#  >  > Travellers Tales in Thailand and Asia >  >  > Philippine Forum >  >  The Final Frontier

## WujouMao

I've been in the Phils since Dec of last year. But spent most of that since trying to find Filipino owned bikini bars. Not hard
 to find, even in 90% Muslim dominated Iligan  city. 

Anyhow, after Burma i really thought i should pay a visit to Batanes. The final frontier if you would. I've always wanted to 
come here, but the 90 min flight costing 7,700 pesos 1 way kept putting me off, not to mention the lousy weather 
anytime after june. Anyway.....

Only one airline flies there, and its 32 seater old skool plane




The flight attendants uniform


Arrived at 1pm and rented a mountain bike and headed around the island






Just as i turn a corner, another stunning bay with wicked scenery




Looking back at Basco town








The batanes is known for 2 things. Old stone houses and countryside like the Scottish highlands. 

Oldest stone house on the entire island. at least 200 years old

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## WujouMao

Just like photographing the old temples in Bagan, Burma, i seem to have gone overboard again. Sorry!








Think this place is a picnic area with rent-a-cabins


Songsong village, or ghost town. The village was swept away in the 50's by a Tsunami




















Some strange fruit. resembles a red pineapple. Anyone got an idea as to what it is or tastes like?


Its a tough uphill climb for 6km through Marlborough country. Wild cows etc here.


My jaw dropped when i saw this


2nd day i went looking for Pacita Abad's house. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pacita_Abad

This is her house over looking the bay, perched on top of a hill




Took a cross county ride literally through the farmland 






Duira fishing village










Diura Fountain of Youth. [ swimming baths near the sea to you and me]


Also located on the trackway is the ancient settlement. At least over a 1000 years old 


Old Spanish bridge

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## Neo

Really remote and barren, but beautiful. Kind of reminds me of Scotland.

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## Greyman

Great photos mate.
Looks like it was well worth the trip.
Many thanks for posting them.

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## WujouMao

> Great photos mate.
> Looks like it was well worth the trip.
> Many thanks for posting them.


Not finished with the photos yet. Its 2.30am and i need some kip

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## jizzybloke

Great stuff wuji, looking forward to the rest of the pictures!

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## Ascotkiwi

Interesting photos. Looks like a great place to visit.

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## thehighlander959

Very interesting, some of these older houses look like old croft houses. Looks a bit like heading down to Campbelltown and seeing Islay and Jura in the distance.

Superb photos, I also want to see more. 
Thanks for that.....

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## Attilla the Hen

That "fruit" you asked about.
The plant is known as a Screw Pine. It is not a Pine, but a member of the Pandanus family. If you look at the stem, you'll see that the scar that's been left by previous leaves is in the shape of a helix, or, screw. Very common over all of south-east Asia.
The fruit is hard and inedible.

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## Thormaturge

Thanks for posting these pictures.

Looks as though the place has character.  Love the Skool plane.

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## geoff

Fantastic pictures WujouMao.  What a lovely place.  And it looks reasonably clean.  Garbage wise I mean.  I know there's not much of a population, but it looks quite well kept.  More pictures please.

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## Strongarm

Fantastic photo's.

I never knew this place existed.

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## bobo746

Good stuff mate,been to laoag  never been across too there, where did you stay ?

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## Cujo

Wow, what a fascinating place. Beautiful pictures.

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## WujouMao

> Good stuff mate,been to laoag  never been across too there, where did you stay ?


I've been to Laoag, but The Batanes isn't near the mainland. It's closer to Taiwan. In fact, Orchid Island near Taiwan shares linguistically the same language as the Ivtan's on the 3 main islands of Batanes.




> Fantastic pictures WujouMao.  What a lovely place.   And it looks reasonably clean.  Garbage wise I mean.  I know there's  not much of a population, but it looks quite well kept.  More pictures  please.


There are numerous recycling bins in every village. Sorting bins for plastic, green waste and metal. Bad news, it's all collected by the same truck and taken to the recycling depot on the side of a Mt. near Basco.

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## aging one

Nice mate, keep them coming.

