A Trip to Batad Rice Terraces, Banaue
from Oct 28 to Oct 31 2006

I went to Banaue alone. I played it by ear and I was able to tag along with 7 other people. Adeline and Kevin, a Vietnamese and German (?) couple, Bridgitte and Jeznene, mother and daughter, and O (yeah, just the letter "O"), Via, and Noel, officemates/friends. We all got together since we want to split the private jeepney fare from Banaue to Batad saddle.

The six of us (except the couple) stayed together in Simon's Inn and we went around Banaue together. From Banaue, it takes about 1 1/2 hours via private jeepney to get to Batad saddle. According to some guidebooks and even to people who have been there, it takes about an hour's hike to get to the lodging area from Batad saddle. But at our pace plus the taking of photographs, it took us 2 hours to get there. We were just excited, we took pics of the mini teraaces along the way plus the landscape knowing that we will see tons of them when we get to Batad proper.

Though I have seen it in the postcards, have heard some worms causes them to deteriorate (like the terraces in Happao)... it is breathtaking to see the rice terraces of Batad. Hay...

We went on to see the Tappiya Waterfalls. We started a bit late and we had to hike back until early in the evening (without flashlight plus some occasional rainfall). The 4-hour hike was very challenging for most of us but it was all worth it.

After the long hike... I was thinking... How am I going to hike up back the saddle with the muscle pains i was experiencing then...

The five people whom I have tagged along with were planning to go to Sagada (it's acutally one of my favorite places) the next day (Oct 30)...obvious ba, nakaladkad na naman ang palaboy na tulad ko.

The storm, Paeng hit Northen Luzon and this means that we have to perch going to Sagada. Well, as for me no Sagada at all as I am scheduled to leave on Oct 31.

We spent the whole day (Oct 30) in Simon's Inn during the storm. Some of us enjoyed massages while I enjoyed doing nothing. Like I am just experiencing Time.

We were told that there were three landslides along the road from Batad saddle to Banaue this meant walking the 12 kms of rough from Batad saddle to Banaue (instead of taking the jeepney)... oh oh... parang daan patungong kalimugtong. Luckily we found some vehicles trapped between landslides that took us to the other landslide. We still have to walk and cross the landslides on foot.

Upon reaching Banaue proper, friends/officemate, O, Via and Noel went to Sagada, Bridgitte and her daughter, Jenzene decided to go to Baguio, while I will head back to Manila.

Bridgitte, Jenzene and I stayed in People's cafe to await our bus.

Upon arrival in Manila, around 3 am, I stayed in Starbucks in People Support building met a friend who works in the same building then headed home at sunrise. Such a pleasant closure to my trip...