A weekend full of love, joy, and surprises in Baguio City

Panagbenga 2009 (Photo credit: susancorpuz90)

One million visitors are expected this weekend in Baguio for the Panagbenga Festival. One million!!! I’m relieved that i was able to visit Baguio the previous weekend and avoid this gargantuan crowd. Yes, i missed the float parade —  that sucks a little — but Baguio is a wonderful place to visit anytime of the year.

I traveled to Baguio last Feb 18-19, a post-Valentine date with my boyfriend, Gep. We needed an out-of-town vacation and we agreed on Baguio.

It was my first time to actually plan the whole trip. I’ve done research on the hotels or inns that could accommodate us. I ended up reserving a beautiful standard room on the Hotel Veniz, which thankfully is located at the heart of the city and easily accessible to various jeep terminals. The rate per night we got was a season rate (since Panagbenga is a month-long occasion) and it was at P2,095, but usually the standard room is priced at P1,795.

For the ride to and from Baguio, we boarded a regular Victory Liner bus at P450/head.  The bus terminal is along EDSA. There’s another Victory Liner terminal, i think in Kamias, but it would take you to the other side of north (N. Ecija, Cagayan, Isabela), so take EDSA-Cubao. We had an option to take a Deluxe bus, which i heard has its own Wi-Fi connectivity and comfort room, but it was more than P700. Still, we were lucky, our regular bus for both trips had free Wi-Fi so Gep was able to post and update through Twitter, Foursquare, and Facebook.

This is important: before the trip, I printed maps and samples of itineraries in Baguio that i saw online. They were very much helpful in planning for the whole trip and in touring around the city.

Here it is: Gep and Leeloo’s own Baguio itinerary for a 2-day, 1-night stay in Baguio.

Day 1 (Feb 18, 2012; AM)

Rowing at Burnham Lake
Biking at Burnham Park
Orchidarium
Baguio Cathedral, Igorot Garden, Rizal Park
Lunch at Cafe by the Ruins

Burnham Lake. We chose the boat that offers unlimited hours of use for only P100. It was early morning, cold and breezy, and the experience at the lake was awesome. Remember the scene from The Notebook? It was so romantic.

We had so much time in our hands before we check in at Hotel Veniz. Still at Burnham Park, people can exercise, ride a bike, and taste strawberry taho.

Lots of flowers are in bloom here at the Orchidarium. Geez, don’t know their names, but they’re all lovely and colorful.

There are other sites worth seeing in Baguio. Our Lady of Atonement Cathedral, aka Baguio Cathedral (top left), Rizal Park (top right), and the Cordillera Freedom Monument at the Igorot Garden (below).

For lunch, we searched for Cafe by the Ruins. We had our fill of Baguio Bagnet, Tita Susie’s Crispy Tapa, Strawberry Juice, and Agua Fresca de Jamaica.

Day 1 (Feb 18, 2012; PM)

Check-in at Hotel Veniz (2pm)
Mines View Park
Dinner at 50’s Diner
SM Baguio
Back to Hotel Veniz for much needed sleep

We met four huge dogs at the Mines View (I still don’t know their breed). They are gentle, furry giants, and I feel for them. They’ve become tourist attractions already. I hope they’re able to rest well afterwards. Then further along the park is a view deck. There’s a vast view of an abandoned mine now cramped with residential houses and some forest cover. Mines View also has several shops so we bought sweets like ube jam, strawberry crinkles, fudge bars for pasalubong.

Oh my!! 50’s Diner offers generous, hearty meals at a very sulit price. What’s sulit? It’s getting more than what you paid for. There were also wall movie posters from old Hollywood and a vintage car.

Squeezed in a little time for SM Baguio. We were so full from dinner, we had to walk towards the mall. Caught a night view of the whole city.

Day 2 (Feb 19, 2012; AM)

Lourdes Grotto
Tam-awan Village

Gep and I had to wake up early so we can cover more areas before we check out of the hotel. We didn’t know that our last day would be the more exhausting and physically challenging part of our journey.

250+ steps towards the Lourdes Grotto. Literally, breathtaking. We did the count while we’re going down.

Our next stop was here in Tam-awan Village that featured Ifugao houses.

Local artists gather at the Tam-awan Village. Gep and I got lucky because two artists made sketches of us for the price of 1 (P300). So whose version’s the more accurate or closer depiction of us?

 Day 2 (Feb 19, 2012; PM)

Check-out of the hotel (12nn-1pm)
Camp John Hay
— Lunch at Army Navy
— Butterfly Sanctuary
— Eco-Trail
— Target shooting
— Horseback riding
— Picnic area
— Flower decor near Convergys
Dinner at 50’s Diner
Departure at 8:30pm via Victory Liner bus

The hardest part, for me, was leaving the hotel. I love the comforts of the bed so much, i want to sleep on it a little longer. But we had to check out at around 1pm. We continued on our plan to visit Camp John Hay even if we had to carry all of our bags and pasalubongs. Quite heavy. But nothing could stop us.

After our lunch at Army Navy, we were armed for more walking and searching. It took us awhile to see where the action was in Camp John Hay. First, we looked for the Butterfly Sanctuary. Guess it was right timing, coz when we left, the butterflies were no longer fluttering, no longer interested to see more visitors. The caretaker said butterflies are more active and more drawn to mate during warmer periods or summer.

Lost? Nope, we were at the Camp John Hay’s Eco-Trail. We didn’t go all the way coz we were unaware of where it would lead us. Advise here, travel light. No heavy bags.

Target shooting is fun. By the way, those were not real bullets. No one was harmed. I actually missed a lot of the targets. More practice.

I’d like you to meet Apollo, he’s Horse no. 39. Paid P250 for a 30-minute ride with him at the Riding Circle. I wish we could have bonded more. If only i knew how to handle him properly. Of course, a horse trainer/caretaker went with me. I suddenly miss you, Apollo.

Already exhausted from all the adventures today. Rested here at the picnic garden located in Camp John Hay. It felt like we were just in Sunken Garden of UP Diliman. We watched as families gather and play. It was getting colder at this point. Such a lovely day!

After Camp John Hay, we went back to 50’s Diner for another round of heavy dinner. Then we moved on to the Victory Liner bus terminal, bought more pasalubong, and waited for our ride home.

Baguio is truly a beautiful place to visit and it has probably the nicest, most honest strangers I’ve met so far. Can i also say they’re the most beautiful? Hindi uso ang pimples sa mga taga-Baguio. Less smoke, less pollution. I also love the high-altitude weather. It’s not so hot in the afternoon, although it can get really chilly in the evening. I love to come back here. I still need to buy a red native skirt that a random girl was wearing when we were in Camp John Hay.  ‘Til we meet again, Baguio! ♥