100 Kilometers and runnin' (ride report now in the Philippines)

[DanTheMan]

 Vacation time is so limited... we may need to save up so I can take an unpaid leave of absence and spend a month or two down there.  Such beautiful country!  And with that much time, I could justify buying a bike.

Ill comment on the rest later, but i was just thinking the same thing as i was riding through a dirt road in a torrential down pour. I can see buying a big enduro bike here and leaving with someone so i can come back for a few weeks at a time to do some riding, With the ferrys its possible to get to most of the southern islands. Lots of exploring to be done, and it really is the best way to get around.

[DanTheMan]

Same stuff thats on the blog, but its all about riding so i decided to post inful

So happy to be back on two wheels. Didn't really like to rely on buses and taxi's to get around. Also I hate to plan around a schedule. If I wake up and feel like moving on, I just want to get up and go. 2 weeks I wanted to be on the moto. It gives me enough time to explore and spend a few days at places I enjoy. Rented a bike in Angeles City for about $12 a day. Just a little XR200 dirt bike. I thought it should be more than enough to get me around and still sturdy to make it through the back roads. With my photocopied maps and a rough idea of where I wanted to go I took the first day to make my way to the foot of the Cordillera Mountain range and stay the night in San Jose City. Easy ride that day to get familiar with the bike and traffic. Traffic here isn't as bad as other parts of Asia. But I'm out in the sticks so it's fairly light. Signs aren't very common, so stopping to ask the locals is a must every so often. It's a strange feeling being back on a bike. I keep having flash backs of Vietnam. The scenery looks the same. My gear, bags, packs are all the same but somethings different. The first few days I wake up I have to question what country I am in. Every stop I make, I expect to see Vietnamese faces and play a game of charades to get anything done. But I don't. Once I realize I'm in the Phils, things are different. But this feeling and flash backs last's for 7 days or so.   

Beautiful start


My Co-Star, the first place I stayed at had its own garage




Day two I took to the mountains. Headed towards Banaue to see the rice terraces. Nice road on the way up mixed in with light rain, not too bad. Once I got there I dropped off my bags at the hotel and made a side trip to Batad for some more rice terraces. Best time of the year to come. The hills are a vivid green color full of rice. The bad it's also the middle of rainy season so this was my first of many days or riding in the rain.

Heading up the hill to Banaue


Your going to see a lot of the rice terraces, so get your chop sticks and some extra soy sauce


Banaue


Rice


Banaue



Road to Batad


Batad





Day three to Sagada. This place is a bit out-of-the-way so not many people, especially this time of year.  Off the main road it's about a 10 kilometer ride up a rocky dirt road. A lot of fun for me but the folks bouncing around in the Jeepeny didn't look like they were having fun. Caves and Coffins are the main attractions here. Long ago the people of this region use to bury the dead, well not so much bury but just place the coffins in a cave stacked upon each other. Some are hung on the outside on a wall. Now days  they just go in the dirt. I didn't partake in any spelunking, but there are a few options for guided cave tours. I took a stroll through Echo valley then got some Adobo for dinner.

Leaving Banaue and up to Sagada






Small road hazards


Famous hanging coffins


Segada to Vigan

Echo Valley


Coffins in cave


Coffins in cave


Nearby valley


Posing


Ride outside of Sagada
Segada 1

Day four. This proved to be one of the more challenging days of riding Ive had in a long time. I've read of another rider who took 14 hours to do the trip from Banaue to Bangued. From Sagada I was about one and half hours closer and usually, I don't stop for many breaks so I thought I could make it an extra 50K's to Vigan and still be there before dark. So wrong. I only made it to Bangued after 12 hours of riding. In total the trip was about 270K. The first 20 was easy on the main road to Bontoc. Took about two hours to do the next 50K. It was a mix of paved roads in 100-300 meter sections, construction crews building the rest of the roads, dirt, mud, and rocks. Slow going, it sucked up a lot more time than intended. But it was through some of the most beautiful mountain valleys I've seen. Green jungle everywhere mixed with rice patties and small villages.


