No regrets in Baguio

Date: February 26 -27, 2020. It’s past two o’clock in the morning when I started to open my eyes. It’s too early at that time to get up but I couldn’t get myself back to sleep even if I tried. Maybe I’m just excited. I only heard the noise of the electric fan which pointed in my direction. It’s too dark right now, no light in the room or even outside. I started to make the bed quickly then got my backpack to put my things inside that I needed for the day.. I will be going out somewhere…not entirely sure where yet, but it’s far from here. This is an unexpected journey but due to the things I needed I have to go. Everything is now ready. I just walked alone early in the morning, heading to the tricycle terminal. It was cold outside but still pleasant. I went to the meeting place at 7/11 but decided to go to Chowking first because they weren’t there yet, so I had breakfast. I ordered Pork Chao Pan and the siomai as a topping. I loved its taste. It was so good. While I was eating, I checked my phone and there were messages asking “where was I?”. It was from my friend's message on the group chat. So, it sounds like I will be going with my friends to Baguio. We rode on the bus which took us 6 hours of the total travel time from PITX to Baguio Terminal. Baguio is a summer capital city of the Philippines, it’s one of the top spots that have always been visited by tourists. We planned to eat lunch before we checked into the hotel that we reserved.

Ili- Likha is a creative treehouse that was built of grown trees and wooden structures. This place is stunning because of its uniqueness and ingenuity. There are special foods offered by their different culinary specialties. There are some creative paintings posted on a wall and artistic designs like sculptures all around.. It was a natural artistic display showcasing the culture and history of the region.

We were just like little kids who were so happy to take some pictures of all the different aspects of that place. It was a great experience! I enjoyed it a lot even though we were all tired by the end of the day. This was me looking at the folk art of sculpture pieces. These are just a few samples of collected art but there are lots more inside.

Most sculptures were made of wood, in a beautiful artistic design. It was a spectacular sight to behold. This was not natural for me to see these kinds of displays in a restaurant. I’ve never encountered it in Manila or in any other place I visited. At any rate, every geographic region has its differences. It’s not only the food that I enjoyed, it was the majestic and interesting pieces of art that were present there, as well. Without a doubt, Filipinos have showcased great creativity in their different concepts of art.

After we entered the restaurant, we decided to go to the hotel by taxi to drop off our luggage and other belongings. The transportation was provided by taxi and jeep which are the common vehicles here in Baguio. As we were traveling, we sensed the colder weather native to Baguio, even with the sun still shining. It was a fortunate thing that I remembered to bring my hoody jacket. We arrived at a scenic location that couldn’t possibly be missed or passed up during a trip to Baguio. It was just a perfect spot to spend time enjoying the local scenery. It was located at Mines View Park. In addition, we saw some beautiful and very colorful flowers, which the locals were selling as part of their income. There were many tourists visiting the area. It was wonderful to see their smiles and happiness while visiting such a lovely area.

We walked around and we saw beautiful scenery nearby, it’s a perfect view. I enjoyed watching the mountains. As we go to other spots, I have seen some stalls along the way that you can buy for “pasalubong”, it’s a Filipino term which means souvenir. Filipinos loved to bring pasalubong for their families when we got back home. It’s one of the traditional traits of every Filipino.

Baguio has a lot of places to be discovered. The place is rich in culture where the locals are adapting, preserving the heritage from their ancestors. It’s an indication that they loved their culture that we must be proud of. We just stayed there for a short period of time like two days and one night. But this experience is one of the memorable experiences that we’ve made. A lot of pictures to be shared here. Credits to the owner of these pictures from my friend Li. Thanks to all of you guys’ Sab, Li, Eden and Ma’am Lorie for joining me here on this journey, for the ID hehehehe……