Baguio is here, wish you were beautiful
A much delayed travel blog but I'm trying to do my best here. Haha!
Here's the link to my photo album of our trip
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150205024061431.308613.554571430&l=80bc5f93d6
We embraced the first Saturday of June by heading out of hot and humid Manila to the cool breezy atmosphere of Baguio City.
It's a first for both Duston and Shamsa and my second visit since 1997. So that's like what? 13 years ago!
We left our apartment at 12 midnight and headed off to the hotel where my mom was staying which was near the bus terminal since our bus was to leave at 2:30AM.
I think we expected a little too much out of the bus ride thinking it would be a touristy type vehicle, but we were wrong. It's just like the same aircon buses that roam around Manila only with overhead space which none of our luggage would fit....and stronger air-conditioning.
Well, that was alright. We managed to keep ourselves as comfy as possible ESPECIALLY the baby who was sprawled on our laps the whole trip and was asleep for most of the time. Most likely basking in the airconditioning the bus provided.
It was a 6-hour long trip with a few stopovers.
While it was dark outside...I didn't sleep. Duston and the baby fell asleep fast. My mom didn't sleep either. I just kept my sight by the window as I munched on some chips. The bus played techno music in low volume. The passengers didn't seem to mind as most of them were asleep too.
We arrived Baguio City at 8AM and proceeded to a friend of ours to have some coffee and stretch out and decide what our next plan would be for the day. Unfortunately, our friend could not accommodate us for the night since her husband's relatives were staying over at their place. It would be too crowded.
So the search for a transient place was the order of the day and headed out at 11AM.
A lady offered that she had a place and would charge us at 250 pesos per head only. Now in Baguio City standards, this would be crazy cheap since we found out that almost every transient place and hotel would charge at 1,000 a night at minimum!
The downside is that the place we were taken to meant that we would go round and round and round the hills and by the time we arrived there, we had to climb ANOTHER HILL only to reach an empty house with running water and bathroom and a highly questionable home security and a bedroom with ANTS crawling all over.
so yeah..I told Ma that we should just say NO.
We may be desperate for a place to stay for the night...but we're not THAT desperate. :(
So that's that.
Lunch has been pretty much delayed and we still haven't found a place to stay. We ended up having lunch at a gas station. LOL
The reason is that we originally wanted to eat at SM Baguio but getting there on foot was such a pain!
SM Baguio looked so, so, so far away.
After a nice lunch at the gas station, we decided to keep our minds off the search and do some touristy stuff.
We boarded a cab and headed off to Mines View Park.
You know what I like about cab rides in Baguio City?
The flag-down rate is 25 pesos and you have all your windows down. None of the cabs there have air conditioning. Baguio City has such cool air already.
Also the cab drivers KNOW where they're going. You just tell them a place and you don't get this reply...."Uhm...I've never been there. Just direct me."
They are not choosy. And you can get a cab ride from a taxi to an FX and still the flagdown rate is 25.00.
This is the cheapest in the entire country.
The flagdown rate here in Manila for taxis is 40 pesos. And you get to encounter every bit of taxi problems for FREE.
When we arrived Mines View Park, we were surprised by the large number of people who were there.
Everywhere you looked there were shops and people. Shops and people. Shops and people...and REAL HORSES.
Horses of every color and I don't mean their natural hair.
I meant horses with COLORFULLY DYED HAIR.
They were just standing not far from each other and all one has to pay is 10 pesos for a shot in any pose you want with the horse.
We chose the pink horse for Shamsa to ride upon and she liked it. She wasn't nervous at all.
My only regret is that we should have posed her with all the other horses there.
We bought souvenir items. The souvenir shops felt like a maze but it was nice and the stuff there were affordable and with lots to choose from.
We got three large jars of strawberry preserves for 120 pesos only. Crazy cheap. You don't get that here in Manila prices.
A jar of pili nuts and several jars of peanut brittle for Duston's friends at work and one for himself. I'm not a fan of peanut brittle.
I also got a yarn cap for myself.
We had several pictures taken wearing Cordillera attire. They only charged 10 pesos per head unlimited shots.
My mom had a solo shot in partial costume.
Duston posed with Shamsa with the old ladies.
I got to pose in full costume with a spear and a shield! muhahahahah!!
But the cutest was Shamsa. She had several solo shots in costume and head gear.
She was patient the whole time the old lady dressed her. Such a doll!
After that, we posed more pictures by the mines view rocks.
I was expecting to see more mountainous greens.
