Malaybalay to Davao Bus Ride

This was planned. That I would not return from Malaybalay to Cagayan De Oro, but proceed instead to Davao City for another dinner-meeting (bisyo na 'to!), before flying back to Cebu, then to Tacloban. But I was not at all concerned as I have done this 'overland' trip before. There are even 2 known ways - via Kapalong and Tagum (5 to 6 hours) or via Kitaotao and Marilog (4 to 5 hours) - both panoramic roads.

I was taking the shorter route, as I heard the highway was already spruced up and can be faster. Not that I was in a hurry, but hearing that a road has lately been repaired means it is (probably) also safer.

Anyway, let's take off from my last paragraph in the last article. What did I see that "stirred my sanity"; that it even prompted me to hurry back to the hotel in a tricycle instead of finishing my morning walk?

It was this bus terminal.., where too many people kept running from bus to bus.., chaotic!

There were too many passengers, many were standing on the sides because that waiting area across was too full of humanity. Every time a bus arrived, a damning crowd of people would go running for it!

My bewildered brain tried to quickly "analyze the situation" (yes, kaya ko pa yan). I realized Malaybalay is just a "transit" point, not really a terminus of any bus. So, most (if not all) buses that transited in this terminal were already filled to the roof, save for the spaces from which one or two would get off from!

That answers my initial question "is there no reservation procedure here?".., none because they do not yet have a technology to monitor or even just detect that! It is not like in the airlines where say, a plane travels Osaka-Manila-Bangkok-Dubai, you may already get your seat in Manila even if the plane is still in Osaka. Here, you run to see the bus if there is space. If there is, you scrimmage, crawl or jump for it!

Balyahan system! It's a "try-and-try-until-you-die" kind of situation hahaha! So I said to myself (earlier), if I am going to persecute my royal self by joining this godforsaken "see-if-there-is" throng of humanity (because there was no other way), I better checkout from the hotel and come here the soonest. That's why I hurried back on a tricycle, quickly gathered my things, checked-out and came back to this place!

Then I joined the hit-and-miss crowd! Every time a bus with "Davao" signboard came, together with (or more specifically in antipathy with) hundreds of other hopefuls, I would run for it like crazy - without a care if there were women, children or elderly in my way! I felt really embarrassingly stupid but this was the "kalakaran". Even if I wanted I couldn't give up. I had to reach Davao in time for my dinner meeting!

The most exasperating frustrating reality was, the buses do not anymore park on their slots - probably because drivers knew, that with so many riders, they won't need to stay that long in the diagonal slots anyway. So they park as can be seen in the photo above. If your bus stops at the back, you run to that area. Then you find there's no space. And another bus arrives but stops here in front (since there is no more enough bus space at the back)! You guessed it, takbo ka naman dito sa harap! Naunahan ka na!

Mind you, this was not only true for Davao-bound buses. It was the same going to any destination, as it was the Kaamulan Festival yesterday. All these folks were going home after watching the spectacle!

Let us expound a little bit more around this topic..,

Those of you who are experts at finding safety comfort and convenience might be asking, why didn't I, or the hundreds (was that thousands?) of other people take the vans (V-Hires) as surely there must be that kind of conveyance in this part of the country! Yes there were, many of them in fact, but hundreds of others more already chose that option ahead of us. A couple who, like me, were taking a chance on the buses told me they actually went there first but the lines were also unbelievably long. Same-same!

As for me, with or without the knowledge that getting a ride after Kaamulan would be this chaotic, the choice would still have been the bus - because, as your Pinoy Traveler, I always yearn for the best view of the countryside, so I'll have something to tell you via this blog. That's better achieved if I perch on a tall vehicle, no other than the bus. O ha? Pa-valiant effect pa when the real priority is the "long-legged"!

By the grace of high heavens, a bus stopped right in front of me, and there was only 1 seat available.

Mine of course! Door opened right in front of my chin haha, and I was all determined to block any soul who may have attempted to dare overtake my royal highness. That's the conductor hollering if anyone else was getting off here in Malaybalay because they're not stopping until Valencia City, 30kms away.

It might be wise to mention this here and now.., that depending on the class of service, many buses in the Visayas and Mindanao have very strict rules on published destinations, and these are adhered to by drivers. These are unlike the buses in Metro Manila where if they say their bus will only stop at X, Y and Z, you can pay the fare to Z but permitted to get off at a city called W between Y and Z. Not here!

