We arrived early dawn and even at that holy time of the night, there were Dept. of Tourism representatives who met passengers to provide assistance. Unfortunately, we found out later that it would be better to scout the net for hotels and hotel rates then let the tourism people guide you to the hotel of your choice, rather than letting them give you choices (they have tie ups with certain hotels, not necessarily the hotels that would give you the value of your money). Oh, sorry if I am starting with a not-so-good note. Promise this is the first and last, as my Baguio experience was as Fine as the Pine trees! lols
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| View from our hotel. No more pines, just houses -and McDo. |
Right after settling our things in the hotel and grabbing breakfast, we started our IT. (Sorry, I cant recommend our hotel, as it turned out, it was not the best choice. It had good location and "okay" rooms but as we soon found out, we could get a better room with the same level of accessibility in a cheaper price..just my thoughts why I should not recommend our hotel.)
First stop : Mines View Park ~ Strawberry Taho, picture taking in rental Igorot costumes, more vanity and picture taking and a lot of pasalubong shopping. Yes, first day and we went pasalubong shopping right away! The cheapest pasalubongs is in Mines View, that's why.
A must-see - the Cordillera World. They have handmade products from Cordillera and Sagada. The store has this nostalgic feeling.
Second stop : Good Shepherd Convent ~ The famous Ube jam and the refreshing Strawberry Lemonade. I am not a fan of lemonade and strawberries, but the combo, in a drink, it was surprisingly delicious and refreshing! Of course, if I could only hoarde as many ube jams without paying $$$ for extra baggage, I would!
We had a little detour, we went back to our hotel to drop what we shopped so far and to have a quick lunch.
Third stop : Wright Park Riding Circle ~ The Ang Utol Kong Hoodlum venue and a few minutes of scary horse back riding.
Fourth stop : The Mansion ~ Wright Park is just a few meters away from The Mansion -there is no need to take a cab! We knew that Wright Park is just near The Mansion, but how near, or how far is relative..specially if you are not familiar of the place. After like a block of uphill walking, we thought both points is not as near as we hoped it would be. So.. we took a cab. And, to our humiliation, it was just another block away! Lols! (Had Sagada oranges, jump shots and more picture taking)
Fifth Stop : Baguio Botanical Garden ~ The epic Igorots in costume and their wacky/korean poses! The funniest part of day! You have to give any amount to any native who would join you in the picture. But mind you, ALL of them would join so be ready with a few coins. They would insist for a wacky version/pose too!
We made it up to the gates of PMA but we were wearing slippers so we were not allowed to get in. Tip, PMA has dress codes. No shorts and slippers!
Sixth Actual Stop : Camp John Hay ~ I was surprised to see Starbucks inside. They made it like the shopping stores in US, no two-storey stores. There were store, a posh hotel and even IT/BPO companies inside.
We also made a stop at SM Baguio, and.. its still a mall. :)
Last Pits off for the day : 50's Dinner ~ It's a cool place to cap the day. Good food with generous serving. It's not a wise choice if you are already very hungry..we had to wait 30 minutes before we can get a table. Apparently, the place is famous to the local.
I hope I could share where 50's Diner is. My apologies, I already forgot. What I could remember is that we had a hard time locating it too. Not because its hidden or something, we are just not familiar with the streets.
So there. End of Day One. Wish to share a not-this-long Day Two!
xoxo
PS: I googled 50's Diner and this is the address.
Gen. Luna Rd, Lungsod ng Baguio, Philippines
You can use google maps to locate it. Its in an intersection, that's what I could remember. :)
