Art By Tali Landsman

Hiking From Cambulo To The Batad Rice Terraces, Ifugao Region, Phillipines We woke up to the sounds of roosters, children and the snorting of pigs under our window. We had a breakfast of banana pancakes, Mallauach and a pita-pizza served with tomato and onion on it.  I was treated with much respect, as the rumors of my overly generous tip (according to Jules) to the massage lady the night before had already circulated around the employees of the guesthouse. We said goodbye to the Cambulo guesthouse, and strapped on our backpacks. I was excited to hike between the rice terraces, and was happy that we had brought the proper shoes for this. I felt confident until the serious part of our hike started... Walking along the edges of the rice terraces on a footpath that in some places was only a foot wide, and balancing on slippery natural stones, proved much more difficult than I first thought it would be. It was even more difficult if you add in the element of the vertigo inducing drop o...

     Trip Notes: From Negros Oriental, we flew back to Manila. We had booked a private car to take us to see the Unesco world heritage rice terraces of Banaue and Batad, located north on the island of Luzon, which is the largest and most northern island in the Philippines. It takes about 8-10 hours drive from Manila depending on the traffic to get to the region of the rice terraces. It is a very mountainous region with many tall peaks that the local tribes started cultivating two thousand years BC. It took 2000 years to complete, with families adding more and more rice terraces down the steep mountain slopes, as the need for food increased. Because of the very long drive, it was suggested to us that we should leave Manila at 4AM in the morning to avoid the horrendous morning traffic in the city. We left our larger backpacks with the hotel and packed only small overnight packs for hiking through the rice terraces. The drive north was very pleasant. We had a minivan all to ...

Casaroro And Pulangbato Waterfalls And Hot Springs, Valencia, Negros Oriental Island, Philippines  In the hotel garden outside our apartment, stands a large mango tree that is hundreds of years old. Its fruit are small and round, and if we are lucky enough to find some fallen mangoes before the ants get to them, or the groundskeeper rakes the area, we are treated to a culinary delight. I estimate that we have eaten five mangoes per day since we arrived on Negros Oriental Island. We eat fruit for breakfast, accompanied by one of the resort's breakfast specialities, a large plate of fruit for lunch, and after our lovely dinners by the seashore, we skip the sugary desserts and I make us another fruit plate for dessert in our apartment. I love the slow pace of island life... Picking up fallen mangoes, swimming with turtles or diving with tropical fish, eating by the seashore, and the natural friendliness of the islanders here who really are curious about how other people live around th...