But I saw the roofs of houses just underneath us.
Bummer.
But from afar..we could still see the mountains.
My mom posed embracing the pine tree.
I posed about to make out with the pine tree.
After that our next photo session would be with the famed St. Bernard.
What I didn't expect to see that there wasn't just one dog but there were several dogs. Each had their own photo booth.
They had a necklace of crocheted strawberries and some even wore sunglasses.
This time...a photo taken with a dog would cost us 25 pesos per shot.
It was rather pricey though so we decided to get one good shot at least.
When Shamsa and I sat beside the dog, the St. Bernard was all business-like and proper.
But as soon as Duston joined us, for some strange reason...the large dog turned into a PUPPY!
It was like all over Duston's lap and very enthusiastic and over friendly! OMG!
It just decided right there...he was Duston's pet. just like that!
But oh man...what a lovely dog. I want to own a St. Bernard.
Such a large dog. I love big dogs. I like dogs that look like dogs.
A St. Bernard has all that.
It was getting late and so we headed back to the downtown proper and this time since we're on the cab, we went to SM Baguio for supper.
After supper, Duston and I headed out to look for places to stay for the night that was within our budget.
None of the places we went to had anything available at the price we had hoped.
It was rather such a disappointment though. While we walked around, we got to see the side of Baguio that was no tourist haven.
It gave us the distinct feeling like we were walking along Recto Avenue here in Manila...only with cool air.
There are way too many people in Baguio makes you wonder where the heck did they all come from?
Goes to show that 13 years could do a lot to a place.
It wasn't like this at all in 1997 from what I recall.
We walked around a lot and we didn't have to deal with a lot of crowds in the downtown area.
Now there were establishments EVERYWHERE you look! Crowds of people. Taxis and private vehicles running around.
It did give the impression that Baguio City felt cramped already.
There were still a lot of areas with pine trees though and some greenery.
We walked a whole lot till our feet ached but our search was futile.
We returned to SM Baguio and after my mom talking on the phone with a friend of hers who recommended we try some areas near the bus terminal, perhaps there would be a place to stay there.
It was getting pretty late, so we got the rest of our luggage from our friend's house and went to the bus terminal.
Well, there was the hotel. It was nice but at 5,000 pesos a night? No thanks.
My mom and I went around checking a couple of transient houses but none of them were available.
A young man approached us and said he knew of one place that was still available.
So we checked it out and Alhamdulillah! We have finally found a place to spend the night.
It was only 250 pesos per head too.
Imagine that...all that time we went roaming around the downtown area, climbing up and down the hills only to find that there was still one more place available which was just a short walking distance from the bus terminal.
As soon as we got settled in. We all fell asleep fast.
The next morning, we got up pretty late we had breakfast of noodles and sandwiches and coffee.
Shamsa was exceptionally hyper.
My mom had our bus tickets confirmed for our 8:30PM departure for Manila.
We had a very quick visit at the Grotto. Took a few pictures while the cab waited for us.
It was rather goofy to make it all there because it was quite far from the place we stayed.
We went up and down the hills again and it felt like forever!
Only later I realized why it was important to make the trip. It was because of my mom. The last time she had been there was during the 60s when she made the visit together with her aunts.
A lot has surely changed since then. It wasn't crowded back then.
Our next stop was The Mansion.
The Mansion used to house important political dignitaries whenever they would visit Baguio.
Unfortunately, The Mansion was closed for public viewing.
We only had access to the area near the front gate.
But it was alright.
Next was Wright Park which was just across The Mansion.
There was a camping/picnic ground. Lots of people. Lots of cars parked too.
We took some pictures and left.
After that, we decided to return to the bus terminal.
The bus terminal which had tables and seats for passengers to lounge while they waited for their buses to arrive.
We stayed around a bit and around 1PM, we had pizza as some sort of our very early supper.
But Ma already decided she had enough sight seeing and opted to stay behind and we go out instead.
So we took Shamsa with us who was fast asleep the entire time and walked to a nearby park.
The Pinagbenga Park.
Interestingly, the park was a camping ground and surrounded by pine trees and had a nice jogging area.
It was wonderful. There weren't any people around other than the park attendants who were in their office.
We had the entire park to ourselves.
It's really goofy seeing this nice beautiful place and breathing in all that pine-scented clean air while everyone else seem to be crowded in SM Baguio mall.
Maybe Baguio folks are jaded. I dunno.
We walked around and took some pictures with the trees.
But when I saw the jogging area. I couldn't resist anymore.
