Travel: Rediscovering the City of Pines; Baguio City

Baguio City, it is widely recognized as the summer capital of the Philippines. Many tourists visit the place during February because it is the month in which the famous and luring Panagbenga Festival.

It takes about six hours to travel the approximately 250 km distance between Manila and Baguio City by way of Kennon Road. It is about fifteen to thirty minutes longer through the Aspiras-Palispis Highway, and could take three more hours if going up from Manila via Naguilian Road—which is the usual route for travelers from the Northern areas of Luzon such as Ilocos Norte, Ilocos Sur and northern La Union province.

For those who will visit Baguio, it is not difficult to look for a transport. The most popular bus transportation to Baguio is Victory Liner. Its cost is around P455. It has terminals in Pasay, Cubao, and Sampaloc, Manila. The buses leave for every hour. 

But if you prefer the deluxe coach it will cost around P715.00, but I would prefer the night trip, so that you could still sleep in your journey, and it would take around 6-7 hours trip to reach Baguio.

　

When we arrived in Baguio, I felt the cold breeze of the place. For me it was relaxing, since we came from a 32 degrees place; Manila. I really thought that there are air conditioned in the terminal, but I was wrong. When we reached the terminal there are men in who will offer accommodation and transport group. However, we already had reserved an accommodation. We availed the transient house, since we stick to our budget.

We reach our accommodation in Scout Barrio via taxi. As you are going to observe most taxis there are SUV/AUV type, because it would be difficult for a sedan type to go to higher places in Benguet province. The flag rate of a taxi is 35 pesos. I admire the taxi drivers in Baguio, because they are honest. One contributing factor is they will give you an exact amount of your change.

Mines View Park is a  ridge located at the extreme northeast side of the city. It also offers a spectacular view of Benguet’s gold and copper mines and the Cordillera mountains. The main attraction in Mines View Park nowadays would be the commercial activities such as the souvenir shops and food  stalls by the park.

One of the charming denizens of Mines View Park is a popular and friendly Saint Bernard named “Douglas” who is available, for about Php50.00, for picture-taking with tourists. The horses of course with dyed hair on its manes and tails.

The Lourdes Grotto is a Catholic shrine and place of meditation located on Mirador Hill in the western part of Baguio. Inside the grotto is the image of Our Lady of Lourdes. As it is in many other similar shrines, the grotto was constructed to commemorate the numerous visions of the Virgin Mary by a 14-year old French girl named Bernadette Soubirous. 

Philippine Military Academy (PMA) is one of our itinerary to visit in Baguio. Located at the Fort Gregorio Del Pilar on Loakan Road. Upon entering the vicinity, I noticed that the PMAers there were saluting the vehicles that are passing by. Visitors are welcome to explore the grounds, the PMA museum and walk around its manicured grounds to see vintage tanks and other historical military weapons. I was on my excitement when having a picture taking with the PMAers. In their uniforms they look "gwapo"

Upon entering the Camp John Hay has its charm and elegance. According to Wandering Wanderer  it is also known as John Hay Air Station was established on October 25, 1903 by the United States Armed Forces just a year after the Philippine-American War. It was used as an R&R (Rest and Relaxation) for United States Department of Defense employees and their dependents.

The Mansion is one of the grandest vacation house in the Philippines and one of the popular tourist spot in Baguio city.  This is the official summer residence of Philippine presidents starting from Manuel Quezon. It used to be a summer vacation palace of U.S. Governor-Generals from 1908-1935. The public is clearly not allowed to book rooms in this palace but everyone is free to visit it. Getting a glance of its magnificent palace and wide lush green garden gives you that simple fun but sweet experience.

On the opposite side of the Mansion where Wright Park is located. It feature the so-called "Pool of Pines" which is a rectangular shape body of water that stretches from the entrance up to the park circle at the other end. There are fishes, Koi's in particular as an added attraction. After the circle, a stairs going down to were the rented horses are.You can rent them including the guide for a price ranging from Php700-1500 depending on the tour package.

Strawberry Farm located in La Trinidad, Benguet. A small stretch of land where probably the only local strawberries in the country come from. We couldn’t wait to get our hands on them so off we went to try our balancing skills on the field. We can only take pictures because taking strawberries doth come with a price tag. We were able to taste the Strawberry Taho and Strawberry ice cream. It's delicious and healthy.

Tam-awan Village, it’s a cultural hub where history and art bleed into one. It also showcases Kalinga and Cordillera huts, to their way of life. This village is the sanctuary for many local artists; their art on the walls of the small coffee shop is a testament to that. Tam-Awan Village also blends the famous Benguet coffee.