045 The BUS RIDE From Hell

With the help of Winnie-Joy and the guard at Indah Hotel we found a guy with a van willing to pick us up and 10:00 PM and get us to the Bus on Time. Staff allowed us to stay in our room until 5:00 PM then we sat in the Lobby, ate dinner in the restaurant and sat some more. Time really drags when you’re watching the clock.

Finally Juhn arrived, we loaded then he drove to, right into the Bus Station. We had been having nightmares about being dropped on the street and left there with our pile of bikes and bags. He drove up to the waiting area, asked then helped us stack our things and introduced us to the guard who took us under his wing. Bus stations are never very fun and the next half hour really drug along.

There was quite a contest getting the bags and bikes aboard. The bus is completely sold out and also carries a belly full of freight. Out Guard pal pushed and shoved until we had our things inside. I slipped him a buck and he seemed very happy. CAt got our seats while I stood guard until they closed and locked the cargo doors.

The seats weren’t comfortable and the AC was working overtime but, we were onour way to Baguio. There was very little sleep especially once we started the climb. The cold was grating our already sore throats. The naives began pulling the window curtains up to stop the flow of freezing air. We followed suit. The only really good thing was, we arrived 45 minutes ahead of schedule. Off loaded, we began slowly moving everything. Probably should have used a Porter but what fun is that?

When we were near the hotel Cat went inside and found a Bellman. He came down through the garage, we stowed the bikes in a water heater room an got the bags up to the lobby in their elevator. Then another wait. The room wouldn’t be available until 3:00 PM. We sat in the lobby with the other victims and met two couples form the US. One from North Carolina and the other from Ohio. Then a couple came in wearing US Navy jackets. Mike is career Navy and from San Diego. Mychele is from Mindanao, she called it the troubled area.

The big deal of the day is the Flower Parade. It starts at 8:00 AM. We got donuts from a shop and com;limentary coffee from the Hotel then went out exploring. There were more than 20 floats and at least a dozen marching bands. We got pictures as they began to line up then walked down the route toward town. It’s hard to describe the crowd. Some, like we’ve seen at the Rose Parade, have had seats resxerved on the sidewalk since yesterday.  We’ll try to post a few of our favorites photos here.