TIMELESS APPEAL OF THE CITY OF PINES

Cafe by the Ruins, Chuntug St., Baguio City

Tired of the routines of urban living (Manillergic), I was raring to go for a short out of town trip. With little money to spare, I wanted an adventure somewhere cold and relatively cheap. Before I went up the North, I had to ask a friend who recently visited Baguio. She claimed that Cafe by the Ruins' ambiance is artsy. (Definitely not the usual hop-on-a-park trip.) And because I felt the need to be alone, this place is perfect for a loner artist like me. There, I packed my bag and rode a bus to Baguio before Saturday daybreak to make the most out of the weekend. Anticipating a long trip, I spent the first hours of it asleep.

I awoke to stomach rumbling when the bus came to a stop in Pangasinan. The sun was crawling out of the sky but it was still cold. For a quick fill, I had a bowl of goto. Then I leaped back on the bus, watching the steep mountains as the bus made its way through and sharp curves to Baguio.


I am not good in story telling. Let me just try to write what I have in mind instead. I am in the process of systematizing my thoughts. It's real crazy inside my brain sometimes.

I wonder what it's like down there..

How many times do I have to see these marvelous stairs? I wanna see 'em more!

I arrived at 7:15 AM and I was greeted by the cool breeze even inside my jacket. A young man wearing a blue jacket came towards me and offered an apartelle a few minutes away from the terminal. I refrained my morbid thought that the man might be a cannibal and that he's gonna eat me before I know it. Inisip ko na lang, most of the locals here are vegetarian anyway. I am tryna kill the thoughts. I was alone, I was a little scared.

The apartelle is located just beside Microtel Inns and Suites. Thought to self: At least I know what to tell the cab driver when I am heading back to my place. I would say "sa Microtel lang po." Sosyaaaal! The inn is adequate for my need, undoubtedly near the landmarks of Baguio City. I will never get lost.

I spent the next couple of hours asleep, regaining the lost hours of my sleeping back in Manila. I was tired, I was consumed. I wanted to sleep, and rest like a dead man on a country side. It was such a peaceful moment. No TV, no nagger, ahhh..

I arrived in Mt. Cloud Bookshop around 1:15 PM and spent the whole afternoon there. I bought a coffee in Starbucks at SM Baguio because I didn't know na may coffee shop pala near the bookshop. Because you see, I am really trying to isolate myself from the cyberworld using my mobile phone. (That's why I went to Baguio alone OMGosh!) Pero wala din naman, I used it a couple of times to update my FB/Twitter or to take a snapshot of the place. I am a slave of technology! I can't get rid of it.

Cradle of Cordillera Art

I love Baguio so much.. I think I'm gonna marry you..

I spent the whole afternoon re-evaluating myself, drawing crazy figures, watching both foreign and local people pass by me on a quiet Saturday. I smile back upon them when they acknowledge my presence. I am trying not to be physically present, but that is virtually impossible. I wanted to mimic the wind but I can't. Sometimes, it is nice to know that you are just a normal person blending with people you don't know or just by being there in the same place and they just smile at you occasionally and be the quiet "you" on a weekend. Is that really hard to achieve in Manila? Or at home? Siguro.

Cafe by the Ruins at a different angle

Can I take home the whole shop? (and its peacefulness? Kahit for free lang.)

Totally free from sooo many people owning DSLRs

I went to Cafe by the Ruins on a Sunday morning. Walang tao! Ang saya saya ko. I think I came here a bit early. I spent a total of three hours here before I decide to take a bath and go to the bookstore again. I love the place. Super! But when you want to really have a quiet time away from the people, go the bookstore. May tao, pero hindi naman dagsa. I will definitely go back to this cafe. I will go back to Baguio.

Can I say no? Of course not! :p

I remembered two of my good friends in these foods.

Hindi Baguio to, kung walang walis! Bakit nga ba walang tingting ang Baguio?