Topped off my tank with a few liters from a coke bottle then on to the road to lead me to Vigan. This thing was in bad condition and doesn't see much maintenance. Fortunately there hasn't been a lot of rain yet so it was still open and not blocked by landslides. At some point during the day my body goes into autopilot. I no longer have to think about my riding it just happens, “riders high”?. My mind starts to wander and I take a back seat and just watch myself ride. After a few hours I began to wonder if this road is ever going to end or if I'm even on the right road. None of the village's I passed were on my map, so that was comforting. The only sign I was seeing kept pointing to Abra, which wasn't on my map either. Come to find out later Abra is the region where I was headed, not a city.  I felt I was getting closer to something based on the time and the odometer. Bad news was the later in the day, the more chance for rain. During rainy season, it doesn't rain all day, but usually in the afternoon. If its going to rain, that's when to expect it.


About 3pm it started. I didn't affect the conditions too much. Traction was very little to start with, so a lot of water just adds to the party. At some point the road I was riding down turned into a river because the water likes to follow the road.  By now my boots are soaked, I can feel pools of water inside as I squish my toes around. Water starts to pour into my pants due to the Aerostitch-wet-crotch feature. If you own a Stitch you know what I'm talking about. The way the pants “sit”, it forms a pool where the water then pours in to the zipper. Gloves, wet. I squeeze my hand to wring out the extra water. My rain jacket that I wear underneath my Mesh riding jacket was keeping me dry, but it was so warm out, I'm sweating inside and my shirt is soaked from sweat instead of rain. Not much I can do about it so I embrace it and just pee my pants to warm up. Just kidding, that's kinda gross but I did embrace the total wetness thinking this is going to be a great story later. But right now I'm back to autopilot mode. Now my mind starts to wander to dark places. You know, I haven't seen anyone for a while, its raining hard, rivers of water are  pouring down the mountainside. If something happens, well that's going to make an even better story of survival. Maybe I shouldn't have sent that survival blanket home in the last package. Landslides or a fallen tree would have stopped my in my tracks. Not enough gas to make it back I would have spent the night in the jungle. Always was a fan of camping. The only “tool” I had, was a pair of scissors. I started to laugh at this point. When I left this morning I didn't even think about any of these minor annoyances. Now looking at them all together, it sounds fairly ugly. Maybe I should have been better prepared? Hold on, WEEEE! Just went splashing through another puddle turned lake. Look Ma! I'm soaking wet on a motorbike in the middle of a jungle in the Philippines! Life is good.

I finally hit a small town around 5pm and pull into some shelter at a Police checkpoint. Turns out I'm now in Baay. I tell one of the officers where I just came from and he had a look of amazement come over him. “Where's your companion?” he said. “I'm by myself” I replied. “Wow you're very brave” my response was “Or stupid”. It seems to be a fine line these days. I chat with them for a while and have a cup of coffee. They tell me its four hours to Vigan and Two to Bangued. So Bangued it is for the night. Still raining and now dark. Riding at night is a serious problem for me. My goggles are scratched up and over due for a replacement. At night, all lights coming at me turn into big “starbursts” and completely blinds me. Mix with water and a poor headlight, now things feel dangerous. Unlike earlier, this is just stupid. I don't hit much traffic until I get close to the city then I just pull my goggles off and slow down. I couldn't see anything, and riding with my visor [MX helmet] down to block the light was a good way to plow into the ass end of a trike. Took me a while to find a hotel with hot water and one that didn't have hourly rates, but it was expensive. Surprisingly I didn't feel very tired. Still had lots of energy to run around and get food and some refreshments. Now for another surprise, my green bag that I use to cover my other bags was not waterproof like I had thought. I had only used it in light rain up until this point and haven't had a problem. Now I get to unpack and dry everything. Whatever, a few San Mig's a dry bed and everything was forgotten.

