Manila (26 - 29 January 2008)
We expected Manila to be a polluted, traffic crazy city. And I guess this is not too far from reality, but yet, Manila was surprisingly calm and clean. I guess coming from New Delhi, India, the city-shock just did not have an impact
We arrived at Manila’s International Airport around 19:00, and walked outside to find a taxi. The Lonely Planet advised not to take a taxi right in front of the airport as they are more expensive and prone to scamming. So we walked about 800m to the airport’s exit where we saw a taxi standing next to the curb. We asked whether he used his meter and on confirmation we jumped in and asked to be taken to Malate, the backpacker area in Manila.
When we arrived in Malate, the driver showed us that he got a parking fine where he picked us up at the airport and he insisted that we pay for it. We just refused - I mean, he was already parked there when we got there and the traffic officer who was standing there had no interaction with the driver. This turned into a huge scene, with everyone looking at us. We firmly stood our ground and just walked away. It feels like we seem to get into arguments over transport in just about every place we travel to!
We struggled to find accommodation, everything seemed to be full. We finally found a little shoebox of a room in Adriatico Pensionne Inn. Although very small, the room was exceptionally clean and the shared bathrooms were in better shape than most of the places we have stayed at before. We even had a hot shower, which is a very rare commodity in the Philippines.
The next day was a Manila exploration day. We walked up along the pier to the Intramuros. We wandered around here, had lunch, spent some time in Rizal park and then walked back to Malate. There really is not much to do in Manila. One thing that caught my eye was the public transport in the Philippines - they have tricycles (motorbike with a side-cart for two), taxis and jeepneys (a jeep converted into a limo-like truck with two benches at the back for transporting passengers - always ready to squeeze in another person or chicken).
The next day, we had to venture out to the upmarket side of Manila called Makati, to visit Cathay Pacific Airlines. On arrival in Manila, we were issued a 21 day visa and our pre-booked round-the-world flights put us in Philippines for 22 days. So we either had to get an extension on the visa (which was a very expensive business for just one day’s extension) or we could try to get a flight one day earlier out of the Philippines. We did not have the best of luck as all the flights were already booked and we were put on a waiting list.
From here we went to Robinsons Mall where we both had a haircut and I also had my hair coloured (it was due time!). We spent the late afternoon at the pier, watching the sun set over the ocean. We took a bus that evening to the north of Luzon Island, to Banaue.
We were warned that this bus’ air conditioning was set on arctic, so we came prepared. But still both Eon and I were freezing and could hardly sleep a wink. So we arrived all flat-tyred in Banaue the next morning. We took the first room we could find, fell down on the bed in exhaustion and slept for about three hours. (Oh, I need to mention that I first had to struggle to get some dog-poo off my shoe before I could fall onto the bed! Urghh!!)
Banaue (29 - 31 January 2008)
Banuae is a Unesco World Heritage site due to its endless rice terraces. The photos we have seen of the rice terraces were so impressive that we decided to do this little trip northwards to see for ourselves.
After we caught up on some sleep, we took a tricycle to the Banaue viewpoint to take some pictures of these terraces. Unfortunately, we visited Banaue at the worst time of year - everything is brown and dry. So we were a bit disappointed. Nevertheless, it is still something to appreciate and it is unbelievable how they could build something like this so many years ago.
On day two, we took a tricycle to Batad, a small village about 12km from Banaue known for its impressive concrete rice terraces. We did a six hour hike from the main road to Batad, through the village and back to the main road again (EVERYBODY insisted that we get a guide for the trek, but in the end we found our way back without any difficulty). The hike itself was quite challenging and very beautiful. The terraces were never-ending, but lacked the greenness that they are known for. We will have to return to Banaue one day during the rainy season to view it in its full glory.
That evening, we took a bus back to Manila. We booked a different bus this time, one which was supposed to have controlled air conditioning. Oh what rubbish - the temperature was below zero degrees again! Luckily, we took some more warm clothes this time and we got a better night’s sleep than the previous night.
We arrived in Manila at 5:00 am. Our plan was to get to Palawan Island, either by ferry or by plane, which ever was cheaper. We took a taxi to the ferry, where we had to wait until 7:30 in mosquito infested zone. It turned out that the ferry and the flights were more or less the same price, but the ferry took 28 hours and it was only a one hour flight… easy choice. So we flew to Palawan, exited to experience the Philippines renowned beaches.
Click on image below to view Manila and Banaue (I wish it was green) gallery: