Baguio

I had been idle for months and my feet was extremely itchy wanting to hop on the next bus ride to nowhere. So when I saw this commercial on TV about the Panagbenga festival in Baguio, I

enthusiastically chattered about it to my roommates. After hours of trying to convince them, we headed to the Summer Capital of the Philippines the next night with no thorough knowledge about the city except for the obvious fact that it's cold and that they grow strawberries there.

After a very quick preparation, we headed to Pasay Terminal and took the 10:30pm trip for Php455 per person. That approx 7hours trip had only two stops for eat-and-pee-break and most of it had been utilized to wander off dreamland. Kennon Road had made it impossible for me to elude motion sickness but gladly I was able to hold it off.

It was Dawn. It was Baguio. It was freezing. 

When we arrived at 5:30am it was extremely cold due to the location of the city and the oncoming drizzle and light rain. The long trip had given us backaches and we were so darn tired to argue and haggle. So when this somebody came to us and offered a supposedly nice place to stay, we took the offer, regretted it but eventually looked on the brighter side and decided to just enjoy the stay at King's Court Pension House since we're just going to use the room for sleeping anyway. Well, for  Php1500/room (good for 4 persons) I guess it wasn't pretty bad. Aside from the burned out light bulb  (was changed at 2pm after a tiring yet fun city tour), the room offers a nice view at night of the glowing city lights. The restroom was clean and provided hot and cold shower. 

What to Do in Baguio

Do like any visitor would normally do when new in the city. Visit tourist spots!

Burnham Park

Burnham Park has a man-made lake where one can rent a boat for Php150/30minutes. You can have the option to let someone paddle for you or you can do the paddling yourself. 

Play dress-up with this Igorot costumes for Php10/shot while you're at the Park.

If you have plenty of time, you can rent a bike for Php40/hour and burn those excess calories. 

Mines View Park

View from the top of Mines View Park

Aside from admiring the beautiful view at Mines View Park, your eyes can also feast on the souvenirs and pasalubongs being sold which are super cheap. When at the Park, don't forget to have your picture taken riding on a horse or together with one of the St. Bernards.

Si Vice Ganda daw to. Take a pic for Php10/shot.

This scene was simply breathtaking when I took the picture. Sorry for the bad resolution, I only had my camera phone to use for all the shots. :-)

Wright Park

If you want to try horseback riding for Php200/30 minutes then the best place to go would be Wright Park. There are also plenty of vendors there who sell souvenirs na super swak sa budget!

Across Wright Park is The Mansion, the official summer home of the President. All you can do here is take a picture and going beyond the fence is off limits. 

We were able to tour most of the tourist spots in Baguio for half a day which meant that we had plenty of time to just sit back, relax and take everything all in-that we were truly there in Baguio. The next day, we headed to La Trinidad to pick fresh strawberries straight from the farms of Ibaloi farmers. 

 La Trinidad, Benguet

Yes, Php300/1kilo is expensive compared to the already picked strawberries sold at the markets but the experience of picking the strawberries right from their farms is incomparable especially for those like me who don't have strawberry farms. 

Where to Eat

There are a lot of places in Baguio where you can eat and yes it's true that most of the food there are way cheaper compared to Manila.

Eat at Sizzling Plate, Session Road. Cozy ambience, great food and excellent customer service. Prizes for full meals start around Php100+

Still at Session Road, Solibao offers delicious Filipino dishes in huge servings at a reasonable price. Great for group eat-outs. For this, we paid Php400+ and I'm telling you, we're so full we can barely walk after.

The Pizza Volante branch just across Wright park let's you enjoy the cool outdoors while eating their yummy and very affordable pizzas.

We enjoyed our 2days/1night Baguio trip because everything fell into place even without us planning. If you would ask me if I want to go back there? Definitely! I even want to stay there for quite some time.  I hope you will enjoy your trip to Baguio as well :-)

Spend Your Afternoon at Tagaytay

If you want to get away from the hustle and bustle of Metro Manila without sitting on a carseat for too long, then going to Tagaytay would be one of your best options. Tagaytay is 1-2 hours drive from the Metro and when on the right spot, it offers a great view of the Taal Volcano.

I and three of my officemates went there for half a day not only to unwind but also to have a taste of their famous bulalo.  The cool breeze alone was worth the almost 2 hour drive. When I tasted the food and saw the magnificence of Taal Volcano from afar, it was even more worth it. Unfortunately, we weren't able to discover the beauty of the famed underwater volcano because of lack of time and extremely expensive boat ride. For me, 500/pax for a ride to Taal, isn't a worthy offer at that time. At the right season and with the right haggling skills, I can probably get that ride (hopefully soon) at a cheaper price.

