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. :))