Aklan: Kalibo's Ati-Atihan Festival! Viva Señor Sto. Niño!

The Ati-Atihan Festival of Kalibo, Aklan is held during the third Sunday of January, the feast of the Sto. Niño. This year it was held on January 17, 2010.

The day starts at 6:30 a.m. with the transfer of the Sto. Niño from the Kalibo Cathedral to Pastrana Park. This was followed by a Mass at 7 a.m. You'll have to wake up really early for this.

The only downside was that it would drizzle every now and then. Good thing it didn't rain hard.


One thing I noticed during the Mass were the dozens of Sto. Niño images in front of the altar. I found it amusing that people treat the image like a doll since vendors all over the place sell various clothes for the Sto. Niño images.

As the Mass was about to end, people started raising their own images of the Sto. Niño since priests went around to bless the images with holy water.


The different tribes were assembling around the plaza as well during the Mass. I could see them amongst the crowd from my vantage point in the altar area. As soon as the Mass ended and the crowd shouted praises for the Sto. Niño, "Viva Señor Sto. Niño!" the drumbeats from the different tribes erupted. It was an exciting feeling and the atmosphere was simply electric as one by one, the tribes began to leave the plaza to make their rounds around town.

Boracay: SEAIR flies you straight to Caticlan (Boracay)

I wanted to fly down to Kalibo, Aklan to witness the Ati-Atihan Festival. But I decided to chill first in Boracay before proceeding to Kalibo. So I boarded the first SEAIR flight to Caticlan last Saturday. Thank God they have airport and boat transfers so it was really convenient.

Still sleepless from the Baguio trip, I looked for a spot where I could doze off while waiting for friends. And I found some lounge chairs in front of Cafe del Sol.


I ordered a strawberry banana yogurt smoothie and a panini sandwich. And the next thing I knew, I was in lalaland. I seriously needed that power nap.

It was a cloudy day. But the breeze was refreshing nonetheless.

SEAIR Fan Page
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Manila: Big Binondo Food Wok Map now available!

Finally! All the wonderful places to eat in Binondo, all those legendary Manila Chinatown restaurants are now in one map! I have to give it to my tokayo Ivan ManDy of Old Manila Walks for producing the Big Binondo Food Wok Map, a must-have map for any serious foodie.

In National Geographic's Food Journeys of a Lifetime: 500 Extraordinary Places to Eat Around the Globe, Manila's Chinatown is among the Top 10 Chinatowns of the World (6th to be exact). In fact, established in 1594, it is the oldest Chinatown in the world!

Now, you can explore and eat your way through Chinatown on your own two feet! It has restaurant (over 80 food establishments) and shop listings, various cultural attractions and a heritage trail among others. Not only that, the map contains coupons and various freebies you can claim at selected restaurants. And it's just Php100!

Purchase your map now from the Bahay Tsinoy Museum, Libros Filipinos Bookshop (Filipinas Heritage Library) or the La Monja Loca Store. Mail orders are also accepted (plus shipping charge). Just e-mail fun@oldmanilawalks.com for inquiries.

Oh, did I mention they're given free if you join the Old Manila Walks tours?

Ifugao: How to get to and from Banaue, Ifugao

Banaue, Ifugao is the main jump-off point for various attractions in Ifugao and Mountain Province. It has become a major backpacker town and has seen an influx of foreign visitors in recent years. It has a decent hotel as well as several lodges and budget accommodation. Banaue is an attraction itself with its picturesque rice terraces as seen from the Banaue View Point.

Among the popular destinations you could reach via Banaue are the Batad Rice Terraces, Bangaan Village, and the Hungduan, Hapao and Mayoyao Rice Terraces (all UNESCO World Heritage inscribed rice terrace clusters) and Sagada, Mountain Province.

To/from Metro Manila, GV Florida and Autobus have daily trips to Banaue. Here is the daily schedule of trips:

GV Florida Transport (Php450)
22:45 Manila to Banaue
20:00 Banaue to Manila
Manila Booking - (02) 7433809
Banaue Booking - (074) 3864042

Autobus Transport Systems (Php400)
22:00 Manila to Banaue
18:30 Banaue to Manila
Manila Booking - (02) 4934111
Banaue Booking - (0929) 7663494 / (0915) 9849266

To/from Clark Airport is a bit complicated. One option is to hop on a bus to Baguio right at the Clark Airport, and catch a bus to Banaue early the next day (unless you can catch the last evening bus at 9:30 p.m.). Or you can take a bus to Cabanatuan, Nueva Ecija also at the Clark Airport, catch a bus to Cagayan Valley (Tuguegarao, Cagayan or Isabela) in Cabanatuan and get off at Solano, Nueva Vizcaya. From Solano, you can easily find transportation to Banaue. The third option is to take a bus to Manila and and catch the bus to Banaue from there.