Segada to Bontoc
Segada to Bontoc

Interesting island in the middle of rice fields


Stuck riding this stuff all day




I believe this was Balbalan


Road to Bangued


Not even sure where this was
Road to Vigan

Road to Bangued




Random town


Most of the road by the end of the day

[R0CKETMAN]

I like the road to Batad. You couldn't have chosen a better bike. What that stick scaffolding for in last "random town" pick?
Safe travels....

[DanTheMan]

I like the road to Batad. You couldn't have chosen a better bike. What that stick scaffolding for in last "random town" pick?
Safe travels....

Yeah there are other options, but $12 a day? Couldn't beat the price. It got the job done, the small motor was good enough. Its really not safe to be speeding on the roads here, very unpredictable as to whats going to jump out in to the road.

Looks like they were building a store. Actually behind me in that pic there was a brand new convenience store that looked like they plucked a 7-11 out of the city and dropped it in there. Strange to see, this was in the middle of nowhere. And everyone else was in shacks

[DanTheMan]

Dewd!  From another fellow named Dan, mad propz.  Awesome pics!  What an excellent adventure!

My wife grew up in the Philippines... we were just there in June.  Didn't see any Ducatis... but now that I know there's a whole club, I gotta see about hooking up with them next time we're there.  I totally want to go get some little dirt bike and explore, too.  Okay, maybe not such a little bike... I would want like a 650 thumper.  Vacation time is so limited... we may need to save up so I can take an unpaid leave of absence and spend a month or two down there.  Such beautiful country!  And with that much time, I could justify buying a bike.

My in-laws have a home in Mamplasan (subdivision called "Brentville"), which is south of Manila.  We stayed there, then went out to Bataan (where they're building a power plant... my father-in-law did most of the business footwork to get that project off the ground).  Stayed at this really cool historical resort near Bagac (Las Casas Filipinas de Azucar).  Swam in the South China Sea... I grew up in the Pacific NW, with 55-degree Pacific Ocean water... first time I'd ever been in warm saltwater, or seen a black sand beach.  Farking incredible.

Not really refreshing on a warm day is it? I want my water cold when its hot as the sun out. I can hook you up with the guys here, the'll welcome you with open arms and cold beers!

We also went down and stayed at a resort in Cebu for a couple days.  Some family friends run an orphanage & school there; we went and had a great time visiting with the kids on one of those days.

I might try to get to Cebu this week if i can get a cheap flight. My brothers Martial Arts headquarters is there so it would be nice to check out while im here.

I seriously want to bring back one of the Toyota Hilux pickups or a Toyota Fortuner SUV.  There's nothing like them in the US... they're small, but have real offroad capability.  The smaller rigs sold Stateside are toys, and the 4-runner and Tacoma have become bloated whales.

Yeah you never know when the roads are going to turn to shit here, especially in the highlands.

Oh, be sure to take the tour of Corregidor, if you enjoy history at all (particularly WWII).  It's very, very cool.

got some time to kill in Manila so im thinking about it, any reccomended tour company, or only one avaliable?

I still need to get the pics off my digital camera and have the film from my SLR developed so I can post up about my own week in the Philippines.

Oh yeah, my father-in-law wants to take me to Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore, and elsewhere on future trips (my wife has been to all these places).  Flights from Manila to the rest of SE Asia are a lot cheaper than getting there from the US.

so true, my friend that lives here goes to these places for 4 day weekends cause its so cheap to fly,

Anyway... really enjoyed this thread so far, and wishing you safe travels and lots of fun on the rest of your adventure!!!    

Thanks more good stuff to come!

[Spidey]

Hey Dan, just wanted to say hi.  Good to see you back on two wheels again.  BTW, hyust cuz we're not commenting doesn't mean we're not reading every post multiple times.  I get all excited everytime I get an email that you've posted a new blog. Every time I show the Blonde your pics, she gets all jealous and bitter that she's not travelin' too.  You traveling with anyone now? 

