Finally in the Philippines

Hey everyone
So we are finally here and we have been having such an awesome time. After missing our flight on the Sunday we managed to change it to the Tuesday which wasnt too bad. It seems so ironic that we missed it after we had been counting down the days to get out of KL but somehow we managed to lose a day and when we thought it was Saturday it was actually Sunday!!!!
We couldnt believe how stupid we had been.
When we finally arrived we decided to head straight up to Northern Luzon. We arrived in Baguio at about 8pm and after the 8 hour bus journey the first thing we noticed when we got off the bus was how cold it was. This was however quite a nice feeling as everywhere else it was jsut so hot. We headed straight to the Red Lion which was a pub with a few rooms downstairs. The people were so freindly there and really went out of thier way to help us. After putting on jeans and a hoody, a very strange concept to us, we headed up for a few beers at only 35pesos which is like 40p so not bad!!
After chilling out there for a few days we caught another bus up to Sagada. On the bus we met another couple called Antony and Kris who were also travelling around Northern Luzon so we ended up staying with them for a few days.
On the first night we bought a small bottle of local gin and a few beers which then became a daily occurance. We played cards for ages and decided to get up early the next day to go caving.
In the morning however none fo us could get up and Kris had a pretty bad hangover so we decided to go trekking instead which was not so far. We climbed Mt Ampucao and the views at the top were actually so amazing. Also Matthew felt pretty good as it was the first mountain he had ever climbed.
In the afternoon we went to Echo Valley where the hanging coffins were so those were pretty cool to see too.
Although we hadnt done everything we wanted to do in Sagada we ahd to leave the next day as there was a national holiday and there were no rooms free. We got a jeepney to Banaue along a very dodgy road and although it wasnt the prettiest of towns we were relieved to have made it safely.
We planned to meet up early the next morning and start our two day trek through the surrounding villages of Batad, Cambulo and Pula. However, after to much alcohol again the night before we set off later than we had planned and this was to cause us problems later on.
We set off for Batad where we picked up a guide for the rest of the trek. After lunch we headed off again but it soon became apparant that we had very little time before it got dark and we still had over five hours to go. However the guide said that we would make it. We kept on trekking and soon enough it got dark and we were stuck on a tiny path, with a huge drop down into the river in the pitch black.
We all got very scared but we had to get to Pula as it was too cold to stay in a hut, like Matthew suggested we did. We made very slow progress as we only had one decent torch between the five of us. So every time Kris walked forward she had to turn around to light up the path for me and Matthew. At one point we had to jump over a waterfall which was probably the worst part!!! Luckily though we all made it to the homestay safely where we were greeted with a huge bowl of noodles with tuna.
The next day we trekked back to Banaue and we were all so relieved to have made it back safely.
The next day we caught a bus down to Manilla where we went our seperate ways. Antony and Kris stayed in Manilla as they had to extend their visas and Matthew and I caught the bus to Naga which is in southern Luzon where we are now.
The weather has made the last few days a bit of a disater here though as it has just been raining constantly. We tried to climb Mt Isarog but the weather and the mud made it impossible and i just kept slipping over.
So think we are jsut going to chill out for a few days.
Anyway think that is all for now, we will try and put photos up of our adventures soon.
Bye for now!!