Baguio 0606072014

Last Christmas, an office friend won an overnight stay for two persons at Azalea Residences in Baguio. The last days of May we talked about a lot of things and she invited me to go with her. (Lucky me!) Because I didn't have to spend on accommodation for this trip, I was able to shell out extra money for food so in a way, our trip to Baguio was somewhat of a food trip.

We met at Victory Liner Cubao on the eve of June 5, which is a Friday, and had a quick dinner at Fry Me, located a few steps from the bus terminal. The food is so-so but what really attracted me to the place was the bright colors and the price of the food. A meal of tofu sisig with rice and [sugary] iced tea cost P57.

We slept in the bus, waking up only when K needed to go to the toilet. I was sitting near the aisle and I had to stand for her to get out of the window seat. Other than that, I could have slept straight the entire time. 

We saw the sun rise as the bus was just entering Baguio. If only we were able to leave Manila an hour earlier... I totally forgot to consider catching the sunrise!!! My bad. :( Other than that, we arrived at 6AM as expected.

Even with our bags, we walked all the way from the terminal to Azalea Residences. We noted restaurants we passed by and took lots of photos. Oh, we got lost a lot but we just laughed it off. Baguio is a bit tricky and difficult to navigate through because it does not form a neat grid. We had a short photo session outside the White Laperal House and in Teacher's Camp. [In my first Baguio trip with my family, we didn't go there because according to my parents, there's nothing special there.]

After depositing our things at Azalea, we hit the road and started with breakfast at Backyard Baguio. I enjoyed their tuyonesca pasta. Just the very thing I want since I've been craving for anything with tuyo in it. Saturday breakfast at home is almost always tuyo with garlic rice, my favorite type of breakfast. And since it was Saturday morning when we arrived, I naturally looked for tuyo.

 

We then took a cab to Bencab Museum. The museum if quite far from the centro but it was all worth it. It houses a lot of bulol statues, as well as artworks by different contemporary artists, aside from Bencab's own works. I especially loved the erotica collection in one gallery. [Not just because of the theme, but also because I love how the curves of the female body is emphasized in art.] We shared an order of Bencab's chicken paprika pasta (P250) for brunch at Café Isabel inside the museum after going around the galleries. And, we got to have our picture take with Bencab!

 We went back to centro by jeep and got off at Burnham Park. K told me she'd teach me how to ride a bicycle but that didn't push through because it rained all afternoon. We stopped by Baguio Museum to have a peek inside. I was surprised to find a coffin with bone remains as part of the exhibit. The upper floor of the museum contains dioramas of city plans. One can see the evolution of the city's history there, as well as the politicians who led the city to what it is today.

It was still raining when we stepped out of the museum so we headed to nearby SM hoping for the rain to stop but we found ourselves spending much time in the mall because the rain wouldn't let up. In the end, we decided to just go and take a jeepney ride to Pink Sisters Convent. We had dinner at Zio Pizzeria later on.

Giddy like teenage girls, K and I had loads of fun inside our hotel room. Needless to say, we took lots of photos. I only get to check in at hotels occasionally so pardon my excitement.

The following day we woke up late and immediately headed to the dining room for our buffet breakfast. (Lucky me again!!!) The fare was not as impressive as  had expected but I love the crispy daing. I also appreciate the courtesy and attentiveness of the waiters. 

We headed to Baguio Cathedral for the Sunday mass. We were a bit late but we did catch the sermon part. The priest talked of the controversies surrounding the church, the corruption and the luxurious lifestyle of the clergy.This in contrast to the poor old man named Dobri Dobrev of Russia who, I had read days ago in PDI, is the church's biggest donor as he begs for the church. Inside me, I commended the priest for admitting and acknowledging that there is indeed corruption in the church. I was expecting him to tell people to donate more to the church to follow Dobri's example but instead, his focus was on how we, including the church, should focus more on spirituality and retaining values instead of on material things. 

After the mass, we hired a cab to take us to Strawberry Farm and we were unfortunate to have a narrow-minded driver who was forcing his beliefs on us. That was a big turn off for me. Religious people often fall in the trap of self-righteousness as they do not see how other beliefs can also be true. He quoted a lot from the Bible, verses which I am thoroughly familiar with having read the Bible many times as a child. But I was silent the whole time, not wanting to engage in a further discussion since I knew it would be pointless anyway. We might end up in an actual fight if I countered his views and I did not want to ruin my trip over a fight on beliefs. It just makes me sad to see how people can think they are way above others because they believe that what they believe in is true. I hope we can one day be united as human beings regardless of faith, beliefs, and ideology. I don't know if that is even possible given that ideology is very powerful.

I bought three bags of lettuce (instead of strawberries)

After buying pasalubong at Strawberry Farm, we went back to the hotel for our lunch. We had leftover pizza from the night before. Then we went to Casa Vallejo to watch free movies at Cinematheque Baguio and also to browse books at Mt Cloud Bookshop. I was able to find a lot of interesting books on Philippine history but in the end I was able to buy only one book, a translated book by Padre Chirino. I find it very useful since it has firsthand accounts of early Spaniards about their observations of the local cultures. It rained the whole afternoon again so we spent time at The Hillstation, a posh restaurant inside Casa Vallejo. I had lamb in balsamic vinegar (P380). Meat was tender and very flavorful. I also love the atchara which has a nice blend of sour and sweet taste. 

yummy lamb adobo (P380)

will note to stay here the next time I'm in Baguio

We hung out at the hotel lobby for some time before heading to the bus terminal to travel back to Manila. Happy to have my first travel with K.