my hometown series: getting there

my blog takes on a crawling speed which either means that i'm currently swamped with work or i'm just idling for the lack of things to write. the two somehow correlate at some point because the more i'm engulfed with work, the less chances i have to break free from my mundane routine. hence, no new things to talk or write rather, as i technically put it.

picking up where i left off with my hometown series, somehow i can still hit the ground running. a one month of interval for a series is one of the lousiest things that i can ever do for this blog. time flies so fast that when i looked at the date of my kick-off post, it's already a month old! boo!

before i lose into an endless and futile berating of thy self, let me tell you now on how to get to tabogon, cebu.

there are 3 conventional ways to get to my hometown. i won't mention the unconventional ways (except one!) because one involves jumping off a ship and swims to the shores of tabogon. while the rest, you really don't want to know. but for fun, i slipped one at the end.

Conventional Way No. 1

(1) head to the north bus terminal in north reclamation in mandaue city.

(2) before you take on your journey to tabogon, be ready with your water and food in your almost 4-hour ride because buses for tabogon won't make a stop-over halfway. however, don't drink up too much, as nature may consequently call although you can holler the driver to stop but i tell you, this is a very rare occurrence.

The empty space is for a Tabogon-bound bus.

(3) then, get on a mini-bus bound for tabogon and be sure to secure nice seats. nice seats mean window seats that will not be a direct hit of the sun's unforgiving rays. don't try to sit at the rear end of the bus because you'll be in for a bouncy ride. a mini-bus is very true to its name that it's absolutely mini but actually normal for the regular commuters (me sometimes included!) i can write a dedicated post about a mini-bus and how it magically fits twice the seating capacity. you would think it's an exaggeration and yes maybe, for i haven't got the chance to count but you'll probably change your mind once you're being squeezed into it. :P

Highway to North is mostly coastal.

anyway, if you like to see the occasional immense of the deep blue sea, sit at the right side of the bus or if you would like to see the mountains, sit at the left side. either way, it's still a great view!
 
(4) count and name the towns that you'll be passing by. i know it's weird for a forgetful me that i have already memorized the town names since i was a child. i guess i was just too eager to see other places. here's the list of the town names after mandaue city.

Tabogon Bus Terminal

consolacion --> liloan --> compostela --> danao --> carmen --> catmon --> sogod --> borbon --> and finally, tabogon!

you need not worry that you miss naming a town because tabogon is the final destination of your mini-bus. for my reference point in any place in tabogon, it'll be none other than the town's market where everyone converges every tuesday. there's an empty lot in the market that serves as a makeshift terminal. so, you'll end up there once you get to tabogon.

quite easy, isn't it?

as of this posting, mini-bus fare is at Php80. take note that this fare relatively increases with oil prices and this also shoots up during the holidays (holy week, all souls day, christmas, etc.)

Conventional Way No.2

(1) it's similar with no. 1 above that you also head to the north bus terminal.

Ceres Buses in North Bus Terminal

(2) but if you prefer a more comfortable ride and a faster one at that, walk past the mini-buses area, straight to the buses in real sizes. these are the ceres buses in yellow color which are bound for bogo, hagnaya in san remegio, or maya in daan-bantayan. these tend to get full fast as these have many patrons unlike their surviving competitors, the autobus and rough riders. i also go for yellow by default although i occasionally find myself in the other older buses especially those times when getting on a bus becomes a riot.

(3) you can opt not to stock on food since these buses make a stop-over either in carmen or danao so you can still make it to tabogon alive.

(4) these buses are faster because they don't tend to cramp every tiny space with passengers and you will then get to tabogon after 3 hours. it could even be less. take note though that these buses will go in a different route starting somewhere in sogod where the direct route to tabogon branches out from the highway while the ceres buses will simply go straight ahead.

and yes, you will not end up in the town's market as oppose to the conventional way no. 1. be sure to tell the bus conductor that you will get off in the market of ilihan, a barangay (village) in tabogon. a market is indeed a valuable landmark in a rural area. then from there, you can hire a motor bike, locally termed as habal-habal to get to the town's center. it'll be a long ride in a typical dirt road, thinly carpeted once or twice with asphalt during those election times.

this used to be the cheapest but the last time i tried this route, fare was almost the same with no.1.

Conventional Way No.3

drive your car or rent one. it's easy as 1,2,3. you can choose to go for the mini-bus route or the ceres bus route. take your pick.

View Larger Map

Unconventional Way No.1

take a taxi! haha yes, you can definitely do this. my parents tried this one at the rate of Php2,000 two years ago. not sure now. although, not all taxi drivers will agree on this deal. just pure luck that the taxi driver was from tabogon and he wanted to visit his relatives after a long time.

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getting there isn't that as adventurous as it would be because it's downright easy. you only need to prepare yourself to sit for a few hours while marveling the scenery along the way. and now that i'm done with the getting there part, it's time to lay down the reasons why a quick visit to tabogon is worth the effort. just hang in there! ;)

o-O