I got up at 5:30am, and had to freshen up using water from the hot shower as the tap water was freezing cold!
I checked out of George's Guesthouse (by leaving the key on the table because there was nobody at the reception) and walked outWhere I had dinner from yesterdayA few inter-city buses were parked at the village centerAlfredo's Inn (L), Sagada Guesthouse (2nd from right), Gandu Yan Inn (R) -- plenty of accommodation near the bus station (Panorama shot comprised of 4 photos)I boarded the first bus to Baguio leaving at 7am (ticket cost ₱200/$5/€3.5)The bus left on time. Since I was still sleepy, I decided to keep shooting using my phone as I was in no mood to take my DSLR out.Good morning to you tooVery misty at this time
This was the last photo I took before I fell asleep
But I ended up waking up just half-an-hour later when I briefly opened my eyes. I just had to take my camera out now and take a few shots of the terrain I was passing through.
I didn't dare open the window as it was freezing cold outside, so I shot all these behind the not-so-clean glassMostly rocky rivers in these partsWe arrived at some town/village
Where we wereThere was more beauty to behold
We kept going higher and higher
Lettuce farmsFrom a market we stopped atA lot of the passengers were villagers or farmers getting down at various markets to sell their produce
The stretches of sunshine didn't last too long
We stopped here for a few minutes for a snack/toilet break
The dark clouds gave way to sunlight
There weren't many bad stretches on this highway, for the most part, it was a lovely journey!And after nearly six hours, we were in Baguio
I arrived at Baguio just past 1pm. Where the bus stopped was at some lot inside a shopping complex. Didn’t look like a main bus station or anything, so I asked around how I could get to Angeles City. The locals told me I would have to go to another bus depot near SM Supermall and catch a bus from there. So, in a taxi I went.
Riding through Baguio, you could see why Baguio is a predominantly a ‘university town’. Students from all across the North come to Baguio for higher education as it’s the only developed city in this hilly region of North Philippines.
I never had any plans of staying in Baguio because I didn’t find any of the attractions worthy of spending a night here. A short 5 minute ride later (which cost less than ₱100), I was at the bus terminal very near to SM Supermall — the only major mall in the city.
I asked for buses going to Angeles City and was instructed to board any of the buses going to Dau. I bought my ticket (₱290/$6/€4.7) from one of the private bus companies that operates the route and dumped my backpack on my seat. I had a few minutes before the bus departed so I quickly stepped out and went to the nearby Jollibee to pick up some lunch (Jollibee is there wherever you need it!)
The bus terminal was very busy as this being a hugely student populated town (and Holy Week), many of the buses to the various neighbouring provinces were running full
The bus left at 2pm and I had my lunch watching a very charitable man give away gifts and cash to Filipinos on TV. As the TV signal strength weakened, they put on the usual pirated copies of low-budget action films (first, an unheard of horror movie starring a really fat Val Kilmer).
I didn’t take many photographs on this leg of the journey — mostly because there wasn’t a whole lot of scenery worth capturing. It rained a little bit and the bus moved slowly because from here on, we were going downhill and it was quite misty outside.
After a few hours, it got really cold inside the bus as the air-conditioning was truly working. I had to wear my jacket and use my camera bag for additional warmth.
Taken at 4:51pm. We mostly travelled through impoverished towns and small villages.
You know it’s an impoverished part of the country when you see the locals rejoicing with banners when one of their residents become a lawyer. Saw a few of those.
Hey guess what nut jobs, the world didn't end after all!
Soon after one B-grade movie ended, they put on another. This time a Tagalog dub of a Thai action movie starring a popular Thai actress whom I cannot name at all because I only remember seeing the ‘making of’ this film on a show on NHK. Sigh.
I kept wondering how much longer I had to sit in this bus. By sunset, the bus had stopped in the city of Tarlac — and it stayed there for some time. And by now, there weren’t many passengers in the bus. I stepped down to ask if this was where I need to get down but the driver who was taking a break said “no”. I went back in and waited for the bus to move again.
And move on it did. We were on McArthur Highway by nightfall and I again wondered just how much longer I had to go to get to Angeles City.
