Stories of town explorations.
We told Mom we were just heading to a resort down the road—that was a lie, and by the time we reached Bessang Pass with numb fingers and no extra-warm jackets, I realized we'd stumbled onto a battlefield we never even learned about in school.
• The sun was scorching in Vigan that morning, but hours later, shivering at the top of a mountain in June, I kept waiting to see my own breath while standing in front of pine trees that had no business being in our province.
• I borrowed my late aunt's cheap digicam, we took off with nothing but a tiny scooter and empty stomachs, and somehow ended up at the Great Wall of China—except it was just a winding road in Cervantes, and it was the most beautiful accident of my life.
WE LIED TO OUR MOM. WE ENDED UP IN A BATTLEFIELD.
The road wasn't supposed to lead here—but in 2010, my brother and I rode straight into a piece of history we never learned in school.
The heat in Vigan that morning was brutal—the kind that sticks to your skin and makes your helmet feel like an oven. But the higher we climbed, the cooler it got. By the time we hit Bessang Pass, my fingers were numb; and I was dreaming to see my own breath. Snap, it was a tropical cold. Nah, my warm breath does not freeze on air. But... it was the coldest air I've ever felt during a hot month in our place—yeah, that was June... June 12th of 2010 to be exact.
Neither of us knew Bessang Pass was anything special. We pulled over because I saw a random road.
📍 CERVANTES
We took many photos, then we argued about moving forward or backing down. Nothing cinematic. Just two idiots riding on a small automatic motorbike, shaken, realizing we had to take a scooter with small gasoline tank down 60+ kilometers of mountain road with no cell signal.
That's when we noticed the pine trees. They looked out of place, like someone had dropped them there by mistake. Then we saw the markers—old war remnants, faded signs mentioning the Battle of Bessang Pass in 1945. We were standing on ground where soldiers had actually fought, and we'd only ended up there because we were too stubborn to turn around.
I don't have a neat lesson from that day. But sometimes, when I'm stuck in traffic or sitting through a boring meeting, my mind drifts back to that cold air, those sudden pine trees, and the quiet realization that we'd stumbled into something older and bigger than us—not because we were wise or curious, but because we were bored and were careless kids.
The mountain town I couldn’t forget
The road to Cervantes was a death sentence I'd always heard about—narrow, unpaved, one wrong turn away from a cliff drop. But when I finally took it in 2010, I found myself standing at a pine-clad mountain pass, alone with my brother, staring at what felt like my own province's secret Great Wall.
Oh yes... I'm from Ilocos Sur, and I had heard about the town of Cervantes several times. I always had the urge to go, but there had never been a chance; besides, it's too far from the city where I live.
I had always heard that the road going to Cervantes wasn't good. It was a matter of life and death! The roads were too narrow, with falling rocks from the mountain. The roads were unpaved; and a few steps away, it was KABOOOOOOOOOOM! You're falling off that cliff! If it rains, the town is literally isolated!
📍 CERVANTES
"Fifteen years later (rewriting and editing this story on 2026-July-10, five months after moving to America, I still catch myself drifting back to that random road."
📍 CERVANTES
My brother also lay on the concrete block, emulating what I had done. Using a cheap digicam I had borrowed from my late aunt, we were able to document our first experiences in Cervantes.
...that was before, but traveling through this road now is as smooth as silk. It is a beautiful winding road. If you're at a higher altitude, the road below may look like the Great Wall of China (or at least like what I have seen in photos). You may say, "I'm at the Great Wall of Ilocos!"
The highway was not busy. Most of the time, my brother and I were the only ones traveling along this highway. This scenario may change, though. Who knows? Cervantes might boom later, and the road will become busy. Lucky me, I witnessed it this way.
📍 CERVANTES
I love taking photos of myself. Sometimes, my self-photos become more important than the views. I took every opportunity to have my photo taken at each stop we made.
