Baguio ... the city of pines... this is the place that forever will conjure up images of foggy mornings, long walks in flower-filled parks, ukay-ukay and cold nights in front of a warm fireplace. Ever since I was in high school, Baguio always held a certain magic for me... it was the place we always go to when we want to escape the blistering summer heat. When my cousin entered the PMA, it was not just summers anymore that we go there but even Christmases when he can't go down to Manila for a vacation because of some minor infraction...
By the time I was in college, my friends and I would even spend our semestral breaks there... (some instance we even told our parents it was a school seminar/workshop just so they'd allow us to go up once again). It even came to the point that I actually considered living and looking for employment there... but it turned out to be just one of the dreams I would not be able to pursue for some reason or another...
Then when I got married, I was only able to go back to Baguio twice - once with my Crame girlfriends and their families and the other with my husband's company outing which was actually just a swim trip to Pangasinan and got extended one more day to go up to Baguio... I still remember being eight months pregnant at that time and having with me only sundresses and sleeveless maternity clothes to wear to the beach so you could imagine the adjustment/ difficulty I had to go through just to spend one cold night in Baguio - but we relented just the same and went up on a whim!
So this time... when I learned that one of my research projects would be bringing me to Baguio I figured I ought to be prepared and bring my whole family with me so they, too, could enjoy the sights and climate that I have come to love ever since I was young. A week before the actual date I already called up possible hotels to stay in... I even searched blogs about Baguio and looked for threads discussing cheap hotels and places to visit.
I already settled on a particular hotel which many bloggers said was quite cheap and near Session Road so it's quite accessible but on the day before we will finally leave I decided to contact someone from my mom's 'old office' to ask if my favorite house in Baguio was available. Alas, she was unable to offer me their 'guesthouse' (since it was super short notice daw!) but she was able to refer me to a better alternative - a place that was really cheap at PhP100 per head per night and yet was very clean and accommodating... (check out the pics...) The room had three single beds which we pushed together to make a king-sized bed and a bathroom with hot water(that's a plus!). The ATF guest house is truly recommended for vacationers on a tight budget...
Outside the room there's a common living area with a television, a common dining area and kitchen where we could cook our meals... how's that for a super tipid holiday!!! So off we went that stormy Saturday morning... the weather bureau said there will be continuous rains but we did not let that small piece of news dampen our spirits as we gleefully hauled our stuff to the nearest Victory Bus station and waited a few minutes before the bus finally left at 1 pm.
After seven or more hours inside a bus, two stop-overs for snacks and toilet breaks in Tarlac and Pangasinan, we arrived in Baguio... surprisingly my 5-year old daughter did not feel bored at all even if she slept for only two hours the entire ride. She merely busied herself listening to the MP3, or watching TV and the torrential rains outside the window... yes, for once PAGASA was correct in its forecast although the rains dwindled a bit as we neared our destination. Still, it was drizzling when we finally reached the pension house and decided to go out for dinner coz it was too late to cook.
The next day, was a Sunday... and wonder of wonders! the sun was out shining!!! My daughter jumped for joy upon waking saying that her prayers have been answered and so after eating a quick breakfast and taking our baths, we all left to visit Mines View Park. The place looked the same, not much different from the last time we were here - the only thing missing were the kids begging for coins to drop over the edge of the mountain although I might say it's one good riddance since it was a dangerous place to beg anyway... And so after the picture taking at the different sites in Mines View (at the viewing deck, my daughter atop a white horse with pink mane, and surrounded by yellow sunflowers), eating corn on the cob and haggling with vendors to buy some leather wallets and silver trinkets... we left Mines View Park.
Next stop was the Mansion house... all those times when I visited Baguio (I've lost count!), I have never seen the inside of this house, we were only allowed to take pictures of the house from the outside and have our pics taken with the mansion in the background... maybe some time when my cousin who now guards the President (yes, he's the one we used to visit in PMA a few years back...) is in Baguio... maybe we can have a guided tour with him... but this time, we'll just pose in front of the house like most tourists do...