Around 7:30pm, we finally reached a very busy Dau bus terminal. From there, I got into a trike and asked him to take me to my hotel. The journey took another 10 minutes (he charged ₱110) but I finally got to Red Tulip Hotel. I chose this hotel because I didn’t want a place on Fields Avenue, near all the nightclubs that go late into the night, and Red Tulip Hotel looked like it was a safe distance away. But that was as per the map on their website. In reality, it was a little too far from the main jeepney hub. But more on that later.
I was just glad to see a room so I could dump my bags and stretch my legs!
I had spent more than 12 hours today just sitting in buses. I was tired, so I quickly stepped out to have dinner at 9pm and then went to sleep immediately after getting back. For the first time this week, I didn’t have to wake up early tomorrow!
Day 5 – 21st April 2011
I don’t know how many hours I slept, but I slept well. Lord knows I needed the rest after the last three days! I switched on the television and watched the news reports of how crowded EDSA was yesterday night, with everyone rushing to get out of Manila. In some ways, I guess it was a good idea to arrive a bit early.
By the time I got out of bed, freshened up and made my way down for breakfastbrunch, it was noon.
Looking at the menu, the tulips made sense... the hotel owner was Dutch
I ate lazily, chatted with the waitresses who asked me where I was from and where all I had been to in Philippines so far. Then I went online for a bit after brunch and only at around 2pm did I finally decide to step out of the hotel! I wanted to take it easy for once.
The entranceIt was a sandy road from The Red Tulip Hotel to the San Angelo street (where the Hotel 24 sign is)The walk from San Angelos St. to the main Fields Avenue road was around a 1 minute longAngeles Beach Club hotel, one of the more posher hotels in Angeles CityThis was the jeepney terminal...And I initially looked at hotels on this road, San Narciso street. Hotel Tiger looked atrocious both inside and outside...... so PJ Inn was the one I had selected. But they were late to reply back with my room enquiry and by the time they did, they were full. So I had to book at Red Tulip Hotel for 3 nights (they gave it to me for ₱800/$18/€13 per night)The jeepney terminal was up this road, a 2 minute walk from here. I figured, after I was done with the festivities of Good Friday in San Fernando, I could easily catch a ride from here back to Manila.I walked back to the main roadI had dinner from this Turkish restaurant yesterday night, good shawarmas!I decided to hop over to SM Clark mall to pass some timeThis road leads to the Clark Freeport zone and Clark airportMy friend Aimee told me AOL once had an office in the Freeport zoneThe plan was to first check out SM Clark and then head to the Freeport zone for all the duty free shopsBut as I walked towards the mall...Closed! (Panorama shot comprised of 5 shots)
A security guard came up to me as I took the above photograph, and he told me the mall was closed today and tomorrow, being Good Friday. I asked him how far the Clark Duty Free was from here and he said around 8kms and he told me there’s a high possibility that would be closed today as well.
I sighed and walked towards the jeepney drivers nearby and asked them if the Clark Duty Free was open today but they confirmed it saying it was a holiday today.
Oh well
So I walked to the jeepney terminal to find out where to board the jeepneys going to San Fernando and the timingsThis guy told me to come to this pick-up point tomorrow morning to go to San Fernando. Yes, he was quite joyful to be in the photograph.Decided to check out Fields AvenueI was stopped by another one of those "Hey foreign guy with DSLR, take photo of us!". Guess which was the girl who requested it.This was Walking Street (don't know why they call it such but still allow vehicles in!)Here too, the scene wasn't any different -- just about everything was closed!
But I wondered if it was just because it was in the afternoon.
As I reviewed my shots, I noticed they were all quite dark and that I couldn’t change my shutter speed now. It was stuck at 1/1250! Grrh, I hate it when things like this happen, and that too just before a big event like tomorrow’s crucifixion ceremony! I had no choice but to continue shooting with it.
I went to that locksmith who was fortunately open. He tightened one of my tripod legs with an Allen key as I had misplaced mine. He wouldn't accept the ₱10 I was ready to pay him either 🙂
I walked back on to Walking Street. Only a few places were open and had the usual sight of geriatrics drinking away with their Filipina companionsPretty cool entrance
I walked back to my side of town and felt the urge to have some ice cream.