I wanted to run.
I had to run.
I haven't run in YEARS, man.
I wanted a good solid run. The kind of running I enjoyed when I was 10 years old.
Just run and go.
I started with a little quick run which was kind of a wussy type of run.
And then...
I just took off really fast.
Oh man! I LOVED IT! I LOVE RUNNING UP THE HILL! WOOHOOO!!!!
I ran back down to where Duston and sleeping Shamsa was and I felt my heart beating so fast and loud.
My cheeks, my eyes, my entire face was shaking and vibrating.
Duston said that I have pushed my limits already.
I sat there taking deep breaths until my heart gradually slowed down and the shaking gone.
OH, IT WAS AWESOME! I LOVED IT! I LOVED IT!
By this time..Shamsa woke up and we had a walk all three of us towards the exit gate.
The baby REALLY WALKED with us holding her hands.
She loved it.
We went to a 7-Eleven and drank a liter and a half of alkaline water and shared a 12-oz Mountain Dew Slurpee.
That was good!
It rained a bit and after the rain we headed back to Ma's.
We remained there just chatting and checking out some shops until our bus arrived at 8:30PM.
The ride back was a whole lot comfier though.
The bus we had was so much better than the one we had coming to Baguio.
It was a little roomier and had those switchy things at the top where you can adjust the aircon you want and the speaker.
None of our luggage would fit at the overhead area though.
But it was alright. I could adjust my seat to the desired leaning.
The trip back to Manila felt shorter and faster.
We arrived at midnight.
I think we only had one stopover. I fell asleep during the trip.
Baguio is not what it all seems that's what we learned.
We didn't have that feel like we could stay there forever.
It's only meant to be visited for maybe a few days and then go home.
As we rode the bus into the night, the mountains were not dark but filled with lights like you'd see at Christmas time.
Only it wasn't Christmas. The lights come from the houses that occupied the mountains.
It was a mountain of houses.
In 10 more years if this keeps up, maybe Baguio won't have cool air anymore because it will be more crowded.
More mountains will be occupied.
Perhaps more trees will be cut down to give way to business establishments and residential areas.
Perhaps we could have planned our trip better.
Perhaps next time.
Although I don't crave to visit this place anytime soon.
It will take some time. I'm pretty sure there is still a lot of Baguio we have not seen yet.
Here's the link to my photo album of our trip
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150205024061431.308613.554571430&l=80bc5f93d6
We embraced the first Saturday of June by heading out of hot and humid Manila to the cool breezy atmosphere of Baguio City.
It's a first for both Duston and Shamsa and my second visit since 1997. So that's like what? 13 years ago!
We left our apartment at 12 midnight and headed off to the hotel where my mom was staying which was near the bus terminal since our bus was to leave at 2:30AM.
I think we expected a little too much out of the bus ride thinking it would be a touristy type vehicle, but we were wrong. It's just like the same aircon buses that roam around Manila only with overhead space which none of our luggage would fit....and stronger air-conditioning.
Well, that was alright. We managed to keep ourselves as comfy as possible ESPECIALLY the baby who was sprawled on our laps the whole trip and was asleep for most of the time. Most likely basking in the airconditioning the bus provided.
It was a 6-hour long trip with a few stopovers.
While it was dark outside...I didn't sleep. Duston and the baby fell asleep fast. My mom didn't sleep either. I just kept my sight by the window as I munched on some chips. The bus played techno music in low volume. The passengers didn't seem to mind as most of them were asleep too.
We arrived Baguio City at 8AM and proceeded to a friend of ours to have some coffee and stretch out and decide what our next plan would be for the day. Unfortunately, our friend could not accommodate us for the night since her husband's relatives were staying over at their place. It would be too crowded.
So the search for a transient place was the order of the day and headed out at 11AM.
A lady offered that she had a place and would charge us at 250 pesos per head only. Now in Baguio City standards, this would be crazy cheap since we found out that almost every transient place and hotel would charge at 1,000 a night at minimum!
The downside is that the place we were taken to meant that we would go round and round and round the hills and by the time we arrived there, we had to climb ANOTHER HILL only to reach an empty house with running water and bathroom and a highly questionable home security and a bedroom with ANTS crawling all over.
so yeah..I told Ma that we should just say NO.
We may be desperate for a place to stay for the night...but we're not THAT desperate. :(
So that's that.
Lunch has been pretty much delayed and we still haven't found a place to stay. We ended up having lunch at a gas station. LOL
The reason is that we originally wanted to eat at SM Baguio but getting there on foot was such a pain!
