Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Kalesa Tour: Morning Stroll at the Heritage Village

From Simbaan a Bassit, we started walking our way to Heritage Village...

On our way, we passed by Crisologo Museum and stopped for a while to get some photos. We weren't able to tour the inside of the museum because we're really running out of time. 

Calle Crisologo is Vigan's most picturesque street. A walk down the cobblestone streets and rows of ancestral houses in thick brick walls standing side by side to each other made me feel like I'm frozen in time. It definitely brought back the mood of the historic Spanish times - the grandeur of the past. There were a number of shops seen along the street selling souvenir pieces, antiques,  furnitures, food parlors and I even saw an Island Souvenir shop. You an also visit the Administration office to grab some brochures.

Calle Crisologo 
I've always wanted to taste the authentic Empanada of Vigan as well as Bagnet, but my cousin said, empanadas are sold in the afternoon. We didn't get to see a store selling one.

Vigan offers a wealth of historical and cultural wonders best experience on foot and through a calesa ride. And so after the stroll, we decided to ride a calesa driven by Kuya Arnel. He said he's been a cochero for the past 15 years. Calesa ride is priced at Php150 per hour.  My 5 year old nephew Cocoy who's always been fascinated with all sorts of cars and trucks fondly calls the calesa #157 the Ferrari! And so we drove the Ferrari til we get to our first stop, the Baluarte.

click here to see more photos of Calle Crisologo.

Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Hello Vigan!

We left Baguio at about 7:30pm. Bus tickets going to Vigan costs Php294 (Partas Bus Airconditioned). My friend MC and I got our seat at the very front row of the bus while my cousin Leah and son Cocoy were seated at the back. It was a long 5 hour drive, good thing we bought Jollibee hotdog sandwiches before getting on the bus. We haven't eaten our dinner yet because of the long line at the Partas Bus Terminal. That was the day when the Panagbenga Grand Float Parade happened.

Simbaan a Bassit at night
The winding roads of Baguio to Vigan is much scarier than when going from Manila to Baguio.  Good to know Partas drivers are known for excellent and safe driving. A note to those who frequently suffers from motion sickness, I recommend taking your Dizitabs before leaving.  The bus took a 15 minute stopover in a restaurant and passengers had the chance to go to restrooms, stretch and buy food. How I only wished to have taken photos of Vigan's Heritage Village at night but it was too late when we arrived.



We love the house where we stayed. It's a typical old Vigan house - very roomy with dark wooden floors, bedrooms that has doors connecting to each other and wide capiz windows. Near the staircase leading of the second floor is a large sala with fine antique furnitures, a classic piano organ and a dining room holding lots of silverwares and china plates on display. Special mention would be the bed we slept, a sturdy old fourposter canopy bed embellished with a charming white mosquito net. Felt like royalty right there! But I must be admit though, it was  quite scary the first time we set foot, considering we arrived at the old house at exactly 12midnight!

Upon waking up, I looked around and saw pictures of owners along with prominent personalities like former U.S. President Bill Clinton as well as former President Gloria Macapagala Arroyo. No wonder it's such a great house, it belonged to a well known family in Vigan. We're indeed lucky! After a great Vigan breakfast, the group went on its separate ways for a while. MC and I started going around town by foot - we went to a nearby Internet shop to transfer all the Baguio pictures to my portable hard drive, we also went to look for an optical shop to buy a contact solution and withdraw at a BDO atm machine. Surprisingly, all these establishments are just walls away from each other. My cousin Leah and her son Cocoy took a short visit to their Lola, a couple of blocks away from where we stayed.

After 30 minutes, we started walking our way to Heritage Village.

Monday, March 28, 2011

Baguio: 2 Days 1 Night Itinerary

Here's a sample itinerary of what we did. We actually stayed there for 3 days but I'll just share the places we've seen on the first 2 days since the 3rd day was spent on watching the Panagbenga Float Parade. Prior to the trip, I made some internet research before deciding on what places to go to. Feel free to follow our itinerary on your next Baguio trip.

The first day was spent on touring my friend on the basic tourist spots of Baguio. Places me and my cousin has actually visited a number of times except for the Good Taste Restaurant.