After eating strawberry-flavored taho, we walked down some more steps to Wright Park where the kids enjoyed a 30-minute horse ride... suffice it to say, the kids had fun riding a brown mare named Mandarin while my husband and I sat on a nearby bench taking videos and pictures. It was almost 11 when the kids finished their horse ride and so we decided to take our lunch first at Session Road (Greenwich since I forgot to blog search on cheap eats in Baguio). After eating, my husband and the kids left for a bike ride at Burnham Park while I headed off to the market to buy dinner and shop for pasalubong!!!
I bought the usual stuff - ube jam, peanut brittle, lengua de gato, and the usual veggies for salad, also brocolli and ground coffee. I also bought for myself some knitted blouses and would have wanted to vist my old ukay-ukay haunts but by that time, I was already lugging around so many bags that I decided to ignore the urge and stick to my (limited!) budget. When I finished shopping, it was raining once again so I guess the kids had to stop their bike ride, too, and find some place to seek cover from the rains.
We decided to go back home and sleep the afternoon away since the rains still hasn't stopped by then. By the time we got home though, I nor the kids couldn't really sleep so I just prepared the salad to chill in the freezer while the kids went outside to play in the playground near the house (coz the rains also stopped by then) After the dinner preparations, my husband and I decided to take the kids out again since we won't be doing much indoors anyway... we walked down Navy Base road to the Botanical garden where we walked in the park amidst pretty flowers and had pictures taken of new gigantic statues of Igorots. There were also new Igorot houses... or maybe they were already there before but I just did not notice...
After that we went back to Burnham to continue the kids' disrupted bike ride... while they were busy biking, I visited the orchidarium and marveled at the beautiful flowers there. I wanted to buy some flowers but I held back since I have had previous experience with buying plants and flowers from Baguio before which just wilted and dried up after being exposed to the humidity and heat of Manila. Besides we didn't have a car this time so it would be difficult for me commuting for seven hours with flowers on my lap... so I did the next best thing and took pictures instead.
While I was busy engrossed in the orchidarium, it started to rain once again so we had no choice but to go back to the house and spend the rest of the night there. While the chicken adobo was simmering, I paid a short visit to the caretaker of the 'guesthouse' I used to frequent as a teener and gave her a little something to show my appreciation for accommodating my request at such short notice. Our chat was cut short since it was almost dinnertime and I haven't finished cooking our food. I just told her I'd be back to visit her longer the next time I'm in town.
After eating a hearty dinner of vegetable salad and chicken adobo, we rested awhile in the room. I read up a bit and revised some of the questions I would be asking for the interview scheduled tomorrow and then decided to curl up with a good book. It was still to early to sleep so I went out to the common living room and watched TV with the hubby and the kids... after all, we went to Baguio to bond as a family so I might as well spend time with them. It's good that we had the place to ourselves since most of the vacationers who occupied the rooms beside ours left this afternoon for Manila. Even if we were quite noisy as we watched and ate some chips, it was OK since we were not disturbing anyone...
The next day after cooking breakfast for them, I took my youngest daughter with me for the scheduled interview at BCYA near Session Road. It started at around 10 and we were finished in about one hour so we were able to go back to the ATF by 11:30. We ate a quick lunch of Baguio longganisa, sinangag and the remaining salad from last night so that by 12:30, we were on our way to the bus station.
It was just too bad that just before we left was when we decided to venture upstairs and discovered that the entire third floor was a function room equipped for a seminar and one that had a fireplace!!!! We should have seen it last night so that we were able to curl up before a warm fire and exchange scary stories in the dark... like we did when we were young.... well, maybe next time when we get back... coz we surely will go back. My kids truly loved going to Baguio and we all hoped that the next time, we'll be able to borrow a vehicle so we could visit more places that the kids were unable to go to like Camp John Hay and the PMA. Who knows... maybe that next time will come soon enough, and we don't have to wait for another research project to come along...
