Please type these letters.

Was signing up with del.icio.us and I had to prove I wasn't a robot by reading this:


And now I'm here doing what any Pinoy non-robot would do.

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Alternate Route from Manila to Baguio

Just posted the southbound version of this route here.

This northbound alternate route to Baguio takes you from the SCTEx, by-passes all the usual bottlenecks such as Tarlac and Urdaneta and zips you right off to Binalonan. We did not have the pleasure of taking this one from beginning to end because it came out in the papers when we were already in Baguio.

But it turned out we did take this route at some point when we followed the Directory Philippines Corporation (DPC Yellow Pages) signs starting from Concepcion all the way to Pura town (Km. 41 to Km. 62.7 in the diagram).

So if you're like us and you missed the SCTEx entry from the NLEX, just take the usual Concepcion route from the end of the NLEX, watch out for the "To LUISITA" sign, which is your cue to look out for the first DPC Yellow sign on your right (Km.41 here).

How to read the diagrams:

Note:
Non-SCTEx route starts here from the opposite direction,
so you turn right at this corner instead of left:

A few more notes:

1. This is the reverse of the route I posted last year starting from the first turn after exiting the SCTEx (Km. 41.0).

2. This route is also basically the same as the Directory Philippines Corp. (DPC Yellow Pages) route and you will in fact see the yellow DPC signs along the road and major turns. However, there are points in the route where you are advised NOT TO FOLLOW the DPC Yellow signs (Km. 62.7 and Km. 121.3).

3. The SCTEx is open from 5:30am to 5:30pm only, barring flights of fancy to close it at any other time. When we got there at 4pm last Sunday, the freaking thing was closed for some motoring event and we had to turn the hell back. SCTEx Motorist Assistance Nos. are (02)362-9997; (02)362-2246; (045)865-2030. Give them a call to announce your arrival and intention to use the facilities.

4. This route is NOT to be taken at night. There are neither lights nor road assistance.

Alternate Route from Baguio to Manila

We were in the mountains last weekend. That Friday, The Inquirer published a diagram of an alternate route to Baguio using the new Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway (SCTEx). This route was surveyed by the Automotive Association of the Philippines and promised a speedier drive in near-zero traffic amid bucolic vistas. We'd be fools to refuse that deal, we thought, and so off we drove map in hand.

Except for a hiccup in that part of the diagram directing us NOT to follow the signs (Km. 28.9), we're happy to report that directions were accurate and promises were delivered -- none of the dreaded gridlocks since bottlenecks like Tarlac and Urdaneta were by-passed, and lots of well-paved tw0-lane roads with the occasional kuliglig (not the insect), carabaos, ducks and field mice.

How to read the diagrams:

A few notes:

1. This is in most part the same route I posted last year diverging only at the turn headed to the SCTEx entry (Km. 93.7).

2. This route is also basically the same as the Directory Philippines Corp. (DPC Yellow Pages) route and you will in fact see the yellow DPC signs along the road and major turns. The routes diverge at Km. 28.9 in Rosales town. They converge again along the way and if I recall correctly the yellow DPC signs reappear near the Victoria Town water tower at around Km. 78.4. At Km. 93.7 they diverge again heading to the SCTEx entry.

3. The SCTEx is open till 5:30pm only, barring flights of fancy to close it at any other time. When we got there at 4pm last Sunday, the freaking thing was closed for some motoring event and we had to turn the hell back. SCTEx Motorist Assistance Nos. are (02)362-9997; (02)362-2246; (045)865-2030. Give them a call to announce your arrival and intention to use the facilities.

4. This route is NOT to be taken at night. There are neither lights nor road assistance.


Northbound version of this route here.

Knowledge 101

Answer your kids' every other question with "I'll look it up online later," or "Because God made it that way," and you're bound to get a remark like this one from the Little Boy this morning, out of the blue (as usual): "Dad, you know who knows everything? The internet. . . and Jesus!"