Day 1
07:00 am:      Check in into your hotel/lodging house (we went to Benguet State University to follow up on the status of our reservation. BSU is located near Strawberry Farm, a 30 minute and P77 taxi drive from Victory Bus Liner Baguio Terminal)

08:00 am:      Breakfast at McDonalds beside BSU

09:00 am:      Burnham Park | Session Road | Baguio Cathedral
                     Downtown area

12:00 pm:     Lunch at Good Taste
                     Behind Baguio Center Mall

01:00 pm:     Botanical Garden | Wright Park | The Mansion | Mines View Park | Good Shepherd
                    Leonard Wood Area

05:00 pm     Benguet State University (to check on the status of our reservation and toured the campus)

08:00 pm:     Check in transient house near Lourdes Grotto

Note: We started to feel the heavy traffic on our way back to BSU. There were some miscommunication on our reservation and we're left with no room to stay but ate Jag of BSU was kind enough to look for a better lodging for us. Click here to read more of our first day of tour.

Day 2

06:00 am:     Breakfast

08:00 am:     Tam-awan Village | Arko ni Apo
                    Naguilian Area

10:00 am:     BenCab Museum
                    Asin Road

02:00 pm:     Lunch at Mongolian Grill (late lunch because we were too engrossed with the view and collections at the BenCab Museum)
                    located steps away from Burnham Lake

03:30 pm:     Bell Church | Strawberry Farm
                    La Trinidad Area

06:00 pm:     Lourdes Grotto
                    Mirador Hill, western part of Baguio

07:00 pm:    Dinner

Click here to read more of our day2 tour. Here are other tourist spots I wanted to see but sadly there's really not much you can do when your short of time and when traffic (during Panagbenga season) gets in the way. But there's always next time :)
Camp John Hay
Oh My Gulay Restaurant
Philippine Military Academy
Mother's Garden (this is a new discovery according to the owner of the house where we stayed)

Thursday, March 24, 2011

Fresh Strawberry Harvest

On Day 2 of our North Luzon Trip, we went to Strawberry Farm to harvest err what else - fresh strawberries!

After a hearty meal at O' Mai Khan and a quick tour at Bell Church, we geared up for the last stop for the day. Strawberry Farm is located at La Trinidad Valley few meters away from Benguet State University. We walked some few meters more before we arrived at the area. We were all excited especially my nephew Cocoy who loves strawberries very much. Good news is, we're just in time for peak season.
Strawberry Farm
We were attended buy 2 farmers and we told them we needed a variety of ready to eat strawberries and some that are good for 2-3 more days as we still have our Vigan-Laoag-Pagudpod leg. They handed each of us some really cute baskets and taught us to pick strawberries that still has white portions at the end for those we won't be eating right away. Cocoy, picked most of the ready to eat strawberries as he really likes it to be all red, lol! A kilo is worth Php300.
us picking fresh strawberries :)
It was all our first time to actually pick fresh strawberries right from the farm. Great thing the farmers bought us to the area where there were no close tourists around, and said that the area hasn't been picked yet, what a luck! Click here to view more photos of the Strawberry Farm. 

Monday, March 21, 2011

Baguio Tour Video (Part 1)

Here's a video I made taken during our recent Baguio Trip last Panagbenga season.


The cool Baguio breeze was indeed a refreshing change from the Manila heat.
Location: Burnham Park, Botanical Garden, Mines View Park, The Mansion, Wright Park, Tam-awan Village BenCab Museum

Friday, March 18, 2011

Baguio Day Tour Part 2

Our first day of tour was fun but tiring that I'm just so excited to lay flat in bed. I'm looking forward to a good night sleep, or so I thought...

I woke up 10 minutes before 5am, just in time before my phone alarmed. Good thing I wasn't really drawn into deep sleep as night time in Baguio really gave me one of my biggest chills. I would wake up every now and then putting layers of clothes on top of me (ginawin talaga ako!).  I alarmed the clock to check on my cousin  and pamangkin scheduled to arrive in Baguio by 5am. To my shock, I got an sms at around 4am telling me they're already in Baguio! But they're still not here. I immediately txted them for updates. I would go in and out of the house (challenging, really) to consequently check on them, still no luck. I began to worry.
 Good thing I still have an ample amount on my GCash wallet to load my phone and started to call. No wonder why they're having a hard time finding the place, they were given the wrong street name! I asked help from Noemi who's kind enough to come with me to meet them near Skyrise hotel. I'm glad to see them both. The early morning walk was just enough to warm up my body for the rest of the day.

