Since everything we did in Candaba led to misadventure, I am gladly posting a few tips for other travelers who plan to visit the Candaba Wetlands in the hope that they never experience the same troubles we did.
RESEARCH
This is the first rule of a successful travel and I admit I didn’t do much research before embarking on the trip and relied only on a few blog posts regarding the place and its accommodations.
Our guide said that the best time to go bird watching along Candaba’s wetlands is during the birds’ feeding time. This is usually the time they take flight and scrounge along the bushy wetlands for food. The first one occurs in the early morning hours of the day, and the second one, during the late afternoons.
Luck, it seemed, was still not on our side as it was almost nine in the morning when we treaded down the bird-watching trail. There were hardly any visible birds along the area as most were already hiding down the bushes. What we saw were the few that peeked through Candaba’s thick growth.
Admitting total defeat in seeing Candaba’s migratory birds, we finally decided to just hike back to town and maybe do a river tour instead.
As the grand sunrise we witnessed at the ricefields slowly dissipated into the early morning, a tricycle stopped in front of us and the woman driving it asked us if we were interested in doing a bird tour. Well of course we were, this was what we came here for. It turned out she’s one of Candaba’s Bird Sanctuary guide. A light at the end of the tunnel, finally!
Making up for the lost opportunities of the previous day, we decided to wake up early the next day; we were up at exactly four in the morning. With only four hours sleep, we groggily went about collecting our things and were soon walking into the cold dawn looking for a tricycle willing to transport us to Candaba’s Bird Sanctuary. We eventually got two tricycles and after much haggling, we agreed at a price of Php130.00 each.
It was on the tail end of the bird migration season when we set off for the low-lying fields of Candaba in Pampanga.
Departing Manila at lunchtime, we alighted at the San Fernando exit to drop by the local mall first to buy some supplies (and Pampanga Starbucks mug, hehe) for our supposedly overnight stay at the Candaba Swamp.
We reached the town of Candaba at around four in the afternoon and immediately headed to the fields where the Pelayo Resthouse, where we were supposed to stay for the night, was located. Everything had already been arranged, having called ahead, so we expected everything to go smoothly as planned.
Luck, it seemed, was still not on our side as it was almost nine in the morning when we treaded down the bird-watching trail. There were hardly any visible birds along the area as most were already hiding down the bushes. What we saw were the few that peeked through Candaba’s thick growth. 
we came here for. It turned out she’s one of Candaba’s Bird Sanctuary guide. A light at the end of the tunnel, finally! 
everything to go smoothly as planned. 