Iglesia ni Cristo church
Bought my ice cream from a convenience store at a Petron station on this side of Perimeter road, which houses a few more nightclubs, and little else.
Once back in my room, I fiddled with my camera for nearly an hour, switching it on and off, taking the battery out multiple times. Fed up, I went online to find a solution. Saw a few threads on such issues and then felt like an idiot after reading the ‘solution’. I had accidentally pressed the ‘Lock’ button near the dial which stuck the shutter speed at the last setting.
-_-
Anyway. After ‘fixing’ my problem, I sat in the room and worked on a few photos to upload and stepped out only for dinner. I went back to the Turkish restaurant as I miss Middle Eastern food and I wanted to make the most of the authentic food available as much as possible. (The restaurant was run by Turks)
At night, there were a lot more people out and about, but it still didn’t look like this is the most action Angeles City usually sees. So yeah, if you are coming to Angeles City purely for the nightlife, Holy Week isn’t the best time for that 🙂 Some of the nightclubs were still closed.
Back in the room, I packed my camera bags, kept all my batteries for charging, cleaned my lenses, set my alarm, and went to bed. Tomorrow was going to be the big day, and I couldn’t wait for it to begin!
The bus departed from Autobus station at around 10pm and not soon after the bus had started, we encountered a problem — the air conditioning wasn’t working. Which made sitting inside a small bus (ticket costs ₱450/$10/€7) all the more uncomfortable.
When I was doing my research, Autobus and GV Florida were the two bus companies that were popular for overnight trips to Banaue. Both had customers complaining about how cold the ride was because the A/C inside the buses were often so cold. How ironic that I experienced the complete opposite!
The passengers were getting quite restless as there were a few children in our group as well. Eventually the bus stopped just off EDSA and the bus personnel tried to repair the A/C. A good 15 minutes later, repair it they did… slightly. There was air being recirculated, which was essential, but not cool enough to call it ‘conditioning’.
We stopped halfway through the journey for a breakFull moon night
I tried my best to sleep, but given that I can hardly ever get sleep in bus journeys, this too was one of those journeys. We arrived in Banaue town just past 6am the next day. We were dropped just outside the main town and I had to take a trike to the area where all the hotels were.
As soon as I got down, the trike driver asked me whether I wanted to do a tour, to which I obviously said “yes,” but I told him I wanted to have breakfast first. I took a room at New Wonder Lodge (cost ₱250/$5.8/€4.1) which wasn’t a rice terrace facing lodge but given I was going to be out all day, I didn’t care much for the view. All I wondered was how long this lodge has been ‘new’ (hint: it wasn’t).
But I did hop over to the plateau facing Greenview Restaurant for breakfast.
The view from their balcony (Taken on Nokia E72)My Filipino breakfast - rice, eggs, pork sausage, a pineapple slice and coffee
Post breakfast, I began shooting.
Panorama comprised of 13 shots
Panorama comprised of 6 shotsThe Banaue Rice Terraces are one of Philippines' most popular natural treasures
The trike driver who offered to take me around for a tour of the rice terraces was waiting outside and I asked around to find out how much the tours generally cost. They all said ₱900 ($21/€14) if going by trike (which is the most common). I hadn’t even slept properly so I asked the trike driver if we could go a bit later, say around noon. He said that’s not possible because if I want to trek all the way to Batad village and see the other rice terraces, we would have to leave now.
So, I got in his trike and we set offIt was a bumpy rideThat's because the road aren't always smoothMy guide told me this region is prone to frequent landslidesIf there is one thing I learnt Filipinos love, it's basketball (and obviously the NBA)I just had to ask my driver to stop whenever I passed by such beautyMy moma (beetel nut) chewing guide, Arnel
We moved onQuite a dusty ride as well
Had to ask Arnel to stop again. Beautiful, isn't it?Arnel wasn't kidding about those landslidesI guess there's a pretty good reason why they're not allowed to drive post sunsetIf it isn't trikes, the not-so-frequent jeepneys are the only other mode of transportation the locals have to get to townCouldn't help but imagine how tough life must be out herePretty now, dangerous during heavy rainfall
Barangay means village and Ifugao is the province Banaue is situated inThis was a common sightThis sight, wasn't 🙂True to its nameStopped here for a bit as well (Panorama comprised of 9 shots)
After nearly 40 minutes since we left the main town, we finally arrived at our first stop on this tour.