After drinking hot choco and eating pesto for breakfast at past 5 in the morning, we readied ourselves for a long day of tour. Our first stop, the Tam-awan Village. We paid P50 entrance fee and were given brochure maps of the whole area. It was big. The place reminded me of my Lake Sebu hike because of the trail and scary heights. Of course it was safe with handles along the trail. But I wasn't fully prepared for it, or at least my outfit wasn't up to the challenge. I should have googled the place before going there. It also houses art exhibits of some of Baguio's talented artists (click here to view more pictures of Tam-awan Village)

Located right across Tam-awan Village is Arko ni Apo Art Gallery, another art gallery of renowned Filipino artist Ben-hur Villanueva. The whole 2 floors are full of sculpted images made of wood and brass. I would love to share those here, however taking photos aren't allowed. A coffeeshop named Kape Diperensya welcomes visitors with a cottage like ambiance, very typical of Baguio interiors. We don't have the luxury of time to try their food as we need to be at BenCab Museum before lunch time.

BenCab Museum Garden
Seeing 3 wonderful art galleries in one day may seem to be a bit  overwhelming, but Baguio has this country charm that quietly took us under its tantalizing spell. I love arts, it's me, it's my world. And Baguio did not disappoint. Adding to that, I also got the chance to meet BenCab himself!!! (check out more photos of BenCab Museum taken during our visit)

Jeepneys pass by the museum and we went back to Baguio City hungry for lunch, it's past 1:30pm. We headed on to the very first restaurant we saw - O' Mai Khan.

After a healthy meal, we rode another jeep to take us to Bell Church located north of Baguio city near La Trinidad, Benguet.  Inside is a beautiful Chinese temple with building exteriors adorned with dragons. We were greeted with a bunch of kids playing drums, sort of lion dance music. The ambiance is very festive. Right in front of the church is a charming lotus pond. Inside, we lighted incense sticks and said our prayers and wishes, Chinese style.

After a short Chinese immersion, we moved on to our last stop for the the day, Strawberry Farm! Hungry for local produce? Don't miss the thrill of picking fresh strawberries yourself. How fun it was for us, our first strawberry harvest experience.

With fresh strawberries at hand, we decided to get back to our lodge but opted to stop by Lourdes Grotto first. We don't have the energy to climb its 200+ steps, it's more than what our feet can endure. We already had a day of long walk, it's just too much to handle. So we just stayed at the entrance below and offered our prayers. From the grotto we walked our way to the house. After dinner, we prepared ourselves and slept early for a much more strenuous activity the following day, the Panagbenga Float Parade.

Wednesday, March 16, 2011

Random Thoughts on Health and Travel

It has been 2 years since my brother graduated Bachelor of Science in Nursing. When Mom and I attended his graduation, it was like being in an ocean full of Patrick Dempsey's in beautiful nursing scrubs right there. Lol! But just like other nurses here in the country, my brother also wished to work abroad. And just like many fresh graduates then, finding a way out of the country has never been an easy task.


Just a few months after he passed the Nursing Board Exam and proudly writes the initials RN after his name, my dad underwent a major surgery. The surgery went well. For weeks my brother goes with my dad for long distance travels. There's something great about having immediate family members working in the medical field. My uncle for instance is a doctor and owns shares of stocks in some hospitals down south. So when I travel to Mindanao, I simply go to him and take a couple of medical tests - from ultrasound to blood test (for free!) Once, I spent a day with him and his assistants who were so close to me, we were like hopping from one hospital to another, crazy day! Recently, he purchase a very high tech ultrasound machine from France called elastograph  that can detect early signs of breast cancer. As far as I know, he's the first private doctor in the Philippines who acquired such sophisticated technology - talking about medical tourism here! Click here to read more about this amazing machine available in Koronadal Diagnostic Center.

During my recent travel in Mindanao, I got hospitalized - my first ever confinement! That hospitalization paved way for me to start thinking seriously about my health and be conscious about the food I eat when I travel and I have been extra careful with the water I drink. I make sure I bring with me small bottle of hand sanitizer and avoid heavy luggage I need to carry for long periods of time since I tend to get awful backaches. 

Heads up to the people wearing nursing uniforms dedicating their lives to deliver quality healthcare. To the people in Allah Valley Medical Center, I couldn't express how much grateful I am when you all took care of me when I was confined.

My brother will be celebrating his birthday this coming summer and I'm considering gifting him with uniform he can use for his everyday duties in the hospitals. In the coming years, another brother will be wearing those uniforms too!

Baguio Day Tour Part 1

After a 5 hour drive from Manila, me and my friend MC finally arrived in Baguio at around 7am. We felt lucky to to finally got out of Victory Bus Liner Terminal, we barely made it on time because we weren't able to book our bus tickets in advance. We waited for 6 hours to finally get on their regular air-conditioned bus.