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## WujouMao

Some more "English" countryside.








Old paved road. Now if only the government didnt cover the cobble roads in the towns with concrete, the towns would 
resemble the feeling of being back in time


Road rules


My breakfast. Turmeric rice and venis i think.


Coconut crap. Its banned from being sold in Manila and elsewhere.






Basco port




Day after typhoon


When the wind and rain stopped, i headed out to Sabtang island. I hour away by boat. Met this guy with some "samurai" 
fishing nets







Where's his body?


Sabtang main town. 








Savidug town




Notice how thick the walls are. Super typhoon tough

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## WujouMao

Just south of Savidug down is the man made Ijang, or fortress. The people of long ago threw boulders and stones to the invaders below




On top is a few more of the stones with the holes in. Technically the house was build with 4 stones on each of the corners. Thick vines and feed through the holes and over the roof of the house to keep the roof on during the seasons of typhoons. I just call them "tent pegs"


Last village on this side of the island


The local government wants this town to have UNESCO status. I feel they shouldnt of covered the cobble stone road with concrete.












National road through the hills




Nice wall


Walking home alone. In the 4 hours i've been walking around the island, i've seen 1 motorbike and 1 bicycle.

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## WujouMao

Some more pics of Sabtang town the next morning before taking the boat back to Basco





Re-roofing the thatch








Is that a marrow growing?


Yep, even out here, basketball rules




That pile of straw you see is a female head piece which protects the wearer from the hot sun and the rain. Its one reason for me coming to the Island. Although i was 6 days early. They don't wear them on a Sunday

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## Marmite the Dog

Superbio!

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## mobs00

Great thread, Thanks! Makes me want to travel again. If only I can find a way to make money for travel without having to do any of the work.....

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## Ascotkiwi

Fascinating! I'm motivated to visit! Thank you.

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## Bangyai

Outstanding thread and great photos. I never though any part of the P.I. could look like this. Just wish I could go there .

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## WujouMao

> Fascinating! I'm motivated to visit! Thank you.


I'll give you some Ivatan words. 

Good morning = [are you ready?, deep breath]. Kapian ka pa nu dios chamavukas aya.

In case you're wondering, Dios is Spanish for God

The locals, especially the older gen would lift their hat's slightly and say "Good Morning" in English. They have no trouble understand British English and even say American English uses to much slang and talk fast!

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## astasinim

Superb trip report. Thanks

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## WujouMao

Gave up trying to get a return plane ticket to Itbayat, the last inhabited island of the Batanes. Boat took 3+ hours depending 
on sea conditions.



The sea was far from calm. I'll have to upload my vids to utube.




Anyway, arrived in town, found lodgings then took my rented mountain bike out for a spin




This island is bigger than the main island of Batan, but its seriously dead. only 2 towns in a 15km stretch.




As my LP stated, all three islands are significantly different from each other.  




Next morning i gave up on the idea of cycling on sharp coral and hired a guide to take me to see the ancient boat 
shaped graves which scatter the island.

this is an ancient graveyard




As i found out from my walk, Itbayat is just one lump of coral rising from the sea.








Torongan Cave, The most ancient dwelling place and on top is a burial ground, and  believed to be the first landing place of the 
austronecians from Taiwan, 2000 BC.






End of the cave


Outside is a path that goes through another ancient graveyard










Another boat shaped grave on the left of the pic










Itbayat Church. Look at the cylinder shaped tower which narrows at the end near the base.






My breakfast was snails. Meal cost me 200 pesos, but with that i had all the rice i could eat, rainwater was free to drink, 
and some fish soup too.










Provided its low tide, you can swim in the natural swimming pools. 


If you're wondering how they got the luggage up the seriously steep slope, here's the answer. There is a truck driving 
forward with a rope attached halfway up the slope

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## Neo

Proper out there..  :smilie_clap:

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## WujouMao

Back to Batan Island




Some nice thoughtful engineering there.


Just when i thought i seen them all, i found that there were more boat shaped graves on Batan Island, near Basco town centre. 


