MANILA, Philippines – While it is always great to travel to the countryside and enjoy the natural sights, it is now so rare these days to find places that remain untouched by development. Even far-flung mountainous areas that had once been so difficult to conquer are now much easier to visit, thanks to improvements in roads and local services.
One guy duplicated his Sagada road trip 34 years apart and would later share the amazing comparison photos that wowed a lot of people. On Top Gear Philippines, the photos of Bernardo Canapi highlighted the stark differences in the areas they visited in Sagada in the 34-year time difference between the pictures.
 |
| Photo credit: Bernardo Canapi / Top Gear Philippines |
 |
| Photo credit: Bernardo Canapi / Top Gear Philippines |
 |
| Photo credit: Bernardo Canapi / Top Gear Philippines |
|
 |
| Photo credit: Bernardo Canapi / Top Gear Philippines |
According to Canapi, he and his colleagues regularly traveled to Mt. Province in 1985 on a monthly basis as the area was part of his coverage as a medical representative of a pharmaceutical company. At the time, it would take them about 9 hours to travel on a good day or 12 hours on rainy days. They always made sure to bring three spare tires. In 2019, it took Canapi just about 5 hours to reach Sagada – not because of faster cars but because the roads are so much better now.
Canapi made sure to visit some of the popular landmarks and spots that he frequented with his colleagues. There were a lot of stark differences in these places, with some already gone, but the comparison photos look quite impressive.
 |
| Photo credit: Bernardo Canapi / Top Gear Philippines |
 |
| Photo credit: Bernardo Canapi / Top Gear Philippines |
 |
| Photo credit: Bernardo Canapi / Top Gear Philippines |
 |
| Photo credit: Bernardo Canapi / Top Gear Philippines |
He even found the old restaurant they loved – and discovered that it still sells the same delicious foods they enjoyed in those many decades ago.
Many of the structures across Sagada changed with the addition of more buildings or the renovation of old ones. The roads also had plenty of improvements. A lot of netizens were glad that Canapi shared the photos so they can also see what Sagada looks like, both at present and in the past…
 |
| Photo credit: Bernardo Canapi / Top Gear Philippines |
 |
| Photo credit: Bernardo Canapi / Top Gear Philippines |
 |
| Photo credit: Bernardo Canapi / Top Gear Philippines |
— Joy Adalia, The Summit Express
