Next stop on our trip was Banaue - rice terrace country, via a small town called Bontoc. We got a jeepney (think brightly coloured miniature American school bus) part of the way which once again, was quite a hairy experience. There was leftover rubble along the roads from recent landslides and road signs warned of 'crash prone areas'.

Banaue has incredible views of the rice terraces and which have been there for over 2000 years. We were told that if you lined up all the terraces in the Ifaguo region in a row, they would stretch half way round the world. Gives an indication of the scale.

We stayed in another homestay, which was great and the owner, Bea really looked after us. On our first day we did a three hour trek along the rice terraces which had incredible views and made for some great photos. The rice terraces look really small, but once you get up there you realise how deep they actually are. All the terraces are owned by families in Banaue and the rice that is grown is purely for their consumption and is not sold. The younger generation doesn't really want anything to do with farming here so our guide told us that more of the terraces are left empty now.

Our guide took us along the very narrow edges of the terraces and despite trying carefully to follow his balancing act, we both fell into the muddy terraces several times.

The next day we set off for Batad, a village that can only be accessed by foot. We got a tricycle - essentially a motorbike with a side car, up to the Batad junction and then started our trek through a few little villages (where more strange animals were being cooked) and finally arrived in Batad six hours later in torrential rain. This is the most remote place we've been in south east Asia - there was little or no electricity in the small town and no roads, so we had to climb across muddy ledges to reach our very basic accommodation.

The next day we were glad to wake up to sunshine and the panoramic views from our accommodation into Batad, which is shaped like an amphitheatre, were unbelievable. The photos really don't do the place justice and it's hard to appreciate the extent of the rice terraces.

We trekked down to a 30 metre waterfall which was a welcome relief from the heat before heading back on our long trek back to Batad junction to meet the tricycle. Trekking for three days in a row up and down the rice terraces (on top of the trekking we'd done in Sagada) was exhausting and so we spent our final day in Banaue eating and drinking. The people in the Cordilleras all chew beetlenuts with tobacco and ground snail shells wrapped in a leaf, known as momma. It sounds weird and it is. All over the streets are patches of bright red where the locals have spat out the mixture. Bea let us try some and we thought it was repulsive, much to her delight. She kindly gave a spitting cup and we politely kept chewing and spitting for 20 minutes until we couldn't take it anymore.

We visited the town's museum which has lots of artefacts and photos of the tribes - including pictures of dead tribesmen with spears sticking through their bodies. After Vietnam and Cambodia, this didn't even make us flinch.

From Banaue we got a night bus back to Manila and spent eight hours in the airport waiting for our flight out to Boracay. Almost 24 hours after leaving Banaue, we arrived and were so happy to be back on the beach as we hadn't spent more than a day on the beach since the end of October (I know, tough...).

When we started researching the Philippines, Boracay stood out as the place to go and is supposedly one of the best beaches in the world. The island is very densely developed and there are loads of people here but regardless, the beach is incredibly stunning.

Given how amazing Boracay is combined with the fact we've been here for seven days, we should have written a separate blog. But quite honestly, we have done absolutely nothing but lie on sun loungers, sipping cocktails and attempting to get a tan again. It has also given us time to reflect what an amazing 14 weeks it's been and how much we have done.

Another great thing to do here is people watch. Unlike the Russian photoshoots we have been forced to watch for three months (there are Russians everywhere!!), the Filipino shoots are less naked and ALWAYS involve some sort of jumping. This is hilarious and just before sunset hoards of people turn up on the beach to partake in their daily ritual.

We only have one day left in Boracay before heading to Hong Kong- our final destination!