Our adventure to Banaue, Philippines was wonderful and eventful — aside from the majestic beauty that we have witnessed in the Banaue Rice Terraces, we also had a very thrilling ride up to these highlands. (Humans of Banaue)
» RELATED READ:
– Travel Guide to Banaue Rice Terraces
But other than the views, we also had a great time just walking around Banaue. We had a chance to observe and mingle with some locals and even played briefly with some kids!
So with this post, I would like to show you photos of the people that we have met and seen in and on our way to Banaue!
Humans of Banaue
On our way up to Banaue, we stopped by this quaint little sari-sari store that was manned by only two people. They were very friendly, that they ended up telling me their life story; in her words:
“His parents died when he was still small—his mother was my sister. No one else was willing to take him in, so even though I didn’t have much, I took it upon myself to take care of him. I had other plans in life before… but right now, I’ll do anything to support him.”
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Fast-forward to our time in Banaue, I did mention that we spent a good time walking around the town which was a very rural and small community. Other than farming as their livelihood, they also sell wood carvings!
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By the way, ‘Igorot‘ is the collective name of several Austronesian ethnic groups in The Philippines, who inhabit the mountains in Luzon. Locals of Banaue, Ifugao are one of these ethnic groups and in this photo, they are wearing their traditional attire.
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After the show of these adults, let’s show the adorable kids! They were very shy around us, especially when we point a camera at them; yet, they were still and always very eager to be in our shots!
“I’m three!”
“No, she’s not!”
“I am!”
Overall
I really enjoyed taking photos of these people since it reminded me a lot of the ‘Humans of New York’ (HONY) project. I actually have a Facebook page inspired by this idea and it’s called ‘People from my Travels‘; however, I haven’t been updating it as much lately so I hope I could get back to that.
Anyhow, putting this up was quite fun! I had a huge wave of nostalgia and I think that I might just continue putting up these kinds of posts from now on. What do you think?
This is such a nice project! :) I believe one of the best experience you have while traveling is the people you meet and knowing their stories.
Anyway. I just wanna ask… What lens are you using? hihi if you don’t mind :)
Hey Joyce! Thank you! And as for the photos, the lens used was a Canon 18-55 mm lens. (Most are airbrushed and enhanced in Photoshop though).
Aileen, my family and I are planning our new life of full time travel starting this summer. After a few days or weeks in Hong Kong, we plan on going to the Philippines for awhile. Since my husband and I are both Filipino-Americans, we are really looking forward to visit our birthplace, the Philippines. Banaue is on our list and I’m so happy you posted this so we can have a preview of what’s to come. Gorgeous photos and such beautiful people.
That’s great to hear! I hope you guys would have a great time! (Actually, I bet you will). Safe travels, Brenda!
I love meeting local people and just seeing a little of their lives. You all did a great job capturing their lives :)
Thank you Paula :) It was a joy to be a part of their lives too, though fleetingly.
I love getting to interact with locals. It’s an amazing experience. I spent a night in an indigenous village in Colombia. Other than not speaking Spanish, it was fun. Wish they weren’t so camera shy.
Wow, that’s great! I would love to be in Colombia sometime soon. And yeah, I guess it’s natural for most people to be camera shy because I, for one, am camera shy haha!
Fantastic photos, especially the kids. Lovely.
Thanks, the kids were really sweet!