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LOS BANOS |
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LOS BANOS , just south of Calamba heading away from Manila on the
South Luzon Expressway, is home to the University of the Philippines Los
Banos (UPLB), the forestry campus of the Manila-based university. The
campus lies at the foot of Mount Makiling . The rainforest in this area
is unspoiled and there are some nice walking trails. There are a number
of other attractions on the campus, including the International Rice
Research Institute, which was established to help farmers in developing
countries grow more rice on limited land with less water and labour,
fewer chemicals, and with less harm to the environment. The IRRI is home
to the excellent Riceworld museum (Mon-Fri 8am-noon & 1-5pm; tel 049/536
2701), which opened in 1994 with grants from the German government and
which gets around 120,000 visitors a year, including heads of state,
scientists and schoolchildren. Highlights include a Japanese sculpture
of wild rice, microscope viewing of insects, rice products, wild rices,
high yielding rice varieties and old implements and clothing. Guided
tours are available and if you call in advance you can ask for a short
slideshow called Filling the World's Rice Bowl. Another museum worth
making time for is the UPLB Museum of Natural History (Mon-Sat 8am-5pm;
P10; tel 049 536 2864), which has more than 200,000 biological specimens
of Philippine plants, animals and microorganisms. Sunday visits are
possible if you call first.
To get to the University of Los Banos take a BLTB bus from Pasay in
Manila (90min; P60). Buses are marked for Santa Cruz and the conductor
will tell you where to get off. From Calamba take a jeepney from the
main square (P15). From Pagsanjan buses going to Manila go through Los
Banos (1hr).
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