Sunday, April 22, 2012
She Wanders24
It started as a joke that we’ll visit the famous places in
the Philippines alphabetically and we’ll start with the Bs. Funny how it was
all materialized (Bacolod, Bohol, Boracay) and we are down to our last “B”
destination – Baguio City! And guess what, we did our version of DIY Baguio tour.
Still thrilled from the magical experience we had from the
Manila Ocean Park Musical Fountain show, we immediately proceeded to Victory
Liner terminal in Pasay City wherein we’ll catch the bus going to Baguio. Due
to limited time, we decided to travel by night to save time plus accommodation
too! *grin*
We arrived in the terminal around 9PM and had just enough
time to ate our dinner and catch the bus scheduled at 10PM. Fare is Php455 per
person from Pasay to Baguio and travel time is about 6-7 hrs with one stop
over. The good thing was we weren’t bothered of the long travel time since it
was late at night, no traffic and we slept most of the time. Few minutes before
5AM, we woke up since we could already feel the zigzag sway of the bus, an
indication that we’re almost in the City of Pines.
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| Scouting for a fast food chain to have our breakfast |
It was early morning and freezing cold when we arrived. We
would have wanted to proceed immediately to La Chateau, who had provided our
affordable transient accommodation, but we had chosen to explore the area
around the session road this early morning and had some breakfast first then
proceed to La Chateau to leave our things and freshen up. And thanks to Ate Sonny
for helping us out with our itinerary for our DIY Baguio tour.
And so, at around 8:30Am we were ready to discover Baguio!
By the way, we mostly used taxicabs as our mode of transportation since we were
a group of 5 and most of the taxis are of Tamaraw Fx type plus flag down rate is
only Php25. I tell you, we paid less than a Php100 on almost all instances.
Tam-awan Village
First stop was the Tam-awan Village. A glimpse on what a
typical native village looks like with genuine Ifugao huts. It’s also an
artist’s haven since lots of paintings and work of art can be found here.
There’s also a café if you want to sit and relax a bit. Entrance is Php50 for
adults, Php30 for students and senior citizens and Php20 for kids. Taxi fare
from La Chateau to Tam-awan Village was Php60
Arko ni Apo is also located just across the street with a
gallery of metal and wood works on display.
Lourdes Grotto
Quite a long walk uphill, approximately more than 200 steps.
We spent some quite moments here while we said our prayers and lighted some candles.
We also had some photos with the natives at Php10 each.
After some uphill climb, we were delighted to see a taho
vendor! And obviously, we tried the famous strawberry taho for Php15. Taxi fare
from Tam-awan Village to Lourdes Grotto was Php65.
It was lunch time already and we went to SM Baguio to eat
our lunch and since it was the closest landmark to our next destinations. Taxi
fare from Lourdes Grotto to SM Baguio was Php60.
Botanical Garden
The garden’s area is quite huge but there are only few blooming
flowers though. We strolled around the
area and had some photo op obviously. J
There was also a horse in the area wherein you can pose and took some photo but
with a fee of course. A lot of native Igurots are also on standby in the
entrance area and will surely allure you to take pictures with them for a fee
of Php10 each.
Wright Park
Next stop was the Wright Park and it’s around 10minute walk
from the Botanical Garden. A lot of horses can be found in this area, even a
pink one (dyed of course..heheheh), which can be rented for a short ride.
The Mansion
Just a few climb and walk and we took some photo shoot of
The Mansion, the official Presidential residence in Baguio City.
Mines View Park
From The Mansion we hailed a taxicab to the Mines View. Fare
was Php65. A lot of photo ops in this area with some horses, the St Bernard
dog, the costumed natives and of course the signature Baguio view. We also
bought some pasalubong in this area.
The Good Shepherd
In after of the famous ube jam, we walked a few meters to
The Good Shepherd from the Mines View. But sadly, ube jam was not available
during that time due to no supply of the raw products. L
Since it was already around 6PM, our next stop was SM City
for dinner and we bought some groceries for breakfast and lunch the next day.
Taxi Fare from Good Shepherd to SM was Php75.
Tired as we were and due to the not so fine weather since it
was raining that the night, we opted to sleep early and get some good rest for
the next’s day strolling.
It was the 2nd day of our DIY Baguio tour and we woke
up early and were very excited and hopeful that we could finish the entire
planned destination before the sun sets since we need to go back to Manila for
our Cebu flight was scheduled early morning.
PMA
We started our tour at around 8:15AM and we arrived at the
PMA few minutes before 9AM. We strolled around the area and had some glimpse of
the old canyons and helicopters. It’s also another photo op session and with
the very accommodating cadets, too!
Camp John Hay
From PMA we proceeded to Camp John Hay. The area is very
large and there are a number of activities can be done here. There are horse
back riding, paintball, zipline, rappelling and a lot more. Since we were not
in the mood for some physical activity, we just visited the Bell House &
Museum, Amphitheatre and the Cemetery of Negativism.
It was around 11AM and we went back to our hotel to get our bags and have our lunch. And we were glad that we had still enough time to visit some more tourist attractions before leaving.
Burnham Park
It’s one of the most famous parks in Baguio that we just
need to visit. Plus it’s just a few minute ride from our hotel and is within
the City center. The park was under renovation during our visit but still some
recreational activities can still be done like boating and biking. Loaded with
our bags already, we just decided to take some stroll and photos.
We were also able to buy some more pasalubong in some
tiangge near the park and I was very glad to buy a bottle of the sought after
Ube jam from the Good Shepherd and some strawberry jams too.
Baguio Cathedral
Of course, we made sure that before leaving the place, we
paid visit to St. Joseph’s Cathedral.
Still ahead of time but done with our planned itinerary at
2PM, we headed to Victory liner terminal to catch the next bus going back to
Manila.
The Verdict
It was my first time
to visit Baguio City and it was a trip to remember! Doing the DIY Baguio tour
has made the trip extra special as it teaches us some valuable experiences. And
I would share that it’s important that you do your homework first before
visiting the place; list all the attractions you want to visit and carefully
plan if you have limited time. Another thing, don’t be shy to ask the locals,
they know the place by heart and are very helpful.
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