Amazing Rice Terraces in Batad

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He didn't!!! 😊So we are waiting on the coach station - guess we can call it that 😊 We've pre booked our tickets to Banaue rice terraces two days ago at the hotel, and have been advised to go there to pay for them before 7pm otherwise the tickets will be sold to somebody else. We arrived at the station just in time, so we thought, paid for the tickets and then the 3 hour wait started... We think that the tickets would be waiting for us even if we came a few hours later. The station was almost empty, only few Filipinos waiting plus loads of huge boxes to be sent with the coach. We have waited patiently until the place was filled with backpackers and a few natives. When we decided to move towards the bus we discovered that there was no place for our rucksacks in the baggage hold and we will have to take them with us on the coach - this was first surprise 😊We just managed to get ourselves comfy (much said - it's actually not possible) just to find out that the ticket lady has sold more tickets then seats and that there will be some people sitting in the middle of the bus! It quickly dawned on us that this was not unusual as the driver had few plastic stools and chairs ready for the lucky few😉This was a not a pleasant ride, it was cold as the air con works non stop on these buses, we've actually opened the window for a bit to get some warm air in, very little leg space and it's 9 hours! Little did we knew, it can be worse!After 10,5 hour overnight bus ride ( meant to be 9h) we ware finally here, the views dropped us on the knees straight away and all unpleasantness was gone in the matter of seconds. We went to a little cafe for a breakfast and a cup of coffee, I think this was one of the best breakfasts we have ever had.In the cafe we met Virgene and David and agreed to share a jeepe to Batad. The ride was jumpy but fun. The jeep took us only to the saddle and from here we had to get down to the valley, and a hard walk that was! First shortcut - only 412 steps down, followed by steep walk down to Batad village, all with our (16 kg each) rucksacks on our backs. We didn't think we can sweat this much, we were wrong, we can... Even more 😊The moment we sat down in our B&B and shared cold bear was a truly epic experience, pain in our legs started to ease and we could start to enjoy this legendary view. Batad rice terraces are commonly known as the eight wonder of the world and are listed as UNESCO world heritage site, and we were here!For the next two days we squeezed every little bit of our legs muscles up to the limits, from now on even a little step down, up, right or left was an effort. No pain killers or muscle cream worked. We trekked a lot, on the first day we went for a 3 hour hike to the waterfall and Batad village. Simon had his first encounter with a muddy rice field 😊 The next day 6 hour hike to Combolo village and a hanging bridge, mix of picturesque scenery and sweat was all we needed to smile (through the pain).The hike in the rice terraces isn't the easiest so if you will venture here (and we are truly recommending you do) make sure you have a proper hiking boots and strong will, no point to give up half way - it's worth it! Hiking through the terraces is an experience in itself, the paths can be very slippery and only in the few places there are actually cemented paths, most of the track is laid with rocks and stones, some of them unsteady and very narrow so not only strength is needed but some skills in balancing can come in handy, otherwise you will end up like my lovely husband who dipped his leg in the muddy field, I laughed so hard I almost followed his steps 😊. Walking through the rice fields is great but it also can be challenging, narrow paths between muddy field and another muddy field just 10-50 meters below can make your heart bit faster. Some paths goes through the little streams and you won't be short of climbing on a vertical walls of steps. Many people decide to track the terraces on their own, we opted for a guide and this was definitely the right decision. Wendy, our guide was a lovely man who spent all of his life in Batad and knew absolutely everything about this place, walking with him was a great fun. Hiring a guide in Batad will cost you anything between 500 - 2000 pesos depends on the trips and amount of days, in Banaue this prices are higher, we heard but we don't know that for sure.Conditions in the B&B-s are very basic, for about 200-400 pesos per person per night you can expect a bed and a hot shower - what else do you need? Some places are charging extra for hot shower. There is no electricity in the rooms but just for 25 pesos you can charge your phone, a little bit extra for a laptop and camera.On our last day my legs were in pieces and I decided to get a porter to take my rucksack up to the saddle, smart decision as far as I'm concerned, Simon didn't give up and took his bag up. After another jumpy ride, this time we had a van, we were back in Banaue. It was the day of the big fight Paqio - Marqueze so we made ourselves comfortable in the cafe and watched the fight with the locals, our french friends joined us as well. After unfortunate fight we ware invited to see very different fight but very traditional in this area. All four of us went to see cock fight, at the beginning is was very confusing with the cock matching and bits we could only sit and watch. This was a quite violent picture but worth to see, unfortunately we lost our bet �inally the evening was upon us and it was time to head back to Manila. Another 9 hour unbelievably uncomfortable bus journey, like I said before it can be worse... People avoid seats 5,6,7,8 (don't know the numbers at the end of the bus) these are on the wheels and you will have no leg space at all - for us it was too late we had those seats.Putting the bus travel aside for us this place was absolutely magical, breath taking views, which we could not stop commented on, definitely must see!

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