SM Baguio looked so, so, so far away.
After a nice lunch at the gas station, we decided to keep our minds off the search and do some touristy stuff.
We boarded a cab and headed off to Mines View Park.
You know what I like about cab rides in Baguio City?
The flag-down rate is 25 pesos and you have all your windows down. None of the cabs there have air conditioning. Baguio City has such cool air already.
Also the cab drivers KNOW where they're going. You just tell them a place and you don't get this reply...."Uhm...I've never been there. Just direct me."
They are not choosy. And you can get a cab ride from a taxi to an FX and still the flagdown rate is 25.00.
This is the cheapest in the entire country.
The flagdown rate here in Manila for taxis is 40 pesos. And you get to encounter every bit of taxi problems for FREE.
When we arrived Mines View Park, we were surprised by the large number of people who were there.
Everywhere you looked there were shops and people. Shops and people. Shops and people...and REAL HORSES.
Horses of every color and I don't mean their natural hair.
I meant horses with COLORFULLY DYED HAIR.
They were just standing not far from each other and all one has to pay is 10 pesos for a shot in any pose you want with the horse.
We chose the pink horse for Shamsa to ride upon and she liked it. She wasn't nervous at all.
My only regret is that we should have posed her with all the other horses there.
We bought souvenir items. The souvenir shops felt like a maze but it was nice and the stuff there were affordable and with lots to choose from.
We got three large jars of strawberry preserves for 120 pesos only. Crazy cheap. You don't get that here in Manila prices.
A jar of pili nuts and several jars of peanut brittle for Duston's friends at work and one for himself. I'm not a fan of peanut brittle.
I also got a yarn cap for myself.
We had several pictures taken wearing Cordillera attire. They only charged 10 pesos per head unlimited shots.
My mom had a solo shot in partial costume.
Duston posed with Shamsa with the old ladies.
I got to pose in full costume with a spear and a shield! muhahahahah!!
But the cutest was Shamsa. She had several solo shots in costume and head gear.
She was patient the whole time the old lady dressed her. Such a doll!
After that, we posed more pictures by the mines view rocks.
I was expecting to see more mountainous greens.
But I saw the roofs of houses just underneath us.
Bummer.
But from afar..we could still see the mountains.
My mom posed embracing the pine tree.
I posed about to make out with the pine tree.
After that our next photo session would be with the famed St. Bernard.
What I didn't expect to see that there wasn't just one dog but there were several dogs. Each had their own photo booth.
They had a necklace of crocheted strawberries and some even wore sunglasses.
This time...a photo taken with a dog would cost us 25 pesos per shot.
It was rather pricey though so we decided to get one good shot at least.
When Shamsa and I sat beside the dog, the St. Bernard was all business-like and proper.
But as soon as Duston joined us, for some strange reason...the large dog turned into a PUPPY!
It was like all over Duston's lap and very enthusiastic and over friendly! OMG!
It just decided right there...he was Duston's pet. just like that!
But oh man...what a lovely dog. I want to own a St. Bernard.
Such a large dog. I love big dogs. I like dogs that look like dogs.
A St. Bernard has all that.
It was getting late and so we headed back to the downtown proper and this time since we're on the cab, we went to SM Baguio for supper.
After supper, Duston and I headed out to look for places to stay for the night that was within our budget.
None of the places we went to had anything available at the price we had hoped.
It was rather such a disappointment though. While we walked around, we got to see the side of Baguio that was no tourist haven.
It gave us the distinct feeling like we were walking along Recto Avenue here in Manila...only with cool air.
There are way too many people in Baguio makes you wonder where the heck did they all come from?
Goes to show that 13 years could do a lot to a place.
It wasn't like this at all in 1997 from what I recall.
We walked around a lot and we didn't have to deal with a lot of crowds in the downtown area.
Now there were establishments EVERYWHERE you look! Crowds of people. Taxis and private vehicles running around.
It did give the impression that Baguio City felt cramped already.
There were still a lot of areas with pine trees though and some greenery.
We walked a whole lot till our feet ached but our search was futile.
We returned to SM Baguio and after my mom talking on the phone with a friend of hers who recommended we try some areas near the bus terminal, perhaps there would be a place to stay there.
It was getting pretty late, so we got the rest of our luggage from our friend's house and went to the bus terminal.
Well, there was the hotel. It was nice but at 5,000 pesos a night? No thanks.
My mom and I went around checking a couple of transient houses but none of them were available.
