The eighth wonder of the world (part 1)

From the hub of Bangkok you can make many cross-border trips with the various low-cost airlines for a very reasonable price. The eighth wonder of the world, as the rice terraces of Banaue in the Philippines are called by many, has been on my list for some time.

Even the beautiful rice fields of Bali, if I have to believe it all, cannot be in the shadow of the legendary, no less than twenty centuries old rice fields carved into the mountains. Reason to see it with your own eyes.

Preparation

Beforehand I tried to find out a few things via the internet and especially how to get there. You can get there by bus from Manila, but the 10-hour, mostly night-time ride, doesn't really appeal to me. Another option is to take the 5 to 6 hour bus ride to Baguio and make a stop there. The place is highly rated by the Filipino population because of the cooler climate and there is a wide range of hotels.

Unfortunately, there is a lot of uncertainty about the departure times and duration of the various bus companies, so you cannot become much wiser. So some improvisation will come in handy. Comfort me with the thought that this also has a certain charm. Make a strong decision and book a flight from Bangkok to Manila with Cebu Pacific Air. Depart Bangkok for the 3 ½ hour flight at 9.40:14.00 AM arriving Manila at 1:XNUMX PM. (time difference with Thailand + XNUMX hour)

At exactly 14.00 pm we land at Terminal 3, one of Manila's airports. Find a taxi to get to Monumento, the bus terminal of Victory liner, the largest bus company in the Philippines. Here too you have to be attentive and not just accept the first offer. A neatly dressed lady comes up with a price of 1900 pesos. (1 euro = 52.5 pesos). Ignoring the offer, I make use of a better offer for 1400 pesos a few steps further.

Compared to Thailand, the taxi rates here are considerably higher. After payment, receive a receipt and the first eligible taxi will arrive. Not a normal taxi but a van takes me to the relevant bus station on my own. Although I'm used to something in Bangkok, I look forward to the traffic chaos. Everything twists left, right, front and back past each other. After having 'enjoyed' the chaotic traffic and many other remarkable things that passed my eye in the metropolis of Manila for over an hour, I am at the bus terminal just after four.

The bus to Baguio departs at 18.40:XNUMX PM for the approximately six-hour drive. Not exactly a nice prospect to arrive at midnight in a place that is completely unknown to me and then also have to look for a hotel.

To Angeles City

The bus to Baguio runs via Angeles City, where I've been once before and the elongated nightlife street is a bit similar to Walking Street in Pattaya. Decide to opt for the hour and a half bus ride to Angeles. Upon arrival (Dau bus terminal) an entire army of trikes is immediately available. A trike consists of a motorcycle with a two-person covered cart attached to it. In this case you have to look at the concept of two people through Asian glasses. Squeeze me, including my suitcase, into the cart and let me take you to the Clarkton hotel, which I know from an earlier visit, for the sum of 140 pesos. It is low season, so rooms are more than enough available. I've been on the road for a long day and use a well-cared for buffet dinner where I think I've earned a good glass of wine.

To Baguio

This morning the journey starts to Baguio. You literally trip over the trikes in the Philippines, so after checking out of the hotel, a funny means of transport is immediately at the door to take me to the Dau bus station. What time a bus leaves remains a mystery about which no one can say anything. A few men with a card pinned to their chest, which is supposed to show that they are experts, can't tell you more than that I'm in the right place for the bus to Baguio.

Victory liner

After an hour of waiting one of the men tells me with a smiling face that the Victory liner bus is coming. He helps to load the suitcase and tells me that I can buy a ticket on the bus. How long the ride takes is also unimportant and we will see that at the end of the ride. The bus is occupied almost to the last seat and I am lucky that there is still an empty seat in the back seat.

Judging by the skin color, I'm the only non-Asian. The route is varied and initially we pass a large number of villages that are linked together like a long ribbon. Later the landscape changes from sloping to more mountainous. This is also noticeable because the bus regularly has to climb quite a bit. We approach Baguio and the bus regularly stops to let passengers off. After exactly five hours of driving we arrive at the bus terminal of the city and also the terminus of the bus.

To the hotel

Here too it is no problem at all to get a means of transport to go to a hotel. Have formed an opinion on the internet before where to go. My choice fell on the City Center Hotel because of, as the name says, its central location. Someone wants to take me there for a hundred pesos (2 euros) and I don't have to think long about that price.

He is a nice guy who speaks reasonable English and comes across as reliable. He asks what I'm going to do tomorrow. He can show me the area as a guide. Accept the offer and we agree to pick me up at the hotel tomorrow morning at 10 am. In the hotel I receive a financial windfall. Due to the low season, the hotel has a promotion: two nights for the price of one and that is a bonus.

It is busy in the city, which has four hundred thousand inhabitants. Close to the hotel I spot a brown, good-looking eatery called Rumours. Not an extensive menu, but a very cozy atmosphere. I go to bed fairly early, because Norman Buenaventura will be at the door at ten o'clock tomorrow.

To be continued.