We arrived in Baguio City around 6am. As we stepped off the bus we immediately noticed how much cooler the climate was, which was such a welcomed feeling compared to the intense heat and humidity of the lowlands. A family friend of Greg's was waiting to pick us up. We hadn't seen Lizel for nearly 8 years. It was so great to see her and her family whom we caught up with later.
After eating breakfast, we headed over to the place we were going to spend the next 4 nights. Tam-awan Village was an amazing place away from all the hustle and bustle of Baguio City. Lizel is good friends with the people who run the establishment, and recommend we stay there as soon as she found out we were going to be visiting Baguio. Situated on a high mountain slope, the village was established to teach visitors about the art, culture, and lifestyle of the tribespeople who call the Mountain provinces their home. A number of artists practice there and we were amazed at the art that was on display, especially the solar art. Pieces of art that were created by burning images into wood by magnifying glass! The detail was amazing. (Photos of the artwork were not allowed, understandably.)
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They also have a collection of authentic Ifugao huts which we slept in. The hut we occupied was the Diklugan hut or fertility hut! It was extremely coincidental that we were on our honeymoon and we had the fertility hut all to ourselves (insert cheesy porn music)! After doing some much needed catching up with Lizel we decided to crash and take a nap for awhile. It was a little difficult to sleep what with all the tourists walking around, talking loudly and taking pictures in front of our hut. And around 2pm we awoke to the sounds of small gongs being played.
The gongs were played by tribal dancers who were doing a display of native dances that have been taught to them by their ancestors. It was great to watch these dances being preformed to us and the other visitors . The moves these dancers were doing did not look easy, and must have taken a long time to master and perfect.
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As the sun went down and the tourists were getting back into vans and buses to take them back to their hotels, the artists stayed back. Food was being served and the alcohol began to pour. Let me tell you, those guys can drink! Their main drink of choice was GSM Blue gin which they consumed bottle after bottle. In the midst of all the food and booze, someone showed up with a basket with a large cloth covering the contents.
Someone began pulling out the contents of the basket, and in that basket was what we were fearing to try since we landed in The Philippines: Balut! For those of you who have no idea what Balut is, it's an duck egg with a partially developed fetus inside! Everyone around us was excited to get their hands on some except for us. We talked about trying some even before we came to The Philippines. We were nervous has hell as one of the eggs were handed to us and was taught how to eat it. You crack it open, drink the juice inside, sprinkle some salt on top, give it a dash of vinegar or tabasco, and consume.
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It wasn't as bad as we were thinking is was going to be, but still will never eat it again. After washing down the Balut with more GSM and beer, we crawled back to our hut and called it a night. It was definitely one of the most interesting birthdays I have ever had.
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