For some of these bus companies, that is a serious matter of security - especially in Mindanao.

By the way.., it should also be a good time to tell you that.., likewise depending on the class of service, some buses in the Visayas and Mindanao still honor their promise of safety comfort and convenience by not allowing SRO (standing room only) passengers. This is unlike provincial buses that depart from Metro Manila (like the infamous JAM/Tritran) where people are allowed to ride standing on the aisles.

Look here, this was the inside of our "fully-loaded bus" as we finally departed from Malaybalay..,

Save for the feet of two children, the aisle is clear, right? Well, there was a guitar laid near where I sat!

Oh yes, just where did I sit on this bus ride? Look at the two pictures above again.., perfectly centered, right? Yep, because the only vacant seat was that middle space in the last row that fits 5 passengers. That's where I sat, good legroom for my feet, but huhuhu.., not good for my watching the countryside!

I could see where we were passing alright, even if the curtains were partly drawn (on both sides, argh) but I couldn't take blog-worthy pictures for you my dear readers. Only the bus interior was clear to me!

So let me (at least) describe my Rural Tours bus huhuhu hehehe! Look at the two photos above again for reference. First I noticed was, more TV screens drop for passenger viewing convenience if / when bus conductor was not roaming the aisle. Sosyalin! Parang PAL A320! Talo ang CebPac at Air Asia da!

Just like the bus I rode from Cagayan De Oro to Malaybalay, this one also has a "WC" on board. And of course I wondered (I am still wondering now) why these CRs (okay.., TOILET) are not anymore located at the rear portion of a bus. Is that a new trend? Or a scientific breakthrough? Hmm, let us investigate!

Anyway.., first stop, I cannot really say a BRB (bathroom break) since there's one on the bus, di ba?

There were 3 passengers who got off here (City of Valencia), though I think this terminal is still some 4 or 5 kilometers to city proper. As said above, this bus won't stop other than its designated terminal.

Most of us went down the bus, not to visit toilets, but just to stretch aching aging cramped muscles! Some bought snacks, puffed a smoke or just looked around this sizeable (fairly new) bus terminal.

Look, this side of the terminal seems to have turned red as most of those that park here are the Rural buses! Rural buses make this city like a mini-hub as this is the trade & commerce capital of Bukidnon.

On our way out, I got a glimpse of the roof area of this terminal and quickly took this awkward shot..,

So it is called the Integrated Transport Terminal Complex, but I wonder what they're integrating in this complex since they've made this a terminal of just the buses while jeeps that go-to / come-from other towns of the province are at the 'Public Transport Terminal' now called the 'old terminal' at city center!

By the way, that name up there should be a nice topic for people of Valencia and engineers, architects all over this country (or even the world). Look again and read it. I will be sure you are reading the white letters on a blue background. That's just an "addition" for the telco to advertise its name. The original signage of the building is the one below it, in exactly the same wordings, but unreadable! Crazy duh!

If you were the designer, maker or sponsor of that building, you should already bury your head under the sand in shame. Gagawa gawa kayo ng something eh wala namang gamit! Form over function! Oi aba mahal yung metal signage na yan, eh hindi naman mabasa! Proof: ayun, you approved that Globe put up that painted signage, even if redundant, because it is more readable than your metal lettering.

Friends, if you love traveling, you will know that the building above is not an exception. There are many public and private entities that use expensive silvery metal things for their signage BUT can't be read!

When did we learn about the color wheel chart, Grade Five or Four?

Anyway, I feel bad telling about things I saw along the way, since I wasn't able to take pictures, since I was seated at the center of the tail of the bus 😠 Like I saw the old terminal, it's across a department store (Alkuino?) and there is a pedestrian overpass crossing the Sayre highway. Nice infrastructure!

I also saw a lot of "rela"! Yes the "motorella" or "motorela". When did I last mention that.., ah Camiguin, I think? They're the big tricycles, almost as big as multicabs! But no they are not the "tuktuk" like those in India or Thailand, nor the Bajaj in Indonesia - because they have no reverse gear! They are of course similar to the "center car" of Calbayog. Ah Motorella! You can ride my motorella, rella, rella, eh, eh, eh!

