Wright Park

The Wright Park in Baguio is located just across The Mansion, which features a long rectangular man-made pool of water as pictured above. It is also known as a "Pool of Pines" and named after architect Luke Edward Wright who was appointed Vice-Governor of the Philippines in 1901 and later, in 1904, became its Governor General.

When I was there, there were a lot of tourists and locals who were selling souvenirs and Baguio products like strawberries.

There's this shed too where I spent some time resting as I got tired of walking.

The Mansion

After our sightseeing at Mine’s View Park, we proceeded to The Mansion. The Mansion is the official residence of the President of the Republic of the Philippines whenever s/he is in Baguio. It was built in 1908 and named after the New England summer cottage of Governor General William Cameron Forbes during whose administration the original Mansion House was built.

The place was imposing on the outside that I could only imagine how grandiose it must be inside. Visitors here are not allowed to go beyond the gardens and there are guards who will make sure that this restriction is met.

These wrought-iron gates are quite famous and I must admit that they are rather impressive. It is said to be a replica of one of the main gates of London's Buckingham Palace.


Since I went there during the Christmas season, there were Christmas decors like this Santa hanging by a tree as well as life-sized statues that made up the nativity scene.

The garden was also very well-maintained. And I just love this picture I took. The flowers are just lovely!

Mine's View Park

Now this is the place that I often see in movies and pictures that I so looked forward to seeing it. Then I discovered that it's too tourist-y and a tad overrated.

There’s this pretty “lobby” (I don’t know what to call it as it’s in the entrance of the place so I will just call it the “lobby” as hotel entrances are called) where one could even put on a traditional costume and have his pictures taken. I donned the headgear and held the wooden staff and got my picture taken but as I always say, I won’t be posting any personal pictures here. He he! After the picture-taking, the guest would then have to give a “donation.”

This life-size wood carving also caught my attention. Nice.

The park was teeming with tourists that taking pictures was kind of annoying as before I had a certain spot to myself, I had to wait eons.

In the view deck, there’s the view of the mountains. And rows and rows of colorful houses, some with rusty rooftops that destroyed what could have been a breathtaking view of a vast expanse of greenery. Too bad. My friend said the place used to be really very pretty but when people came flocking to Baguio in droves, the place became crowded and densely populated.

My favorite shot is of this pine tree. I just love how the dark green of its leaves beautifully complemented the blue skies.