Going and driving around Baguio City is not a first time for me anymore. I think that my most recent visit last week visit is my fifth time already. Unlike before, I am no longer holding a map while driving (after all we forgot to bring one and many additional traffic changes are lately occurring in terns if routing. Maybe the local government’s initiative is generally for a good reason but still it is so hard for me now to go from one place to another. Nevertheless, every time I am new in a certain place, I keep in mind that “even the Japanese knows how to roam around Philippines so why not us Filipinos.”

Even though Camp John Hay provided us map of Baguio, it is not like the previous map I was using before. It is just a photo copy and looks like a hand made man. Maybe if I have carried my previous Baguio City map it would not be this hard for us to drive around the city.

For me, the map is still important every time to visit and travel in a place new to you since GPS navigation system is not yet popular here in the country unlike in some places abroad.

But even though it is hard this time we still visit almost all places to visit in Baguio. Baguio is one of my places of choice to visit with family and to hang out and have a break.

  Baguio City takes 5-6 hours from Manila if you take it by land or an hour trip by plane to San Fernando plus about an hour bus ride. In other words, prior planning is required if you decide to head off to this tourist spot dubbed as the country’s summer capital.    

Fortunately for our family, the site where we hold Feast of Tabernacles (religious retreat) is just about two hours close, dropping by Baguio and staying there for a night is something that has been in our itineraries for quite sometime.    The plan is already getting to become predictable. We’d leave our place at around 7:00am. By 9:00am we would have reached Baguio. First stop, almost always, would be Camp John Hay. For us, Baguio isn’t Baguio without this little piece. It’s our landmark and among the reasons why we keep coming back to Baguio (apart from the cool weather of course). Thus, breakfast would have to be a buffet in Camp John Hay’s John Hay Manor.    

Since we’d only stay overnight, we though we’d better stroll in as much places as possible. After all, key spots in Baguio City itself is not that huge in the first place.  So for the next stops that would follow, these should include a quick trip to Mines View for picture taking usually beside a horse (horseback riding available) and quick purchase of pasalubongs within the area, then Good Shepherd to buy the best quality ube jams (purple yam) and lengua de gateau, then a quick lunch at Barrio Fiesta.   

By mid-afternoon, we’d go driving to take a brief look at the Burnham Park which is very close to the wet market — our main itenarary for the afternoon. Baguio is very known for its fresh vegetables, fruits and fresh flowers so we shop these until all our bayongs get full. After all, you’d most likely find yourself surrounded by kids asking you if they could bring for you your bayongs for a minimal fee.

This is a noted trait among people in Baguio. You hardly find people begging. They want to earn whatever money they’d ask from you. Even with the taxi drivers there. Compared to those in Manila, drivers in Baguio will almost always return small change from your fares no matter how minimal.   

If courage strikes us, we’d most likely hop to our favorite hotel (if not John Hay Manor, we’d troop to Ridgewood Residences) even without prior reservations. This is because Baguio offers several places for us to stay: hotels, motels, transient rooms, inns, condotels and many others.

The following day, long after we’ve savored the breakfast which usually comes free with accommodation, would be when we’d begin to appreciate this beautiful place. Deep inside, we’re resisting thought of leaving. But hey, there’s always next year.