Short trip to Baguio City

[katie23]

Hi all. I went up to Baguio City (a.k.a. The City of Pines/ Summer Capital of PH) for a few days. It was my first long distance (leisure) trip in this new normal that we live in.

Baguio city lies north of Manila and is a popular destination in the summer months since at ~1,500 meters above sea level, it always has cooler temps than the lowlands. Baguio city was established as a hill top station in the early 1900s, during the American occupation of PH. Prior to that, the surrounding areas were inhabited by mostly local indigenous groups and a few Ilocanos. Some of the hill tribes practiced head hunting (more on that later). The tribes have their own languages, dances, beliefs and culture, some of which are still practiced nowadays.

Baguio - Wikipedia

[katie23]

In this "new normal", to travel to Baguio one must register at the Baguio visita website and get a QR code which will be checked upon arrival in Baguio. If travelling as a tourist, one must have a booking at a DOT (Dept of Tourism) approved accommodation. Your "Visita pass" will be forwarded to your hotel and the hotel will approve your pass. Once done, you'll get a QR code.

Btw, one must also upload a pic of the vaccination card. If not vaccinated, then one must provide an antigen test result. (I've been vaccinated 3x, so it was easy peasy.)

So having done the necessary bookings, I went to my trusty bus company, Victory Liner, to board the night bus to Baguio. (One can also travel by day, but night trip is faster.) The trip took ~5 hours, with 2 restroom stops at designated areas.

I was happy to see that the bus station was full again. It meant that people were travelling again.

[katie23]

At Victory Liner bus station
Attachment 86541

Mr. Norton, this is for you. :-)


Masks must still be worn, whether outdoors or indoors.[

ATTACH=CONFIG]86547[/ATTACH]

[katie23]

Sunshine Park


Baguio Convention Center

[malmomike77]

Nice one Katie. Checking the COVID deaths on the Phils its c60K with a death rate of 540 per 100K population which is low globally, if most of the pop is vaccinated they must surely start relaxing all these checks etc which serve no real purpose.

Not seeing the attachments

[katie23]

Burnham Park
One can see the SM mall at this point. A hotel used to stand there (Pines Hotel).



There are places where you can rent the Igorot (tribe) costumes and have your pics taken.

[katie23]

^I've edited the posts - can you see the attachments?

Re: checks, QR codes, travel passes, etc - PH is more on the cautious side, so I don't know when these things will be stopped. Maybe when there's a new president (inauguration is on June 30).

(I don't want this to be a political thread. Most ppl already know my views, based on the news threads.)

There were lots of ppl in Baguio in the known tourist spots, so it means local people are travelling again. I know that they're tourists from Manila or surrounds since they speak Tagalog and not Ilocano (which the locals speak).

[malmomike77]

all good now but diminutive in size much like yourself

[katie23]

^I'm posting from phone. It's too much of a palaver to do it the other way. Just click on the pics to see the full view.

Hey, I'm not *that* small. I'm slightly taller than the average Filipina (5 feet is the average height for women here). I'm also not that petite - BMI is at normal range - I have some meat on my bones.

[malmomike77]

you'll soon knock yourself into match fitness once you start joining those trek...erm swinging groups you told Simon about. Anyway, sorry back to the thread.

[katie23]

At Burnham Park (which is like the city center), one can rent bicycles and 3 or 4 wheelers.





If one intends to visit Baguio, I suggest to pick a hotel near Burnham Park or Session Road, so that you'll be near lots of restos and attractions (unless you want somewhere quieter).

The temps were blessedly cool. It ranged from 18 to 28 C when I visited. The breeze was heavenly, after 35+ temps in the lowlands.

[katie23]

There were some families having picnics


You can also rent a swan boat and go for a ride on the lake


The kids' playground was chock full.

[katie23]

Beside Burnham Park is a football field. The guys playing were mostly of Arabic or African origins. I was a bit surprised since I didn't know that they have a big community there. (I know there are lots of Koreans - they like the cooler temps).



When I saw this, I had a bit of a chuckle. It's the women's version but it reminded me of Terry57 and that gif of the Village People. :-)

[katie23]

This group was practicing a tribal dance - maybe for a school presentation.



The PH is a Christian country.

[katie23]

There's an area (still near Burnham Park) where you can buy souvenirs.

[katie23]

This area is called Igorot Park - there are statues of the Igorot warriors.





It was a short trip but I visited a lot of places, some of which I visited back when I was a child or or a teenager. It's my 9th or 10th trip to Baguio (depends if I count the mini stopovers from hiking trips). First trip was when I was 7 or 8 years old, with my mom & elder sister (dad had to watch the house & pets).

More pics later. Cheers!

[David48atTD]

Thanks Katie28 ... always appreciated

[katie23]

^cheers D48 & MM77.

Still some pics from Burnham Park (named after the American architect & city planner, Daniel Burnham)

Saw some men in lycra. Chitty & Dilly, this one's for you.



Rental station of the swan boats. A boat good for 2-3 ppl costs 250 pesos (~5 usd) to rent. I dunno if 1 hour or 30 minutes.

[katie23]

Many young ppl in the park



Flowers

[katie23]

One of my "must-see" places for this trip was the Our Lady of Lourdes Grotto. (Yes, I'm a Catholic.) The last time I visited that place was during my 1st visit to Baguio. I was 7 or 8 years old.

My mom & her colleagues had a work/ leisure trip and they were allowed to bring kids (for extra pay, I guess). My sister and I went with her. Transport was provided by their office and we stayed in a dorm-like place. I think it was in La Trinidad, Benguet (the next town). I remember there were bunk beds. After their meeting or seminar was over, we went on an organized tour. One of the places was this Grotto. I remember climbing the steps as a young kid - we all made it to the top. Good memories.



At the base of the steps, there are vendors for candles and flowers.

[katie23]

There's a side street where the locals live.

The Grotto is a bit away from the city center & you'd have to ride a taxi or jeepney to get there.



Start of the climb. There are 252 steps, acdg to the vendors.

[katie23]

Towards the middle part, there's a statue of Michael the Archangel.



There's an area where you can light candles & offer prayers.

[katie23]

There's also a small chapel at the top.


Some views

[katie23]

For those who like cats (sorry, no goats)



Stations of the cross

[katie23]

More views


To show that I did make it to the top.