Anyway, next time I peered out, we were already passing by the gates of CMU..,

See how pathetic my picture is? That's the right side window (with curtain even partially drawn) of the rearmost seat of the bus. My hooded seatmate was fortunately sleeping (or trying to) so there was a bit of open space for me to snap a photo haha! Yes, I was laughing at how pathetic my situation was!

Not satisfied with that pic above, the bus was moving, I twisted on my seat to click for this next photo!

That thing I caught is the concrete fence beside their gate. It is inscribed with one of this university's previous names: Bukidnon National Agricultural School 1946-1952. Like many state universities and colleges in this country, this one also had a lot of names, until it reached its present confusing state!

Confusing? Try this.., Central Mindanao University is in Maramag, Bukidnon, Northern Mindanao!

In fairness, if you look at it on a map, the university is really geographically situated at the very center of Mindanao. But importantly, Central Mindanao University is one of 3 best universities in Mindanao.

By the way, probably by design due to the presence of CMU.., the Maramag countryside is also home to a number of scientifically controlled aqua-culture hatcheries, demo farms and laboratories. Ah, a good part of Dole Philippines' Banana Plantations is located here. Plus, there are also pineapple and sugarcane plantations of vast proportions. There's even a sugar mill in the middle of all these fields.

Aha, speaking of sugarcane.., you will like this tsismis!
Did you know there is an airstrip (runway) somewhere in the middle of those sugarcane plantations? I am sure of this, yes there is, or at least yes there was, as far as I can remember! I've been to that strip twice during my adrenalin-filled days of yore! I can even still remember its IATA code was/is "XML"!

As I sat on the bus, I tried to mentally figure its location - if I was going south, it must be to the left of the highway, as I remember it is/was located east of the poblacion amidst sugarcane and corn fields.

Not sure if it still exists today, because, even during those times I've been there, the whole vast area was supposedly owned by some agricultural company. But I am thinking.., whether private or public land, if they're not anymore using it as an air field, I think authorities should at least mark, document and promote it as part of the country's history. It may not be "historic", but I think it is "historical" as it was used during WWII together with Valencia, Malaybalay airfields, and Del Monte airfield (now gone).

Alright.., moving on, I didn't see much of Maramag town proper, but I had to take a pic of this corner..,

How did I take this photo, I twisted on my seat (again) and propped the camera on the rear window of the bus. Ganun ka-hopeless! But at least that rear window is still clear glass. In many others, it is not.

That is a waiting shed at a Y-intersection. As that enlarged part says, the place is Brgy. Camp One, still in Maramag. This corner is very important to motorists (and roamers) as this is where the long roads crisscross in the heart of Mindanao. One wrong turn, you could end up on another side of Mindanao!

This asphalt road where my bus was (remember I was looking out the rear window of the bus) is the way to Davao. That concrete road is still the Sayre Highway, and that motorbike is going to Maramag.

Going left, where the motorbike came from, depending on the road you take-on further, could get you to Pigcawayan, Sultan Kudarat and Cotabato City; or Midsayap, Mamasapano and Tacurong; or even Kabacan, M'lang, Datu Paglas and Tacurong also; or down to Koronadal all the way to Polomolok and GenSan to meet Mommy D! You can even also go northwestward to Marawi, Iligan and back to CDO!

Disclaimer: I'm not saying all those roads are easy or safe.

But I'm hoping (already planning) I will be able to ford all those roads mentioned above!

Oops, teka.., I was going to Davao, right? Okay, so the bus was off Sayre Highway that I just realized I have been traveling-on since yesterday! If you're interested, it ends up in Kabacan, Cotabato (formerly North Cotabato) at the Davao-Cotabato Road that actually ends in Sultan Kudarat, Maguindanao. Uh!

Oops, teka AGAIN.., I was going to Davao, right?! Kung saan-saan lumiliko itong kalsada (aw kwento) ko! I was now on the BUDA Highway after the bus got off Sayre as I said above. BUDA Highway? Well, if you are too affected you can call it DABU Highway, it'll be just as perfectly fine by me hehehe! Just remember DA means Davao and BU means Bukidnon, so it's the Davao-Bukidnon National Highway.

