FINALLY! (aka For Darcy)

Absolutely nothing I can say or show you will do the rice terraces of Ifugao province in the Philippines justice. Believe me, I've tried writing this post many, many times. It's a small part of why I've neglected the blog for so long. That, and the arrival of spring here in Jiangyin, but also the frustration that ebbs and flows with knowing this blog get 2,000+ views a month, but rarely a comment or email. So you, my mystery readers, have my sister Darcy's threat of disownment over my lack of posts to thank for this one.

I sometimes forget that Brian can't always read my mind, and that simply saying things out loud instantly improves the situation. Perhaps I've fallen in the same trap with you. "If I don't write on the blog, people will start to miss me and actually get in touch rather than just reading my posts incognito," was my not so well thought out train of thought. Because I wasn't reaching out to you as individuals either. So two months later I'm still in the same boat. I'm so grateful for this adventure Brian and I are on, but sometimes the distance is really hard. More often than not, it feels a bit "out of sight, out of mind" and I know I can easily fix that. But my tendency is to just clam up instead of opening my mouth (or a new email). So here's to turning a new leaf. I'm going to try to send more personal emails instead of just relying on the blog to keep you up to date. And can you help me by letting me know what you do and don't like about the blog? Posts you particularly like and want more of? It takes HOURS to upload the photos here in China, so it'll be helpful to know I'm writing posts that are actually of interest! And to those of you who do comment and email--THANK YOU! It absolutely brightens my day!

But back to the Philippines.
What I can tell you is that the 4 hour flight to Manila, 9 hour bus trip to Banaue, and 45 minute ride crammed in the sidecar of a dirtbike over horrible roads to get to Uhaj, were absolutely, without a doubt, WORTH IT. Nothing we saw or did the rest of the month rivaled the terraces--sure things came close and we had a fantastic vacation, but for us, the terraces were just magical....as my inability to edit the pictures down to just one post may demonstrate!

My great aunt Ethel lives in Manila and she opened her doors to us, so we were able to use Manila as a staging point several times during our vacation. Our first stop in Manila was less than 24 hours and we made the most of it at the Greenhills Pearl Market. Ethel owned a pearl farm in the Philippines so she was a huge help in my first foray in to buying pearls! The market was crowded with stalls full of loose pearls everywhere--fresh and saltwater. For the price of 1 large saltwater pearl, I got several strands of freshwater pearls. Happy early birthday to me from Brian! Since Ethel's tutorial I've had more success bargaining at the Shanghai pearl markets as well!

Then it was off to the bus station, which was really more of a lean-to on a street corner for our 10pm departure to Banaue. Other than a pit stop at a public restroom that would give my mom hives, I slept most of the drive, and woke up just after sunrise in a sea of green. The road was incredibly narrow and twisted, so I was thankful I was only awake for the final stretch! We were deposited in Banaue around 7am and greeted by a swarm of tricycle and jeepney drivers. We met a nice young man Jodi and for $4.70 he crammed us in to his trike for the bouncy 1 hour ride to Uhaj and the Native Village Inn. Jodi also works as a guide for the terrace hikes, so we hired him and settled on a plan for the next three days.

Taking a break for photos along one of Banaue's better roads

Our hotel! Loved it!!!

communal bathrooms were spotless!

And what a view!

So after a quick nap and lunch we were off to 2,000 year old terraces of Hapao and the hot springs. No rest for the weary! Jodi came with his brother Peter Paul who ended up being our guide (who as luck would have it we liked even better!) and Jodi did the driving. That's right--4 people on a trike.

road to hapao

beautiful Hapao.

The walk through the Hapao terraces was breathtaking. From the sounds of the kids in school, the quaint Catholic Church in the center of the valley, and the many stunning shades of green in every direction, we were in heaven. PeterPaul was a fantastic guide--we learned so much from him. He is 22, grew up working in the terraces, and is finishing a degree in criminal justice in hopes to become a police officer.

PeterPaul

None of the terraces in this area are commercial--they grow simply what the family needs for the year. There is definite division of labor according to gender. The whole process is completed without any machinery. Men repair the walls and prepare the beds for planting. Women plant the seeds in clusters, which are pulled up, separated, and replanted 2 months later. Only men handle the final product, which will be harvested and dried in October. We met a woman PeterPaul used to work for and we even got to help her (hopefully she considered it help!).

Brian, defying gender roles

These red bushes are used to mark property boundaries and signal planting is complete

There is a very strong sense of community here. A nearby village's terraces were badly damaged by a landslide. The local governement gave everyone the day off to go help repair the terraces. If a family needs help planting or repairing, no one hesitates because they know the favor will be returned one day. We passed many piles of unplanted seedlings. If a family has more than they need, they simply pile them up for someone else to use.

After an easy hour we made it to the hot springs. Which were WAY too hot to be enjoyable. So we just swam in the icy river instead! We took a break and PeterPaul asked if we had any photos of home we could see. We didn't have many, but we did show him the photos of the vineyard harvest we helped with in November. He had never seen grapes before and we really struggled to describe their taste. Then we pulled out a pack of dried mangoes we bought in Manila--which he had also never had! He loved them (as do we! We brought tons back!) What does PeterPaul have though? A Facebook account. Unbelievable.

quaint Catholic church

Japanese Fish--farmers were rooting thru the beds by hand to catch these as they burrow and weaken the walls.

So incredibly peaceful

What a day it was. Thanks to it's remoteness, Hapao is not yet overrun by tourists. In fact, I think we saw less than 10 all day. It was serene, untouched, and absolutely authentic. We were in love.

One Year Ago:

 Holy Shi!