A SWEET FOR MY SWEET

the lollipop saves the day!!!

FALLING IN LOVE WITH THE FALLS

it was a 'globe' moment... but don't get me wrong, there was absolutely no phone signal as soon as you arrived in Banaue. Paging Globe...

TWO FOR TAPPIYA

tappiya tappiya i love you tappiya... just a few more meters before we reach the falls...

BREAKFAST A LA BATAD

Good Morning Batad! Breakfast by the rice terraces...

ARMED with a TUNGKOD

Me and Victor with our 'tungkod' on our way to Tappiya falls. This is the view of the Batad rice terraces from the opposite side of Simon's Inn. - 31 October 2004

NINE LIVES

This is all nine of us - the Fellowship of the Flashlight. We forgot that we were blocking the view. Sorry. - 1 November 2004

BANAUE BEYOND WORDS

The Banaue rice terraces - 8th wonder of the world. I was there! Need we say more? - 1 November 2004

TAPPIYA, OOH LA LA...

The hidden jewel of Batad - Tappiya Waterfalls. A good two-hour trek away from Simon's Inn, we trekked through the terraces, down the steep ravine, past 1700 steps (yes, we actually counted the number of steps and that does not include the inclines!), we reached the falls and had our lunch buffet there care of Chef Manny's yakisoba, beef tapa, pork and beans, at iba pa. Water was 12 degrees centigrade cold (it actually felt colder than that) but we were able to take a quick dip. Tappiya was simply refreshing. - 31 October 2004

COME TO MY WINDOW

The splendid view from our room at Simon's Inn. Wake up to the grand view of the ampitheater-like rice terraces of Batad. They looked like stairways of the gods. - 31 October 2004

ON THE TRAIL TO BATAD

The trail to Batad from Bangaan Village - just a few minutes before the heavy rainfall. A few moments after this shot, we were all soaking wet, 3 of our comrades lost the soles of their shoes (guess they were not made for the kind of hiking that we did), and we sought refuge in a waiting shed by the 'corner' of the mountain. When we got to the shed, we were surrounded by heavy rain and couldn't see anything but fog. At that time, we knew exactly how Gandalf and the fellowship of the ring felt. In the end its not the mountain that you conquer but yourself. - 30 October 2004

TREK FROM BANGAAN VILLAGE

That's Victor, me and Team Leader Gerry - Just a few minutes after we started the day-long trek to Batad from Bangaan Village, Banaue, Ifugao. Where's the rice terraces? - 30 October 2004