1 BAGUIO - SAGADA | The Unexpected Journey

Should we expect the unexpected? I never expect that we will be staying in Baguio for another day which makes me certainly depressed and feeling hopeless, not because I don’t like it there but Sagada is the main purpose of our Christmas vacation. Negative vibes strike and it appears that I can’t set foot the prominent town of Mountain Province.  Let me tell you why...

It is part of the plan that we should be at the Old Dangwa Station by 9AM and we were actually on track with the itinerary. Alarm buzzed around 8:30 then hurriedly fixed ourselves to meet the target time. When we arrived at the terminal, I was surprised by the huge number of passengers. I dunno where those folks were coming from. So I just fall in line expecting to at least get the last trip ticket. GL/Lizardo Transport is the only bus line that brings tourists straight to Sagada with 5 trips daily from 6AM - 1PM. Trip duration will be 6-7 hours Baguio - Sagada and vice versa.

I was sensibly standing stepping forward inch by inch, more and more people arriving and taxis come and go. Finally after more than two hours of waiting with huge baggage on my back I am the next person to get the tickets. And when the moment I touched the ticket booth, the girl told me that no more tickets for today, and we have to wait for tomorrow. My jaw was like dropping, chopped and scattered into places. A very good news indeed, perfect to start the day...whaaat the heck! I tried to plead someone from the management couldn't get any help.

I was disappointed and looked miserable while taking breakfast. We ended up googled transient houses and inns and worried if we could get a place to stay overnight unless willing to pay for an expensive hotels. Some hotel rates were P1,500 and up while most of the transients and inns were fully booked. I called Ms. Dora; our contact person in Sagada to cancel our reservation just for tonight and we will try to be there by tomorrow. I told her the reason why we’re not able to make it. She told us that there’s another way, we can get to the Slaughterhouse road – another terminal en route to Bontoc, then take jeep for twenty-minutes ride from Bontoc to Sagada.

We hurriedly picked our things up and left the place. After ten-minute ride from Old Market to Slaughterhouse road I noticed the same scenario like the Old Dangwa Station. But it’s different in here, no tickets reservation so bahala na. I confirmed from a local that we can get to Sagada via Bontoc however no assurance if we can find another ride after 6PM. Oks lang naman din siguro pede naman kame maghanap ng transient na lang sa Bontoc so we can get to Sagada early in the morning.

The bus arrived and didn’t expect the next scene, it’s more than an MRT peak hours scenario, survive for life. The 50-seater bus filled in just split of seconds, what the heck. In result, I just accepted the fact that no more Sagada for today and we’ll just look forward early tomorrow. Though the last resort is contracting UV Express from Baguio to Sagada but the prices is not reasonable, no way for 6k. 

And I conclude whenever that you plan to travel Sagada via Baguio. Please consider the huge number of passengers coming in, expect that more tourists spending Christmas if not Baguio probably Sagada. Additionally, locals are also coming home to spend the holiday with their respective families. Nangyayari lang to seasonal at madalas December ang pinakamaraming pasahero. And the best time to travel the highlands as per info is February to March. I also noticed that no system in Dangwa Terminal. There were two lines for Bontoc and Sagada but on the end part the two lines merged to one. If you’re planning to travel around December 20 onwards, be in the terminal as early as 3AM. It’s not a joke, if you really want to experience Sagada.