TO CONTINUE OR NOT TO CONTINUE?
Me, Nads and Shane went on an impulsive trip to Baguio on a rainy June. It was an usapang lasing when Nads wanted to get away from Manila and escape her sadness at that drinking moment. The three of us agreed on a Friday night with warmly reddish but happy faces. (I canceled my Ilocos trip with Travel Factor for this) The trip was scheduled two weeks away from that day and believe it or not, we never spoke a single word about our Baguio plans after that night.
GOING THERE VIA VICTORY LINER
Victory Liner offers an hourly schedule of departure. Fare for regular aircon bus is 450 PHP with two stops at Siesta in Tarlac and Sison in Pangasinan. If you want to go for a deluxe bus, fare is 700 PHP without stops and the bus is wifi ready. If you are travelling at night, you might as well use the restroom a couple of times prior to your departure because the temperature inside the bus can be freezing sometimes.
BAGUIO ON A BUDGET: TRANSIENT HOME
You don't need to stay on a classy hotel when you visit Baguio. The most common and practical way to spend a night is to go on a transient. Price range is 200-500 PHP depending on the place / location. We are fortunate that Torres Transient home was referred to us by three different people.
Torres Transient home is just a stone's throw away from Baguio Botanical Garden.
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| Marked with a red dot. |
The place is really cozy. (That's why if you will notice, I use the word "home" everytime) The place is literally Home away from Home. The neighborhood is quiet, the location is nice and the room is spacious for four. Isang malaking bahay sya with five rooms, bonus ang kitchen.
You can cook here also. They provided us with utensils, mugs, plates, spoons, etc. (my favorite mug is Mister Donut brown mug with the word "Him" on it) If you just want to have a yakisoba noodles or a coffee, they have drinking water with hot and cold dispenser. (Turn the two switches on at the back of the dispenser. I ended up turning only one switch, kaya yung noodles namin, ininit pa namin using the stove and it took us 15 minutes to boil the water.) The refrigerator isn't working. You will eat naman outside all the time so you don't need one. Malinis ang restroom na color pink!
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| The living room |
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| We have it all for ourselves! :) |
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| Left: The stairs. Right: Our room. I apologize I wasn't able to give justice to the spacious and clean room because our stuffs are everywhere! :) |
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ART GALLERIES
I've had enough of the usual park hopping when in Baguio. I've been into the Burnham Park, Wright Park and among others, but I felt like it is so common that I never had a chance to explore Baguio's artistic heritage. Baguio boasts of culturally, historically and artistically inclined people contributing to the City's artistic haven, feeling ko kailangan ko silang makita lahat bago pa mapuno ng parke ang Baguio at tuluyan na silang makalimutan. For a change, I toured my friends around the City searching for art galleries. (Nads said that I was the tour coordinator.)
TAM-AWAN VILLAGE - On a slope of Pinsao lies a living museum of Cordillera arts and crafts referred to as the garden in the sky. Brimming with energy, we took off to a museum and replica of a traditional Cordillera village. The moment I set a foot in Tam-Awan's rich Cordillera hut, I told myself: "I want to paint!" I've been constantly trying to create perfect figures that I end up getting frustrated and not learning. Hindi nga pala perfect ang art kaya tinawag silang art. If you are looking for ethnic art, then this is the place for you. Entrance fee for adult is 50 PHP, 30 PHP for students / senior citizens with valid IDs and 20 PHP for 12 years old and below. Tam-Awan also offers lodging at 500 php per person.
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| This is what Cordillera people are made of. |
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| Three of my favorite paintings. Credit goes to the painters. |
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| Tam-Awan's wall |
ARKO NI APO ART GALLERY - The place is an art gallery and a coffee shop owned by Ben-Hur G. Villanueva. and it is just right across Tam-Awan Village. Entrance is free but you really hafta try their soya coffee with biscuits for 85 PHP! Inside, you will see mostly bronze statues and ethnic Cordillera arts. Interestingly, its coffee shop is called Kape Diperensya. Inside, mugs with broken ear are being used, a practice other cafe owners would frown at. As the owner points out, nobody is perfect.
