Banaue-Pula-Cambulo-Batad, Philippines

V Banaue sva prišla zaradi čudovitih riževih teras in zato, da se podava na dvodnevni treking po okoliščkih vaseh. Odločila sva se za cca. 60km treking do vasi Pula (2 uri hoda po džungli do ceste), nato sva imela namen prenočiti v vasici Cambulo (kjer se je čas ustavil že nekaj let nazaj) in nato naslednji dan nadaljevati proti Batadu - amfiteatru, sestavljenem iz riževih teras, ki je pod Unescovo zaščito, Filipinci pa ga imenjujejo kar 8. čudo sveta. Plane je vodiču Elmeru in nama prekrižal tajfun, zato smo treking morali podaljšati za en dan (k sreči smo lahko čakali v varnem zavetju zidane hiše). Tajfun je bil kar uničujoč, povzročil je precej plazov in poplav. Na Filipinih sva sploh prvič doživela tajfun in upam, da ga več ne bom, je kar strašljivo, ko veter in dež palmo upogneta za 45 stopinj :) Definitvno once in a lifetime izkušnja... Aja, pa dva dni od treh naju je spet pral dež (nekako se nama to dogaja na vseh trekingih) :)

We came to Banaue to see fantasctic green rice fields and to do a two-days trekking to villages nearby. We decided to do a 60 km trekking to village namen Pula (really remote plac, it takes about 2 hours walking to reach first proper road), than sleep in the village Cambulo (where time stopped a while ago) and then continue further to Batad - an amphiteather, consisting of rice terraces, which is also under Unesco protection and Philippino people have a special name for it - they call it 8. wonder of the world. Our original plan was a bit interuppted with typhoon, which hit the North Luzon. We had to extend our stay in Cambulo, but we were lucky, cos we stayed in a concrete house, which seemed pretty save. Typhoon was quite strong, it caused a lot of land slides and floods. It was the first time for us to experience a typhoon, and i really hope it won't happen to me again. It was quite scary to watch, how the wind and the rain are bending palm tree almost to the ground...It was quite an unique and "once in a lifetime"- like experience...

Banaue, North Luzon, Philippines

Pot do severa je bila precej nenavadna. Zaradi redkih busov, ki povezujejo Manilo s severom (na noč naj bi jih iz nekajmiljonske Manile šlo proti vasi Banaue le kakih 5) in ker si predhodno nisva uredila rezervacije sedežev (tipično), sva na koncu 9-urno nočno vožnjo preživela na plastičnih majhnih stolih, postavljenih po sredini avtobusa. Malo naju je premetavalo, a sva se vseeno uspela nekoliko naspati. Jutro in pogledi na riževe terase so poplačali neudobno vožnjo... Banaue so čudovita majhna vas, od koder lahko trekate po bližnjih in težje dostopnih vaseh ter umirate od lepote riževih polj :) Svež gorski zrak, zelene terase, domačini, ki živijo v nekem drugem času in običaji, ki jih drugod več ne poznajo - skratka, res vredno obiska.

Road to the nortern part of Luzon was quite an experience. There are only few buses linking Manila and the north (i guess around 5 per night). Because we didn't arrange our seat tickets in advance, we ended up sitting on a plastic little chairs in the middle of the bus - for 9 hours, through whole night. It's needless to say that this wasn't the most comfortable sleep ever, but it was like taking short naps throughout the night. When we reached Banaue in the morning, the journey was absolutly worth it. Banaue is small village, sorounded with rice fields. It is a great beginning point for trekkings around to little and undeveloped villages. Some views of rice fields are beautiful enough to die for :)The air is fresh, the nature is green, locals are living at their own pace and there they still have some interesting rituals, which are forgotten in other parts of Philippines. North is really special place, definitely worth visiting. 

Boracay, Philippines

Tu ne bom zgubljala besed - Boracay je preprosto čudovit in eden meni najlepših krajev na svetu. Plaža Boracay pomeni več kilometrov neokrnjenega belega peska, na njej pa je moč najti vse - od vil, noro razvitih turističnih kompleksov, do osamljenih kotičkov na spodnjem delu otoka - ki bodo vselej na poseben način ostali čisto najini...
I won't spoil the pictures with too much words :) Boracay is simply one of the most beautiful places on Earth. The beach itself is a long white stretch of sand and you can find there almost anything - from big shiny turistic places, to lonely little spots, where you can be completly alone - we simply loved the latter and called them our own ...