After getting off the Sayre Highway unto the BUDA Highway, I saw the Pulangui Hydroelectric Plant, at which area (a friend told me) are wonderful places like a "Green Camp", a cold spring and even a cave.

After the Pulangui Bridge, signages told me we were already in Quezon. OMG really?! As in malapit na ang Lucena City? No no, this Quezon is not a province. Its the municipality of Quezon still in Bukidnon.

Nothing here is below 200 meters above sea-level, but after a very long stretch of panoramic highland sugarcane plains, we passed by the town center of Quezon and at its southern end, we reached this..,

Kainan na! All passengers went down, so I asked the conductor.., oh this is a meal stop! So I followed and had "adobo with rice" - my safest "choice" meal during travels into remote places. Why? Because, it seldom goes stale, even if the eatery has no freezer or fridge! Habang tumatagal, lalong sumasarap!

By the way, that big wide eatery, CM Fastfood and Grill Haus, sits at he corner entrance to the town's public market, at the back of which is their integrated bus and jeep terminal. But all Rural buses stop at this place for passengers to have their meals. Also just diagonally across their new municipal hall.

But as courtesy (I guess) all buses still do a go-around of the integrated terminal before leaving town. Perhaps to get those waiting there, who didn't see that all red buses are parked at the entrance road.

So I was able to snap that photo as we were exiting the access road. Oh yes, that's still the back of the bus as my window to the world! The terminal is behind that public market. Of Quezon Bukidnon, okay?

Onwards southwards the bus zoomed, until we reached this scenic area in Kitaotao, still in Bukidnon,

That picture above was on my left, and this below was on my right side. All panoramic landscapes..,

Can you see the pavement below? We were in what the bus conductor calls the "IUD-zigzag" road!

I knew what it meant but I still asked him why the name. Just as I thought, this twisting portion of the highway, all of about 5 kilometers of it.., if you look at it from above, or on a map, is shaped like an IUD (Intrauterine Device)! It's not hard to imagine as we can see most of this road with a few big/tall trees.

The road is not only zigzag, it climbs southward from about 300 to 600+ meters above sea level!

Look! Still viewed from the back of the bus, we had just overtaken those two. I can say, Naghihingalo!

At the very top portion of this part of the highway, I saw a park with a very descriptive name: Overview Nature and Culture Park. Yes yes, oh how I wished I could jump off the bus and visit it to marvel more of the views! It should be breathtaking. Though as we passed the gorges and ravines, it was more of.., breathlessly hair-raising hehehe! One false move of our Dear Mr. Driver, goodbye earth kaming lahat!

Alright, the journey continued southwards, and I was excitedly looking out for a marker in this town of Kitaotao [ki-taw-taw], along this BUDA Hiway, that I suspected should be somewhere at Brgy. Tawas. A marker that would show or tell the point where Bukidnon, Davao(City) and Cotabato(North) all meet!

Unsuccessful! I don't know if there's even such a marker. I didn't see any, so I'll just assume that, as of this time, there is none. I mean no marker. But, I am certain, those three meet at some point on earth. And that point on earth is supposed to be somewhere here! Ah, maybe not exactly on/by this highway.

I did see a big marker-in-the-making (like a giant tombstone) that says Bukidnon Second Engineering District, somewhere between Brgy. Tawas, Kitaotao and Brgy. Buda, Marilog District, Davao City but it does not even say it's a boundary, although I know it is, since that is where they put those engineering district markers. So where is Brgy. Sumalili, Arakan, Cotabato here? To the side of Buda? Probably so!

It should be interesting to see where is where and which is what, di ba? A landmark!

Oh, did you notice I mentioned a Brgy. Buda in the above paragraph? Yes that is so. In fact, the name of this highway we've been mentioning, was originally "Buda-Bukidnon Road", telling that the road is from Brgy. Buda (of Davao) to Bukidnon. But and However, barangay Buda got its name exactly as we now know - a syllabic contraction of the words Bukidnon and Davao because it sits in that boundary!

Hence, people have started calling it the "BuDa Hiway" instead of saying "Buda-Bukidnon Hiway"!

Anyway, moving on.., the bus passed by this place with a name that a bit unsettled my royal highness!

What's with that word "quarantine"? I only see that at airports and seaports. What is that doing here in the mountains? Kinabahan ako ha? First that came to mind was 'there might be a quarantine area for people with contagious diseases like leprosy or something'! Y'know, if we don't know facts, we tend to invent the craziest possibilities in our minds. And if left unchecked, we tend to start believing in them!