No, this isn't Batad. This is the point from where, you have to go by foot to get to BatadI set offYou do have a stretch of concreted roads......though the concrete stetches would often give way to rough groundLandslides here tooWait, they have a jeepney service here?! -_-Yes kids, I'm walking it upAfter 15 minutes of trekking, I began to huff & puff. I stopped for a break.Panorama comprised of 5 shotsI had to stop, smile and ask myself: "Where on this earth am I?" 🙂I moved on in the hopes Batad's rice terraces were just around the corner
I wonder what caused these patterns?
I could see a glimmer of hope I was getting closer to civilization again
Finally!
It took me nearly half-an-hour to get to this point and I was only halfway through my journey to Batad’s rice terraces. Arnel had told me the walk would take me an hour. So I figured it would be another half-an-hour more.
It looked like there was only one way to get to Batad villageAt first glance, I wondered if the trek to the village was surely going to take *just* 30 minutes moreDown was the only way to goLong way down (That shed is a toilet by the way :))
I decided to try and a get a better look before descending downAwww...Yikes!Were those the Batad rice terraces?But I had already come this farAnd I didn't come all this way to watch chicken feed on rubbishSo I took a deep breath, and took my first step downLocals were carrying tourist's suitcases and heading to the villageSo I had to make way for locals carrying way more heavier loads than I was carrying -- and walking a lot faster than I wasI was carrying around 5kgs in camera equipment -- these guys were surely carrying WAY moreApparently Batad village only got electricity until recently
It took a good 5 minutes for the steps to get overMore landslides up aheadFrom here on, it was just rough terrainI had to tread very carefully
Just around the corner, I passed by an elderly American who nodded to me as if to say “Boy, this is tough!”. I asked him if he made it to Batad village but he said his legs couldn’t even make it halfway through the journey. On hearing that, I though to myself – “Maybe it’s because he’s old”.
Over in the distance, there was a group of villagers carrying a wild boar on wooden logs. Thing is, the boar was still alive, and squealing so loudly you could hear its anguish echo through the valleyNearly half an hour into the journey, I thought to myself just much further I had to goMentally, I kept telling myself "Slowly, slowly" as I crossed such pathsAnd just after I took this photo and stepped on the stones up ahead, I trip!
I tumble once but fortunately I didn’t roll any down any further. My immediate reaction was: “Oh shit, my camera!” Fortunately the 7D is built to take a bit of a beating so nothing happened to it. The only damage was a few scratches on my arm and on my knee. I got up, washed the very same parts of my body but realized I wasn’t carrying any band-aid with me!
So I had no other choice but to continue walking towards the village. I didn’t walk back because I wasn’t sure how far along I was — whether the Batad village was closer or was I much closer to the viewpoint junction back uphill.
They have a few small stores on the way to the village but this guy didn't stock any band-aidI moved on, limping a little
I caught up with the wild boar group at the 'comfort room' stop on the wayI kept hoping the village was right around the cornerI must be near, right?Did I walk all this long for a rice terrace this big?Few minutes later, my first glimmer of hopeThis should be it right?Finally!
It took nearly an hour to get to Batad village — and that was just from the junction, not including the trek uphill from where Arnel had dropped me.
So, were the Batad rice terraces worth the trek?
I guess so
But the rice terraces could wait. I approached a store and asked if they had band-aid, fortunately which they did. I asked where I could wash my wounds and the store lady pointed down to the basement.
I washed up, plastered up and sat down for a while. I needed to rest my legs!
Had something to eat and drink before resuming my photography.
As I check out the surroundings, I feel something touch my legs.
It was this small girlLooks like they wanted to play a little hide 'n' seek with meFelt sorry for them. Guess they don't get to see many new faces, let alone some Indian.There's aren't that many places to stay in Batad -- but then again, I'm sure there's enough accommodation for the number of tourists who make it hereOne of the bigger innsPension inns are the name used to refer to cheap, simple accommodation all across the PhilippinesDecided to walk to the school
Batad Elementary School
There were village kids following me asking for money (don’t want to use the word ‘beg’), and I gave them ₱10 each, out of sympathy.