[DanTheMan]

Hey Dan, just wanted to say hi.  Good to see you back on two wheels again.  BTW, hyust cuz we're not commenting doesn't mean we're not reading every post multiple times.  I get all excited everytime I get an email that you've posted a new blog. Every time I show the Blonde your pics, she gets all jealous and bitter that she's not travelin' too.  You traveling with anyone now? 

Yeah i rented a cute chick when i picked up the bike, may trade her in later.

[DanTheMan]

Hey Dan, just wanted to say hi.  Good to see you back on two wheels again.  BTW, hyust cuz we're not commenting doesn't mean we're not reading every post multiple times.  I get all excited everytime I get an email that you've posted a new blog. Every time I show the Blonde your pics, she gets all jealous and bitter that she's not travelin' too.  You traveling with anyone now? 

Sorry a little late night posting humor, generally i've just been going at it myself. There would have been times it would have been nice to have a buddy there, like the time in japan, but so far in the PI i don't feel like i've needed it. It helps that everyone here speaks english so i can talk to strangers. I haven't even engaged my hostel mates in conversation been too busy hanging with the locals. Also i think i would stay closed off and in my comfort zone with a travel buddy all the time. But left to myself i think i find different paths.

I guess the right travel partner would lead to both. The guy i was treking Everest with great, things really worked out well.

[richard]

Hi Dan,
   Glad you're having fun in PI. I'm from there originally but haven't explored it like you are. That's where I learned how to ride back in 1986. My first bike was a Honda XL100, a small version of your XR200.

   How do you like riding around the streets of Manila? The rhythm, timing and style is so different right? Have you ran into a busy 6 way intersection with no traffic light yet? But everyone is getting through ok, amazing huh. I salute you Dan. It takes a lot of cohones to do what you're doing.

   But I feel envious and guilty in a way. It is in my agenda though sometime in the near future that I will explore the country. It's very beautiful, a lot of unexploited places as we see in your post, dirt roads and stuff. Its made up of 7,100 islands! I have a friend here who went there for vacation 5 years ago and decided to just live there. He started a restaurant business and it boomed. Now he's opening up a second one. You'll never know.

  Well, I just want to say you're amazing Dan! Thank you for the pictures, the posts, the encouragement you're giving us everytime we read your posts. Thanks! Have fun, be safe and God bless you. Til your next post.

[DanTheMan]

Hi Dan,
   Glad you're having fun in PI. I'm from there originally but haven't explored it like you are. That's where I learned how to ride back in 1986. My first bike was a Honda XL100, a small version of your XR200.

   How do you like riding around the streets of Manila? The rhythm, timing and style is so different right? Have you ran into a busy 6 way intersection with no traffic light yet? But everyone is getting through ok, amazing huh. I salute you Dan. It takes a lot of cohones to do what you're doing.

   But I feel envious and guilty in a way. It is in my agenda though sometime in the near future that I will explore the country. It's very beautiful, a lot of unexploited places as we see in your post, dirt roads and stuff. Its made up of 7,100 islands! I have a friend here who went there for vacation 5 years ago and decided to just live there. He started a restaurant business and it boomed. Now he's opening up a second one. You'll never know.

  Well, I just want to say you're amazing Dan! Thank you for the pictures, the posts, the encouragement you're giving us everytime we read your posts. Thanks! Have fun, be safe and God bless you. Til your next post.

I think all the XL's are bolted to the side of the trikes now Seriously those things are everywhere. The riding here is not bad. SE asia was a lot worse, but more bikes so everyone is vulnerable. More cars here so the bikes are at risk. But yeah some how it works just keep the flow moving.

