Shopping in the Highlands

I went to Banaue and Sagada two weeks ago. I was super excited since it was the first time I would see the rice terraces. I was not disappointed to say the least although the trip was far from sucessful.

The trip to the market was almost cancelled. By the way, there are no malls that far up into the stratosphere. Heck, there was not a franchise in site! Anyway, we insisted/demanded that we go to the market. My friends were adamant on buying their wooden furniture and native cloths. The market was just a short strip of a few stores selling carvings, furniture, cloths, trinkets and native bags. The stores basically sold the same things although the prices may vary depending on the quality of the material and the bargaining power of the buyer.

I bought this piece of cloth (used by the Mayaoyao tribe)that could be used as a wrap-around skirt. It’s perfect for government employees like me who are required to wear Filipiniana on Mondays. This cloth is multi-functional too. It could also be used on one’s bare coffee table or even as an accent on an otherwise plain couch. It was steal for P400. My other buys included little woven bags with straps that sold for P40 each for our househelp and a beautiful blue glass necklace for P250. Glass necklaces are part of the traditional costume of the Ifugaos. I even saw guys wearing them for everyday wear. I would have bought a couple of them but I ran out of money. I brought very little money with me since it never occured to me that one could buy so much unique stuff in this little town. So for shoppingeras who plan on going to Banaue and Sagada, bring lots of cash (credit cards are not honored here) and not to mention a big van or bus to hoard all the stuff you buy back to Manila.