Eto pa, amazingly, di ako ung nag-ayos ng itinerary and di rin ako ung nagbook ng accommodation namin for a change. Mapagkusa na sila beh.
Nauna sila going to Baguio since I have stuff to do pa sa Manila. I traveled early morning via Victory Liner bus from Cubao terminal and arrived after seven hours ng walang katapusang highway. And the first thing we did? Food trip. Actually, that's the only thing we did sa entire stay. Mag-food trip. Walang pameeting, guys. Gusto lang naming manginain, dumayo pa sa Baguio.
Let me breakdown our food stops (I started the trip late so this starts with afternoon snacks):
DAY 1
1. Ili-likha (along Assumption Road)
Ililikha is a very artsy food stop near Session Road. It's a food market where establishments within offer super affordable food choice. I had churros for P55 from Cafe Cueva which is at the lowest ground level tapos marami pa sa serving ng La Lola na halagang triple ung presyo. Promising din naman ung chocolate dip at sobrang dinidrain nila ung oil kaya di nakakasuya.
Bukod pa dun, masarap din ung potato wedges na binili ni Karl for P25 at the highest ground level at nagkasya na saming apat. Sobrang dinrain din nila ung oil kaya ang tagal sinerve pero at least pa-healthy.
The place has three levels, the highest level adjacent to the street. Sad part is most stores inside are operational from 11 am to 8 pm so we have to plan our breakfast someplace else.
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| Ili-likha's interior Shot by Alexis Lim @litratonijuan @sinosijuan |
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| They have burgers complete with patty and bacon for P65 only. :) Shot by Alexis Lim |
2. Solibao (Session Road & Burnham Park branches)
We went to Burnham Park para magpalipas ng oras and magpalamig habang bida-bida ako sa pagsho-shorts thinking na summer na sa Baguio pero nag-14 degrees pa pala dun ng March.
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| Bida sa shorts kahit malamig. Btw, I'm on a no sugary drinks diet so I'm advocating water therapy and so the liter of water in this picture. But buy tumblers na to save Mother Earth from too much plastic din. Kkkkk :) |
DAY 2
1. Vizco's (Session Road)
We walked along Session Road and decided to have our breakfast at Vizco's. Super mura ng meal like mine was Bacon, Egg, Fried Rice, and ung super sarap na hot tea infused with lemon for P85. We also had our strawberry shortcake na ung one slice was split into the four of us. Siyempre may mango cake din kami which was equally delicious. But don't miss the strawberry shortcake!
2. Lemon and Olives
Side story. We stopped by the Katedral ng Baguio and also ung artsy na Mt. Cloud Bookshop before we decided na magpatunaw ng kinain namin. My friend decided na lakarin namin from Session Road to Lemon and Olives which he said would take us 30 minutes. I'm up for a walk din naman since chill ung weather kahit that was 10 am. So nalagpasan namin ung Teachers Camp na tinaxi ko pa the last time we visited it. Nalagpasan din namin ung Botanical Garden. Tapos nalagpasan din namin ung White Mansion. Ung totoo beh. Di siya 30 minutes. Di kinaya nung lamig ng hangin sa Baguio ung baskil ko sa layo ng lakad. At pagcheck ko sa maps, 56 minutes talaga ung lakad, 4.2 kilometers. 0.8 na lang, pang-5 km marathon na to.
But seeing ung very Greek and posh and minimalistic Lemon and Olives was enough a reward for the long walk. Meron din siyang viewdeck that is nice din. Malaki pati ung serving nila kaya di ko naubos ung Lamb Gyro. We stayed their for three hours since may WiFi tapos sobrang chill lang.
Btw, they're only open from 11 am to 3 pm and from 5 pm to 10 pm. So schedule your visit either lunch or dinner.
