The date was Aug. 24,
2012.
“Bumagyo man o
bumagyo, tuloy pa rin ang Baguio natin ngayon!” (Whether there’ll be storm or there’ll
be storm, we’ll still go on with our trip to Baguio tonight!)
I group texted
this to my friends and they all agreed. That’s how determined we are to pursue
this trip.
It’s a six hour
drive away from Manila.
Since we travel
via public bus, the fare is 500 pesos for a one way trip. We chose to travel by
night. It was 1 a.m. and we reached Baguio City at 7 a.m.
What a great way
to start your day! From a very hot temperature in Manila down to a very cold
place like Baguio. Feels like you were being placed on a big freezer!
Before we start
our tour, we find our way to our contacted transient house and it just a jeep
ride away from the city plaza/ market. But since we don’t know how to get there
via public jeepney, we rode on a taxi cab and we let the transient owner talk
to the driver using my friend’s phone.
We will stay there
for three days and two nights. We paid six hundred pesos each. By the way we were
6 in the group. The house we rent has two bedrooms with double decks and is
already complete with all the things that we need.
From sala set to
television, to hot shower, to utensils, gas stove and many more! Well, it was
just like home!
We ate our
breakfast at a fast food restaurant.
After that, I took
out our itinerary printed in paper and tadaah! We started our tour.
DAY 1
First Stop: The
Tam-awan Village.
From downtown, you
can ride a jeep directly going to Tam-awan village.
Here we saw how
katutubos live their lives. We saw their kubol (huts) and the anitos (statues
of worshipping).
We also experience
a little bit of hiking before we can reach the top. It’s a fulfilling experience as we became
close to nature.
There’s also a
shop inside where you can buy souvenir items. We also had the chance to see a
photo gallery.
Note: There’s an
entrance fee of 50 pesos.
Next stop: Camp
John Hay
Via taxi as we
went there. We first went to Tree Top
Adventure for some exciting activities like zip line, free fall, trekking and
so forth.
We took our lunch
at a nearby canteen.
Then after eating
our lunch, we continued our tour inside Camp John Hay. We entered the cemetery
of negativity, the former rest house which now turned to be a museum, the
amphitheater and the totem pole.
We didn’t have so
much time to visit the butterfly sanctuary. Maybe next time. I promised that to
myself.
Next: Burnham Park
We turned being a
child again. We rode on bicycles which cost 30 pesos only for unlimited time of
use. We also rode a boat on the man-made pond which according to my friends who
became the boatmen, it’s so hard to control. Haha!
It was such a
wonderful experience with friends. Actually, I have already been to Baguio
several times before but this time was the most enjoyable one since I’m with
friends.
It was not like before that I was with my family wherein I don’t have to care about the expenses, the food, the time, and the place to stay.
It was not like before that I was with my family wherein I don’t have to care about the expenses, the food, the time, and the place to stay.
It was so much fun to travel independently!
As for our dinner,
before heading back to our transient house, we went to city market to buy some
raw foods. And here we experience the tawaran
portion.
I voluntarily
cooked for our dinner since my friends are not well enough in cooking. But I
think, it was just they were too lazy and chose to just curled up on the sala
set because of the cold weather.
I’m so sorry for the fried galunggong, guys. I
tried my best to cook them well! Haha! And also for the corned beef with
cabbage, I think it just tasted good because there’s nothing left for the cat
waiting outside our door.
It was a very
tiring day yet we had so much fun!fun!fun!
We slept at 10
p.m.
DAY 2:
One of my friends woke us up at exactly 5 a.m. She’s
not so excited to roam again huh!
For the breakfast,
the one who woke us up helped me in making our food.
Fried rice,
scrambled egg and hotdog with matching hot milo or coffee with milk, go for the
heavy bf!
Since it was
Sunday, we will go to church to hear a mass.
Our first destination of the day: Baguio
Cathedral.
There’s a saying
that if it is your first time to visit a church, you can take a wish. So we
grabbed that chance. And guess what? We had the same wish for that day and that
is we hoped that the sun will shine today.
Miracles do
happen! You just have to P.U.S.H. “Pray Until Something Happen.”
Though, it was
forecasted that there was really a storm that day, the sun did say hi to us!
I have five
friends who can attest to that.
After we hear mass,
we headed our way to St. Joseph Convent to buy their famous peanut brittle for
pasalubong and since it is just a walking distance to Mines View Park we went
straight there to buy more pasalubongs, souvenirs and of course to feel the
essence of being in Baguio. Mountains. Mountains. Mountains. I just love it!
Must try:
Strawberry taho! It’s so yummy! J I swear.
We headed back to
lunch since our hands are already full with so much “pasalubongs”and souvenirs.
We had our lunch
at the transient house and the food we ate was cooked by yours truly again.
After lunch, we
made our way to the other side of Baguio and that is Baranggay Asin, wherein
the temperature there is not so cold so we can enjoy our swim on a resort. Yes,
you have red it right, swimming in Baguio City! Hehe.
We also had the
chance to see some rivers and waterfalls during our jeepney road trip.
Back to downtown
city at 6 p.m. and we were so tired for the long travel. I think it was more
than an hour travel time to Asin so we decided to eat on a fast food chain
again near Baguio Plaza. No more energy to cook for dinner.
And tomorrow is
another day. J
Day 3:
It was not only me
who’s on that vacation so I gave the others chance to cook for us. Haha! It was
just I got lazy to move that morning.
And for our
breakfast, it was newly cooked rice, longanisa and instant corn and crab soup
with hot milk. Oh, this is life!
They say that if
you can’t go to this place, you’re whole trip to Baguio is not complete. Our
next destination, the very famous, Mansion!
And then to Wright
Park which is just across the street to do some pictorial shoot. One of my
friends is a frustrated photographer so we gave him the chance.
We didn’t do the horseback riding. Ask my
friends why.
Then we passed by
at Sunshine Park and we saw another church.
We head back to
Baguio Plaza to experience the Ukay!Ukay!
We had our lunch
first before heading back to Manila.
It was really a
great experience and I surely will never forget this trip!
It’s more fun in
Baguio and it is really more fun in the Philippines!
Proud to be Pinoy!
J
Note: J
Even though, it
was raining most of the time, we still enjoyed our vacation in Baguio.
Maybe for others,
this is just a typical out of town trip but for me this is a kind of travel
that is life changing.
How and Why?
I planned the
whole trip alone, where to stay, where to go and what to do. I do all the
research, inquiries and itinerary.
It has also been a
big challenge for us since we pursue our plan on a rainy season.
There’s a reason
behind it and I’ll just keep it as a secret. Haha!
Big thanks to my
friends who supported this plan. They let me do all the things that I have to
with regards to this trip.
Actually, after
this three-days-two nights-getaway, I finally realized that I would love to
plan and travel all the other sides of my beloved country. It woke up my
travel-adventure spirit.
There are so many
beautiful places here in the Philippines and one at a time, now that I am
earning, I will and must go to all of it!
Wish me luck on
this bucket list of mine.
This trip happened
last August 2012 and ever since then, my friends already used to depend on me
on our other getaways.
I’m happy to
always hear this from us, “Si Alaine na bahala diyan!” (Alaine can manage that!)
Because of our
trip to Baguio, I became an instant adventure/trip planner.
Sometimes, I even
initiated or lead the out of town trips with my not-so-close colleagues or
friends of friends.
Special thanks to
my very ichy feet and wild spirit who now loves to travel.
As of now, I am
collecting all my strengths to travel alone because when that time comes,
surely it would be a life changing event for me again.
: )
J
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