So I asked for 'real' facts of/from/by other people. First info: the bus conductor told me, this is where people are asked to get off their vehicles, walk on sanitized foot baths, their belongings/cargoes are checked for probable carriers of swine/bird flu viruses into Bukidnon. Ah ok, peace of mind returned!

It's an animal-health checkpoint! There are others like...

Fastforward to "after 1 hour and 5 minutes" on the road.., we stopped and all had to go down..,

We were asked to line-up towards a table with military men (with long firearms), place our handcarried items on the table, they check every nook of every bag - on others they ask to remove all contents and place them on the table, next we stepped to another table where a uniformed man frisked us one-by-one, and asked to walk to this foreground area (of pic) to wait for the bus. That is our bus back there!

A military checkpoint.

Note to my bungisngis friends: there was no talking among passengers in this whole "ceremony". Not sure if it is a rule, law, protocol, norm, or apprehension. Basta, tahimik! It was eerily silent. I could only hear the bags being placed on the tables and things being taken out or returned. Even kids were quiet!

Note to ugly people like me: the soldier who inspects your things also asks for an ID. He didn't like my SSS ID and said "ID WITH CLEAR PICTURE". He didn't also like the driver's license. Inilabas ko yung UP Alumni ID, tumango ang damuho! I already had my passport also open, but he already waved at me to proceed to the "kapkapan" area. I was thinking "what's next, mag-recite ko ang Panatang Makabayan?"

Hahaha, what version, current/revised or original? What language, English, Pilipino o Spanish?!

Under "normal" circumstances, the talkative and "feeling" me, would've said a sentence or two while I was being asked for more IDs. But these people have rifles. Not just pistols, but rifles! I remember my driver from Estosan Hotel.., "eh happy trigger ang mga yan"! So, shaddap ang Pinoy Traveler this time!

By the way.., you see the men at left? They were my fellow passengers. They urinated there! Eto o!

Eh our bus has a WC naman.., I'm sure they'll have seen that! See the right edge of the picture, the bus was even already approaching. Ah well, maybe ihing-ihi na sila sa takot dun sa military checkpoint 'no!

Let's proceed!

About 40 minutes from that checkpoint, I was already alone at last row, and I could take pics, yeah!

That's my favorite drink. That's it. No story here! I was just happy I could already take pictures left and right, as my last row seatmates already transferred to vacated seats up front. But too late.., Davao na!

We turned right to MacArthur Highway because I saw these..,

Hmm, very familiar roads! Behind that store is a village where relatives live, a few more roads and that's the way to Jack's Ridge (buhay pa ba yun?) and up a bit more is the "Shrine" (of the Holy Infant Jesus of Prague) with open chapels and panoramic views. Ah when was I last there? Early '90s (yata)!

We turned right again.., this time to Quimpo Boulevard because I saw this..,

I told myself this bus is terminating at Ecoland Bus Terminal. Then I saw this.., so Ecoland nga..,

So, the bus arrived at Ecoland Bus Terminal - official name "Davao City Overland Transport Terminal". No pictures, because I do not put out my phone/camera when I am in this place. Maybe it is just me, but the surrounding area feels like one of the Pasay City bus terminals. Just playing it a little bit safer.

I "grab"bed a cab to my hotel. Along the way, I saw Lyndon's again. Read their signage!

They are popular. I'm not sure if it is because of the "dirty" naming style, or what! There's even another store nearby that this ride should have passed-by, but I didn't quite catch it this time. It's a busy corner.

About a kilometer on from that Lyndon's above, I finally arrived at my hotel in Davao..,

Look, it's a good thing I took a grab car from the bus terminal. Para medyo "jibe" naman with the hotel I was staying hehe! Y'know as I always say.., my royal highness is a true-blue social climber hahaha!

But let's talk about this hotel later. We haven't described Bukidnon Business Hotel yet, right? Because I planned to write about that during lunch, ehh, I suddenly made a dash for the bus station, remember?

Whew.., that was almost 8 hours of land travel. But I liked it!

Okay.., we talk hotels in the next two stories - Bukidnon Business Hotel and Marco Polo Davao.