Philippines: Baguio

From the rice terraces, we continued south in the highlands (Cordillera) to Baguio, 1500 masl (5000 ft), which was the comfortable summer capital of the Philippines until 1976 (I guess air conditioning technology made it unnecessary) from since its inception by Americans in 1903 as Camp John Hay military reservation. First Below is a view from the bus window on the way to Baguio. Second below is the current Camp John Hay, now a recreation area.





In February Baguio hosts Panagbenga, a month-long flower festival. We caught the opening parade. The dance groups here are a distinct departure from what we saw in other parts. They really highlight their indigenous culture. It was refreshing to see. The very colorful parade lasted over two hours, and passed right in front of our hotel!



















While we found the climate delightful, we didn't end up walking much. Instead we found the best vegetarian restaurants of our entire Philippines tour. One restaurant, Heaven and Earth, served a standard budget rice plate of vegan and vegetarian dishes from its mall location. The other, Little Milkyway Vegan , located in the aptly named "Artists Watering Hole," with a talented chef, featured flavorful vegan versions of traditional Filipino dishes like Adobo; and other fusion creations.













On the eve of the Flower Festiva, the Burnham Park Lake was busy with boaters.


Opening Ceremony of the Panagbenga Flower Festival


Around the lake, we visited the Orchidarium, the vertical garden exhibits, and the carpet garden exhibits. And more!
















On prominent positions on hilltops around Baguio sit the Buddhist Temple, the Cathedral and the SM City Mall.








More shots from around Baguio.

Philippines: Banaue and Batad Rice Terraces

From Sagada we continued in the highlands to Banaue, home of UNESCO listed (1995) rice terraces.

We spent the first day walking in the rain to the various viewpoints in Banaue. The second day we took a tricycle (tuk-tuk)from Banaue to the village of Batad for more terraces, this time walking through/above the terraces to a viewpoint. Weather was misty and rainy, typical weather I have come to associate with rice terraces. While I still think Yuanyang (see photo below) terraces are more impressive; being a rice terrace junkie, I enjoyed our Banaue visit very much.



I gather that Filipinos are rather proud of the rice terraces, while the exact history of these rice terraces is still disputed, i.e. long held beliefs are not supported by archeological evidence. Filipinos seem to be particularly good at adhering to myths. I guess it's the "religion gene" at work again.

We arrived in Banaue to mist and rain on the CODA bus. Oh no. Will we be able to see anythingG


No worries. This is the view from our guesthouse balcony.


We found a decent rice plate meal at IFUGAO DELIGHT CAFE, about a 5 minutes walk from our guesthouse.




Night view down to the village from the guesthouse.


The next morning we check out the options for rice terrace transport and tour at the TI. Then set off walking uphill in a light rain to the UNESCO viewpoints.










Some All of the viewpoints have souvenir stands and Instagram props, not to mention older ladies in traditional costume.




This was one of our fav spots. You can see in the photos that the clouds are low and it's raining, but you can still see down and across to the terraces.




This viewpoint had several levels of viewing. We walked out to the end of the "brown" terrace and took a video (still raining). If the embedded video (2nd below) does not open, click here.








The uppermost viewpoint had a small parking lot and impressive signage. In the 1st photO below, see the ladies in costume. In the 2nd below, see water flowing into the terraces. And 3rd, a bonus jeepney pic. And more.








For dinner that night we found SMILE Cafe where they made us noodles with eggs to order. We'll be back!


The tricycle ride to the Batad viewpoint trailhead was almost an hour.


The trail to Batad was up and down and slippery. We forgot to bring our hiking poles, so I found SL a suitable but not ideal stick. Later the perfect stick was found.


Our first view of the Batad terraces, with the village of Batad below.




In some places the trail had railings, but we missed a turn and had to carefully walk on the terrace walls the final 500 meters to the viewpoint.

















The view from the bench at the viewpoint.




And it rained most of the way back to the trailhead, but by now SL had a perfect hiking stick.




Eggs, Eggs with Rice, and Fries for Dinner.