You know rhat feeling when you have just typed for 45 minutes only to find that it wasn't saved and you lost all your text? Ueah that just happened to my most recent blog.. So if you dont mind, here a short version of my yesterday... Early wake up, coz heading out of Segada. The mode of transport, route and costs as follows: 6:30 jeepney Segada-Bontoc p45, 9:30 minivan Bontoc-Banaue p150 and the 7pm nightbus from Banaue to Manila p450. Total p645 or € 11,80 for 12 hours and 440 km of travelling. A breathtaking trip through the mountains, while the driver mentions that this area might have communist rebels of the New People's Army hiding. We notice the presence of military and they are having an exersice on top of a mountain. For the rest of the ride I have my passport, my iPhone and $100 in a seperate pocket, just im case I need ro run down a hill or so.

Upon arrival in Banaue I decide to not stay here overnight but to do a daytoir wirh a guide and take the nightbis to Manila. A guide was quickly found and my backpack stored in a lodge for the day. The town just doesn't look that inviting, its a bit rainy, its dirty and people spir their mixture of beetlenut, leaves and grinded snails everywhere on the ground ( red in colour). Destination are the Hapao rice teraces amd the Bogyah hot springs.
The guide drives it tricycle over a route of 18 km up and down the mountains for great views and photo ops. It rains a bit, we are driving through the clouds, but we are both sitting dry. The colour of the rice fields is an incredible light green, harvest is in two months time. He tells me a lot about this and other crops and anout their culture, which exsists for thousands of years.
When we reach the point where we start oir hike, he tells me all aboit the plants and the trees and the medical uses of them. We see avocado trees, rotan, tiger grass, huge butterflies ( big as birds) and a big red plant called Dangla which is used as a sign for tje norder netween tje rice fields of two families and as a tea plant.
when we reach the hot springs, I wade around a bit in this nicely warm water. Bubbles come up from the earth to heat up the water. A constant stream of cold mountain water is added, otherwose the water reaches temperatures in which you could easily boil an egg.
Also here snails in the rice fields and he gives me a ricepe for smail soup, with coconut milk, garlic and ginger. Might give that a shot at home! Also I see traps for rats and mice, coz they also form a threat to the rice.
Walking back we are joined by two Isrealiss who are a bit loud in these serene surroundings, but we 'lose' them soon enough. On the way back we are supposes to stop at one more viewpoint to oversee the center of this eight wonder of the world and Unesco protected landscape. But unfortunately it is too cloudy for that... By the way, if you would lay all the walls of the teraces end to end, it would go half around the globe, some 20.000 km. and that is just the 400 square km of this province..
When we return to the village, there is a general power failure and candles only. No way of charging phones and laptops, panic amongst the backpacking community hahaha. I eat dinner and catch my 7 pm bus to Manila. Out of the 9 travel hours, I sleep 8..
Just remembered a question that many a waitress asks me: "would you like your beer/coke/water warm or cold?"