A young man approached us and said he knew of one place that was still available.
So we checked it out and Alhamdulillah! We have finally found a place to spend the night.
It was only 250 pesos per head too.
Imagine that...all that time we went roaming around the downtown area, climbing up and down the hills only to find that there was still one more place available which was just a short walking distance from the bus terminal.
As soon as we got settled in. We all fell asleep fast.
The next morning, we got up pretty late we had breakfast of noodles and sandwiches and coffee.
Shamsa was exceptionally hyper.
My mom had our bus tickets confirmed for our 8:30PM departure for Manila.
We had a very quick visit at the Grotto. Took a few pictures while the cab waited for us.
It was rather goofy to make it all there because it was quite far from the place we stayed.
We went up and down the hills again and it felt like forever!
Only later I realized why it was important to make the trip. It was because of my mom. The last time she had been there was during the 60s when she made the visit together with her aunts.
A lot has surely changed since then. It wasn't crowded back then.
Our next stop was The Mansion.
The Mansion used to house important political dignitaries whenever they would visit Baguio.
Unfortunately, The Mansion was closed for public viewing.
We only had access to the area near the front gate.
But it was alright.
Next was Wright Park which was just across The Mansion.
There was a camping/picnic ground. Lots of people. Lots of cars parked too.
We took some pictures and left.
After that, we decided to return to the bus terminal.
The bus terminal which had tables and seats for passengers to lounge while they waited for their buses to arrive.
We stayed around a bit and around 1PM, we had pizza as some sort of our very early supper.
But Ma already decided she had enough sight seeing and opted to stay behind and we go out instead.
So we took Shamsa with us who was fast asleep the entire time and walked to a nearby park.
The Pinagbenga Park.
Interestingly, the park was a camping ground and surrounded by pine trees and had a nice jogging area.
It was wonderful. There weren't any people around other than the park attendants who were in their office.
We had the entire park to ourselves.
It's really goofy seeing this nice beautiful place and breathing in all that pine-scented clean air while everyone else seem to be crowded in SM Baguio mall.
Maybe Baguio folks are jaded. I dunno.
We walked around and took some pictures with the trees.
But when I saw the jogging area. I couldn't resist anymore.
I wanted to run.
I had to run.
I haven't run in YEARS, man.
I wanted a good solid run. The kind of running I enjoyed when I was 10 years old.
Just run and go.
I started with a little quick run which was kind of a wussy type of run.
And then...
I just took off really fast.
Oh man! I LOVED IT! I LOVE RUNNING UP THE HILL! WOOHOOO!!!!
I ran back down to where Duston and sleeping Shamsa was and I felt my heart beating so fast and loud.
My cheeks, my eyes, my entire face was shaking and vibrating.
Duston said that I have pushed my limits already.
I sat there taking deep breaths until my heart gradually slowed down and the shaking gone.
OH, IT WAS AWESOME! I LOVED IT! I LOVED IT!
By this time..Shamsa woke up and we had a walk all three of us towards the exit gate.
The baby REALLY WALKED with us holding her hands.
She loved it.
We went to a 7-Eleven and drank a liter and a half of alkaline water and shared a 12-oz Mountain Dew Slurpee.
That was good!
It rained a bit and after the rain we headed back to Ma's.
We remained there just chatting and checking out some shops until our bus arrived at 8:30PM.
The ride back was a whole lot comfier though.
The bus we had was so much better than the one we had coming to Baguio.
It was a little roomier and had those switchy things at the top where you can adjust the aircon you want and the speaker.
None of our luggage would fit at the overhead area though.
But it was alright. I could adjust my seat to the desired leaning.
The trip back to Manila felt shorter and faster.
We arrived at midnight.
I think we only had one stopover. I fell asleep during the trip.
Baguio is not what it all seems that's what we learned.
We didn't have that feel like we could stay there forever.
It's only meant to be visited for maybe a few days and then go home.
As we rode the bus into the night, the mountains were not dark but filled with lights like you'd see at Christmas time.
Only it wasn't Christmas. The lights come from the houses that occupied the mountains.
It was a mountain of houses.
In 10 more years if this keeps up, maybe Baguio won't have cool air anymore because it will be more crowded.
More mountains will be occupied.
Perhaps more trees will be cut down to give way to business establishments and residential areas.
Perhaps we could have planned our trip better.
Perhaps next time.
Although I don't crave to visit this place anytime soon.
It will take some time. I'm pretty sure there is still a lot of Baguio we have not seen yet.