As with the others on Itbayat, they all face the Ocean. One side note worth thinking, the only other people that used to bury 
their dead in boat shaped graves, were the Vikings




Butt ugly bug on one of the stones


Just some other photos which i forgot to upload. These are near Songsong Ghost village. That's Sabtang Island in the background








Well maintained frontage


Some sort of old Spanish well i think.


Its a fruit i hear. What though, i aint got a clue


Plane going over Calayan Island, Near North Luzon coast.


Some sort of farm near Manila bay


And with that, my 2 week stay in the Batanes was over.

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## patsycat

Wonderful!!  And does look a lot like Scotland - but a bit warmer and without the midges, I'm sure!!

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## WujouMao

> Good stuff mate,been to laoag  never been across too there, where did you stay ?


Ivatan Lodge in Basco. But there are a few other places to stay since my LP has been published. Ivatan lodge was 300 a night for a single. Taps wont work, nor does the toilet flush and the shower tap not turn. So using a large bucket to conserve water instead has little effect on me.

Went in one ear and out the other when i tried to explain that using the shower is the ideal way to conserve water

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## pescator

Great travelogue. Thanks.

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## ribblerat

The Phills is without a doubt on my list on my next trip , but after seeing your wonderful photos , i know exactly where in the Phills i really want to go now , thanks for the fantastic inspiration ..

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## Thetyim

I was fascinated by the sun hat.
I got this off the net.

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## jizzybloke

^Tina Turner aint it!?

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## Mad Hatter

WOW!

and WOW! again

Great post WujouMao

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## Butterfly

wonderful old stone houses,

it does feel like Europe,

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## Rural Surin

> That "fruit" you asked about.
> The plant is known as a Screw Pine. It is not a Pine, but a member of the Pandanus family. If you look at the stem, you'll see that the scar that's been left by previous leaves is in the shape of a helix, or, screw. Very common over all of south-east Asia.
> The fruit is hard and inedible.


There are a few Pandanus varieties grown throughout the pan-Asia/Pacific regions. Some are quite edible [the yellow pulpy type] and predominately used in a fermented "white lightening" that's quite potent.

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## Cujo

Amaziang fantastic place.
Quite surprised to see the tower and cellphone.
Place seems to have quite a surreal quality to it.


Where does there electricity come from?

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## Thetyim

^
A wind powered generator was installed a few years back

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## oldgit

Great post WujouMao, thank you, did you get any shots of inside of a couple of houses, would like to see how they live.

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## natalie8

Great thread and pics!!! Thanks

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## WujouMao

> Great post WujouMao, thank you, did you get any shots of inside of a couple of houses, would like to see how they live.


I think that's called talking the piss. If i did the cultural tour for 4000 pesos, maybe its included on the tour to have a gander round a home. Anyhow i asked for directions in Ivana town's old tourist office cum council hall. Inside its just an open space. No side partition walls. No top floor. So you can see the roof beams as you walk in. The kitchen and loo's are outside in another brick building.

Think of it as a coal shed and outside loo in a 1930's terraced house in England.

I'll have to go back next time, maybe spend a month there. Still lots to see. places to stay.

As for a mobile signal. Depends where you are. Signal only works Sabtang main town. Not any village outside it. Electricity shuts off at 12pm to 6am too.

On Batan Island,  there's the odd power cut. If you are having a shower and are down to the last of the water with soap studs on you and there's a power cut, the water pipes wont work.

Best time to visit is between March - May. Any time before that or after that, typhoons are more likely.

Can stay on Sabtang tourist office or the Fishery's dorm for 100 pesos. Same goes for on Itbayat Island. 

There's also a 100 pesos tourist fee you have to pay at both tourist offices. 

No SM, or any malls for that matter. No jollibee, just lots of hardware stores and canteens for food. Hiro's is a good place to eat, up Abad st.

Can rent out ok bicycles and mt. bikes at Amboy store or decent mt. bikes with gears that work, go to Dive Batanes about 2 clicks from town. 250p a day or 50p an hour.

