Baguio, Bontoc, Banaue, & Batad

So we had to unfortunately leave the beach... but there were some sights in North Luzon that we wanted to take in. This meant a little bit of bus travel over some interesting roads into the mountains, but it ended up being worth while in the end.

Below is Baguio, a town we needed to transit through to catch a bus up to Bontoc. This picture does little justice, but we were pretty impressed with the number of homes built in the hills, as seen below.


A few kids having a good time with an old tire which offered a photo opportunity during a bus break...
Our limo/bus...
Just an interesting sign... they must have been having a problem!
Had to spend the night in Bontoc, and this was the interesting bed we were stuck with. Please note that my head is rested on the wall, and my feet our on the wall on the other side. There wasn't anywhere near 6' of length on the bed. Not a problem for the Filipinos, however not too comfortable for myself. Needless to say I wasn't able to stretch out, and didn't get a ton of sleep that night!
A view up the hill, and of our hotel in Banaue. This was our ultimate destination and reason for coming up north. We were in search of the famed rice terraces that were a 'must see' in any visit to North Luzon...
A traditional home for the villagers whom live and work in the rice terraces... Basically small thatch hut on stilts, with a good sized roof!
A little journey we took ourselves on throughout the rice terraces of Banaue... without the recommended guide! Needless to say we got a bit lost, but the locals were very helpful when it came to steering us in the right direction whenever we needed their assistance.
Some pretty lush vegetation... I don't think there would be anything you couldn't grow here. it was pretty humid.
And now we're on our way to Batad... the king of all rice terraces that are over 2000 years old. But just along the way there are a few photo opportunities.
Please take note of the town within the rice terraces of Batad... it will give you a bit of scope/scale to how huge they really are (as seen in the picture behind Jillene and I). No wonder they're 2000 years old, to build all of his by hand you would think it would take 2000 years!
The Batad rice terraces, pretty impressive stuff...
Walking along the terraces... just a 18" pathway at most, and a 8-12ft drop off just to your side... You wouldn't hurt yourself though, just get a little wet/muddy in the rice paddies!

Another view, from a different angle. No matter how you take the picture, I don't think you could do it any justice.
Some kids playing in the mud, happy as could be...
We walked down into the Batad ride terraces, around the hill, and were treated to a nice little waterfall. Mouck and I went for a swim in the pool, and climbed on the rocks behind the falls... it was pretty crazy!
Mouck not missing any opportunity to get into a photo... :)