Here's a guest post by fellow wanderer Kevin Tsai.

It took me a while to write this year end review post but here it goes...

2012 was an eventful year for me because of many firsts. I managed to go to 2 different countries (traveled alone), went up 4 mountains, and visited the beautiful provinces in Northern Luzon. Never thought that I would do so much traveling within a year, because I was always just a home body back in college and high school. I got to meet friendly strangers in other countries and here in the Philippines. Got lost in a foreign land, mistaken as a local in a foreign country, got scammed in Thailand, learned about other cultures, and so many other experiences that I can't put into words.

Drum roll please....

Here are 2012's firsts and bests!

Sagada is an excellent place to visit not only because of the weather but the many activities and food one can eat. I was only able to do a handful of activities when I visited Sagada so I'll only be able to make a biased list of the things I did and the food I ate.

Top 3 Things to Do 

Sagada is jam packed with things to do the moment I had free time to wander around I saw a list of activities that visitors can do. The list ranged from mountain hiking, trekking to falls, caving, food tripping, river rafting, and just plain old sight seeing. Here's a rundown of the things I did during my Sagada trip:

The day is unwinding and the light of the sun is descending down the glorious rice terraces in Ifugao. Piece by piece the night whittles away the time we have left in Sagada. Our group decided to make a side trip to Banaue to see the Rice Terraces UNESCO Heritage Site.

Banaue Rice Terraces

On our last day in Sagada, we woke up early to view the sunrise from Kiltepan Peak. We woke up at 5am to make the trip to Kiltepan. The group ran into an Aussie couple looking for a ride to view the sunrise as well. Project Dora was nice enough to allow them to hitch a ride. The view from Kiltepan Peak was simply brilliant!

View of rice terraces from Kiltepan Peak

After indulging ourselves on scrumptious meals and desserts from Sagada we went on a trek to Pongas Falls to enjoy the wonder of nature. The rolling hills, green blanket of trees, small falls, streams, and rice fields were a feast for the eyes. The trek was a bit tricky because of the narrow pathways we crossed but it was well worth it because of the view.

I decided to join Project Dora on their trip to Sagada. I've wanted to go to Sagada since the start of 2012 and I finally have my chance. The trip to Sagada was an adventure in itself the zigzagging roads and the cliff hanger moments will fill your thirst for adventure. The ride took us around 13 hours to just get to Sagada. But we decided to stop in Baguio for breakfast and went to Halsema Highway.

Halsema Highway