travel – Joan of Art's Ship of Imagination

My Bed Will Never Be This Cool And That Makes Me Sad

September 6, 2015December 10, 2021 by Joan of Art, posted in travel, Travels

Sagan says: We are wanderers and storytellers.
Let me tell you a story.

2 years ago (sometime in June), I stayed in this cabin bed in Thailand where you can request which film/tv series you’d like to watch. I can’t think of any, then the receptionist arbitrarily suggested “Game of Thrones”. I was like, “hmmm, okay why not. I have not seen it back then because whenever I tried to watch the first episode, I fell asleep. Well, this time, I did fall asleep too. Haha But hey, I’m now a fan of that series 🙂

Since we had to be early to the places we planned to visit tomorrow, I didn’t get enough sleep from the previous hotels we’d been to. So I can say this was my best and comfortable sleep during the tour. 🙂 I love it. Actually, that unusual sleeping arrangement was the first reason why we opted to stay in that hostel and I highly recommend it. 🙂 They also have this cute, snob cat that’ll greet you at the door. ^_^

Batad-Banaue 2015: Where The Rice Fields Are Greener

April 11, 2015December 10, 2021 by Joan of Art, posted in amazing, travel, Travels

“What titan built this wonder of the world? It was the Ifugao people of the Philippines working with not much more than their hands.”

That’s how Neil introduced Banaue Rice Terraces in his Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey Season1 Episode12. Yep, the ship of imagination has flown over the rice terraces of Banaue in Ifugao.

In this episode, Tyson discussed the effects of global warming. And it was in the last 5 minutes of the series where he tackled how our own ancestors had learned to adapt in a self-sustaining lifestyle by inventing Agriculture.

Batad Rice Terraces

Banaue Rice Terraces

Excerpt from that particular episode I was referring to:

“What titan built this wonder of the world? It was the Ifugao people of the Philippines working with not much more than their hands. About 10,000 years ago, our ancestors all over the world took advantage of another form of climate change. The gentler climate of the intermission of the ice age. They invented agriculture. They gave up the ceaseless wandering, hunting, and gathering that had been their way of life for a million years or so to settle down and produce food. They found a way to harvest ten to a hundred times more solar energy than the environment naturally provided for their ancestors. People all over the world made the difficult transition from nomadic cultures to agricultural ones that used solar energy efficiently. It gave rise to civilization. We stand on the shoulders of those who did the hard work that such a fundamental transformation required. Now it’s our turn.”

After watching, I was like – OHEEMGEEE! I haven’t seen Banaue Rice Terraces yet So I made a promise to visit it soon. Luckily, I got the chance to see it up-close. I re-watched that episode yesterday, and boy it gives me more ahs and awes than the first time I saw it. Haha Perfectly explained the causes of global warming, the effects, and the solution. We Earthlings should be informed about this important issue and greatest challenge facing humanity today, a greatest challenge humanity has ever faced, and probably will ever face.