Baguio, The City of Pines

God, I just love Baguio! In fact, I like it so much that I'm seriously thinking about relocating here. Cebu will always be home but I gotta say that among the cities I've been to, Baguio is simply the best.

Everything about it suits me well-- the nippy weather, the soothing sight and smell of countless pine trees, the grandiose mountains, the biting cold, and even the seemingly endless rain. Its truly clean and green all around. And apparently, there's not a single straight or flat road here. I always feel like I'm mountain climbing on paved roads. Up and down, round and round it goes all the way to the mountain top.

Accomodation

After a dizzying 2-hour search for a suitable place to stay, Almera and I finally settled in Munsayac Inn along Leonard Wood Road. It's near the popular Teachers Camp, and about 5 minutes away from SM City. The hotels here are quite expensive, even now when it's rainy and not the tourist season. They range from 800-2000. Less than that and the place is either fully-booked or something that looks 'horror'.

Munsayac charges P800 per day for a room good for two. Its rooms are spacious, carpeted, with hot and cold water, cable TV, and a nice view of the street and pine trees beyond. We like it because it's relatively quiet and far from the crowded areas in the city, yet near enough SM so you feel safe going there anytime. The place also has its own restaurant and souvenir shop filled with handcrafted items.

There are also transient houses here though which charge about 500 per room or 250 per bed space. But then, the CR is common and there's no TV.

Sights

Baguio is filled with parks that are truly breathtaking. They're almost always enveloped by fog (even during daytime) that renders a mystical ambience all around.

We ate some spicy fishballs and took a romantic boat ride at Burnham Park while it was drizzling. God, it was just so beautiful I felt I could float there forever. Then there's Botanical Garden near our place that I'm pretty sure my mom would go gaga over.

On the third day, Almera had to go down to Cabanatuan to work, but I couldn't leave Baguio yet, so I opted to stay behind. And so I went to see Mines View Park on my own. Even on a Monday, there were a lot of tourists around. I went to the viewing site and I was speechless. I felt like I was in heaven, riding on a cloud, looking down at the refreshing and lovely panorama of Baguio City. The majestic mountains that surround make you feel regal too. I got my picture taken with one of the tourists, it was funny. And then I sat there for a long time. I was so humbled by what lay before me that I just prayed and dreamed. Alvin texted me not to forget to make a wish at Mines Views' wishing well. And so I did. There were also pretty ponies around, not for horsebackriding, mind you, but for picture taking. They charge about P10 per picture, imagine.

I went inside the famous gates of Mansion House but the house itself was off limits. And so I just took a stroll down Wright Park directly across it, a popular site for horsebackriding. It was there I slipped down the mossy steps, it was almost horrible were it not for a gracious stall owner who helped me up.

Camp John Hay is surprisingly big and wide but not completely done yet. The rain stopped me from going to Liberty Park, where the comic cemetery of negativity lies. So I just ate and stayed at Dencio's restobar for awhile and watched the rain and pine trees.

I would have also wanted also to go up the steps of Lourdes Grotto near or along Naguilan Road but after the Wright Park incident, I wasn't willing to risk it in the rain.

Shopping

The best place to go shopping here is the palengke where the ukay-ukays abound. I was really delighted when we went there because I found the place to be clean. I think it's clean wherever you go here. In fact, at the various tourist spots, signposts say"Clean Comfort Rooms"and when we checked it out, voila!, it really is.

Anyway, my friend Almera and I went crazy over the ukay. It was really, really cheap and the stuff are good. You can buy great pants for as low as P70 and lovely blouses at 30-50 pesos. My friend insisted that we could not possibly leave Baguio without eating strawberries, so we bought some in the market and some cream and ate them at the hotel. I found that I do not like strawberries that much after all. But the peanut butter was good. It melts in your mouth.

In Mines View, knitted blouses for P50 are a-plenty. I had fun haggling for baby Allen's knitted cap and knitted shoes.

Here in Baguio, aside from knitted items, there's silver galore everywhere-- what with the mines and all. For best buys, Ibay's Silver Shop is popular but slightly more expensive than the others.