From our drop off point in Baguio's Victory Bus Liner Terminal, we immediately took a cab to take us to Benguet State University where we're suppose to stay. We met with ate Jag who works at BSU, my cousin's college friend and contact regarding our Baguio accommodation. Unfortunately, we found out that there has been a miscommunication between ate Jag and another BSU staff. Bottom line, we didn't have a place to stay, yet. But ate Jag was kind enough to look for another place for us. We agreed to just leave our heavy bags in her office and come back later in the afternoon for update. And so the journey begins...

As we walk pass the gate of BSU, I noticed a banner welcoming Philippine's football Team Azkals. BSU has been their training camp from Feb. 20-26. Geez, could this be one reason why there's no available room left for us? Anyway, hungry for food, we walked some few meters to a nearby McDonalds. Not exactly what I had in mind for our first breakfast...

After breakfast we rode a jeep going to Bokawkan (fare ride is just P9.75) and dropped off Burnham Park. I started showing my friend the place. It was her first time in Baguio and I am starting to feel the tourist guide in me, haha! Burnham Park in time of the recent Panagbenga festival was such a large field of canvas with art projects here and there. "Oh my world", I said to myself. (click here to see pictures)

There are some parts of the park that has been blocked from the vehicles, no wonder it looked bigger. It was already crowded but not as crowded as I've expected. After a few minutes of stroll, we asked some people around the way to Baguio Cathedral. So off we strut the long walk up the Session Road. Two familiar food establishments caught my eye, the Session Delights and Pizza Volante. I was yearning to try their food because of what I have been reading on the net, but it didn't really pushed through. Waiting at bottom part of the cathedral is a scary 100+ steps. You'll see this place just in front of Volante building. Wow, we're already short of breath because of that long walk and now we're faced with this never ending staircase. Talking about exploring parts of the city by foot!

Baguio Cathedral
Moving our way up was scary for both of us because the steps are just too narrow. But we're glad we made it on top! We stopped by shortly to hear the mass, it was in Ilokano. I said my thank you's especially  for this wonderful chance to explore parts and pieces of the North. The Baguio Cathedral also known as Our Lady of the Atonement Cathedral is one of the historical sites many travelers would visit and its pink architectural facade is such a charm.

We went down the stairs once again. Hungry for lunch, we immediately rode a cab to get us to Good Taste. And their servings my friends are to die for! Check out more of Good taste here.

Right after lunch it took us a hard time getting a cab to take us to Botanical Garden. There were just too many waiting for taxis.


A group of Igorots welcomed us as at the very facade of Botanical Garden. We took some photos with them before leaving. They priced P10 for each Igorot, we decided to get 5 of them plus the one who secured the tripod while it takes picture. Click here to check out more photos of Botanical Garden.

Passing by right in front of Botanical Garden are jeepneys going to Wright Park. Here, you'll find really cute pink and curly haired baby horses. We didn't try riding one and just continued on with other nature views. Just in front of Wright Park's lake is The Mansion. These two areas are special because it reminded me of my last Baguio climb along with Star Magic Presents: Abt Ur Luv staff and crew. Check below to watch part of the episode I'm talking about:


From the Mansion we rode a cab to take us to Mines View Park. The place at that time was already crowded. There were a lot of pasalubongs you can buy, from souvenir t-shirts to bonsai plants to little trinkets.  We bought my favorite mais and then tried to get a decent space. We lobbied near the part where tourists are taking photos with another of Baguio's familiar face - St. Bernard. How cute he is!!! Rocker style!

For our final stop of the day - Good Shepherd, walking distance from Mines View. Now this part of the trip is quite a frustration. I have been wanting to go to Baguio because of their Ube Jam which is kind of addicting really. Bad new is, I couldn't buy one because there's a tendency that it could get spoiled. The staff told us that Ube Jams should be refrigerated at all times, if not it could only last for 3-4 days. We won't be back in Manila any time soon as we still have the Vigan-Laoag-Pagudpod leg. Good thing they still have a branch in Tagaytay.

Moving on, we got back at Benguet State University at around 5pm. We toured the place while waiting for ate Jag. She found a good place for us to stay, near Lourdes Grotto. The house has a basement with 3 rooms. We were charged P300 each per night (discounted already), twice the price the room we reserved at BSU. But the whole situation was a blessing in disguise. We loved the the place, very condo in style yet homey and way too affordable compared to other transient houses. There's a heater, kitchen with plates and utensils we can use plus the owners are really nice. We unpacked our stuffs, munched on our dinner and slept.

