A TripAdvisor™ TripWow slideshow of a travel blog to Banaue, Philippines by TravelPod blogger Brendonjohnson titled "Odyssey to Batad" Brendonjohnson’s travel blog entry: "I boarded the rickety bus packed with Filipinos and held tight as it lurched forward. A pillow from my moldy towel and a few Tylenol PM, and I was out. My Odyssey had set sail. At promptly 4:30 am, the ticket collector shook me awake. I departed, and instantly after my foot hit the ground, the bus vanished into the night. Alone, I stood awkwardly along a dark, narrow country road. The pitch black was pierced by a few patches of incandescent light, illuminating three shack-like booths advertising food for God-knows-who, the vendors asleep on the counters. A Filipino boy emerged from the darkness, balancing a tall stack of dusty pizza-like boxes, and tried to sell me three "Coconut pies" for 50 pesos ($1). Confused and groggy, I just sat down. An hour later, my ride arrived. Joining a few other late-night stragglers, I climbed aboard the "jeepney"---a colorfully decorated pickup truck, with passenger benches lining the bed, a roof, and plastic jeep-like windows. I wedged between a middle-aged woman named Minda, who had spent the last few days collecting and transporting giant sacks of clothes for her shop; and a scraggly young man named Dess, who regaled country tales while chewing "bitternut" (a tobacco-like substance that stains teeth and lips bright red and induces frequent spitting---quite charming ...