Travel Photo| Ifugao women Banaue, Philippines

Women of the world:

Although at first glance it looks like I hiked for days into the northern villages of Luzon in order to meet these two wonderful women, I didn’t.  Yes,  during my time in Banaue I did hike to villages that still don’t have access by road however, this picture was taken only a few feet from the main viewpoint in Banaue.

Banaue is infamous for it’s 2000 year old rice terraces and is only a 10 hour bus ride from Manila.  Capitalizing on the growing number of tourists who visit Banaue these women pose for anyone interested in taking a picture.  Unbeknownst to most tourists is the fact that traditional clothing like is not worn often.

After a short conversation and a few pictures I parted with a few pesos and thanked the women kindly.  It’s definitely one of my favourite pictures even though it doesn’t have some grand scale story.  The reality is that more than 40 percent of the world lives on less than 2 dollars a day, and posing for a few pictures is a way to find alternative income to change that.

Contrary to what you may or may not believe, pensions don’t exist everywhere, and most people around the world have to work well past their 85 factor.