Baguio

A lot of my holidays spent in Baguio… It is about 7 hours or so drive from Manila, with all the toilet and meal breaks… Can get traffic going up or down from the mountain province, especially during Easter and Christmas time…but really worth it! The cool weather is really something that would draw you the Pine City. It has got everything that Manila can offer, from cool hangout spots, yummy restos, parks, malls…including traffic jams!

Must try : Cafe by the Ruins, Camp John Hay Manor, Ukayukay shopping, the SM Mall, horseback riding, strawberry picking, roller skating/blading, some tucked cafe, Rosebowl, Don Henricos, Good Shepherd’s ube jam, peanut brittle, Walk along Session Road….

Must see: Camp John Hay, Mines View, The Mansion, Pink Sisters, the central market, panagbenga flower festival, Ibay’s silver shop, Baguio Country Club, Baguio Cathedral, Grotto, Kennon Road’s Lion, Botanical Garden….

Baguio is a great escape from the hot and crowded streets of Manila. We took a Victory Liner bus from Pasay to Baguio. It takes about 6 hours to get there. You can fly in as little as an hour. We opted for the bus because it allowed us to see alot of things along the way. Baguio can be busy, like most of the major cities in the Philippines. As always, practice caution when visiting public areas. Stay in well populated areas and be careful with your valuables. There are pick pockets and thieves searching for victims, though this is certainly not the norm. It’s better to be a cautious cat than a victim. Like many places in the Phils, Baguio has an SM Mall. There are lots of places to eat. I’d suggest trying the Sizzling Plate. It features delicious Australian beef. Mines View is a nice place to visit. The view from the look out is breathtaking. You can meet and greet members of the Igorot tribe but photos will cost you. They charge 5 pesos each (per person) to take a photo of them. So for 10 members is will cost you 50 pesos to take a picture of them and its per picture so two pictures of the group will cost you 100 pesos. The politely informed us of this fact after we had taken more than one picture. It is not a place where you would want to spend more than a few days, atleast not for me. However, it is worth visiting. Just be smart and maintain your awareness.

1. cold weather
2. visit Tam-awan village
3. strawberry picking
4. and, of course, ukay ukay! :)

Every year Baguio has a flower festival in February. I really want to go the next time it comes around!

I travel a lot around the globe. And Baguio City has made an impact on me that I plan to retire here someday. Maybe it’s the beautiful mountain sceneries, or maybe the wonderful smell of pine trees(I don’t knw why but even though I’ve been to other places that has lots of pine trees, only Baguio seem to smell like pine trees all the time; maybe bec. it always rains there), or just the hospitable people, but I really fell in love with this place. The place where I stayed had this amazing view of the china sea (i think that’s what it is) bec it’s really on top of baguio. I think if you go to Mary Knoll, you can also view the sea somewhere there. Baguio is Amazing!

i fell in love with baguio city…
i stayed here for the four wonderful years of my college life and i fell in love with the smell of pines, taste of strawberries, beauty of the lights and flowers, warmth of the people, cool climate, aroma of coffee and a thousand memories to last a lifetime.

this is where i go when i need to reflect on life

Compared to every place on the island, I LOVED. THIS. PLACE. It was cooler not cold(76F) and the views are amazing I mean mines View Park you can see forever, reminds me of my hometown in Poland, Zakopane. This place with the artists carving wood sculptures and the pinetrees and even though I have said this about the rest of philippines they are the NICEST people, every one calls you ma’am and sir ans they don’t try to haggle you to buy something, the elevation is high but its a great workout cuz its not recomended to drive way toomuch congestion.

i’ve been here with my honey., and its a great place for honeymooners,...y? its cold here and scenes are attracting.

...was with my family & relatives. Camp John was great! Had my first time to try horseback riding here and I enjoyed it. Mines View Park is breath-taking! Very spiritual as they say…truly calming and peaceful. You’ll forget all your problems just by looking at your surroundings. Miss it!

Well, that was the first and the last time I went there. Hope to go back soon because it’s been 6 years since I went there!=)