12% of the
Philippines population is located in Metro Manila. Metro Manila consists of 17 administrative districts and Manila is just one of these administrative districts of Metro Manila. It has a population of more than 1,700 thousand. It is one of the most crowded places in the world in terms of the number of people per square meter.. When you go out on the street, you encounter crowds of people.. Shopping malls, subways, public transportation vehicles and streets are always crowded.
I immediately made my plans to escape from this crowded city with no charm.. I left my big backpack at the Malate Pension where I was staying, packed only the things I might need in my small backpack and headed for the terminal.. My new route is north of this Luzon Island in the Philippines, on which Manila is also located.. I’m not excited to explore the places that seduce me with its high mountains, cool climate, 2,000-year-old rice fields, indigenous tribes that are on the UNESCO World Heritage list.
Walk to Taft Avenue, take the LRT Metro from there, get off at Central I also jumped in a jeepne. After World War II, when the Americans left the island, they left behind the useless jeeps.. Our clever Filipinos have started to modify these jeeps and use them in public transportation vehicles.
Now they extend pickup trucks and turn them into jeeps.. In the chassis, the seats lie parallel to each other, left and right.. You get on the back of the jeepne, which pollutes the environment with its very noisy, intense exhaust gas, and its fee is 8 Pesos (300 Kurus).. Maybe 80% of the vehicles you’ll see on the streets are jeepneys and taxis.
Jeepney I arrived at Florida Corporation’s bus station in the area called Sampaloc.. I got information from Malate Pension employees about bus departure times.. My bus leaves at 10:45 am. I came a little early. I spent my time again mingling with the crowd and wandering the night markets.. This city is much more crowded at night than during the day.. Manila is a city that lives at night. So much so that there were many families with children and babies in the restaurant where I left close to the bus departure.. People are spending their time outside with the air getting cooler with the night.
I paid 450 pesos for the bus ticket Banaue to my destination from Manila.. I was surprised when I stepped on my bus. It was full of travelers like me and I didn’t expect that at all. I curled up and slept in my sarong on the bus, which was no different than a refrigerator.. When I stopped for a lunch somewhere at night, the view I saw when I went out was astonishing.. Wet ground, vehicles parked in fog and shops, restaurants. You breathe a mysterious and mystical air, you feel like you are going to a different place.. Imagine closing your eyes at Istanbul Harem Bus Terminal and opening on the Ayder Plateau of the Black Sea, just like that.
The roads are very bad and winding, in some places there are not even roads. The rains have taken it away, you are on the stabilized road. As far as the headlights of the bus illuminated, this is what I saw.. After a 9-hour journey, I finally arrived in Baguio around 7 am.. From there, I jumped on the jeep that provides shuttle service for tourists and reached the center of the town.. I settled in Uyumi’s Greenview Lodge (350P). It has an amazing view. Actually, I was going to go directly to Batad Village from here, but I couldn’t get up when I sat in her restaurant and watched the view.. I’m in no hurry anyway, I decided to enjoy this view for 1 night and then go to Batad.
After I took a shower and had my breakfast, I started touring the town.. First I reached the gurgling stream, and from there I walked randomly through the town streets.. Curious about a crowd I encountered, I learned that they had gathered for a funeral.. They were burning a big fat pig’s hair in his classroom with blowtorch flames on the floor.. When a well-off person dies, they slaughter and boil a pig every day for days and distribute it to those who come.. There wasn’t a boiling cauldron yet, but there were maybe 100 people in the room inside.. They must have been eagerly awaiting a bite to eat.. Filipinos are generally poor people.
I went back to the hotel and got my lunch. Many guides around the hotels want to sell you tours.. One of them sat at my desk and started telling me what we could do.. Guides have always been a source of information for me, but I don’t keep guides unless I have to or are legally obliged to.. I trust them when they talk about activities, things to see and do, and geographical attractions, but when they start talking about distances, transportation, difficulties, I only believe maybe 10% of what they say. they make what you can do seem impossible and difficult. He quoted me 2,000 Pesos for the visit to the Banaue Rice Fields viewing point I was in, and for the round trip and guide service for the rice fields in Batad Town the next day.. With bargaining, the final price dropped to 1,600 (67 TL). I insisted 500 pesos. I ordered tea, thanked and sent it to the guide, whose breath smelled of alcohol and gave me valuable information.. You’re actually watching rice fields along the way.. Half an hour later I was at the viewing point. Whereas the guide said it would take me 1.5. Well shaken.
Waterfalls are flowing from the mountains, the sky and mountains are covered with fog. With a light drizzle, the lush rice fields spread out in terraces across the valley offer a fascinating beauty.. In the middle of the valley, a stream fed by rain water flows right past the hotel where I stayed.
A smiling old tribe member, perhaps in his eighties, dressed in local attire, was carving wooden statues with a knife in his hand at this viewing point.. There are also opportunities for those who want to explore the traditional life of the local tribes living in this region.. Resorts for tourists have been established in some villages.. You can stay in traditional huts, taste local foods, and experience their dances and music on-site.
After a long tiring journey, I returned to my hotel having visited and seen both the town and rice fields. Filipinos 8th in the world. I needed to gather my energy and rest before heading to Batad Village tomorrow to see the Batad rice fields, which they called wonders.
Day 455: Philippines:2, Banaue, 1 November 2011