TravelBio

Following a one night stopover Manila, I flew back to Cebu.  Why go back?  Although there is normally not much to see in the city, every January Cebu holds a massive festival called Sinulog.  Millions line the streets to watch a parade and party the day/night away.  Oddly enough, it is a Catholic holiday - what a perfect time to get drunk and party on the street! Festivities start the week leading up to Sinulog, but the official events were on Saturday and Sunday, January 19-20.  I stayed with Kim, the same guy from Couch Surfing who had hosted me the first time I was in Cebu.  He also hosted two more Americans and their Filipina girlfriends.  Both of the Americans were Peace Corps volunteers, but one had finished and was studying in Dumaguete.  Kim's place was small, but we managed to fit all six of us with relative comfort. The weekend events were exciting to experience, but maybe not as enthralling to read.  I'll just give you...

After Sagada, I wanted to go to a town called Vigan along the coast of northern Luzon.  From the map, Sagada and Vigan don't look too far apart.  But I was informed by multiple people that it would be better to go all the way back to Baguio (6 hours from Sagada) and then to Vigan (another 5 hours).  Apparently there aren't adequate roads or any buses that service the route. So long story short I ended up back in Baguio for the night, which happened to be a Saturday.  Despite the string of early morning activities I managed to stay out late with my CS host and her friends (who I stayed with the first time in Baguio).  The next morning, later than I had been traveling, I got a bus to Vigan. Vigan is an old Spanish town, like several others along the coast of northern Luzon, but unlike the others still shows off its colonial heritage.  The center of town has an idyllic stone street lined with Spanish buildings and houses.  The Chinese influence ca...