📍 CERVANTES
The first time I saw this marker of Cervantes, which was identical to the rest of the markers in all the towns in Ilocos Sur that year (a project of then-Gov. DV Savellano), I went over to have my photo taken
📍 CERVANTES
It was my first time seeing a mountain of pine trees inside my own province.
Although Baguio had already given me this kind of sight, it felt different to see pine-clad mountains for the first time in my own province. It was something I did not expect.
This was in 2010, when I was still new to this kind of traveling.
WE FOUND HISTORY BY ACCIDENT
They said the road to Cervantes would kill me—I rode it anyway and found my province's secret Great Wall.
Going to Cervantes that day was an accident. I just asked my brother to join me for a joyride. We reached Cervantes unexpectedly. We never thought we could.
We are not bad people, but we had to tell lies to pursue this adventure. We told our parents we were just going to a resort nearby because we knew they wouldn't let us traverse the highway. They said it was risky. One more thing: we were the only good-looking, boys-next-door in our village. The whole village was afraid its boys would get into an accident (this is my secret, keep it between you and me, lol—enough daydreaming).
📍 CERVANTES
Fifteen years later (rewriting and editing this story on 2026-July-10, five months after moving to America, I still catch myself drifting back to that random road.
📍 CERVANTES
My brother and I stopped at Nakayang view deck, where we saw the beautiful valley of Cervantes. .
📍 CERVANTES
My brother was enjoying the view of the beautiful Cervantes valley from the Nakayang view deck.
It was a hot day in Vigan, where we came from. We just decided to go to candon City, only to find ourselves already reaching the remote town of Cervantes with our scooter. That day was hot, and the sky was clear. There was no time for rain drama. But even though it was summer, it was cold in Bessang Pass.
See the images below. The ambiance was really cold. It would be so romantic for lovers to hug each other while driving (Huh? That sounds crazy). This time, it was my younger brother with me, whom I love; but hugging him while riding on a scooter would have been suicide! BRAGGGG!
📍 CERVANTES
Looking at this photo, it reminds me how chilly this spot was.
📍 CERVANTES
We went further, until we already started to descend. The road went zigzagging down to the valley. The cold breeze was replaced with hot air.
📍 CERVANTES
MY Honda Beat just made it!
We weren't able to see the must-sees of Cervantes, because we had no tour guide. We didn't know where to go. In fact, Cervantes is so historical. It was where a battle during World War II happened.
The town has the Yamashita Cave, McArthur Tunnel, Bessang Pass National Park, and Gambang Falls, which are all part of the history of the Philippines! For us, however, the scene we saw along the Cervantes highway was already a must-see, and the romantic, freezing breeze and ambiance of the town was a travel bonus! To my surprise, there were pine trees! It was an awesome view. It felt like I was in Baguio minus the crowd and commerce.
📍 CERVANTES
We spotted this rice field in the valley.
While we were on our way, there was a bike race going up to Bessang Pass. Bessang Pass is the highest point traversed by any highway system in Ilocos as of now. It is foggy and cold.
Cervantes is the crossing for the four provinces of Ilocos Sur, Abra, Benguet, and Mountain Province. Rice terraces are present in Cervantes too!
We didn't find closure or answers of our stupid side that day—just numb fingers, a borrowed camera, and a mountain that kept its secrets. But fifteen years later (rewriting and editing this story on 2026-July-10, five months after moving to America, I still catch myself drifting back to that random road, not because it changed me, but because for a few hours, I was completely, stupidly alive.
PHOTO GALLERY
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NAGUSTUAM DIAY NABASAM/NAKITAM? MABALIN MO MET I-LIKE.
Stories of town explorations.
No destination is unworthy. All places, touristy or non-touristy, are destinations that could help enrich your life, understanding, and perspective.
• I judged Bangkok hard and skipped it for years. One night there proved me totally wrong—touristy doesn't mean unworthy.
