Rodel Andaya, Liezel Javellana & Kathy Sulit

Hotel in Baguio

After taking care of business in Baguio, we left the following day for Manila departing shortly before 10 AM. We drove straight through to Tarlac and arrived in Luisita at 12:30 PM without taking any detours as the traffic was light. We left Tarlac at about 2:00 PM and had lunch in a stop along the NLEX. I was home by about 5:30 PM grateful for missing the traffic on EDSA.

It's funny how everything seem to get smaller as you get older and (hopefully) wiser. You wonder how your family fit in a small house that seemed so large when you lived in it as a child. Or a recollection of your grandfather as a tall and imposing figure when your mother tells you he was barely over five and a half feet in height. As a young boy traveling north, I used to get the impression that the plains of Central Luzon went on forever to the distant mountains far away in the horizon. This last trip has made me realize that the Philippines is not very big at all. More importantly, it has brought home the point that we must take care and make proper use of the land because there isn't too much of it. I wonder what my grandchildren will see of this land when their time comes to visit it.

Happy Trails!]]> Thu, 06 Mar 2008 00:00:00 GMT http://www.blogabond.com/TripView.aspx?tripID=2287 http://www.blogabond.com/CommentView.aspx?commentID=17840 0 16.4163889 120.5930556 Cabanatuan heading north you will pass the town of Talavera and then you come to the fork leading either to San Jose and further north on to the Cagayan Valley or west to Guimba where we were heading. Guimba is a nice rural town and sort of a crossroad. On the map it is on a major road that ends up in Paniqui in Tarlac via Pura and Ramos, which was our intended destination to proceed to Baguio. Unfortunately or fortunately, it was the town fiesta and the main roads of the town were closed and we got confused after a detour and ended up taking the road going to Talugtog immediately to the north of Guimba. Again, the few signs that were available were confusing. We backtracked to Guimba where we asked for directions but we once again took a wrong turn and ended up on a road practically adjacent to the road to Talugtog. There was some discussion going on between myself and my passengers and it was nearing 5 PM and I was getting tired so I made a command decision to push on the route we were on which showed on the map as ending up in Rosales and Carmen in Pangasinan bypassing not just the whole of Tarlac but a major busy portion of Pangasinan as well. The state of the roads was a major concern which turned out to be unfounded. Surprisingly the road was well posted with signs to Baguio which was very reassuring. Note that the road to Talugtog was not entirely a mistake. Upon reaching Talugtog, you turn left and end up on the road going to Cuyapo and onto Rosales. Turning right on Talugtog brings you back east to Munoz past the fork after Talavera.

Nueva Ecija

After Carmen you just have Urdanta to contend with and then you are home free. There is an alternate route from Villasis that ends up as far as Pozorrubio but we did not want to get caught in unfamiliar roads in the dark. We stopped in Sison at around 5:30 PM for a leg-stretch and arrived in Baguio at 7 PM.
]]> Thu, 06 Mar 2008 00:00:00 GMT http://www.blogabond.com/TripView.aspx?tripID=2287 http://www.blogabond.com/CommentView.aspx?commentID=17839 0 17.6833333 120.7333333 Cabanatuan around 12:00 PM. Cabanatuan is quite progressive. There are numerous car dealerships along the highway as well as high end subdivisions. There are plenty of small malls along the way and SM will soon make its presence in the area. After visiting the hotel, we had lunch at Rustica which is highly recommended. They have a branch in Tarlac City. The fare is Filipino. A must-try is the fish head soup.

Nueva Ecija

There are quite a number of roads between Cabanatuan and Tarlac to its west. Without backtracking to Gapan, you can end up in any major town in Tarlac and Northern Pampanga. The roads are all well paved and the views very scenic. Unfortunately, road signs are very poor to almost nonexistent.
]]> Thu, 06 Mar 2008 00:00:00 GMT http://www.blogabond.com/TripView.aspx?tripID=2287 http://www.blogabond.com/CommentView.aspx?commentID=17838 0 15.4869444 120.9675 Gapan which is a major population center but not as heavy as Plaridel. Between Gapan and Cabanatuan are San Leonardo and Sta. Rosa. I noted several places selling cheap tilapia as well as fingerlings. Care must be taken driving this stretch as the asphalt on the road is uneven making steering difficult. Volume of traffic was still on the heavy side but overtaking was easy as there was very little southbound traffic.

Bulacan

Bulacan

While there is one notable major road, the route is poorly posted. We came across some forks and there were no signs indicating which led where. On the other hand, I made my first discovery in Gapan where I spied a sign with a left arrow indicating 45 kilometers to San Fernando, Pampanga. Referring to my map, I saw that we could have exited NLEX at San Fernando and gotten to Gapan through the towns of Mexico, Sta. Ana and Arayat in Pampanga and Cabiao and San Isidro in Nueva Ecija bypassing Plaridel, Baliuag, San Ildefonso and San Miguel in Bulacan. In fact you can even skip Mexico, Pamganga by exiting before San Fernando at San Simon.
]]> Thu, 06 Mar 2008 00:00:00 GMT http://www.blogabond.com/TripView.aspx?tripID=2287 http://www.blogabond.com/CommentView.aspx?commentID=17837 0 15.3075 120.9452778 Paranaque. There was the usual rush hour traffic on Sucat Road to get onto the SLEX which was mercifully smooth. I picked up my first passenger in EDSA corner Buendia at around 7:45 and met up with the rest of the team at by 8:15 along EDSA near the GMA station. We stopped for breakfast along the NLEX and exited at Sta. Rita at about 10:30.

Ready To Roll

Home

Sucat Road

EDSA

The first town out of the NLEX Sta. Rita exit is Plaridel in the province of Bulacan and immediately we were met by slow moving traffic on a single lane road. And to think that this is the gateway to the Cagayan Valley! The area is densely populated and very commercial. A number of provincial buses stopping along the way to pick up passengers did not help. After Plaridel, you will go through the towns of Baliuag, San Ildefonso and San Miguel before entering the province of Nueva Ecija. The traffic gets progressively lighter and the countryside opens up more and more as to you travel further away from Plaridel.

SLEX

NLEX

NLEX

Pampanga