To/from Baguio City, trips on Dangwa, KMS (Php415) and Ohayami are daily and last about 8 hours. Here is the daily schedule of trips:

Baguio to Banaue
08:00 Ohayami
08:00 KMS
19:00 Dangwa
20:00 Ohayami
21:30 KMS

Banaue to Baguio
06:45 Ohayami
07:00 Dangwa
07:00 KMS
16:30 Ohayami
18:00 KMS

Banaue Hotel jeepney hire rates and tour guide fees
The good thing about hiring jeeps and guides from the Banaue Hotel is that you can pay via credit card. Here are the standard rates for some of the popular destinations:

Banaue Operators and Drivers Association standard rates
Banaue Viewpoint - Php800
Bangaan Village - Php2,000
Batad Saddle Amphitheater - Php2,500
Hapao Rice Terraces - Php2,000
Hungduan Rice Terraces - Php2,500
Hiwang Village - Php900
Poitan Village - Php700
Bontoc Museum - Php3,000
Sagada Caves - Php4,000
Mayoyao Rice Terraces - Php4,000
Mt. Data and Sagada - Php5,500
Lagawe - Php1,700
Kiangan - Php2,200

Banaue Tour Guide Organization standard rates
Banaue Viewpoint Trek - Php700
Poitan Village - Php500
Bangaan Village - Php650
Batad Rice Terraces - Php900
Batad plus Tappiyah Falls - Php1,200
Batad and Bangaan Trek - Php1,200
Hapao Rice Terraces - Php650
Hapao plus Hot Spring - Php750
Hungduan Rice Terraces - Php750
Mayoyao Rice Terraces (escort fee) - Php750
Kiangan Rice Terraces - Php850

For some activities in the area, you can visit some of my previous posts on Banaue, Hungduan, and Mayoyao. And here's a list of Banaue hotels and budget accomodation.

Ifugao: Trip from Mayoyao to Banaue

Ifugao's roads may be rough. But the scenery is bliss. The trip is about five hours. But passing through the different villages makes you feel no doubt that you are in Ifugao. We left Mayoyao at about 10 a.m. for our journey to Banaue. Along the way, you get to see other Mayoyao villages and rice terrace clusters tucked securely in the grand mountains of the Cordilleras.

We had lunch in Mayoyao's last barangay before crossing the border bridge to Banaue. I remember the view from the bridge was very fascinating. But the road was currently being paved and the sides of the mountain was full of rubble all the way down due to the blasting.


Ducligan, the first barangay, was the backdrop of the Filipino movie Mumbaki. The village worth stopping at is Bangaan. The Bangaan Rice Terraces are inscribed in the UNESCO World Heritage List as part of the Rice Terraces of the Philippine Cordilleras.

If only we had time, I would have wanted to trek down to the village. Maybe next time. Also along the way is the jump-off point to another UNESCO-inscribed cluster, the Batad Rice Terraces. Sadly, you can't see it from the road and it requires a hike up and down a mountain to the opposite side.

We finally made it to Banaue at about 3 p.m. We went straight to the Banaue View Point. There are actually several places to view the Banaue Rice Terraces. One of them, the NFA-Aguian View Deck is the actual view found in the 1000-peso bill.


Further up the road is the Engineers Viewpoint where the marker of the American Society of Civil Engineers and Philippine Institute of Civil Engineers declaring the Ifugao Rice Terraces as an International Historical Civil Engineering Landmark can be found. But an even better view is further up the road. Just keep on going and once you hit a cluster of stores, that's it.

Anyway, we had dinner at Imbayah Restaurant at the Banaue Hotel, one of my favorite places to eat in Banaue, while waiting for our bus back to Manila. the GV Florida bus leaves at 8 p.m.

How to get to and from Banaue
Read How to get to and from Banaue, Ifugao

Where to eat and stay in Banaue
Banaue has a lot of accommodation to fit every budget. And most of the lodges have their own restaurants conveniently located at the ground floor of their establishments. Being a backpacker town, the lodges can also arrange trips, guides and transportation for you. Here's a list of Banaue hotels and budget accommodation:

Banaue Hotel and Youth Hostel
Imbayah Restaurant
Standard Php2,300; De Luxe Php3,000; Suite Php6,000
Hostel Php200/person (student); Php250/person (non-student)
+63 74 3864087 / 3864088
sales@philtourism.gov.ph

People's Lodge and Restaurant
Common Php400 (twin bed); Php600 (double bed)
Private Php500 (single room) to Php1,800 (8 pax/room)
+63 74 3864014
+63 9195325605
jerwin_t@yahoo.com

Wonder Lodge
Common Php200 (single); Php150/person (double)
Private Php250 (single); P200/person (double)
+63 906 8133822

Uyami's Greenview Lodge and Restaurant
Common Php250/person
Private Php900
+63 74 3864021
+63 920 5404225
ugreenview12@yahoo.com.ph

Las Vegas Lodge and Restaurant
Common Php200/person
Family Php150/person (9 pax)
+63 918 4409932
jappanjesus@yahoo.com

Related entry
How to get to and from Banaue, Ifugao