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## Bangyai

My old Filipino girlfriend who worked as a nurse in the U.K. comes from this Island. Unfortunately she stayed away so long she forgot a lot of the dialect and cried when she had to communicate with her mother in Tagalog.

How's the climate up there compared to the rest of the P.I. It looks a lot cooler.

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## WujouMao

> How's the climate up there compared to the rest of the P.I. It looks a lot cooler.


Ive never been to the Babuyan islands Bangyai. As for Batanes it was hot, apart from those few days with lousy grey clouds due to the typhoon. I rented a mt. bike and it took me 3 hours to cycle the 40km around the island. Only stopping in the next village 6km away my t-shirt was soaking wet,

spose its quite easy to feel a little warm with the sea breeze all around you.

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## WujouMao

> I was fascinated by the sun hat.
> I got this off the net.


Bad news for me, 2 things my LP failed to mention. 1, only wear them on Saturday when they venture into the feilds. and 2, only during planting season. That's march-May.

I was more attracted to those lovely words LP used to describe Sabtang Island. Goes something like this.

 "Sabtang is an island where Ivatan culture remains largely intact. You can still see old Ivatan women walking around with the Vakul on their heads" 

With this i had to visit Sabtang. I was sorely disappointed in it, not to mention that LP fucked up saying i can rent bicycles for 200 pesos. What a load of bollocks. 

And with no transport on the island, i had to made do with walking. Grrr. Next time. always next time.

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## patsycat

Will you marry me and take me to lovely unknown places?  I shall be polite. Shit, i would wear one of those funny hats just to be there...

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## nikster

Wow that pace looks stunning. If I ever get to the phillippines I'll dig up this thread and visit the island. 

Looks fairly deserted though?!

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## maxziz

good post,,,,,love to see this world,,might get there myself one o these days

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## buycondojomtien

Nice report, thank you, but it doesn't look like Asia to me.

Where are the nice beaches ?

Don't feel like to go to Phils if it is to swim on rocks.

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## WujouMao

> Nice report, thank you, but it doesn't look like Asia to me.
> 
> Where are the nice beaches ?
> 
> Don't feel like to go to Phils if it is to swim on rocks.


I didn't go here to swim on rocks. I went here for the old stone houses, and the countryside which doesn't resemble other countryside in Philippines.  

If you want beaches, don't come here. As for Itbayat, its just a coral rock in the sea with sheer cliffs hundreds of feet high.

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## sunsetter

thats a lifeboat up the hill, wonder what the story is

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## Dacrondude

WOW! what an amazing place, thank you so much for sharing, I for one thought that all the pictures of the different structures where great( but then I am accused of taking too many pictures of buildings when I travel), looking forward to your next post.

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## boes

Super nice pics, thank you very much for the upload...

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## WujouMao

> WOW! what an amazing place, thank you so much for sharing, I for one thought that all the pictures of the different structures where great( but then I am accused of taking too many pictures of buildings when I travel), looking forward to your next post.


Sadly that's all the travelling for me till i find some more money and go somewhere different, like S.America. 

I went a bit overboard with my pics from Myanmar [Burma]is you'd like to have a butchers.

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## Loy Toy

> Sadly that's all the travelling for me till i find some more money and go somewhere different, like S.America.


What a wonderful thread, very informative and great pictures.

Thank you.  :Smile:

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## porno frank

Good job. Real beautiful scenery of the countryside and the pics of the beach line.

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## WujouMao

SEAIR plane leaving Batanes



just dont understand it and have lost complete interest in doing anything more with youtube. The vids for burma and cambodia worked fine. Just dont want to work the same way anymore

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## WujouMao

give up. seriosuuily

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## Talon

Thanks WujouMao!

