My guide and I arrive at the National Food Authority (NFA) Banaue Rice Terraces Aguian View Deck/Point. The importance of traveling very early before dawn paid off as I got a beautiful image during morning dawn. Here's the "8th Wonder of the World"- The Ifugao Rice Terraces which is human engineering feat believed to have been completed in 2000 B.C. Banaue Rice Terraces was made by hand onto the mountainsides of Ifugao which depict Filipino ingenuity and has withstood time through the centuries.
At the National Food Authority (NFA) Banaue Rice Terraces Aguian View Deck/Point where a poem inscribed in cemented patch ...
O Land of beautiful rice terraces
Like stairways reaching the blue
We pledge our hearts in true devotion
To work for the best for your sake
O land of Hudhud and the Alim
As sung by forebears of old
There stands the Hagabi of Kadangyans
and rich cultures we proudly own."
After coming from a brief photo documenting activity at the National Food Authority (NFA) Banaue Rice Terraces Aguian View Deck/Point, ---- (check on my previous blog link below) my guide and I head quickly back to Poblacion, Ifugao for Bangaan Rice Terraces.
There are also other spots where to view the Banaue Rice Terraces like the one we passed by located at Chango View Point pictured above.
I told my guide to stop at this place where the magnet of human interest just attracts me to take pictures. Along Banaue Rice Terraces viewpoint is an early morning livelihood activity where the best locally Ifugao handmade crafts, etc., takes place only during Saturdays. I asked my guide and he said that this is called a "Saturday Community Road Market Encounters"
Various Ifugao locals unpack handmade/homegrown wooden carvings from sacks.
If you're an early morning person, you'll get the best handcrafted local products (handicrafts, basketry, etc.,) as they are highly sought out/fast moving and very limited production inventories which are only prepared for this one weekend.
Just a piece of advice, please don't haggle for lower prices. Buy/support the Ifugao/Cordillera local homegrown products at their given retail price. By doing so will spur the growth/development of world class products and pays for time/effort of hard-working ethno-indigenous people's livelihood. As tourists/visitors, please don't even try to haggle on the issue of price since the products are already very affordable. It will not help the local people in uplifting the supply chain by haggling for lower prices. Kindly support the booming local trade/industry by buying local Filipino products (e.g., Ifugao One Town, One Product) first.
It's a family thing wherein Ifugao locals accompany their parents/relatives who are mostly handicraft sellers. Young Ifugao lads also excel in woodcarving.
Sometimes, the meet-up (buyer and seller) is already a predetermined event wherein an order was placed say, last Saturday and it is just for pick/up and already a closed sale during this day. It was now just a matter of inspecting the woodcarving and paying the order to the buyer.
There are varieties of wooden handicrafts like miniature Ifugao Dukligan "fertility" hut replicas and wooden jugs/canisters with woven assemblies.
One important thing that I've learned when visiting unfamiliar places is to take photos of business names, trade marks, landmarks, posters, banners, etc., in the area. These will all serve as guides/markers when later trying to figure out my event timelines. In this particular case, the DN's eatery pictured above which was still closed during that time of day when the Saturday Community Road Market encounters was taking place helped me a lot. I run a search using Google maps and I got lucky. So, I was able to upload my pictures to benefit the whole world using the virtual map.
Humbly, as of writing, I am presently a Google Local Guide Level 6. You can check on my previous blog links below if you're interested in becoming one.
At another view now to the left side, is another rice plantation.
As fresh morning mountain air blows, it was a welcoming sight Ifugao has to offer.
Again, here's another Ifugao rice terraces community.
This one is a rice terrace which does not have a name. You won't miss this beautiful undisturbed landscape when you're on your way to Bangaan.
At this juncture, I told my guide to stop the motorized tri-cycle so I can take this quick shot of what looks like a house at the edge of the road.
My guide confirmed that this is a famous spot and dubbed the ...
HANGING HOUSE OF IFUGAO
Literally a definition of "living on the edge" which is a physically hanging house located approximately around 12 kilometers away from Banaue Town (Poblacion) and very near Bangaan Rice Terraces.
This is a unique oddity dubbed as "The Hanging House of Ifugao". A cliffhanger experience.
Upon closer view, the Hanging House is a handicraft souvenir shop.
Here's a quick side scene where an Ifugao local showed me his betel nut stash. Chewing betel nut produces a red residue which is spat out and considered an eyesore. Anti-spitting of "moma- betel nut" laws/ordinances were enacted and began to be enforced in the municipalities of Ifugao in 2010.
I remember my late grandma who died of old age of 80 as she was into betel chewing. On that note, here's a Betel Chewing reference/link I stumbled upon :

After a short chit chat with the Ifugao local guy who's into betel nut, I went straight towards the back of the Ifugao Hanging House ...
and lo and behold - a hidden/unknown rice terraces view. I made a research on Dalican Viewpoint as it's located in another area in the Cordilleras. I was pressed for time so I was not able to ask the locals running The Ifugao Hanging Souvenir Shop/House why they call this site also a Dalican View Deck.
Before leaving the area, here's a goofy scene wherein I was waiting for the chicken to cross the street, however, the chicken didn't budge but stood frozen. Lol! The Ifugao locals were all looking perplexed at me.
Till next blog in which I will be featuring - Ifugao's Bangaan Rice Terraces.
-fin-
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