I can see why your friend staid. Very easy to do. If i didn't have any compelling reasons to go home, dont thing i would. For a few years anyways. Trying to convince my friend to open up a resort with me. With her brains and my good looks we should do great 

Lots to see and explore over here, and with the ferry's its possible to get to the southern islands. Outside of the big cities, its paradise. But don't tell anyone, i don't want them mucking up my playland.

Thanks for the well wishes, Glad your enjoying and lots more to come.

[DanTheMan]

Day five. The luggage rack lost a bolt on yesterdays ride and I figured the bike could use some oil. I find a hose behind the hotel to wash some of the mud off then hit the hardware store for parts. Got my bolt, bike got some oil and I was back on the road, destination, Blue Lagoon. This place is dubbed the Boracay of the north. But given its distance from everything, it doesn't see much visitors. Easy day just cruising along the “highway” just clicking off the kilometers. Stopped at a Chowking (I love the Chowking), a Chinese fast food chain, for lunch then got a good soaking in the rain to finish up my ride to the Blue Lagoon.

It was somewhere around lunch that I ran into the back of a truck. I was tail gating him looking to pass when the kids on the side of the road scared a goat to jump in front. The truck hit the brakes while I wasn't looking. I had to get on the front and rear brakes HARD. Felt the back lock up so I gave it a little pump to prevent the slide. The the front had a little too much and wanted to tuck so I released and re applied smoother. I target fixated on the back bumper and gently hit it at a few KPH's. The truck didn't even feel me. It was a 10-15 ton dump truck. Stopped to check for damage and none. My bags slid forward a bit but that was it. I wasn't going fast, just being in a hurry for no reason.

Rain came a little early today as I was hoping to miss it. Found a nice resort hotel that had dorm style rooms, which was great because its cheaper. Just wish they had hot showers. It was still raining so I took a walk to the store to hydrate. I get to chatting with a Filipino traveler from Mindanao who is camping with a few others, at the opposite end of the beach, and he invites me to have dinner with them. Cool I thought, so I buy some snacks for appetizers and we head back to the camp. Dinner was great with some vegetables over rice (they were vegetarians), and follow that up with some local flavored vodka (BAR).

Time to go to bed and I head back down to my resort. The gates are locked but I can see the security guard inside. I knock on the gate and asked to be let in. He comes down, takes a quick look at me through the very narrow slits in the bamboo gate. I hold up my key to show him I belong here, and he walks away. My eyebrow lifts and head tilts sideways. Maybe he's checking the guest list to look for my name. Not that I told him my name but somehow they know who was there or not. He comes back down waves me away as to say get out of here. Whiskey Tango Foxtrot! (WTF) I start with the nice Um Hello?!?!, Then HEY!!! and start banging on the gate. If I make enough noise, he'll come back. Wrong. Maybe I'll wake up the owners to see whats happening. Wrong. Two wrongs and things still aren't right. I start to think about the idea of spending the night on the beach. No way! I paid for this room, I'm staying. Queue the Mission Impossible theme music. I whip around to the back gate to the parking lot. I peek through the gate looking for movement. None. Quickly up and over the gate and into the lot. I listen for movement. None, they didn't hear me. I make my way through the grounds and I can see them sitting in the lobby area having a smoke. Through the path behind the bushes and I pop out of some palm trees right in front of some other guests having a little party in front of their room. I surprised them a little, but kept moving to my room. Once I was there was safe. I saw some flash lights moving around but unclear if they were looking for me.

Day Six. I was up early and ready to have a talk with the owner. A quick look through the hotel rules and no mention of a curfew. Heading to the restaurant, for my complementary breakfast, I run into the owner. “Hey Mike, I had a little issue last night” and proceed to tell the story. He cuts me short “Oh that was you” in a surprise apologetic tone. He was woken up with the noise and went to see what was going on. The guard tells him some foreigner [Me] was at the gate looking for a room and he sent him away. Mike proceeded to give him a verbal lashing and then sent them out to go find that guy [Me]. They were unsuccessful because I had already used my James Bond skills to get into my room. Mike and his wife apologized to me and made things right when it came time to settle the bill. I didn't even ask for any compensation, just wanted him to hear what happened. Strange series of events. I went through feeling guilty that I did something wrong to get locked out, then a little anger in the morning when thinking about it, to just having a good laugh at another funny story. I'd go back to that place given the chance, absolutely beautiful resort and great food.  Staff and Owners are great. For those of you in the area its Kapuluan Vista Resort http://kapuluanvista.com/ Talk to Mike the owner, tell him the story and I sent you.

