Banaue Hotel, Ifugao Province, The Philippines

I have never seen so many foreigners gathered in one place in the Philippines. Without a doubt the place had the ambience of a terrorist bomb target.. he he. Fortunately the statute of limitations on tasteless jokes has run out. Seriously, this place is as far away as you could get from terrorists. Though it was not long ago that this area was a NPA (Communist) hotspot. The only signs of that are the checkpoints.

The number of foreigners was a surprise because you dont see many around, except in the neighbouring village of Banaue and at the viewing deck over the famous 'rice terraces'. Personally I think the rice terraces in Bali are much more appealing, and much more famous. Having said that there are more delights in this country than the government tourist office is promoting. The problem of course is that the government has no money to promote tourism and no idea how to, but they are getting better. Of of the real treasures going to Banaue is the drive there. The Cagayan Valley is beautiful between Aritao and Salano, and there are alot of opportunities to shop, though the problem is getting the cane and cloth handicrafts and sculpture back to your homeland without breaching a quarantine restriction.

There are a vast array of home craft industries in this part of the Philippines. Check out this piece (below) - No doubt a monument to my greatness. Well when I make such jokes with my GF she rebuts 'Well such jokes are half true'. Dear you are so right! I accept that with pride. If you are looking for this piece as a trophy, you can buy it for P12,000 ($US300) at this store adjoining Francillas grill & restaurant, which is just north of Santa Fe town in Nueva Escaya Province, in Central Luzon. If you have some ideas for a customised sculpture go up to Banaue. There is a museum in town, if you like a piece, take a photo and get a local artist to duplicate it.

Ok back to the topic at hand. The Banaue Hotel was built along with the Banaue Youth Hotel (next door) to provide a higher standard of accommodation for tourists. The strategy was supported by Imelda Marcos. The hotel has the styling of a ski chalet. The food was good, the view of the mountains great. The hot water was slow in coming and my superior room was smaller than a standard, so go figure. The fact that I was on the 3rd floor rather than the 2nd made little difference. The walls were very thin. I could here the German guy next door playing around with his girlfriend, so I must have sounded twice as loud. Poor guy, and thats just when I'm by myself. The hostel is P250/night, and the hotel P2300/night for a basic room including a continental breakfast. The service was annoying. They kept bugging me for coffee. I hate talking in the morning. Filipinos just dont get the protocol. 'I before E, leave me alone before 3'. I'm an afternoon person :)

Here are pictures of the hotel from the main road to the village and the breakfast view. The hotel is arounf 10 hours from Manila.

For hotel bookings contact email: sales@philtourism.gov.ph or tel: 63-2-524 2513. Fot hostel bookings, you can call tel: 63-74-386 4087.