At Bulalo Point. Php300+ each for this sumptuous lunch+ fresh buko juice

Spending the afternoon sipping coffee with the beautiful Taal Volcano as our backdrop.

If you're in town, Picnic Grove is a great place to experience outdoor fun,  view the Taal Volcano and eat bulalo. Entrance fee is Php50.  Souvenir shops and food stalls also abound the area.

At Picnic Grove. From here, you can see the beauty of Taal Volcano.

My Jumpshot

They spent Php200 each for a henna tattoo (after less than an hour, umulan ng bonggang bongga.boom! *evil laugh)

From Pasay, you can ride a bus going to Tagaytay for Php100-200 one ride. Once you're there, there are jeepneys and tricyles that can take you from one place to another. 

A thousand pesos would be enough to take you to and back from Tagaytay. It could be lesser than that if you spend your money wisely. 

*Thanks to Chris, Irish and Zeth for being a great company

The Ultimate Experience at Manila Ocean Park

Hearing about mountains, oceans, animals, and forests wakes the nature-lover inside of me. I find solitude everytime I see pristine white sand beaches or see the moss-covered earth of the forest, hear the splash of the waves or running water, chirping of birds or whatever sound animals make. Being with nature makes me see how beautiful our world is and lets me appreciate the simplicity of life. Manila is such a busy, complicated and polluted place to be and visiting Manila Ocean Park is a breathe of fresh air.

Manila Ocean Park is for the whole  family and people who love to be with the sea and animals. Some of the attractions may be pretty expensive for some but the worth of each attraction depends on every person's interests, likes and level of satisfaction.

When I first heard about Manila Ocean Park, I was really at awe and envied my friends when I saw their pictures taken with the famous oceanarium as the backdrop. Visiting this ocean-themed park is on top of my list when I started living here in the Metro. So when there was a cheap promo for Manila Ocean park tickets at work, I never hesitated to get one for myself. For an Ultimate adventure (Oceanarium, Trails to Antartica, Fish Spa, Jellies, The Marine Life Show, Musical Fountain Show), I only paid Php600 which was a total steal!  The ticket for Oceanarium alone is Php400 if you pay it at one  of the park's booths and just imagine how much I saved by getting that cheap ticket at the office.

The Attractions

Oceanarium. Want to know the different fish species  and life under the sea? The Oceanarium is the best place to be.

Different sea creatures.

 Personal experience rating: 2 out of 5. 2 because I was expecting a better experience and better interior. The tunnel-like aquarium would be an excellent backdrop if your purpose of going there is to take pictures but when it comes to activities, hmnn, not that much. I was expecting that it's going to be a long tunneled aquarium but it's not. Aside from reading a little info and seeing the schools and varieties of fish swim, the other thing that you can do is camwhore.

Trails to Antartica. Offers the slide-o-fun which will let you experience a bit of thrill while sitting on a tire as it slides down the sloped and iced pathway. 

At snow village with Mr. Snowman.

 Other than the slide-o-fun, you will also see cute little penguins inside an aquarium. In addition, Trails to Antartica offers the Snow Village where you get to experience Antartica inside a room with subzero temperature. 

Marine Life Show. Meeting the entertaining sea lions is one of my most memorable experience when I visited Manila Ocean Park. They're adorable and highly-trained sea creatures that you cant help but become amazed at how fascinating they were. 

A kiss from a sea prince.

Jellies. Is where you can see different species of Jelly fishes. The mirrored walls, soothing sound and changing aquarium lights create a stunningly beautiful ambience perfect for those who want to get away from the mob of the park.

Fish Spa. After walking to and from inside Manila Ocean Park, it's nice to have your feet pampered for a while. Fish spa is the best place to be where you dip your feet on water full of nibbling schools of fish. Tickling at first but eventually you'll get used to it and will definitely love the sensation it brings. After a 10minute foot spa, your feet will feel relaxed and less tired. 

Musical Fountain Show. It showcases a jaw-dropping presentation of lights and fountains plus a theatrical presentation of artists wearing sea creatures costume. Thanks to the storm, we weren't able to get decent pictures yet at the same time, the lashing wind and rain made the musical fountain show our ultimate experience finale when we visited the Manila Ocean Park.

A random picture from Google

Had to wear this raincoats during the duration of the show.

My visit at the Manila Ocean Park is definitely an unforgettable experience.