was the most recent addition as the person insisted on being laid to rest here, along with her ancestors.The rest are decades old, some even centuries oldBecause it was getting dark, I set the camera on the tripod and shot these at f4, 1/2 second exposure to absorb as much light as possibleAnd this is what happened when the camera nearly fell to the ground after I clickedIf you are tall enough, you could touch the lowest hanging coffin (but that would just be disrespectful)It was nearing 6:30pm, so we had to head back before it got too darkTook this using flash so that you get an idea of just how dark it really was
The climb back up was tough for me, simply because there were no proper steps. I found myself panting for breath, but in some ways, I now felt ‘complete’. I had accomplished everything I wanted to see in Sagada.
We walked back, a bit slower this time…
... and this is how dark it got by the time we were out of the woods
When we got back to the main road, Jason said he would be heading straight home from there. So I paid him the ₱700 ($16/€11) guide fee, plus a ₱100 tip, and thanked him — for putting up with me and my demandsrequest to see everything I wanted by the end of daylight.
Took this photo from where we got down to the main roadThis is George's Guesthouse... at 7pm
Back in the room, I rested my feet briefly, took a hot shower to cleanse myself of all the bat shit, and then stepped out again for dinner, because Sagada (like Banaue) has a 9pm curfew.
I had read a lot of good recommendations for a place called the Yoghurt House, so I went there for dinner just as it was winding down for the night.
I had the apple ham sandwich...... and the banana yoghurt with granola topping. It was alright. Cost a total of ₱180 ($4/€3).
On the way back, stepped into a souvenir store, bought a neat-looking ‘I Survived Sagada’ t-shirt (₱180) and some biscuits to have tomorrow morning as I was going to be waking up really early to catch the first bus to Baguio city.
Back at George’s Guesthouse, even though the doors were shut, men were drinking and having a jolly time proving that despite the 9pm curfew, the night doesn’t end early for the locals. I copied over today’s photos from the camera to my laptop and made the most of the wi-fi to make bookings for the coming days.
Today was yet another stupendous and memorable day for me. Like yesterday, despite how tired I was trying to see as much as possible, I felt glad at end having accomplished everything I came to experience. Sure, Sagada has some famous waterfalls too, but the trek to the waterfalls was surely not possible today and I had no regrets about missing it either. The main attractions on my Sagada checklist were Sumaguing cave and the Hanging Coffins of Echo valley. And I couldn’t be more pleased with the photographs I took of both the places.
Sagada makes for a perfect weekend getaway for Manila’s residents but even as a foreign tourist, I would still recommend one make the effort to come all the way here.
I was tired, sure, but with nothing else to do in Sagada’s chilly nights, I cuddled up and went to sleep satisfied. Only dreaming this trip would keep getting better.
When it came time for us to go in, the guide asked which one of us would volunteer to hold the light. When researching, I read that the person who has to hold the light gets to sit in the front, so I ‘volunteered’. Now, I needed to sit in the front if I wanted to take good photographs inside, because as it is, it was going to be dark. On top of that, I didn’t want somebody obstructing my view. Also, holding the light gave my camera a light beam to focus on — and I could only shoot with auto-focus on given my hands were now occupied with two tasks.
The journey back was another one and half hours. In the end, I felt I made the right choice by opting to simply do a tour from Puerto Princesa itself, instead of attempting it myself. I mean, I would only suggest going at it alone if you plan on staying on Sabang beach a few days. It would have cost me about the same but had I done it myself, it would have proven to be quite difficult.
