Banaue to Manila and Puerto Princessa.

 

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Having spent many days with unbeatable views of the surrounding rice terraces it was time to leave the mountains and find some nice beaches that are not affected by the rainy season somewhere in the south. 

At a whim Marlieke booked us tickets to Palawan, a lengthy island that stretches from mainland Philippines (Luzon) to almost Sabah, Malaysia. I can't remember the reasoning behind why this was chosen, perhaps it was the mention of some sort of beach, but we made our way out there via a terrible bus journey to Manila, where the bus kept on breaking down and a preemptive tipsy flight to Puerto Princessa. Having met Brie and Donny on multiple occasions in Northern Luzon we just so happen to have the same flight to Palawan, so whilst waiting for the flight we ate and drank. 

One thing I found interesting was that at no point did I need to show my passport let alone any kind of id, Marlieke had to prove her identity for the two tickets but I was never asked. (Terrorists, don't take note). 

So Puerto Princessa, situated in the dead middle of the island, the main hub of Palawan was pretty lifeless, I suppose maybe it was just out experience there and what we saw but as it says in the guide book, "an over grown small town". People come here for other things though, whether it is island hopping on a boat, zip lining, and the most popular activity being boating the underground river (at a hefty price) we chose none of these and opted for a motorbike to simply cruise about. We did attempt to go see the underwater river but unfortunately we got caught up in the worst of the downpour and found ourselves seeking shelter at small family houses who were always kind enough to offer us hot drinks to keep warm and by the time we made it to Sabang (where the tour starts) neither myself or Marlieke wanted to be on the roads at night so we scratched that plan and headed back to PP. 

The rest of our time in Puerto Princessa was simply chilled and quite uneventful, and the only thing I can think of worth mentioning is the food place we found offering, what I'll call 'upperclass fast food' for cheap and with UNLIMITED rice!!! I took full advantage of that offer. 

 

When the rain from the monsoon season gave us a break with great views

Got to love these motorbikes made to look like a car… practical, yes. safe…...? perhaps not

Banaue, North Luzon, the eighth wonder of the world (rice terraces) 12/08/2014–15/08/2014

 

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From Sagada to Baguio was a fun trip for me as the Jeepney driver that took us there allowed me to sit on the rooftop of the vehicle; not only did I witness some of the most stunning highland views from the snaking road I  did not at all feel the inevitable motion sickness I get when getting thrown from side to side on these mountain roads. 

Why does this ailment still affect me after all these years I have been traveling?

The views coming into Baguio sitting on top of this elongated jeep were breathtaking, this being the reason why people come here - mountainsides being carved out into fluorescent green terraces by mankind for the propagation of rice for over 4,000 years  for what I would describe as stepping platforms for giants into the clouds, a truly surreal place to behold, a remarkable achievement by the people of this region and their ancestors who built it. 

The rice terraces surrounding the tourist drop off location beside the quaint town of Baguio offered views like no other, not to mention the hotel Marlieke and I checked into, this place is certainly a must see, it's no surprise that it made as one of the wonders of the world. 

The most popular hike here was the one that descended into the town of Batad, a not so difficult hike into the town that was very manageable with more incredible views of rice terraces, these being the ones most talked about but having said that they were not any more spectacular than the ones surrounding Baguio, even the Filipino 20 peso note displays the rice terraces in closer proximity to Baguio. Regardless though, we got to hike through the terraces of Batad and descend further down into the valley where there was an impressive waterfall, which the waters were sublime to swim. Unfortunately Marlieke stopped hiking at the town due to the steep and long drop offs that would have scared her shitless, no matter, she enjoyed her time relaxing with a view. 

Marlieke and I made friends with some of the others on the hike where after we returned to Baguio, exhausted, sweaty and smelly accompanied us for drinks and food but not only this also a cultural show displaying their native dances for ceremony's and rituals and providing an insight into their culture including dress codes for which status in society you are in and their proposal method which involved asking women one after the next if they wanted courtship with the man. 

The performance was interesting and entertaining and at points we even had to get involved with some native dancing which certainly was a lot of effort as ask for having hiked for the day. 

Baguio, a must see in the Philippines and whatever activity you do here take a look around yourself because you are surrounded by incredible landscapes that have been developed and built into the surrounding mountains by mankind over four centuries.

 

On top of a Jeepney, all thumbs up

The stunning views around Banaue

 

People of Banaue

This man offered to show my his great grandfathers bones for a fee

All very green and beautiful

What a view, eh?!

The waterfall I checked out… Marlieke cannot deal with heights very well and as there was a steep drop off into the valley she stayed behind

A traditional dancing ritual of the local tribe

Sagada, North Luzon, Philippines - The benefits of being high. 09/08/2014 and 10/08/2014

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Up until this point we hadn't seen any other tourists, western ones that is, standing out in the crowds of dark hair but Sagada we had met a few. It is the low season after all which means bad weather and lots of rain, but thankfully we were lucky to enjoy the cooler and cleaner mountain air without this irritation to which it would mean we would have to spend indoors. 

With many activities in this area mostly based around hiking, viewpoints and caving we signed up for caving on day 1 which included a few spots along the route to get there to see the hanging coffins of which many of them had been placed there 500 years ago or more. Marlieke unfortunately is deathly scared of heights and many of the viewing platforms with steep drops unnerved her to a point where climbing down into a pitch black cave on slippery bat shit covered sharp rocks made her turn back to the hotel before even entering the cave. At this point it was just me and the guide (Ben) making our way down into the abyss using only a kerosene lantern to light the way. 

Carrying my new $2500 camera was daunting for me as a missed placed step would have sent me on an extremely painful roller-coaster ride to the center of the earth, however it was worthwhile for the great photos of the Sumaging Cave's highlight which is the calcium and limestone rich waters creating rock pools and incredible formations that has taken hundreds of thousands of years to grow - apparently 1,000years would have the forming wall grow by 1 inch. 

Sagada was a place recommended to me by a Canadian working at a hostel in Vancouver, it was a great place but due to the lack of tourism at this time of year not much was happening - not necessarily a bad thing as the chilled (and cool location) of this town was a welcome change from the hectic and hot capital of the Philippines.

Hiking around Sagada, checking out the hanging Coffins

The people of Sagada

 

I wonder what the fate of this dog is…?

INto the Sagada Caves.

Baguio, Luzon Provence, Philippines - Quick stop off - 08/08/2014

 

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As both Marlieke and I did not make any plans on this trip in the Philippines we decided to head north with next to no expectations on what to see and do other than visit the small town of Sagada which was recommended by a guy I briefly met in Vancouver in a hostel. 

Baguio being the gateway town into the mountains didn't offer much for us other than being a stop off on the journey northward. 

Finding cheapish accommodation in  the "dungeon" of a typically styled English pub we surfaced for a beer and away from the damp odour  that resided in our room. That 'one' beer led to many more drinks with a local man named Super Mario who purchased many bottles of cheap Filipino whiskey and filled our shot glasses every time we had out backs turned with the only break when he grabbed the mic on stage and started singing karaoke trying to get us up there too. 

After the multitude of generous shots of this terrible liquor both Marlieke and I snuck away stinking of booze which honestly helped us out sleeping  as the dungeon smell was repugnant. 

A night out in Baguio, free booze and a good time