I got up a bit late and was cold and I hadn't slept that well but I put my trousers on wore some warmer clothes and had breakfast in the restaurant of the hotel. The sun was out and it was warmer and the views from the balcony of the town and some terraces were quite nice. I messed around with my stuff a bit and then went to see if there was a bus to Sagada. They told me the first bus left at 8.30 but there was another one outside and the driver was looking for people. I went down to his vehicle but there was just a small boy inside. I went and bought done tape in a shop as my suitcase was creaking a bit and went back to the hotel where I did some admin and packed as I needed to check out by 10 which I did. I went outside and the minibus had gone and when I asked the guy I spoke to earlier they said it might have gone to the bus stop where we got dropped off yesterday and the tricycle taxi would take me there. I got on and he did a short driver to the bus stop I was at yesterday and asked and there was a Sagada bus leaving at 11.30. I wasn't impressed but paid the taxi guy 20 pesos and left my suitcase in the shop. I went to see the museum as it was nearby, but it was musical instruments and artifacts from the area and was 50 pesos. I went down and went to the other side of town where there was a church. After that I went back to the bus stop and got some donuts as I was still hungry from yesterday. There was also a small church but then I went and paid 300 pesos and sat in the van with some other people for 20 minutes. About 11.20 the driver said there were 4 people eating who were going to join us so we would leave in 30 minutes. As well as delaying us it would also mean the bus would be full. We waited and changed to a larger vehicle but the other group never joined us so I had some space to sit for the journey. The drive was fairly quick and we arrived around 2pm but I couldn't take any photos of scenery as he went too fast. The 2 other westerners on the bus went into the first hotel which looked s bit more expensive so I headed to a guesthouse I could see but it was full. I left my suitcase there and found a place next door for 300 for an ok room but a really crap shared bathroom. I left my stuff and headed to the information centre where apparently you could only go to places with a guide. I also had to pay 35 pesos environmental fee and picked a leaflet of all the activities and the prices. Then I went and got lunch and settled for a place which did a pork with rice for 70 and they also brought me a soup. I read the leaflet and worked out that if you go as a group it wasn't so expensive. I headed back to the information centre and there were 3 people who were looking to go to the waterfall so I said I was in and they had 2 more people coming so that would make 6 and be cheaper and the vehicle could take 10. I had a few things to pack and also went to get my water bottle filled up for 5 pesos and it was the man in the first guesthouse which was next to mine who did it. I met an Italian there called Paul and told him about the waterfall and he was interested and had a girlfriend so that would make 8. So I went to pack and came back and Paul hadn't done anything. I went down to the information place and the guys weren't there. Paul turned up and I found out that they had just left. Paul wanted some information and also registered while I chatted to 2 Dutch guys who were about to go caving. I was going to join them but I googled it and they recommended torches and said that you get wet so I told the guys this and they decided to do that tomorrow so I convinced them to do the waterfall and they went to get swimming stuff and Paul went to get his girlfriend and I waited in case there were more people to recruit. We had to rush as it was getting on and the entry would shut at 4pm do we got in the van which was s jeep type with 2 benches lengthwise like in Myanmar. The driver went fast but had to way for oncoming traffic sometimes as the road was small. We got there at 3.55pm, in time to register and the lady on the desk wanted our environmental receipt so I gave mine and so did Jeffrey and she wrote us in the book and that was enough apparently for our group. Then we had to pay 550 which was a bit more than the 500 on the leaflet. Our guide was called Janet and led us down the path with the village halfway. Paul and his girlfriend Francesca are from Italy and were going to be on the same cruise as me on Feb 3rd but they only go to Coron. We got to the village and I bought a bag of cake for 22 pesos and the Dutch paid 20 for a bag of bread. The cake was ok but very plain. Pauk kept lagging behind taking photos and managed to go the wrong way. We had views of the rice fields which were ok and we walked along the terraces which were all paved towards the river. There was a bridge over the river which led to a hotsprings just a 6 hour walk away. There were also pipelines hanging across the valley carrying water to the village which seems strange and they also had some punctures as water was coming out. On the way Janet stopped every now and again to describe something like sugar cane or a herbal plant used for dengue fever. She kept calling us sir or madam, I guess that comes from having been an American territory. I asked her how many times she does this a day and she said just once. We carried on and soon could see the waterfall which was both a decent height and had quite a lot of water. I hadn't see any of the other people who didn't wait for me at the information office so I'm not sure where they went. The waterfall looked good so we all took photos and our guide said we have to wait 3 minutes before swimming. I was first changed and in and it was cold but not too cold so I swam around under or as close as was easy to the waterfall. After a minute or so I climbed out and Jeffrey was changed and went in and nobody else swam. I dried off and changed and we walked back with a few stops on the way. Paul had been told by Janet about a sunrise spot for and was considering hoing tomorrow but didn't want to get up at 4am, I found the place on my map and considered it 30 minutes walk. At the top our driver wasn't there so we sat for a while until he turned up and drove back.
One of the guys said he thought there was a curfew in the town but I read the leaflet we have which makes it seem more of a general tell people if you go out late and most places do shut early. Back in town we paid the driver who tried to charge 550 but accepted the 500 and we tried to find somewhere to eat but the dutch guys wanted somewhere expensive so they could pay by card as they didn't have much cash left. The Italians were looking for something recommended in lonely planet. I went round a few local places and eventually had a vegetable dish for 85 which wasn't very nice as it was quite bitter. When the lady asked me how the food was I told a white lie and said good, seeing her old face smile, I repeated good again before heading back to my hotel. I organised my things a bit and used my phone internet before going to bed early at 10 with possible plans for sunrise the next day.
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