• I thought "real Thailand" meant avoiding Bangkok. My first visit taught me how silly that was.
BANGKOK: What Nobody TOLD ME
First night in Bangkok: I bought that tank top in Siem Reap, but I wore it in Bangkok.
Anyway, I intentionally skipped Bangkok on my past Thailand visit because I was too judgmental. It turned out that I enjoyed this city, and it made me realize that experiencing the real Thailand isn't just about exploring its less-visited provinces. Actually, that's a wrong notion. You also have to visit Bangkok and its other popular destinations to witness its amazing twists and evolution as a result of successful tourism.
All the old, new, traditional, and modern things in Thailand are all part of Thailand's bigger picture. Thailand now is not Thailand without its not-so-Thai modern additions as a result of mass tourism. So whether it's an old town or a modern city shaped by tourism, it's still the real Thailand.
CONCLUSION: No destination is unworthy. All places—touristy or not—are destinations that can help enrich your life, understanding, and perspective.
These were my thoughts on my first night in Bangkok. I would love to share more stories in the future.
PHOTO GALLERY
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NAGUSTUAM DIAY NABASAM/NAKITAM? MABALIN MO MET I-LIKE.
Stories of town explorations.
This is the other side of my privilege. I had access to this information not as a clinical worker, but as a writer.
» We often regard wishes as fairy tales as we see in Disney movies. However, Girlie’s story was no fairy tale. It was more than a fairy tale—it was her own real-life movie where she is the one writing her own life’s script.
» The story of Girlie is proof that there’s no reason for any of us to give up in life. Her determination was stronger than her fears.
🇵🇭 FEATURED STORY
I’ve seen just recently how a person died slowly of fungal pneumonia. I knew the clinical history, but I don’t know how to explain it to his housemates and partner that it was an HIV case. The family of his partner was not even aware of it.
In my clinical practice, I also had a “minor” patient who happened to be a s*x worker. She tested positive for HIV. Worse, my nurse colleague got pricked with the needle used to insert the IV cannula of that HIV carrier who happened to be our patient, putting my colleague at risk of having the virus, too.
These experiences have made working with people with HIV a familiar part of my profession.
► A deep dive to the “positive” world of HIV
Recently, I met an 18-year-old girl who is positive of HIV. She just turned 18, but her status as an HIV carrier has been positive since she was a minor.
At this point, this is the other side of my privilege. I had access to this information not as a clinical worker, but as a writer.
While meeting people with HIV is not new to me, this encounter gave me an incredible opportunity to talk about her condition in depth—something I never had with my previous hospital-based HIV patients.
► “Girlie” (HIV positive status in childhood)
The first thing I asked about Girlie* was this: When was the time you became aware of your condition?
Girlie responded that she was given an insight by her grandmother about her condition, and it started to concern her when she started taking medications. At that time, she said that “I didn’t take it to heart.” She said that before her mom died, she also received advice from her mother that she should take the medications for her to remain healthy.
I didn’t stop from there. I had to ask an additional question when it “sank in” to her that she is HIV positive. I was surprised by her response that it only “sank in” just recently. Girlie just turned 18 years old a few months ago.
Coping up as a kid: losing her parents and dealing with her condition
Girlie said that when she was a kid, she was more carefree. She didn’t think about it much. Now that she’s older, she wanted to shift her focus to the dreams she wanted to pursue. “I have reasons to keep going,” she said. Despite losing both of her parents, she wanted to keep going for her dreams.Since Girlie’s parents are gone, I asked her of the support system that she got. She told me that it’s her grandmother. She also mentioned her friends, but her friends are not aware of her condition.
Of winning and achieving
“Arts. I pursued the arts.” These were the words of Girlie when I asked her about her greatest achievement in her 18 years of existence.“I realized this is what I want to do for the rest of my life. I want to create. I want to evoke emotion through my arts. I found out that I could do arts of all forms like visual, applied, and motion arts.” She emphasized.