The rest of the day was spent at the beach. I was working on a base tan for my later trip to the southern islands. No riding today just taking a rest.

Saud Beach outside of Pagudpud


Light house, in case you couldn't tell I for get the name.


Entry to Blue Lagoon


Ride in


Resort


Pool


It was a great place to stay despite my little story


Islands at the West end, during low tide you can walk to


Blue Lagoon

[richard]

Hi Dan! Got a question. How are you navigating your way around? Are you using a GPS or a basic map? Not sure if GPS is working in some of those areas. Are you most of the time by yourself?

[Hercules.ph]

Light house, in case you couldn't tell I for get the name.

Let me help out. Name of the Light house is the Cape Bojeador lighthouse at Burgos, Ilocos Norte .


More info here ---->


- http://en.wikipilipinas.org/index.php?title=Cape_Bojeador_Lighthouse
- http://www.google.com.ph/images?rlz=1T4ADFA_enPH378PH380&q=cape+bojeador+lighthouse&um=1&ie=UTF-8&source=univ&ei=q9ZWTIvbEIOFrAes9-jyAw&sa=X&oi=image_result_group&ct=title&resnum=4&ved=0CDUQsAQwAw
- http://www.waypoints.ph/detail_gen.html?wpt=cbojlh

[DanTheMan]

Hi Dan! Got a question. How are you navigating your way around? Are you using a GPS or a basic map? Not sure if GPS is working in some of those areas. Are you most of the time by yourself?

I had a few photocopied maps from my buddy Hercules.ph here. But street signs are hard to come by. So i stop to aks the locals a lot on which direction to go. Pick the next biggest city on the map in the direction i want to go and ask. Yeah just traveling by myself. Its fun, gets you out of your comfort zone if you were to have a partner with you.

[Hercules.ph]

Dewd!  From another fellow named Dan, mad propz.

My wife grew up in the Philippines... we were just there in June.  Didn't see any Ducatis... but now that I know there's a whole club, I gotta see about hooking up with them next time we're there.

My in-laws have a home in Mamplasan (subdivision called "Brentville"), which is south of Manila.  

duc_fan>>

Let me know when your next visit to the Phil is so, the Ducati Pilipinas, can roll out the red carpet for you bro. You'd be surprise to see the different big bike clubs and the latest model Ducatis, KTM and Jap bike too.

I am from Makati area.

Hi Dan,
   Glad you're having fun in PI. I'm from there originally but haven't explored it like you are......................................   It is in my agenda though sometime in the near future that I will explore the country. It's very beautiful, a lot of unexploited places as we see in your post, dirt roads and stuff. Its made up of 7,100 islands! I have a friend here who went there for vacation 5 years ago and decided to just live there. He started a restaurant business and it boomed. Now he's opening up a second one. You'll never know.

richard>>

I think is about time to trace your roots back to the PI. Where you from here bro?
Just graduated for LSGH during '86, there are a lot of changes in the PI since then.
I have ridden around Luzon and Mindanao and it's true what you've said.... It's very beautiful

Try to put up a business, it may be like end up like your friend's too.

Buzz me when you decide to hop on a plane and go.

I had a few photocopied maps from my buddy Hercules.ph here. But street signs are hard to come by. So i stop to aks the locals a lot on which direction to go. Pick the next biggest city on the map in the direction i want to go and ask.

Anything to support another rider to have a great time in the PI.