Inquirer reported today that there was a lethal armed clash between communist rebels and government forces near baranggay Mainit. The baranggay is under the jurisdiction of the provincial capital of Mountain Province Bontoc despite being over an hour away by jeepney. There are only two trips daily in and out of the place.

To give you an idea, Baranggay Mainit is still almost three hours away from Sagada by car. As a precaution though, officials have decided to make the Bomod-ok Falls in Baranggay Aguid off limits to visitors for now.

Sagada is peaceful as ever and the authorities are definitely trying to get on top of the situation against the NPA.

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I was fortunate enough to go back to Sagada for an eighth time during the last week of August. I was in a group of five that included one of the Philippines’ top photography and travel bloggers Lawstude.

He is a well traveled lawyer who definitely has a passion for adventure. In fact, he was fresh from a hike to Imugan Falls two days before we left for Sagada – and yes, with fresh cuts and bruises to show for it!

He has recounted his Sagada experience in a very well-written series of articles coupled with breath taking images.

Sumaging Cave @ Sagada

The Underground River

Echo Valley and The Hanging Coffins

Bokong Falls / Small Falls

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As much as I have kept myself from posting negative things on this blog, I just couldn’t let this particular incident go. I have been to Alfred’s Cabin multiple times already, but the service and the food was certainly not up to par the last time I ate there.

We were served a single chicken leg that was cut up into three sections – and that was what the 120 peso entree of Buttered Chicken was supposed to be. This was a far cry from the old buttered chicken dish that used to order at this very same restaurant a couple of years back. The pancit canton dish was also as bad – the noodles were ridiculously salty and had very little additions.

I was so embarrassed since I invited friends to join us. I would never eat there again unless major changes happen. If you happen to have bad experiences at Alfred’s Cabin, feel free to share it here.

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We know that most of you  probably got here after Googling “Sagada” and you’re most likely browsing through to find out more about Sagada, but a little bit of site-related news every once in a while wouldn’t hurt, right? Thanks to the votes of a good number  of loyal readers and supporters who saw the promise behind this undertaking, Visit Sagada was named as one of the Emerging Influential Blogs for 2008. The site has propelled itself as the most-relevant search result for the backpacker haven despite  being just founded during February of this year. We are deeply honored for the recognition and the team appreciates the trust and appreciation of everyone who chose to name us as one of their candidates on their ballots.

Visit Sagada was likewise nominated as one of the nominees for Best Travel Blog for the 2nd Annual Philippine Blog Awards. The awards ceremony will be on September 21, 2008 at Esplanade.

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Janette Toral recently launched the second edition of the annual Ten Emerging and Influential Blogs to give citations to the the ten best new blogs in the world. The project is 100% democratic and anyone in the world who owns a blog could vote for his or her top 10 before July 26, 2008. The blogs that are eligible to be cited are blogs that were started on July 1, 2007 or newer.

As you would have guessed Visit Sagada is in the thick of things and is getting considerable support. But dear readers, we also need your support. A vote from any blog will do – whether it’s a dot com, multiply, wordpress, blogspot, tabulas or livejournal. If you think Visit Sagada has had a positive contribution to the online world since its launch, then please do vote for the site along with nine other sites whom you think are also deserving.

To join this effort, please do the following:

• Write a blog post and pick your choice of 10 (or less) emerging influential blogs.
  • Any blog in the world can be picked.
    • You can update the same post entry up to July 26. However, please inform us of any changes.
      
  • Old blogs who move to a new domain are disqualified
  • Blogs who remove their archives just to fit in the cut-off date are disqualified
• Include a link to this post(http://www.influentialblogger.net/2008/04/top-10-emerging-influential-blogs-in.html) to help spread the word and encourage others to participate.
• Post a comment and let us know about your entry. Only one entry per blogger. Cut-off date and time for submission of entries is on July 26, Saturday, 5:00 pm (GMT+9:30). Afterwards, submission of comments in this page shall be closed.

WHY VOTE FOR VISIT SAGADA?

• In a few short months (we started the site last February 21), Visit Sagada has become one of the more prominent and relevant sources of information for backpackers and travelers going to Sagada. We have answered hundreds of queries left on our comment boxes and dozens more on our mailbox. If you search for “Sagada” on Google, we will not be place lower than fifth – sometimes, we’re even the top result.
• A win in this project will make the site more popular and thus, other people who may not have heard of it could be inspired to visit Sagada for themselves. When we all came back home from Sagada, didn’t we wish that a lot of our friends could experience the thrill of spelunking and the mystic calm of the mountains?
• Voting for the project could net you $100 (yes, US Dollars) that could very much finance your next sojourn to the mountains. At the end of the project, ten participants (those who voted) will win the cash prize decided via raffle. (more…)

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