I spent 4 days in Baguio, I was actually planning for a longer period
but I find the place exhausting, with jeepney fumes and too crowded I guess for
my liking. I took the KMS bus lines to
Banaue, I should’ve taken Ohayami but their fully booked. The bus terminal is right next to Rizal Park
which is beside Burnham Park. The taxi
driver I hailed in Magsaysay Avenue where I was staying knows it, I think all
taxi drivers know the place.
I arrived early at 7:00pm t the bus terminal as I thought the lady on
the phone told me the bus will leave at 8:00pm, when I arrived there I saw the
schedule board to be 9:30pm, the worst thing is, it’s raining! So people crammed on the small waiting
shed. And I have to burn the time at the
711 drinking coffee.
By the way, it was convenient booking a seat with KMS, I’ve sent a text
message on their mobile phone number and got a seat number back. The bus left at 9:30pm, night trip so I did
not see the much talked about scenic view along the way, I should be taking the
5:00pm bus coming back to Baguio once I’m done with Banaue. The bus is non-aircon, but who needs one,
the weather is cold from Bguio to Banaue, except for some parts in Nueva Ecija
or Vizcaya I think, then again, it rained there so it got cold.
The bus arrived Banaue at 6:00am.
Las Vegas Inn, where I’ll be staying, is located less than 2 kilometers before town so I asked the bus conductor to drop me off at the Inn so I don’t have to take a tricycle from the town back to Las Vegas Inn, it’s along the way anyways. The bus stopped right in front of my accommodation. It’s a very simple place with about 6 rooms I think. My small but simple room was facing rice terraces, nice view on the window really. This amazing view commands a steep room rate if it was in another country but this is Philippines, and this is the mountain province of the Cordillera.
Most tourists stay at the center of the town for easy access to stores,
restaurants and everything, but hey, this place is merely a 15-minute walk down
to the centrum, and there are tricycles passing by the road in front of the
place, for 10 pesos in 3 minutes, I’m already in the more busy town center. The family that owns the place is friendly,
very accommodating and helpful and they also own the most popular restaurant in
town, the Las Vegas Restaurant. I was
the only guest in the place, so I literally own it, I have the shared bathroom
and toilet all by myself, for the bargain price of 300 pesos!
 |
| Banaue town center's market area. |
Banaue is dead at night except for few establishments that operates until about 9:00pm. I personally like Banaue, small town, quiet, I like small towns, I was in Vigan few days ago and I like it too, it has a small town feel to it.
 |
| View of the town below and the Immaculate Conception school, from the third floor of the public market. |
Sometimes called by locals as the "Eighth Wonder of the
World", the Ifugao Rice Terraces begin at the base of the mountain range
and extend several thousand feet upwards. Two of the terrace clusters in
Banaue, namely Bangaan and Batad, are part of the UNESCO World Heritage
inscription. It is said that their length, if put end to end, would encircle
half of the globe. Built 2,000 years ago, the rice terraces manifest the
engineering skill and ingenuity of the sturdy Ifugaos. They are irrigated by
means of mountain streams and springs that have been tapped and channeled into
canals that run downhill through the rice terraces. [Wikipedia]
Expenses:
Transports
|
KMS bus lines fare from Baguio to
Banaue
|
415
|
Hotel
|
Las Vegas Lodge
|
300/night
|
How to get there:
Ohayami Trans have
one direct trip from their terminal at Cor. J. Fajardo St., Lacson Ave,
Sampaloc, Manila. To reserve in advance,
call or send a text message to 09276493055 and 02-5160501.
From Baguio where I came, KMS bus (P400) has
8:00am van and 9:30pm bus from their bus
terminal beside Rizal Park. For
reservations, send a text message to 09175089988 or 09159471440.
Ohayami (P400) run at 8:00pm at their
terminal at Otek St., Burnham Park
beside Chowking. Send a text message to
reserve to 09166009333, from Banaue 09058814361.
Although I prefer KMS as they run faster
reaching Banaue in 8 hours, whereas, the Ohayami I took from Banaue back to
Baguio took almost 12 hours.
Up next - Banaue Viewpoints - by tricycle.
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