I DIDN'T make definite travel plans this year but it seemed like fate has already made some plans for me.
When I was asked by my boss to clear the date for an official coverage to Clark and Baguio, my travel hormones went amuck in excitement. I was trying to keep it cool but I couldn't contain the thrill of being in the summer capital of the country. It's summer and most eyes are definitely looking for a cooler place, like Baguio City, to satisfy their wanderlust.
So on April 22, I packed my things to get ready for the travel itinerary and went to the F. Bangoy International Airport to catch an early flight via AirAsia's newly-opened direct flight from Davao City to Clark, Pampanga.
Of course, as Pampanga is known to be the culinary center of the country, we had spent half a day and a night there to try the diverse food scene of the place. It was truly a remarkable experience especially the trip to Mexico in Pampanga, the home of “legendary” chef Lilian Borromeo, who cooked Kapampangan food in a traditional way. The time I spent in Pampanga was measured in a series of many helpings of sumptuous meals that even in my dream; I was gorging and taking photos of the food.
Then on the following morning, we began to embark on a short and easy travel for our Baguio adventure.
The Azalean welcome
Even when we just stepped out of the Widus Hotel in Pampanga, our next host – the Azalea Residences in Baguio, had already welcomed us by giving each of us a garland. When we reached the hotel, we were welcomed by a group of people presenting a Cordilleran dance to us.
Cordillerans are known to be very hospitable people and Baguio being the center of the Cordillera Administrative Region, the good attribute was highly felt there during our stay. We were totally at home at the Azalea Residences with their warm accommodation, and the hotel is also an ideal place to stay when you are in Baguio as it is strategically situated closer to almost all must-visit places in the City of Pines.
Baguio Night Market
During our first night in Baguio City, our friend from the Azalea, Macky Cruz, had brought us to the Baguio night market. There, one can find many great finds at a cheaper price ranging from clothes to food. It’s like the Roxas night market of Davao City only it’s bigger and there are street food items there that you couldn’t find in Davao’s famous night market.
I was intrigued by the cued one-day old Peking ducks, a shredded corn with butter sold only for P20, and the Binatog (I wasn’t able to try it though). And since it’s Baguio, a really cold place especially at night, thick shirts and jackets abound in the market and they were really sold at a very affordable price.
Parks, Mansion and the Philippine Military Academy
During our second day in Baguio, we were on a hectic schedule as we tried to fit the hours of the day to all the parks and places we were to visit as indicated in the travel itinerary. Even so, it was fun. We hit the Botanical Garden first and I was enthralled by the different plants and flowers blossoming there. I couldn’t even name those flowers (Okay, so I was a loser lol).
We also visited the Mines View, Wright Park, Shepherd’s Gallery which was jam-packed by people lining up for their famous Strawberry and Ube jam, empanada and other pasalubong items and the Mansion House – the official presidential summer residence since the Commonwealth.
During our free time, I and my millennial gang from Biyaheng Do30 decided to make use of the time by visiting the Philippine Military Academy (PMA). It was not part of the itinerary but we still went there to see the place for ourselves and hoped to see the Cadets perform a drill. The PMA is not only a military school as it has also become one of the tourist attractions in Baguio. The place is very neat and a tour at the PMA Museum will immersed you about history and how the Cadets live.
Baguio Craft Brewery
So, I’m not really fond of beer but I do drink it occasionally during night out with friends. After trying out one of Baguio Craft Brewery’s bestseller craft beer – the Eye of Medusa, I told myself that I will never taste beer in the same way again. It just had a rich flavor that complement well with its bitterness. You can chug it like it’s your favorite coffee or juice but don’t have too much of it though if you don’t want to walk zigzag zigzagzigzag.
The Eye of Medusa has a 14 percent alcohol by volume (ABV) and a 25.06 percent International Bitterness Unit (IBU). ABV percentage will help you determine how much alcohol content is in the beer while the IBU also measures its bitterness, so that only means you can choose a beer of your preference by referring to these measurements.
Another good thing about this beer house is that they have a good match of beer chow or pulutan for every type of beer you would like to order. A cold weather in Baguio and a mug of the craft beer is to die for.
The Farmer’s Daughter
During our last day in Baguio, we intentionally stopped by the Farmer’s Daughter restaurant which is situated in Tam-Awan Village, Long Long, Baguio. We learned that the resto served authentic Cordilleran cuisine and by that, they mean that they only use natural ingredients for their food. Their Pinikpikan, a Cordilleran dish which is prepared by beating a live chicken with a stick prior to cooking, is to die for. I love its soup, really, because it’s so pure that you wouldn’t really taste any hint of added food preservatives from it because… they do not use any. Their Dinakdakan (charred pork ear, tongue and snout dressed with pig’s brain and other spices), Kinudayjen Baja (steamed smoked beef meat), Pinuneg (blood sausage), and Sinengdiwjen Tongsoy (sautéed watercress) and Ube Cake were just as good. It was, I shall say, a complete cordilleran immersion.
Bencab Museum
After filling up our stomach with dishes we just tasted for the first time, we headed to the Bencab Museum which is named after a very famous Filipino painter not only abroad but as well as in the country, Benedicto Cabrera. We were told that Bencab was inspired to make his own museum after travelling from the different parts of the world.
Inside the museum, you can see many artworks from different artists as well and masterpieces depicting the culture of the Cordilleran. I also took high regard in Olan Ventura’s artworks which only looked pale like a negative film when viewed through the naked eye but was surprisingly colorful when viewed through your phone camera; especially when the camera setting is adjust to the negative.
Baguio City has just so many exciting and enlightening things to offer that you couldn’t put all of them in one whole centerspread page. This may seem to be a really long article but this is just a glimpse of the whole package of our Baguio adventure.