SM City Baguio

This is definitely the best mall I've been in so far. Like their taxis, it uses no aircon (open air!), and yet, it's more likely colder than SM City Cebu. It's always fogging here, day time or night. In fact, on our first night, Al suddenly squealed, "Gosh, there's smoke coming from your mouth!" I looked at her, and alas, saw smoke coming from her own mouth too. We've seen it on TV but this was the first time we experienced it for real. Yes, yes, we were a couple of ignoys. And there on the railing-cum-viewing-deck, with a mountain of city lights before us, we were laughing like loons, and holding tight to our jackets.

Located in Upper Session Road, SM City sits grandly on top of a hill or mountain and offers a great view of the city. There are coffee shops in all the right spots-- Figaro, Seattle's Best, Mocha Blends, Starbucks -- and there are also a scatter of tea shops.

Being at SM City Baguio is just like chillin' out at Tops, Cebu, with the added convenience of what a mall offers.

Schools

Being a true-blue UPian, I could not resist the call of the oblation so I visited UP Baguio despite the rain. Located in North Drive, it's far from the congested areas in the city so it was quite peaceful. It's bigger than it first looked. The buildings look like the newly-erected AS building in Cebu -- all white and stone. Again, there's a lot of fog and in the back part, more pine trees. Along with jackets and umbrellas, wearing slippers seem to be the norm and the practical thing to do.

I asked about their post-grad studies and found out that they offer Languages and Literature. There is no college of law though. All in all, it's got possibilities.

I meant to make my next stop in the University of Baguio-- just to compare. But the taxi driver convinced me that the school is not Grade A, that they even accept dropouts of the better schools, and that some students can even buy their grades. And so, after seeing the horde of students by the gate, I followed the driver's advice and told him to bypass the school and go straight to St. Louis University.

St. Louis University is said to be the best school in Baguio, even better than UP, some people say. But for sure, I wasn't impressed when I saw it. Maybe I'm just biased, but I guess I'll always remember it as the school with the pain-in-the-ass guards, snotty school officials, slippery stairs, and ugly old buildings along the very congested Bonifacio extension road.

The People & the City

I've got to say Baguio is a place of goodlukin' people. From drivers, tinderos, and other locals, there are always cuties around. I figure it must be the air. The biting cold really makes your skin glow. And I didn't know that the sight of men carrying umbrellas could be so natural and sexy at the same time. hahaha!

Most of the people here speak tagalog. Though there's a scatter of Ilocano and the Igorots have their own dialects. But practically everyone here speaks Tagalog.

Their taxis, as i've said, is non-aircon so it's cheaper. Flagdown for big and small taxis alike is only 20 and the patak is P1. So go taxi galore. It's better too especially when there are slopes to climb where some jeepneys no longer pass by. Baguio's jeepneys are a bit frustrating, too. They've got no sign cards. They just print the routes on the side and that's it. No specifics to guide you along.

Baguio is a place where it's colder out in the streets than inside any building. You'll go numb if you're caught without a jacket especially at night. One time, Al and I walked the street towards Botanical Garden at 12 noon under the sun. Still, she was wearing a jacket. It's that cold.

One taxi driver said were it not for the students and tourists who flock to the city, Baguio won't survive. They're the ones keeping the businesses alive, he said. But apparently, commercialism has its price too. Another kind driver warned us to be careful for Baguio is no longer as safe as it used to be. There are cases of pickpockets already, he said. And as I looked out the window, I couldn't help but worry too over the many vehicles that are not quite environment-friendly. You can see them especially in the crowded areas of Abanao Street and Session Road. There, traffic is so heavy and the air blended with black smoke, it almost seems like Manila and downtown Cebu.

Still , Baguio is better than most. It's the first city outside Cebu where I feel safe. And definitely, I've had some of my best moments here. It opened to me a world I didn't know existed in this country.

I've been here for five days now. I'd have wanted to stay longer, but there's a family dinner in Manila that can't wait (or so my couzin Fritz tells me) and so I had to go down tomorrow.

Alvin is probably the fifth person to ask me for pictures on Baguio. But alas, we've got no camera. I always bring one with me when I travel, but this time, I didn't and when I saw the sights, boy I regretted it so much, it was depressing. But then after awhile, I thought about it and figured it's better this way.

For frankly? I doubt an automatic camera can really shoot the essence of the place. The camera prints won't do it justice. You've got to see, smell, taste, and feel Baguio. That's how you capture a truly lovely memory that I know in my case, will forever be etched in my mind and soul.