Walked back up
Panorama comprised of 5 shotsI really wanted to go all the way down to the village but I knew my legs couldn't take it anymore
That thin line are steps... I could only imagine myself walking down those from hereIf at all I dare do this again, I would spend a night here and only leave the next morningImagine waking up to a view like this at the break of dawn
Unfortunately, I couldn’t stay in Batad any longer. It was already 12:30pm and with an already tired body, I knew I was going to take another one hour just to get back.
They were requesting visitors to make a donation to the village for its ‘upkeep’. Whether it was for Batad’s development or just for the locals to make good use of the money for their daily lives, I still donated ₱100.
I also asked if any local was willing to carry my bags as I just couldn’t walk uphill with the load I was carrying, now with an injured leg. One of the villagers agreed to carry my bag uphill for ₱100.
I took one final panorama (comprised of 7 shots) and bid Batad's rice terraces goodbye
The local who offered to carry my bags (forgot his name unfortunately)He was always ahead of me and would often stop until I caught up
Just to give you an idea of the terrainI tried to match his pace but I couldn't
Eventually he too had to stop for a break and we rested for a few minutes at one of the makeshift stores along the way. I bought him something to drink and I asked him how long he has been walking these hills. As a native of Batad village, he told me they’ve been doing this since they were little. Young boys are made to carry goods up and down the hill, so their bodies get used to it as they age.
I even saw a small boy carrying a load of potatoes on a log uphill and the expression on his face was nothing short of hardship. It really was revelation of sorts for me. Here I was on this trip, to take my mind off from being laid off from work and yet, here are people who have been living like this for decades… all because of their lineage. Few make it out of Banaue, let alone their own village, and move to bigger cities.
I asked the local what their primary source of income was. He told me it was mostly farming, but a lot of the rice that’s grown in their rice terraces are for their own consumption as very little is sold in the markets. Of course, tourism is now helping them a bit as well.
As we moved on and neared the junction, I caught up with the American I crossed paths with earlier on my way down. He still hadn’t reached the top. I told him about my ordeal as we walked up together.
The American (again, forgot his name as well) told me about a different path up but I decided to just stick to the steps and follow the local who carried my bags. I told him I’ll catch up with him later.
The American took that road, which is an alternative to the stepsI took one final shot before climbing the hundred steps up
Once I reached the junction, I paid the local ₱150 instead of the agreed ₱100. He was grateful, and I had no reservations about my actions. I thanked him for carrying my bags and he headed back to his village.
Sigh.
The American reached the junction at about the same time I did, and we both sat at a store because sitting was exactly what we needed! A few minutes later, we were joined by a Brit who was with his trekking guide. With all three of us sweating profusely as evidenced by our shirts, needless to say, our conversations immediately began with how each of our experiences were. The Brit was concluding his nearly 4-day trek across Batad and was panting as he spoke. He spoke of how his guide (surely a local) just wouldn’t break a sweat and how he couldn’t do without his trekking pole.
Anyway, myself and the American couldn’t sit there forever and though we thought of taking a jeepney back, none of the jeepneys looked like they would be moving until they had enough passengers. So as one final effort, we both decided walk back down to where our trikes were waiting for us.
The trek back down was easier this time simply because, one, it was downhill, and two, there were concreted patches of road. Also, speaking to each other about topics ranging from the world economy to where else both of us had traveled took our minds off of how much distance we had to cover.
Thirty minutes later, we were back to the starting point. The American and I parted ways but he suggested that we catch up for a beer later at night once I’m back in town.
Once I was back in Arnel’s trike, more than beer, I just wanted to get back to my room to wash my wounds properly and then rest.
But instead, Arnel took me to the next stop on this tour:
Another rice terrace village, but I forgot its name (Panorama comprised of 8 shots)Arnel told me I could walk down there but it would take some time. I told him my legs couldn't take anymore climbing and asked him to just take me back to Banaue town for the main rice terraces.
Despite being a bumpy ride back, because of how tired I was, I still dozed off in between.
