Northern Exposure - Part 4

remember i promised to tell you more about sm baguio? well, since the "quartet" split up, rose and i went to sm baguio. this time, we decided to take the side entrance because rose wanted to take a pic of the signage. anyway, we noticed that people were going down a stairway off to the side of the building and what do we find? the fiesta strip walkway!



sm certainly did its part in utilizing baguio's scenery and natural landscape to its advantage. the walkway showcases statues (unfortunately i couldn't tell whether they were made of wood or bronze or whatever material...my guess? wood...) representing the different tribes such as the kalingas, the ifugaos, etc.


(top row, l-r: view from the top of the stairs, more statues below, the kalingas, second row: the ifugao and rose :), numbered trees)

it was such a refreshing sight. that's why i also love hanging out or strolling around greenbelt 3, there's a "park"! another wonderful thing about sm baguio is that all floors have a balcony or balconahe as they call it. the restaurants have tables out on the balconahe so that when baguio weather permits, you can dine outside and enjoy the cool air that's definintely a baguio trademark. that is definitely al fresco!


(top row, l-r: "down below", baguio from the balcony; 2nd row: aileen and rona with baguio as their backdrop, "kasya ba tayo? tignan natin!" - all these pics were taken during our first day in baguio, after lunch)

so, rose and i met her sister (and her friend) & had dinner together at mann hann (of course, out on the balcony!). they had to leave early so, we waited for aileen and rona (who scoured all the stores to finish their ukay-ukay shopping) who also had dinner there. afterwards, it was off to starbucks sm baguio.

now, rose and i had to check out starbucks. we're coffee junkies and i heard that the pastries in baguio are one-of-a-kind becuase of the assortment of fruits that are available in baguio. but to my dismay, the pastry bin left a lot to be desired. there wasn't any crema de fruita nor strawberry shortcake. actually, there were only a few pieces and slices of the usual dome cake, belgian waffles and other cakes you can find here in manila. so, we just ordered our coffee (i had one of my favorites: the cinnamon struesel latte) and we chose a spot in the corner at nagkuwentuhan na lang kami.

then we went home....

before we left the next day, we had a quick breakfast at the chalet's restaurant, pretty decent if i may add then it was off to the terminal to end our baguio getaway...

hay...i hope to go back to baguio, pick some strawberries and maybe see other places and eat more food that it has to offer. and i hope to do that soon, not in another 18 years...

Northern Exposure - Part 3

sunday...it was our last day to go around the city. we started the day with a mass at St. Joseph the Worker in Pacdal. this is the same church where aga muhlach and charlene gonzales got married. of course, i couldn't take pictures inside but from outside...



when we got there, we found out that we were late for the 8 a.m. mass but extremely early for the 9 a.m. mass. so, to make the most out of our time, we crossed the street to get to wright park. this is where you get to see, ride and pose with the ponies and horses. now, rona really wanted to have a picture sitting on a horse. so we got to the part of the park where you can pose with a pony or a horse for a fee. in baguio, whenever you take pictures or pose somewhere or with someone, there's a fee...


(l-r: aileen, rona atop a pony, the quartet posing in front of the horses and ponies lined up. )

after that, we made our way back to church heard mass then had brunch at don henrico's along session road then it was off to strawberry farm! woohoo!

now, one of my favorite fruits (aside from melon/cantaloupe and peaches) is of course, the strawberry. i love it as lip balm, body spray, body wash, bubble gum, freshly picked, with cream, with my cereal, as jam together with butter...oh wow...so, i was really excited to go to the farm. the farm is located in la trinidad, benguet. from session road, it took us about 30 minutes to get there. unfortunately, there weren't enough strawberries anymore because people flocked to the farm as early as friday...we went there on a sunday...


strawberry fields forever...

do you notice how far off the people are in the picture? that meant that from the point closest to where i was, up to where you see the people, the "bushes" were picked clean. i overheard someone say "wala ng strawberry, dati dito pa lang, nakikita mo na yung mga pulang bunga..." oh well, maybe the next time i go to baguio, there'll be red dots in the picture...

but i was happy just to have been "in" the field. i just imagined it all red, with so many strawberries waiting to be picked...*sigh*...

we just crossed the street to buy some things that we wanted to take back to manila. then, we decided to head back to the chalet to "deposit" what we bought then it was off to the Baguio Botanical Gardens.

since it was only about 300 meters from the chalet, we decided to walk to the gardens and breathe in the crisp baguio air.


(l-r: walking down tepeyac's driveway onto leonard wood road towards the botanical garden, at the entrance, aileen & rona inside the garden)


(l-r: a park within a park, goofballs posing, rona got another wish granted - a picture with an igorot)

after the botanical garden, we decided to split up since aileen wanted to go to the ukay-ukay again; rona went with her. rose & i went back to sm to meet her sister who was in baguio as well...