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| Shane and Nads enjoying MY coffee and biscuits. |
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| I super fell in love with this one. The bronze art is on the floor. |
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| An exceptionally clean coffee shop. / I was the tour guide so I bought a map. |
I am not afraid of getting lost. Anyway, Baguio is just a small city and is accessible by cabs throughout the streets. I just need to get a map to know where to start sight-seeing and which place to dine to avoid asking locals from time to time.
OH MY GULAY ARTIST CAFE - The place is actually an oversized gallery that serves food, according to owner and legendary filmmaker Kidlat Tahimik. Every space is adorned with various forms of art. Oh My Gulay has gathered together under one roof a Spanish Galleon replica that doubles as a wall for paintings and Ifugao pillars. The place is so beauiful, it seems surreal.
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| I will never get tired of visiting galleries in Baguio. Anything that has to do with woods, I am in! |
UPPER SESSION ROAD'S SESSION DELIGHTS - Even when Baguio is at its freezing temperature, you will get exhausted din. Just a few meters away from La Azotea Building where Oh My Gulay locates lies Session Delights Restaurant.
Shane and Nads bought ice cream for 30 PHP each while I bought myself a drink for 30 PHP. At a first glance I thought it was a Chinese restaurant as it resembles the physical structure of Chinese restaurants in Binondo. Surprisingly, it is not.
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| Session Delights at Upper Session Road |
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| Effort! Sarap sampaling ng mga peys! |
Feeling ko hindi sila masyadong nag-enjoy na banatan ang ice cream. They craved for more after that.
Because Ukay-Ukay is part of the plan, let alone stick to it! Ukay-Ukay is basically a treasure trove of slightly used clothes, bags, toys, shoes, accessories sold at low prices. And because I am not interested to dig in with the two, I went to the toy section to find my own treasure. Nothing interests me so I went back to watch them fit clothes one after another. I was happy seeing them spot corporate clothes in less than a minute but when I felt like almost every piece of clothes suits them, HELL that's not fair! I was there at the corner, clutching my bag, their bags, pasalubongs and my camera while a woman asked me for prices. So ako na pala ang nagtitinda? I playfully answered her with prices beyond what the signboard is saying. Kala mo ha! (So nagsasalita na din ang signboard?)
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| Shane's third desperate attempt to try that sweater..:) |
We went back to our home after spending a little over an hour digging stuffs from Ukay-Ukay. We bought foods sa grocery in SM and went to Victory Liner to buy tickets for Sunday's departure. We definitely had a great day and was looking forward to park hopping on Day 2. :)
We agreed to spend a little less than 2,500/pax so how much is the overall travel damage per person?
Victory Liner fare (Manila-Baguio roundtrip): P 900.00
Transient home: P 250.00
Bottle of mineral water: P 25.00
Taxi Rides: P 400.00
Seafood Grill lunch in SM (Day 1): P 125.00
Tam-Awan entrance fee: P 50.00
Soya Coffee (Arko ni Apo): P 85.00
Royal Soda (Session Delights): P 30.00
Grocery items (snack and dinner): P 250.00
KFC lunch in Session Road (Day 2): P 110.00
Pasalubong: P 500.00
Total: P 2725.00
It doesn't have to be that big. Maarte lang ang mga kasama ko, they don't like to walk. We spent two days and one night in Baguio and I reckon if we planned our budget wisely, baka mas mababa pa. Masaya naman, so I think a 3,000 peso budget can go for about three days and two nights.
+Torres Transient Home
23 Morning Glory St., Navy Base Road, Baguio City
You may call Ms. Brenda at +63 928 502 5858
+Tam-Awan Village
366-C Pinsao Proper 2600 Baguio City
Tel No.: (074) 446-2949 / (074) 442-5553
Arko ni Apo Art Gallery
Tacay Road, Baguio City
+63 918 911 9850
Oh My Gulay!
5/F La Azotea Building, Upper Session Road, Baguio City
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