I woke up remembering that I had to charge my phone outside (there were no sockets in the room). Still tired and disheveled from yesterday's trek, I stood up from my bed and opened the door to be shocked by the beauty enveloping me - the romantic hazy morning fog embracing every bit of the lush green mountains and all those beautiful layers of rice patties. It truly was the first time I could say that something took my breath away (asthma attacks excluded, of course!)
Backtrack 24 hours; My friends and I got off a bus in Banaue ready for adventure! It was unexpectedly cold at about 18 degrees. We had breakfast, bought our return ticket to Manila and took a tricycle to Batad. After drop off, a tour guide offered to take us around for P700. We agreed and then walked for roughly an hour to the inn.
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| ^ Start of the walk (road where the cars are) ^ Inn (small white roofs) |
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| Beautiful view while walking ! |
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| Finally! After 30 mins of walking! |
We checked in at Hillside Inn, we were told they had the best view - and they were right! Don't expect too much in terms of facilities - the have a common bathroom, no sockets and cramped beds. BUT THE VIEW. WAS. MAGNIFICENT. We dropped our bags off in our room and off we went!
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| Lunch at the terrace overlooking the terraces |
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| Look at that view!! |
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| Ready!!! |
We thought we were ready. But boy, were we wrong! It was a total of four hours of climbing up (and down) steep, moist, shallow steps. The view though, was a constant reminder of why we have chosen to explore. From the top, we took in the beauty as a whole but as we descended we learned more about the land and appreciated the intricacies of what it took to create the terraces.
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| JUMP SHOT!!! |
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| How could anything be this beautiful? :) |
We reached the top of a small mountain which was also the passageway to the waterfall. My friends chose to stay behind. I didn't want to waste the opportunity so I still decided to go. I was told that the path to the falls is a bit steeper and a bit more dangerous than the ones along the patties.
Tappiya is no Maria Cristina Falls but it was a pleasant reward after a long, tiring walk.
The trek back was a bit easier since we were already familiar with the terrain. However, going up the steep steps to the inn was much more difficult than ever. We got reached the inn around 5pm, took a shower, ate dinner then slept early.
The next day, we took off around 7:30 am (after eating breakfast and charging our phones!) to catch the jeep going back to Banaue. My friend and I rode on top of it! It was so so cold but we had an awesome view!
We arrived in Banaue around 10am. We were supposed to see the Banaue Rice Terraces and go to a hot spring nearby. But my friends and I decided we can to stay at the city center and buy souvenirs while waiting for the 6:30pm bus. There are a lot of wood crafts sold there at very low prices - it's just a matter of how much one could carry! :)
Batad Rice Terraces truly was breath-taking.But as with many of my trips, their people was what has left me in awe. They seemed truly happy living simply - away from technology, the luxuries and fast-food!- they seemed content giving importance to what really matters in life and understanding that they do not need the complications that the modern lifestyle offers. In a way, I got a glimpse of how locals lived before western colonization and it was very refreshing :)