Northern Exposure - Part 2

the ukay-ukay is very famous here in manila. you see a lot of stalls that have a banner outside proclaiming they're an authentic ukay-ukay outlet. but i believe that the original ukay-ukay concept came from baguio. also known as wagwagan, this is where you'll find clothes, shoes, bags, toys and believe it or not, underwear for sale. the items are either second-hand, slightly used (underwear, slightly-used? uh, i'll pass...), brand new, maybe even from customs. a lot of people have found items that are truly a bargain (imagine an authentic - i suspect class a - ralph lauren handbag goin' for a hundred bucks!!!). that is if you have enough patience, stamina and perseverance to go from stall to stall, floor to floor and literally dig thru heaps or boxes of items to get those fashion finds.

i was so tempted to take pictures of the bayanihan ukay-ukay (THE place for ukay-ukay stalls according to the taxi driver and rose's friend) but my camera might end up in one of the stores so, never mind. we were also advised that 3 - 4 p.m. is the most ideal time to go to the ukay-ukay since that's when the goods turn up (read: bagsakan ng mga tinda).

so, at the bayanihan building (yes, it's a building!) we started our treasure hunt for items that might catch our fancy. what i didn't know was that aileen wanted to update or add some pieces to her wardrobe thus, the ukay-ukay was where she really wanted to go. i on the otherhand, was there for the experience. now i can truly say that i've seen and gone through the ukay-ukay! :)) after stalls and stalls and a couple of floors, it's off to the hilltop area for more ukay-ukay finds. hilltop is like the palengke but along the street, it's not just the vegetables and fruits that take centerstage. look for all the cots lined up laden with shirts, bags, track suits, jackets and all that stuff...

aileen purchased a couple of items, rona and rose got a bag and i, well, i really didn't get anything - i couldn't find anything that i wanted. so, we decided to go somewhere else...we found ourselves in a taxi going to camp john hay...

now, Camp John Hay is a place that i often hear about from our good friend T. they always stayed at the manor in CJH. unfortunately, we couldn't explore CJH as we should've. we were a bit tired and it was almost evening so we settled for the butterfly sanctuary, then the el rancho resto and the filling station.


(l-r: rona and rose beside the entrance, a goddess in the middle of the sanctuary and, before you leave the sanctuary, the caretaker allows you to pose with 2 or 3 butterflies that "cling" to you while you take a picture. here, it's rose's turn...)


(l-r: rose and rona posing beside the wishing well at el rancho, the signage that beckons you to savor the oh-so delicious strawberry and ice cream concoctions they have...)

our stomachs still wanted to have dinner even if we just had so much strawberries, mangoes and ice cream. so, it was off to Cafe By The Ruins.

Cafe by the Ruins is known for their coffee and scrumptuous bread (their hot chocolate is good too!). unfortunately, i had neither since i wanted rice for dinner. but i do vow to have that when i return ...

(l-r: one of their delicious salads, the baguio bounty - alfalfa sprouts, shrimps, chicken, bananas, mangoes and of course strawberries!!!; for my main course i tried their longanisang hubad...there's also mountain rice - like brown rice - and an egg..)

tummies content, body weary from all that walking, we go home and rest for tomorrow is a long day...

Northern Exposure

i knew that a trip to baguio wasn't just 3 or 4 hours. i was prepared for 5 or 6. unfortunately, it turned out to be an 8 hour trip! oh boy! and we only had 2 bus stops with about 15-20 minutes each...whew! my tushy certainly remembered the trip! from 5 a.m. - 11 a.m. though, we didn't really mind since we were fast asleep. i regained consciousness just in time for the last bus stop in sison, pangasinan...well of course, that was lunchtime, my grumbling stomach woke me up...

i don't remember the road going to baguio & i didn't get a glimpse of the lion head that signalled baguio. (for those who know the roads leading to baguio, please forgive my ignorance) but i knew we were approaching baguio because it was hard to miss the "zig zag" road...



we arrived before 1 p.m.. as i got off the bus, i was expecting a cooler climate. alas, it wasn't as cool as i expected it would be. but it was definitely better than the sweltering heat in manila! anyway, first thing to do: secure our tickets back home to manila; we fell in line for another 30 mins to get our return tickets and then it was off to Chalet Tepeyac to check-in.

Tepeyac doesn't exactly offer 5-star hotel service. it's what i expected it would be: quaint. i forgot to take pictures of the room but from the driveway this is what greets you:


(l-r: reception area and dining, rooms (3 floors) and a function hall or should i say, a function "cottage")

after freshening up, it was off to sm baguio.

now, those who know me well, know i'm a certified mall rat. and so is rose. therefore, we weren't going to leave baguio without checking out sm baguio. in terms of structure, it's like sm fairview. but, i'll talk about sm later. our first stopover was a restaurant since we were famished. unfortunately for us, it was the weekend, it was payday weekend and it was the 3-day weekend sale of sm baguio. now weekend in this post translates to a throng, mob or mulititude of people. it seems like half of manila or maybe even luzon was up in baguio! every restaurant was jam-packed but we managed to get a table at carlo's pizza.

after satisfying our stomachs, the planning session began. i forgot to tell you that we bought a map of baguio to help us plan the itinerary.



(l-r: rona, rose and aileen)

and so for the rest of the day it was the ukay-ukay and camp john hay. :))

Count Me In!

it's been 18 years since i last saw baguio. i remember we were there because the trip was a gift from my parents to my sister for her graduation. and, we stayed at the hyatt terraces. it was also during that trip that i fainted in the baguio cathedral. i don't know why i fainted but i sure do remember how it felt like to faint. i'm sure my brothers and sisters would recall what happened :)

so, when my good friend rose invited me to join her, aileen and rona (her friends and former officemates) on a trip to baguio, i really wanted to go. besides, i haven't had a holiday, no christmas, new year or holy week, what with the committments we have at work. labor day fell on a monday and luckily the business trip we had to mindoro was postponed so i told rose, "count me in!".

aileen organized the trip. she did her research on the places that we could stay in and bought the tickets to and from baguio. after checking out the sites, we chose Chalet Tepeyac as our "hotel" for our stay.

we reserved 4 seats for the 5 a.m. trip (victory liner) to baguio on saturday, april 29, 2006. aileen and i slept over at rose's house so we could all go to the terminal together. rona, was in angeles at that time (if i'm not mistaken) so we were going to pick her up in mabalacat, pampanga...