In all her creations, I asked her what she thought was the most significant in her life. She struggled to pinpoint one at first because she has a lot of creations.
“I made a sculpture.” She quipped. “I got a good score in school from that creation. I created the artwork while I was sick. Despite all that, I enjoyed doing that artwork while I was sick. I loved the output, and the people around me also loved it.”
She also gave me deeper insight into her creation. “The artwork is about Nirvana. It’s about Buddhism. That theme is relevant to my situation right now. It’s about peace.”
Her greatest fear, and how she is dealing with it
I know that this is not an easy question. Sometimes, asking this question needs nuance, because it potentially crosses personal boundaries. However, Girlie was fearless in answering my question about fear. Her answer?“Relapse.” It’s just a single word, but it’s a fearful reality; and Girlie was fearless to admit and confront her own fears. It’s one word but heavily loaded with meaning.
This fear also comes with potential disturbances in her mental health. So, I asked her how she manages her mental health.
“I shifted my attention to school. I also found out that I’m good at sculpting. After creating my first piece, I was inspired and I wanted to create more.” She answered with beams of hope and optimism.
Inspiration and Strength
“I take inspiration from Renaissance art,” she explained. I’m also learning about it in school. When I asked if there was a time when she thought that her condition has affected her dreams, she was brave to say this: “Yes, but I choose to think positively. I need to choose to accept it because staying sad won’t help me either.”Asking about her greatest strength, she said: “My mom. I think about her all the time. She has always supported me in all the things I wanted to do.”
Wishes from the past, of today, and in the future
I asked Girlie if she has wishes in the past that have come true.“Yes. I always dreamed of having an iPad for my artwork. I had high grades last time, so I was gifted with that.” She replied.
“Secondly, I became more comfortable with myself.” She added.
I asked her: “If you had some ungranted wishes before, which one would you want to be granted soon?
“I want a longer life for my grandma. She’s 80 years old now. I want her to see my achievements.” She replied.
My greatest moment with my grandmother is happening all the time. I love spending and celebrating my grandma’s birthday.” She added.
I ended my conversation with her by asking her greatest wish as of this moment. This was her answer: “I wish to live more. I wish to live longer. I have had hardships. Despite that, I wish to have a long life.”
► A Pink Wish
Girlie is one of the beneficiaries of the Make-a-Wish foundation. She told me that her wish of having a pink cellphone at that time was granted.
According to her, everything was unexpected. It so happened that she attended an event in her hometown. She participated in a certain activity when someone casually asked her of her wish, and she said that she wished to have a pink cellphone.
She did not expect to get one. She was with her grandmother at that time, and she said that she even cried when she received a wish that was granted almost instantly. She was grateful that her wish came true.
Girlie’s granted wish impacted her life positively. She said that her journey as an artist also changed in a good way. With her pink cellphone, she said that she used the device to get exposed to different forms of art. When her wish was granted, the cellphone became her bridge to pursue her passion for arts, as she used the device to gain more art exposures.
We often regard wishes as fairy tales as we see in Disney movies. However, Girlie’s story was no fairy tale. It was more than a fairy tale—it was her own real-life movie where she is the one writing her own life’s script. With my conversation with her, I have to say that she has succeeded in writing her own life’s movie very well starting at a young age.
Her story is also the story of many young girls out there. With her granted wish that changed her life positively, the pink cellphone would surely contribute more ideas, passion, and drive to write the script of her future and to direct her real-life movie with a plot of inspiration with a happy ending.
The story of Girlie is proof that there’s no reason for any of us to give up in life. Her determination was stronger than her fears. Her dreams were bigger than her doubt.
*Girlie is a pseudonym used in this blog post to protect the name and identity of the interviewee
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UPDATE HISTORY FOR THIS BLOG POST
2026-January-10:
• This post was published.
NAGUSTUAM DIAY NABASAM/NAKITAM? MABALIN MO MET I-LIKE.
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