I made a survey of the travellers we met to know where they've been or where they are going in the Philippines; and though some of them would say Taal, Boracay or El Nido, the most common place on their to-do list was Banaue.
But hu-whyyy??? I went there 15 years ago. It was overdone then and it's a soulless husk now, so why do busloads of tourists still come? There are lots of other rice terraces in the Mountain Province; cleaner, more natural, the people more charming... but it boiled down to overseas tour operators pushing the rice terraces in Banaue because it's the most famous one, and in most cases it's the only place in the Philippines they know. I mean, it's the only picture on our posters overseas; but those pictures are not even from Banaue-- the best of them were taken in Batad.
I mean, sure, 30 years ago it might have been impressive. We had illustrations of it in our textbooks. We were taught to be proud of it. And I am. The mere idea of it blows the mind.
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| In case you were wondering how they could build concrete houses between mountains. |
But after the long ride from Sagada, through the foggy and muddy highway where amused townsfolk would occasionally wave "hi" when they spot us emerging from the soup -- I sensed something unpleasant hovering over Banaue as we made our approach. Later, Henri would tell me he felt the same. There was something wrong here. And it wasn't because of the dirty rivers or the grimy buildings with the shiny steel roofs.
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| We cropped the dirty buildings out. At the time we were trying to focus on the positive. |
But we wanted to go to Batad, and there was no way except through Banaue, so we decided to stay and give the place a chance.
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| Henri found replacement slippers at the public market. |
