Where's That?

Living in the Philippines, I can't say that I have traveled to a lot of destinations that are well-known tourist hot spots. And our most recent vacation is no exception to that. For Spring Break, Sara and I traveled with our friends Matt and Heather to the northern part of Luzon. Specifically, we went to the town of Sagada and to the rice terraces of Banaue and Batad. These places are a bit off the beaten track, but well worth every effort to get there - though I must admit that it's easier to say now that I am sitting on this side of the 10 hour bus trip and endlsee jeepney rides up dirt mountain roads.

Our trip started from the Manila bus station, where we boarded a pink-clad tour bus for the 10 hour, windy, sickness-inducing trip up north. But after the trip, we were afforded breathe-taking views of the "Eighth Wonder of the World", the Banaue rice terraces. We also had the chance to hang with some of the locals - for a small fee, they even let us take their picture!

From Banaue, we four bus-weary travelers packed ourselves into the back of a jeepney with various other adventurers and settled in (as best you can in a jeepney) for the four-hour drive through the mountain passes to Sagada. Upon our arrival in Sagada, we were greeted by the smell of fresh, mountain air, the feel of cool temperatures, and the cooking of (in my humble opinion) the Philippines' greatest French chef. Yes, a French chef. Tucked away in the isolated town of Sagada is a properly trained French chef who, once a week, opens his home to guests to come sample his amazing cooking. His restaurant, stationed in his house, is aptly named "Log Cabin". It is set among the beautiful surroundings of the laid-back town of Sagada, and it was a delightful place to eat dinner and sit by the fire.

Our next few days in Sagada were spent eating amazingly fresh food, especially at Yoghurt House, wandering the streets of the town, drinking weasel coffee, hiking, caving, and generally just relaxing.

One highlight of our time in Sagada was our descent into the nearby caves. After hiring a guide in the town center, Matt, Heather, Sara, myself, and our fearless guides headed deep into the underbelly of the world. If that sounds melodramatic, it's not. There were more than a few sketchy moments in the cave traversing. But that's the great thing about traveling in third world countries - you don't have all that concern about "safety" and silly things like that. Check out a couple of these "cave shots". The other fun thing was that we did lots of the cave journey in our bare feet.

Emerging from the depths of our little cave adventure, the four of us were taken aback by the sight of the evening sun over the rice terraces of Sagada. It was one of those moments captured in time, where everything stands still and nothing else seems to matter. I wish our camera could capture that, but Sony has yet to develop a digital camera capable of taking in the feeling of a place just as well as the image. This picture is my best attempt.

After reluctantly saying good-bye to Sagada, we four travelers boarded another jeepney bound for our return to Banaue and the adventures that awaited us in Batad - a town that can only be reached on foot. But, as you can see, the drive back to Banaue was absolutely beautiful. For this leg of the journey, we elected to hire our own jeepney so that we could move at our own pace and stop for lots of photos.

This is as good a point as any to explain the rice terraces. First of all, rice is to Asia what wheat is to Northern Europeans - a staple crop that is the primary food source for millions. For my Northwest U.S. compatriots, the best way to imagine the rice terraces is to think of the wheat fields of the Palouse being carved into the side of the Rocky Mountains. For thousands of years, the people of the Philippine Islands (and elsewhere across Southeast Asia) have tended to these rice fields that are literally carved into the side of the mountains. Here are a couple of the better terrace pictures to illustrate this point.

Arriving in Banaue after a magnificent drive (and, believe me, there aren't a lot of jeepney rides that can be characterized as such), Matt, Heather, Sara, and I rested our travel weary bodies and took in the sites of Banaue. Rising early the next morning, we embarked on an exploration of nearby Batad. This began with a two hour jeepney ride (again!) up narrow mountain roads, then a moderate hike down into Batad. But all the effort was worth the experience of actually walking through the Batad rice terraces, standing in the spray of one of the nearby waterfalls, and playing with sharp machetes. Visiting Batad is almost like stepping back in time and out of the frenetic pace of modern life. A great experience.

This trip was certainly a well-needed dose of nature and fresh air after spending so much time in Manila. Now, if it just weren't for the 10 hour bus rides and the endless jeepney trips, I could head back to Sagada next weekend.