Only to wake up on occasions when a heavy duty machine had to clear up debris on the road due to a landslide
Once back in Banaue town after nearly an hour, Arnel drove me up to the first of three viewpoints for Banaue’s rice terraces.
This was the first view point
Panorama comprised of 8 shots
Walked past this house to get to another viewpointPanorama comprised of 9 shots
The sign was describing the stage during which rice seeds are planted
We moved on higher up to the second viewpoint.
Panorama comprised of 16 shots
I asked Arnel to take me to the final viewpoint.
You need to walk down to the platform
My worst enemy: steps
But this being the last stop on my tour, I decided to push my legs one last time and walked down the steps towards the house.
The plan was to stand in front of the house and take photographsBut as I got down the steps, the dog in charge of the house came barking at me... so I stayed right where I was and didn't venture any furtherOh well, good dog doing its jobTook the 70-200mm lens out for these shotsThis gives you a scale of just how big these rice terraces really areImagine how many man hours it must have taken hundreds of years ago to carve these landsIt's no wonder these rice terraces are considered by Filipinos to be the '8th Wonder' of the world
With that, I decided I had taken enough from the main viewpoint.
Now came the tough part
My legs were really quivering with each step I took. I had to use my tripod as support to raise myself to take each step. I was that tired!
It was a really misty day todayThanks, but I was done!Walked back to Arnel and asked him to take me back to my lodgeDon't ask me why the chicken crossed the road
As we drove back, Arnel told me if it wasn’t so foggy today, I would have gotten a better view of the entire Banaue rice terraces. I said it’s fine, because at this point all I wanted was to take a hot shower and give my feet the rest they needed.
Arnel dropped me back and I paid him ₱900 plus a ₱100 as a tip, simply because I felt like it. I first went to a store to buy some biscuits and cake in case I woke up too late. Because here in Banaue, there is a 9pm curfew and just about every shop closes by then. It’s wise to stock up on essentials before the sun sets.
Back in the room, I first took a hot shower and felt so much better. After that, I just crashed on the bed. Given the fact I barely slept at all the previous night due to the bus journey, and after all the tiring activities from today, it only took me a matter of minutes to doze off.
I hadn’t forgotten to meet up with the American from earlier, but when I did wake up…
... this was the scene outsideIt was past midnight
Yes, I overslept. But I didn’t care, I needed the sleep.
My legs felt a little better and I sat on the bed, switched on my computer and ate something. As I transferred today’s photos on to my hard drive and reviewed them, I couldn’t help but feel a sense of achievement. Despite how my body felt, today really changed me in some ways. First, I couldn’t imagine where on earth away from India I was. Secondly, the trek really changed my perspective on life (in some ways). I shouldn’t be complaining about losing my job when I go back to my office. At least I had an office in a city to go back to. To the people in Banaue, life wouldn’t be that much different when they wake up tomorrow. Tomorrow, all I was going to do was see even more amazing places!
This is undoubtedly is the most epic post I’ve ever written (so far). 170 photos just to show you, my reader, what all I saw today. Over 3400 words to tell you what I experienced on my secondday of sightseeing across Philippines.
I have been trekking since my college days and I enjoy walking, a lot. Trekking to Batad was undoubtedly the toughest trek I have ever undertaken. I cannot believe I walked 9kms up and down. A total of 18kms in Batad. And you know what? I didn’t even know it was 9kms to Batad village until I began working on these photos!
Go read the sign about ‘Batad rice terraces’ up above just after Arnel dropped me to the point I had to then go on foot. I didn’t notice the description and 9kms mentioned on the sign until I worked on that photo!
In a way, it’s a good thing I didn’t. I would have had second thoughts of trekking 18kms had I known the distance and the terrain I encountered along the way. Also, had it not been for the pleasant, not-sunny-at-all weather, there’s no way I would have gone all the way.
But would I do this again?
No.
🙂
Edit (16/09/2011): I found the map I had with me that day
I arrived at Baguio just past 1pm. Where the bus stopped was at some lot inside a shopping complex. Didn’t look like a main bus station or anything, so I asked around how I could get to Angeles City. The locals told me I would have to go to another bus depot near SM Supermall and catch a bus from there. So, in a taxi I went.
