Thread: Philippino Cordillera up hill 07

Well, not much to do with some chaps from Ajarn, this thread is more like my annual trip report to this village...

Nananduang is perched high up hill in the Philippino Cordillera some 450 km north of Manila...

The life there is much stayed on goods exchange and the higways are quite different as you will discover following the story if you wish so...

I took my daughter and there we go to meet Uncle Piling, who is actualy, busy away from the village, cooking his tobacco...



He decided to offer me a few chickens and the ride back to the village, so the goods were tigth to the cart...

In the first picture you can make out that they use teak wood and sagat wood to cook the tobacco, i do not really know if selling the wood only could be may be more profitable, will see this later on...

i decided so to take some of the woods for further investigation...

All set, there we leave on the buffalo way...

Yes, those high ways are quite busy, this being normal mode of transportation there...



After a 10 minutes ride, we hit the city center, where traffic is really getting intense...

Teackwood and sagat being everywhere, i decided to make a new bench for the kitchen...



The back legs first will be cut out...



and some other parts...



Few wood pieces condemned to be used as cooking energy, was saved on the way and is now part of that bench we will see later on again...

It is my hollydays so, enough work, let's go to the beach for a day now...

So we booked, Jojo's 12 seater jeepney for the 1 hour ride down hill to the beach, here we wait for Jojo to come, he was allowed to bring his wife and kids along... We where some 25 - 30 people waiting for the ride...

great stuff mate!

Finally jojo turns up, but the Jeepcedes, is filled with a 20 pax allready !

They are coming from some 15 kms away and they heard that i sponsored a beach day, and the family can join, well i was not knowing that i had so many uncles...



well, this being the Phils, a 12 seater turns out to be a 30 or so as well...



let's load and see... After few tougths i offered to pay for another trip, because 50 people or more was quite a bit to much, specially if you know that any normal car refuses to go up or down there, so crazy the road alone is...

The first trip looked like that...



The way down looks like this, and much worse also, as here the pavement is made...



Half way nearly covered, here it is also very down hill...

The first trip reached safely Nalbo beach...



Crystal clear waters, wonderfull white sand...

but they do not really care about the to many plastic bags on the beach front, out of that, great place, the water must be around 28 celcius...



The kids enjoy the beach front, the boats in the back ground are Barkas...

But where are the parents ??

Great thread!

No doubt the 'Americano' forreachingme was expected to shoulder all expenses including lunch for all and booze for the many 'uncles'.

excellent!!

Originally Posted by stroller

Great thread!

No doubt the 'Americano' forreachingme was expected to shoulder all expenses including lunch for all and booze for the many 'uncles'.

Well, once a year... This people mostly leave without the use of money !

Up in the vilage, one will grow a pig for another, and once grown the meat is shared 50 / 50,

2 goats are equal to one pig, and so on...

Bloody hell, so many pics to come and the thread just crashed, may be 6 pics to load again...

Anyway since it looks like some enjoy, let's go ahead ...

Yep, the parents hide in the beach huts...

This one rents for a day @ 300 Peso

The karaoke is 5 peso a song or 500 Peso a day....



pinoys love to karaoke ( my wallet knows it now ! )



This lady traveled from California to there, for this special day they had...

batch meeting thsy called it, meeting again 15 years after high school or so...

they were pretty drunk in that hut....

Finally it is 4 o clock, time to load the first trip on the jeepney...



Let's go, bye bye Nalbo beach...



The way we are loaded is quite standard for over there...

An excellent thread and some stunning photos.
Great job forreaching me!

Originally Posted by forreachingme

The way we are loaded is quite standard for over there...

Drunk or the capacity of the truck?

the way back was difficult, the first trip was kind of more lucky then the second, tose had to sleep in Santa Maria...The first trip, myself included had to walk the last 4 km up hill as rain started to fall...

the muddy road was slippery like ice, bare feet was the only way to go, the jeepney was parked after few slidings....

WEDDING SEASON, WTF every evening, they had a wedding, girls will seat around the dancing floor and people are called to dance for a fee...

A dance is 50 to 2000 peso, this to sponsor the couple... People from few villages around are called in, and turn by turn, this village is invited to choose a girl for the dance ( and pay the fee ! 0)...



Here the mayor came in the Barangay ( village ) ...

In this wedding they were placed in front of a decorative anel and it was written "wedlock" in the other barangay at the other wedding it was written "wed luck"

Anyway 3 weddings i had to intend and i escaped 3 others, pffuuu, let's go on some more interesting stuff again...

Originally Posted by Aquaman

Originally Posted by forreachingme

The way we are loaded is quite standard for over there...

Drunk or the capacity of the truck?

Both options can be ticked...

Nice!

Now a view of our hill house...

In front the old toilets, then the big kitchen and the 2 storey building for sleeping area...

it is not yet finished, neither walls are rendered, but slowly we will arrange all of this...

To build up there, the cost is double then to build down near the sea side, a brick up there is 9 peso and down it is only 4 peso... so it goes for cement and all what has to be carried up...



Just down in front of the house, we have some rice fields...



This people actually rent the place and pay 1 sack of rice for every 3 they get...

I think it is similar in many parts in Thailand...

We decided to go and see the Nara (Teackwood ) and the Sagat hills Lolo Riggy owns, so there we go, here towards Ring Ring Hut...



I still do not know what is SAGAT tree or wood, but it is a beautifull tropical hardwood, while studying a tree and leaves, i returned to the group and found them in some shade...

This are 2 SAGAT trees, this is in Illocano language, nothern filippino...

Next i'll post a leave of it...



The wood looks very similar fribrous as teack is beautifull and just great to carve....

Uncle joseph, then climbs the coco tree as we start to be thirsty...



Ring Ring Hut in the background and the coco tree with Joseph...

This people climb any tree with such ease, stunning, be it a 5 years old or the 55 years old grand mother, just up they go...




Balluog, the nephew enjoys the coco...

For a spoon they just cut a thin layer of the shell and there he had a nice spoon to eat the coco's inside...