My seat is reclined back as far as it will go. My shoes are removed and my fingers are already covered in a deep layer of cheesy Cheeto dust. I’m ready for what is going to be a 5 hour plus bus ride through the beautiful mountains of northern Luzon.

We were going to Baguio, the infamous mountain city many Filipinos travel to in order to escape the humidity regularly gracing the rest of the country. It was an easy decision to take the express bus over the conventional bus. For a little extra than the normal bus, the express bus offers complimentary drinks, snacks, and newspaper, a significantly shorter travel time and comfortable reclining seating.

The first half of the journey consisted of passing one lone volcano, which was exciting for a moment. Unfortunately, this was followed by hours of driving through relatively flat farmland. I tried to resort to eating to kill some time, but I had already eaten most of my food before we had left the bus terminal. The wifi on the bus was so slow that I just gave up on it. I would rather relax without using wifi than endure the emotional roller coaster that wifi was triggering inside of me. So I brushed the crumbs off my chest and attempted to sleep for the rest of the journey.

We eventually made it to the base of the mountain, which is when things got interesting. The bus had been driving fast up until that point, once reaching the mountains nothing changed. The driver seemed unphased by the fact that we were now on winding roads high up in the mountains.

The bus was constantly shaking heavily, while the passengers were clinging onto their seats to hold themselves still. Eventually the liquids I consumed at the bus terminal decided this was a good time to leave my body. The bus was shaking everywhere as the driver sped through the winding mountain road. I had to somehow make it to the cr on the bus without being thrown off my feet by the force of the speeding bus.

After waiting for a while, the bus finally hit a short straight stretch of road. I immediately stood up and dashed for the cr before the bus made it to the next corner. Once I got inside I realized using the cr was not going to be as easy as I thought. The toilet and most of its surroundings were covered in urine, so I did myself and those after me a favour and cleaned the cr before using it. Using a cr while the vehicle it resides in is powering around corners at high speeds is not an easy task. Though in the end, I made it back to my seat unscathed, mission accomplished.

A short time later the bus arrived in Baguio after about 5 hours of driving. The difference in the general atmosphere of the place was almost immediately apparent. The city is uncrowded and peaceful when compared to Metro Manila. The city is also surrounded by beautiful scenery, most of the major hotels overlook the city, giving guests nice views to fall asleep and wake up to.

I still look forward to the next time I can visit, it really is a beautiful city. The express bus to Baguio should definitely be the priority for anyone wanting to travel to Baguio. The extra fee is quite insignificant when you consider how much quicker the travel time is