Great photos of Edinburgh. That's what it looked like. I expected a flock of sheep to come pouring across the road any minute. I lived in Luzon for 5 years and aside from the occasional weekend in Cebu, or Samar, I really didn't get to see much more of the Philippines than the view of bar girls from a low bar stool. I'm coming home in March with a brand new attitude. Thanks again for sharing. I'm brand new to the Teak Door but not Asia. I lived in Chiang Mai for a year. You either love, or hate Thailand. I happen to love it. I lived in Phnom Penh for a year too. Karma led me to the P.I. and as anyone who has spent more than a couple of years there, it's awfully damned hard to live anywhere else but my Filipina wife and kids are the main reason I am somewhat anchored in. There's always the one week excursions to anywhere in Asia. I rely a lot on those.

regards,

Talon :Aussie:

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## WujouMao

> Thanks WujouMao!
> 
> Great photos of Edinburgh. That's what it looked like. I expected a flock of sheep to come pouring across the road any minute. I lived in Luzon for 5 years and aside from the occasional weekend in Cebu, or Samar, I really didn't get to see much more of the Philippines than the view of bar girls from a low bar stool. I'm coming home in March with a brand new attitude. Thanks again for sharing. I'm brand new to the Teak Door but not Asia. I lived in Chiang Mai for a year. You either love, or hate Thailand. I happen to love it. I lived in Phnom Penh for a year too. Karma led me to the P.I. and as anyone who has spent more than a couple of years there, it's awfully damned hard to live anywhere else but my Filipina wife and kids are the main reason I am somewhat anchored in. There's always the one week excursions to anywhere in Asia. I rely a lot on those.
> 
> regards,
> 
> Talon


That's great to hear. I love thailand too. the food is just awesome. But me, i'm still English. Never truely lived anywhere else other than England. To live somewhere qualifies me doing what i would do normally if i was living in UK, and not spending my time in the bars. I ve done that this year. And although i spent 6 months in Phils, i dont think ive really lived there.

Thanks for your post too and welcome to Teakdoor. Maybe you can get your family to have a look at other Philippine pics on this forum. There's lots to see if you havent ventured out much.

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## forreachingme

Great thread, thanks for sharing !

I just read a much shorter similar one, about Batanes, made on a blog of a french guy living near Manila, so i learned about this place just a couple of week before reading this one...

Tomorow they will get Typhoon Nalgae, but looks like the worst is for northern Luzon.

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## WujouMao

> Great thread, thanks for sharing !
> 
> I just read a much shorter similar one, about Batanes, made on a blog of a french guy living near Manila, so i learned about this place just a couple of week before reading this one...
> 
> Tomorow they will get Typhoon Nalgae, but looks like the worst is for northern Luzon.


The Batanes gets typhoons practically all year. Only a small window of good weather in June for 2 months, then goes all tits up again.

Getting stuck on Batanes for 10 months of the year, or any of the other islands must be terrible for the locals as its normally only 1 way to reach there. a mahal plane for P7,700 one way.

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## Talon

Thanks WujouMao,

Yes, I suppose living in a cultural environment so different than the one you identify with as home tends to sharpen, rather than blur the edges of your national identity. I am originally from California but I lived for a decade in Europe, primarily Germany and the UK. I'll never forget when I had to leave Europe to return to California. I was beside myself with sadness until this old Bavarian fellow on the train from Munich to Frankfurt reminded me that the more languages one speaks, the more lives they live. I think it went something like; "Je mehr sprache lernt Man desto mehr leben kann er erfahren. Anyway it set me to thinking that I wasn't leaving Europe forever, that I could always return there in my mind. When you go back to jolly England your mental boundaries will have expanded and you will have the pictures to prove it even though you may, or may not have learned Tagalog during your stay.

cheers!

Talon

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## heythere

Wow. Very nice work. Thank you so much ....take care

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## omgim

Where did you stay? I dont' see a holiday inn anywhere?

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## WujouMao

I stayed in Ivatan Lodge in Basco, Batan Island.

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## david44

Excellent  How long is the trip? Very few folks and many roofs in disrepair has their been an exodus due to volcanoe or higher wages on Luzon?

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## WujouMao

This isnt Luzon. Its a group of islands thats closer to Taiwan than the rest of the Philippines. Takes an hour to reach there by 12 seater plane.

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## Jun

Awsome pics ! Been to the PI many times always wondered what those islands were like Thanx

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## SweRob

Awesome, thank you so much for this.

After seeing those pictures i want to say "God is Great" even tough im an Atheist.

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