End of day one.


Wednesday, March 9, 2011

13 Travel Tips: Panagbenga Festival

Truly, experience is the best teacher. And having experienced the thrill of Panagbenga myself, I would like to share a few things I learned during our 3 day stay. For those who are planning to go to Baguio for upcoming Panagbenga Festivals, read these reminders/tips below.

1. Reserve your bus ticket at least 2 weeks before your scheduled trip.
I was able to book our plane tickets from Laoag to Manila for our return flight four months before the festival but failed to book our bus ticket to Baguio. Huge mistake! We waited 6 grueling hours at the Victory Liner Bus Terminal in Cubao before finally making it to the bus. Nothing can be more scary than after all the preparations you did, you'll end up missing your trip.


Here's Victory  Liner's website - http://www.victoryliner.com/

2. Travel light but don't miss the important things you need to have when going to Baguio. Especially when you're just going to commute, please try not to bring your whole closet - you'll end up not using a lot of it anyway.

3. If you're a certified ginawin like me, be ready for the cool Baguio weather during Panagbenga season. Arm yourself with a cozy jacket and hat. I even wear handgloves during those cold chilling nights.

4. During the Grand Float Parade, do not ever attempt to skip on your breakfast.
Please eat something before going to see the parade. I was horrified to see a number of people near our spot fainted just because they missed their morning meal. It's horrible! Good to see medics are very much feasible within the area but it pays to be tummy ready.

5. Watching the parade is not for the weak of hearts.
I don't even recommend going there with your little kids and grandparents. Leave them behind, don't bring them there. The foot traffic is unbelievably overwhelming - human traffic at its worst. This year's festival alone, an estimated half a million were there to witness the event. And making your way to the crowd just to catch a good spot is no laughing matter. I feel sorry for that little kid beside me crying and begging for his mom to just go home. And the mother, carrying the boy on her shoulders would scandalously shout telling him he'll miss half of his life if he don't get to see the parade. My goodness! Dear parent, your kid is still young enough to even remember this day so why bother showing him the parade!!! Can't you see, there's literally no space to walk! People were screaming and pushing! It feels like a stampede is waiting to happen,  it really scared the heck out of me.

6. What's the best spot to watch the parade?
Well, according to a taxi driver we asked on our first day in Baguio, one of the best spot to consider is the roof top in Maharlika building. Some said the roads along session road (just be sure to be there early to be on the front row, but it could get a little hot there by noon), while some said it's the footbridge. Our feet bought us to the footbridge near Maharlika building. (click here to see my shots taken from the footbridge)

7. Beware of pickpockets.
I can't count how many Baguio residents warned us about nasty thieves during the parade. These bad guys would take advantage of the crowd traffic so watch over your belongings, better yet leave the important things at home. Bring just enough cash for the day and place it in your front pockets, never at the back.

8. Get ready for long walks. It's good if you could book in hotels/lodging houses near the city proper. However these hotels are much pricey compared to transient homes. 

9. Be a taxi magnet!
With a flag down rate of just Php25, Baguio taxi drivers are well known for giving back changes whether how small it is. But getting taxis during Panagbenga season can really be frustrating. Many would refuse to pick up passengers and if they do, imagine competing with thousands of tourists trying to catch a cab as well. Our love and hate relationship with taxis made my 5 year old pamangkin desperately plead for many manong drivers to take us out of the city. When all else fails,  you have jeepneys to count on.  

10. Dining in restaurants and fast food chains in the city area can be a challenge so I suggest you buy a little something to fill you up. Burnham Park offers an array of street foods.

11. Do your research on your desired tourist spots and note their complete addresses. If you can, keep a map handy at all times. Not all taxi drivers know all of Baguio's tourist spots. Getting lost in Baguio can be tricky considering all of its winding roads.

12. Deal with motion sickness
If you tend to get dizzy in the roads of Manila, you'll definitely get more dizzy in the roads of Baguio. So be ready with your Dizitabs :)

13. Book your return bus tickets in advance. How I wish the Baguio Terminal would someday expand their booths to accommodate thousands of tourists leaving Baguio. For those heading to Vigan/Laoag, you can get your tickets at Partas Terminal, walking distance from SM Baguio. Note though, Partas going to Vigan/Laoag doesn't accept reservations.


Experiencing a well-known festival has its ups and downs. Cheer up and don't fret. Make the most out of those inconveniences. Good luck on your Panagbenga Festival experience.