Wednesday, April 27, 2016

Baguio City


10 things we did in Baguio City
December 26-27, 2015
  1. Jada and Jadie Apartelle
  2. Lion's Head
  3. Wright Park
  4. The Mansion
  5. Mines View Park
  6. Camp John Hay
  7. SM City Baguio
  8. Good Shepherd
  9. Strawberry Picking in La Trinidad
  10. Food Trip


Notes
  • Six hour trip from Marikina City to Baguio City
  • Apartelle per night for 5 pax - P3000
  • Horse ride at Wright Park per hour - P400
  • Strawberry picking per kilo - P450 
  • Eight hour trip from La Trinidad to Baler, Aurora










December 26

Early morning trip to Baguio City, we left Marikina City at 5am and arrived in Baguio City at 12nn.  Traffic was heavy in some parts of the way due to peak season.

Lion's Head.  Stopover at the Lion's head to take some pictures and eat some strawberry ice cream sandwich.





Since we arrived at lunch time, we headed straight to Rancho Norte to eat and try their deer, horse and wild boar meat.  Check out our lunch here.




Wright Park.  One of the famous attractions in Baguio because of it horse riding activity, it has its own circuit.  I think this is the best part of the trip for my nephew and niece.  






Just across the park is an Igorot costume station where you can wear native Igorot  clothes and take pictures in it for souvenir.





The Mansion.  The official summer residence of the President of the Philippines.  A popular destination for tourists to take pictures.  Across the gate is a long pool that is also part of Wright Park.







Mines View Park.  A park with an observation deck that overlooks the town of Itogon and the gold and copper mine.  A great site also for taking pictures.






Just next to the park was the house we stayed in.  We went to Baguio without any reserved accommodation and because it's peak season, we failed to find any vacancy on every hotel we tried to reach.  We found a sign of an apartelle with contact number and it was also full, but the owner was kind enough to let us use one of his houses which is actually for his workers.  Finally, we have a place to sleep in.  So we checked in our baggage and went on around the city.

The house is about 6 stories down from the road.








Camp John Hay.  A former air base used for communication by US Air Force and for rest and recreation for personnel of US military.  But today, lots of hotels, stores, offices and restaurants had occurred in the area.  We actually went here for the Christmas village but it was so crowded so we just had our dinner at Yellow Cab.






SM City Baguio.  Before going back to the house to rest, we went to the mall to buy some stuff and took some pictures.







December 27

Woke up early and checked out.  We went to Good Shepherd to buy their famous jams.  They also have a viewing deck that offers the same sights as the Mines View Park.





Had our brunch at Choco-Late de Batirol at Camp John Hay.  We were craving for those hot chocolates since last night.  So we decided to eat here before leaving Baguio.  But we didn't expect the service will be so bad.  They are so disorganized, it took our food nearly 45 minutes to be served, they can't even handle the queue at the cashier.  Although the food was good, expect to spend more time waiting if you see this place crowded.  Check out our brunch here.




La Trinidad.   About an hour away from Baguio is La Trinidad, Benguet.  The place is popular for its strawberry farm and fresh, organic vegetables.  During harvest season, they allow people to pick strawberries themselves, a great experience for the kids.  But during our visit, it was somewhat prohibited because of fewer strawberries can be harvested.  It's like they allow it, but only to those who are really persistent to do the activity.   It's not open to everybody.  Lucky for us we got one farmer's attention and really insisted on picking for strawberries, clandestinely, she let us do it.













Got some strawberry ice cream too after picking.




We are now leaving for Baler, an approximate 8 hour trip.  A couple of stopovers in Baguio like the observation deck for panoramic views of the mountains and zigzag roads and a taste of strawberry taho at the Lion's Head.





Check out my Baler post here.





No comments:

Post a Comment