Regular visitors might have noticed things have been slow ’round these parts. Benj has been busy with Med School, Angel is getting ready for bigger work opportunities, and as for me – well, still honing my skills creating the most awesome Gantt charts this side of the planet.

So, we’ve been getting (and answering!) emails. One of which is below (from Vanie) -

I would just like to inquire — is it safe to bring an 8-month-old baby to Sagada? My friends are planning a trip to Baguio with an overnight stay in Sagada. My baby will be 8 months by then. Would it be safe to bring her?

And here’s my reply:

My question to you would be, “safe” in what context? If you’re concerned about your kid getting kidnapped (I know, might sound a bit funny) then no, I haven’t heard of kids getting abducted or anything. Of course, there’s that case of the tourist in Banaue early last year, but really, situations like that are already out of your control.

Now, if your concern is the length of travel time (4-5 hours Manila to Baguio, then another 6 hours from Baguio to Sagada on a non-air conditioned bus), that’s really more of the parent’s prerogative if that’s something you’re fine with subjecting your kid to. What’s “too much” can mean a lot of things too, but not to go on a tangent here, I personally don’t think those are the worst conditions (then again, I don’t have a kid of my own and I may not have a sense of what “too much” is for kids, but we see the locals seem to be doing a lot of traveling with little babies & toddlers tugging along.)

Lastly, I’d be really more concerned about how much time you’d have left to yourself to go around places if you’re bringing an infant along. If it’s not much trouble for you to have an aunt, sister or relative take care of your baby for the few days you’ll spend in Sagada, I’d suggest doing that instead. Consider it your short break from parenthood.

Vanie wrote back asking what may be considered “safe spots” for babies- and I’ll be brutally honest – none of the exciting places that make people want to go to Sagada is “safe” in every sense of the word. We’re talking about caves with slippery calcified floors, steep & rocky mountain sides and freezing water from Bomod-ok falls. Or you can just choose to stay behind at the Residential Lodge and watch TV in Tita Mary’s cozy second floor living room while your friends go spelunking; you know, something you probably don’t want. *insert winkie smiley here*

Have a safe trip and hit us back with how it went for you and your friends!

If you have questions and think an Ask Us! column is the next big thing and want your questions answered here at the blog send them over to TEAM [at] VISITSAGADA [dot] COM. As much as we’d love to answer everyone’s emails, we’re getting to the point where there’s too much for even all of us to answer, and most of the time answer is already somewhere in the site (and I choose to let Benj take care of those emails because I’m lazy like that). Also, by posting the answers on the blog, we get to help more that one person and ultimately serves others who might have the same question.

For every one’s safety we’re not publishing full names & email addresses (d’oh!), but if you’re still particularly concerened about your email getting published, just put a quick note at the bottom of your emails.

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