I THINK it was around 6 p.m. when there was a blackout last Tuesday. We were in our shop at the market, preparing our clients' orders, when the lights went out.
It was both interesting and mystical, working in the dark, our area lit by 4 candles, 3 on the left, 1 behind, and the built in flashlights from our phones.
The lights were still out when we got home 2 hours later. Divya said lightning hit an electric wire somewhere, causing the massive blackout.
I fleetingly thought maybe what happened was the collective consciousness of Baguio's many many tourists wanting another reason not to come back to Baguio again.
Particularly because it appears they're not welcome.
I read several shared face book posts, a lot of them insulting the tourists for flocking to our city during the ASEAN break, and causing traffic, garbage problems, etc, etc, etc.
I felt a bit embarrassed to read these posts because I believe there are nicer ways to get viewpoints or ideas across without having to hurt other people's feelings, or make them feel unwanted.
We are a tourist city, after all, many of our residents' businesses are actually tourist based.
Remember Panagbenga? This was actually conceptualized to bring visitors to our city particularly during the lean months. (February used to be quite lean before Flower Fest).
Remember the aftermath of the earthquake of 1991? There were no tourists at all, there was even as exodus of residents, and it took a while, as well as concerted efforts between government and the hotels and restaurants associations before we became one of the top destinations again.
I have to admit though, the tourist detractors may have some points, but I have to repeat too, that there are nicer ways to get ideas across without having to become downright insulting.
As for the traffic, we too were affected by the influx of cars escaping the Asean cities. Quite affected because Chiara took more than an hour to fetch Byren and Divya from school, when this usually takes about half an hour.
But then, this kind of traffic doesn't happen every day. It only happens during peak touristy periods. This is why we stay home during the dates of the Panagbenga parades.
Wasn't the city planning to build a parking lot somewhere accessible (not sure where exactly -- I don't really pay that much attention to all the details. I usually just read the headlines) so that the streets don't turn into parking lots?
Is this project pushing through?
Aa says traffic is actually good in Feng Shui, it means the area is prosperous because the energy lingers.
Hmmm. So if we have no more tourists, and no more traffic, will this mean that the good chi has left the city?
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