3. Cafe in the Sky (Sto. Tomas)
Afterwards, we headed to Cafe in the Sky which is near the famous "Sitio La Presa". We took a jeepney ride since taxis cost P800 round trip whereas we only spent P25 each for the jeepney headed to Sto Tomas, one way. The terminal is just near Session Road. Ang ganda ng view along the way coz it was foggy at 3 pm. Na-amaze pa kami kasi there's this blind musician na nakasabay namin sa jeep and she was commuting alone so everyone was wondering paano niya alam kung saan siya bababa.
Mej sakto lang ung food sa Cafe in the Sky but the view was super thumbs up. Then may wishing well which was about two floors from the viewdeck. So nagpachallenge kami sa isa't isa to make a wish and it will come true only if nashoot sa bucket. Siyempre bida kaming lahat sa pangunguna at pag-uubos ng barya ko at barya ko lamang. I made a serious wish about my vocation in life charot. Tapos nagbounce ung coin so far away from the well. Walang suporta mula sa langit. So on my second turn, I made a char char wish. Beh, bull's eye. Shoot na shoot. Sana tininuan ko na lang ung wish ko. Pero okay na ako sa bragging rights na I won against the gang.
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| The wishing well |
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| "Bes, eto pa 'yung isang anggulong maganda ka. Silhouette." Shot by John Austria @mvltiple Check out #BesStory on Facebook for similar pa-captions. Malakas nga palang maka-Japan-Japan ung parking lot ng Cafe in the Sky so you can also do your photoshoot. |
Come sunset, it took a while bago dumating ung sole jeepney na nagbibiyahe to Sto Tomas. Past sunset, ung view of the city lights was awesome. The most awesome I've seen bukod pa sa maganda rin ung mismong sunset. Alam mo ung sobrang dramatic ng foggy effect. As in walang sinabi ung smoggy city view ng Korea from Namsan Tower. I'm rooting for Baguio sa city lights.
Solid ung ginaw sa area kasi it's higher pa than Baguio City. Now, when we saw ung sole jeepney na nagpassby in front of Cafe in the Sky, lumabas kami agad kasi baka maiwan kami pababa ng Baguio e last trip na un pabalik sa city. Un pala, malayo pa ung dulong destinasyon nung jeepney. We waited in the cold dark night for almost 30 minutes. So if you're also planning to take a jeepney ride to get to Cafe in the Sky, it's best if you get the jeepney driver's number for heads up ng pagsundo.
4. Baguio Craft Brewery
We also dropped by Baguio Craft Brewery at nadisappoint sa pricey appetizers nila though, naappreciate ng friends ko ung Kiwi Beer samantalang tubig ung ininom ko as usual. Ung funniest moment, nagqueue ung next song ni kuya vocalist. Siyempre pabida ako nung pagpasok pa lang ng intro na akala mo alam na alam ko ung kanta. "Wow! Favorite song ko yan ni Michael Jackson!" Nang biglang sabi ng friend ko, "Di ba yan kanta ni Eric Clapton?" Siyempre pahiyang tawa na lang ako kasi If I Could Change the World pala un. Akala ko Man in the Mirror. Pabida kasi.
We had our dose of strawberry taho sa bus terminal before heading to Manila which you shouldn't also miss. Apart from the above food stops, I would still recommend Good Taste if you just like big servings at an affordable price. Fave ko ung chicken nila and the siomai soup. They always say their chicken feeds 2-3 but it's enough to feed 4-5 pax. The siomai soup is P80 and there were three of us who shared.
For your accommodation, there's a lot of transient houses in Baguio but I would suggest booking near Burnham Park or Session Road so near to all transport terminals. I was able to see Finteo Skylands but we didn't book there because it's more sulit if you're three pax (for the Standard Studio), five pax (for the One-Bedroom Apartment), or 10 pax (for the Two-Bedroom apartment. It comes up to P500 per pax but as in it's 10-15-minute walk to Burnham Park. Anyhow, you can check booking.com and other sites for your booking options.
That's it, pansit!
