The Road Leads to Baguio!

Location: Baguio City
Date Visited: April 27, 2012
Travel Time from Manila: 5 to 6 hours

It all started with a Facebook post on a Friday afternoon;

Twelve hours later, we were on our way to the Summer Capital. There were 6 of us in the van, 4 adults and 2 kids. We had no reservations for our accommodation. We left Manila at 6am and had our first stop over in Pampanga. We had lunch at the karinderias along Rosario highway, specifically, the Charice Canteen. The stretch of karinderias are known to serve papaitan, a soup made of goat innards with bile and sili. We got 2 orders of the inihaw na baboy, chicken curry, tortang talong, oysters, papaitan, rice and 2 cold bottles of Pepsi.

Lunch with a variety of local dishes

After lunch, we headed up the remaining kilometers to Baguio. First stop, the famous Lion Head along Kennon Road for a few photo ops.

Next, we met up with an 'agent' in Burnham Park who'll help us look for a place to stay. We went to 1 bed and breakfast but it was already full. Luckily, the second house we saw had an available space with 2 bedrooms, a living room, kitchen and a parking space. They also had cable TV. We didn't stay long as the kids wanted to go horse back-riding so we went to Wright Park. A 30 minute horse ride will cost Php 200 and you get to choose your horse from their 'colorful' collection;

Horses with pink/purple manes!

While waiting for the kids, we had some taho. After the ride, we went up to see the shallow rectangular pool and The Mansion. Since our companions wanted to do some ukay ukay shopping, we went back to Burnham Park. The kids took a bike ride (Php 40 unlimited time) while I ate cotton candy and more taho from the street vendors. My husband started looking for the famous chicharon bituka that is sold on the streets. For Php 20, you get a small brown paper bag with the chicharon that is salty and crunchy, it's not something you can buy in Manila =)

It was getting dark so we were unable to take a boat ride in the park's man made lake. We went to the Baguio Ayala Technohub in  Camp John Hay and had dinner at Pizza Volante. The food was good but we were disappointed with the steak. It had a huge serving but the cut was thin. Also, they staff served us cold gravy! Good thing their waffle tasted better.

My order of steak, rice and veggie sides

The next day, we planned to pick strawberries at the Strawberry Farm in La Trinidad, Benguet. On the way to Benguet, we saw the Tam-awan Village. There is a minimal entrance fee (Php 50) to explore the village. Inside, one can see the simple Ifugao huts. You can even go inside a hut just as long as you leave you shoes outside. The place also has their own restaurant that serves great coffee. There is also an art gallery and art exhibits are usually held here.

Inside the hut

We only stayed for a short while since the kids were excited to pick strawberries. Arriving at the La Trinidad Strawberry Farm, we parked right beside the strawberry ice cream vendors. This is a must try as they use fresh strawberries to make the ice cream. An ice cream cone costs Php 15 only. We went inside the fields to start picking strawberries. An attendant approached us with a basket and said that for half a kilo of strawberries, the cost is Php 200. This is expensive compared to buying in the market. But, we were there for both the fruit and the experience =D

Strawberry picking in La Trinidad, best to wear comfortable clothes and footwear!

The strawberry picking took around 30 minutes. It was fun because you have to look for strawberries that are not squashed or bitten by insects. We got more than half a kilo but the attendant was nice enough not to charge us extra. Right outside the farm, there are several vegetable stalls. I did my pasalubong shopping here so we won't have to go to the wet market in Baguio City. For Php 300, I got;

• 1 kilo of broccoli
• 1 kilo of lettuce
• 1 kilo of carrots
• 3 packs of young corn

All of these fit inside a big rice sack provided by the vendor. This is such a bargain as a piece of broccoli in Manila costs Php 50 to 80.  Not only will my family enjoy the veggies, so will our pet guinea pig Bruno =D

We had lunch at the Strawberry Valley and Restaurant across the street. The service is fast and the food is good. They serve Filipino dishes but weirdly enough, when we ordered the beef with broccoli, there were very few broccoli! If you want to fill your water bottle with their distilled water dispenser, they will charge a minimal fee.

After lunch, we headed back to Manila and the trip took us 5 hours.