Hi everyone, I just joined as I'm going to be traveling to the Philippines end of December. I've not been to a place like this before, I can't wait though. Also if anyone can enlighten me as to what Sagada is, in terms of a Sagada tour, I'd be grateful. I see it's some kind of mountain trek undertaken over a few days, but am wondering what it's significance is? Many thanks
Welcome to British Filipino Greenspin Never been to Sagada myself, not actually been north of Manila! However, having seen the mountainous area of Bukidnon in Mindanao I can tell you the Philippines has some amazing mountains if trekking is your thing. That said, the Sagada rice terraces is high up on my to-do list! The vistas I have seen with my own eyes have been amazing in themselves, in fact I recommend you take a visit to Taal lake and see the volcano island in the middle of it - an awesome sight! No wonder you're looking forward to it. The Philippines has an amazing landscape often ignored by a lot of tour companies...
Hi, thanks for the welcome. I'm actually going over for a very short period unfortunately, about 9 days. I was wondering if the only airport is in Manila? It is Manila I am going to be staying in all likelihood, so that isn't a problem - South Caloocan. I'm going over to see a girl I know and she often goes on these local tours of nearby areas, hence the Sagada tour, I guess. I was planning on going without booking a hotel, do you think this os profoundly unwise? I'm 23 and happy to sleep in hostels, etc. I would not impose myself on this girl, but I think it's likely I will spend the majority of my time at her apartment when we're not out, so booking a hotel in advance seems excessive... Edit: apologies if this isn't the right part of the forum to ask these question, I can make a new thread if needs be.
No need for apologies.. The introduce yourself forum is used for all sorts of questions from newbies... No need to book a hotel before you go, there will be plenty of rooms depending on your budget. Hostels? Not done one in the Philippines, the cheaper hotels are as cheap as a hostel in Europe or the USA. However, I would do a bit of research into potential hotels and find out the prices, which would be easiest for you to get to (Manila is a nightmare to get around sometimes due to the traffic) and just take each day as it comes and enjoy it. 9 days isn't long but I guess work commitments and the price of getting there can make all the difference these days. Not been since 2012 and it will be 2014 at least before I can head over there..
Sagada.... http://wikitravel.org/en/Sagada http://www.kuoni.co.uk/philippines/tours/philippines-northern-roundtrip
Thanks for the replies. One last question that I've been wondering is how do Filipinos say hello to each other. Do they go as far as saying Kumusta/po (or is it k'a'musta?), or is there more casual terms? I'm more curious than worried about how to great people.
Hello and welcome here Greenspin Kumusta is the normal way to say to say hello. FYI, it came from the Spanish "Como estas"
... and the reply is "Mabuti!" so you suddenly switch from Spanish to Malay - I often instinctively reply in Italian, "Va bene, Grazie" and have to start again! There are other airports. I personally like Clark, which Air Asia flies into (and Emirates will, shortly) - it has a Space Shuttle sized runway being an ex US base and a tiny terminal. You can also fly direct into Cebu, Be warned if you don't already know this that Terminal One at Manila is "an experience". If you are being met, make very sure of your arrangements - you will probably have to leave the airport building and go across the road and down the ramp to the Arrivals Extension and look for the party meeting you. edited to add - see the section on "Arriving at Manila Airport" in Euro Pinoy.
Bonus points awarded if on meeting a family elder you perform the "mano po" - take the older person's hand and touch the back of their hand to your forehead. Children will do this to you in the provinces - not so much in the cities, these days.
Thanks for the feedback everyone. @Methersgate I have looked at youtube videos of arrivals at Manilas airport, and it looks mad. From that I've decided not to meet her at the airport, as I think it will make our first encounters difficult. I will have a look at where the other airports are that you mentioned, but as I'm going to beheading to Navotas in Manila first, I guess Manila airport would be best? My plan is to take a taxi from the airport to my first destination. Also, I was wondering if anyone can suggest any good sites for local hotels in the area? I've done the usual looking on various sites the show an array of hotels, but not sure if they're showing all the hotels as it does not appear there are many. I only ask as when I was in Poland recently I met a traveler and he used a couple of good sites to look for the local hostels, and so I'm wondering if there is anything similar for hotels in Manila, etc. And finally, I hear the airplanes that go to and from the various islands are fairly cheap. Are there certain websites I can use to check these prices and flights, etc? Many thanks.
hi greenspin ,there are around 6 airline in phils but not all fly to every island -so if you have idea what island will visit -then can provide more info ,http://www.cebupacificair.com/Pages/default.aspx -they fly most places-have been using for many yrs
I did book this for a few days, for my Stepdaughter's visit to the nearby Nritish Embassy, last year, and her and her antie are still raving about it... So i guess it was good......... http://www.booking.com/hotel/ph/eur...id=7e96efbc9e5f685c76f5988736c37f8ae5676d16X1 Watch the internal flights, as exactly like Ryanair over here, the local companies will sting you for carrying extra weight... One of our friends, that flew home 10 ago, was ripped off to the tune of over a hundred quid, for a few extra kilos.... She was absolutely distraught... Welcome aboard, and enjoy your trip...
if you purchase your baggage online when booking with cebu pacific -15kg -only costs 180 peso ,20kg -300 ,30kg -600 ,45kg -1100, even if you pay excess baggage at airport -the rate is 150-200 per kilo , Watch the internal flights, as exactly like Ryanair over here, the local companies will sting you for carrying extra weight... One of our friends, that flew home 10 ago, was ripped off to the tune of over a hundred quid, for a few extra kilos.... She was absolutely distraught... Welcome aboard, and enjoy your trip... [/QUOTE]
My wife is from Valencia, Bukidnon. I've spent a good deal of time there. Which part of Bukidnon do you come from?
Then you may have seen the small sub-division where the houses are constructed from brick, rather than concrete and steel. Valencia has the only brickworks in the country - as far as I could find - that produces 8x4x4 constructional quality house bricks from a mix of alluvial silt and rice hulls, pressure-extruded and fired to a very high temperature. They are extremely hard and heavy - very similar to "engineering" bricks used to line train tunnels and sewers in the UK. They also have a very high "R Factor" resulting in almost no heat transfer between the inner and outer surfaces, meaning excellent insulation. They cost 9 Pesos each, more than a cement block but as they are load-bearing, houses built with them don't require reinforced concrete pillars and beams.
