Botanical Garden

After our tour of Wright Park, my friend was stumped on where else to go. The night before, I declined her offer to climb up the hundred stairs of the Grotto of Lourdes as my feet were aching and I was just so tired. As she was enumerating more places to go to like the Philippine Military Academy (PMA), the religious sisters' place where I could buy the best jams etc, I shook my head on each option as they held little appeal to me. When she mentioned the Botanical Garden, my eyes lit up and I eagerly said yes.

I love gardens and flowers, as mentioned before in my previous post about wanting a garden. There's something eye-catching in their vibrant colors, something that manages to elicit serenity every time I gaze at them.

In the entrance of the Botanical Garden were locals in their finery. Tourists who wanted to have their picture taken with them had to pay them though and I refused to do it as in a way, I felt as if I were exploiting them. I mean, why would I allow myself to be part of it when I knew that they were only donning their costume and dancing their native dance in exchange for money? That's commercializing their heritage!

Thus I just took a photo of this, which was in their entrance. I had to wait for like 15 minutes though as their were just a lot of tourists!

Inside, I was greeted with this walkway. Isn't it lovely?

There weren't a lot of flowers though and my friend says I should visit it during the summer, when almost all flowers are abloom.

There's a replica of their native house too and statues.

On one end of the garden is a field of Bandera Española in a color so rare as I only see these in yellow or red. This one is pinkish in color. What a bevy of beauties!

Too bad that when I visited the place, the flowers weren't all in bloom. Maybe I'll drop by there during the summer season so I can see them in all their magnificence. Hopefully this happens next year.

Animal Cruelty

While I was sitting in the steps of a shed in Wright Park, I saw children enjoying themselves while horseback-riding. Parents and horse handlers cheered them on. I was happy for these kids but felt sad for the horses. Not only did they appear thin and poorly fed. Some had their forelocks painted pink!

Maybe the handlers wanted these horses to look like Starlite and Sunriser, the horses in the kiddie show, Rainbow Brite, so they can be more appealing to children but I must say it made the horses look ridiculous!

I love animals. When I was a child, my mom would watch me like a hawk each time I came home from playing because I almost always had an animal with me. It may be a friend's dog or cat that I'd love to play with or some stray that I brought home to feed.

I remember that when I was 10, I saw some kittens crying in one of the bushes at school. On the street was their dead mom that got hit by a tricyle. Worried that they would not be able to fend for themselves, I brought them home, hid them in our backyard, made a makeshift "house" for them and secretly brought them food thrice a day (think of the movie Beethoven, except that these were kittens, not a dog). And since the kittens were too young, I remember trying to bottle-feed them with my baby brother's milk bottle but since they could not suck yet, I had to find a way to feed them. In the end, I had to dip my pinkie finger in milk then painstakingly put it in the kittens' mouths. When mom found out, they were already 2 months old and were eating solid food. LOL.

I love animals. Thus it angers me to see what they did to those hapless horses!

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.

Cafe by the Ruins

After having some hot chocolate at Arko ni Apo, we had dinner at Cafe by the Ruins. The place was quite popular among locals and tourists, so my Baguio-based friend told me. I surmised as much as when we arrived and it was still early for dinner then, the place was almost full.

The ambiance was pretty. Artworks decorated the walls and the tables, chairs and placemats were all locally made but I was so concerned with my grumbling stomach that I did not take the opportunity to take many pictures of the place.

Their breads were one of the best I ever had. And it was most unique too as I never had camote bread in my entire life! I mean, I know camote can be made into camote cue and chips and is an ingredient in ginataan, which happens to be one of my Favorite Filipino snacks, but I did not know that it can be made into bread.

I was starving that night I ordered a sandwich and pasta. They were really good. Below are their pictures though the latter was taken rather too brightly as my camera then was new and I was yet to master it (I literally just point and shoot at my subject without any care at all to its functions).

The Ruins is located in 23 Chuntug Street, Baguio City. You may contact them through telephone numbers (074) 442-4010 and (074) 446-4010. Their fax number is (074) 442-5272.

Arko ni Apo

Arko ni Apo is located just across Tam-Awan Village. It had a coffee shop and an art gallery and is the home of renowned artist Ben Hur Villanueva.

We had snacks and hot chocolate in their coffee shop. Their hot chocolate was one of the best I ever had. It was rich and not too sweet to the taste.

Inside the coffee shop were house decors and artworks that were just lovely. Some were for sale, the others weren’t. I fell in love with a coffee, creamer and sugar bamboo set but the lady of the house said it wasn’t for sale. Later on, after some prodding, she gave in and sold it to me for Php1,000. Family members said I was lucky as most guests had asked to buy it from their mom but she never budged. They added that a Filipino actress even tried to buy it from her in vain. Whoa. Too bad the blogger in me was yet to be born then thus I wasn’t able to take a picture of the set before I gave it to a very close friend for a Christmas present.

Like most galleries, taking of pictures is not allowed. One can take shots of whatever is in the coffee shop though. Below are two shots I took.

What makes the place very special to me was the reception I got from the family members. The couple was very friendly and accommodating. We met their son too named Baguio (the family was not originally from Baguio and Baguio was the first child to be born there, thus the name) and he was just adorable.

Hopefully, I can visit them again when I go back to Baguio.

Tam-Awan Village

After enjoying a sumptuous lunch, my Manila-based friend said he would go back to Manila for an important family event. I opted to stay so I could see more of Baguio.

We parted ways at the bus terminal, where he dropped us off. It was the 23rd of December and the place was teeming with people buying tickets for Manila. The lines were endless! I actually thought I wouldn’t be able to buy a ticket and would be stuck in Baguio for the holidays as there was a post about all buses being fully booked on the 24th. Good thing they offered more seats later. Whew!

Afterwards, my Baguio-based friend and I went to Tam-Awan Village. Tam-Awan means a vantage point and is a haven for Baguio artists and their work of art. It was a very pretty place and I thoroughly enjoyed my tour of it.

At the entrance, there’s this carabao. Cool.

And a signage that enabled guests to know where to go and what to see.

It had galleries too where various works of art were displayed. Taking of pictures was strictly prohibited but I did manage to take two photos, with permission of course.

There were huts too where guests could actually check-in. Interesting.

In doing the eco-walk, one would find some art pieces like the pictures below.

I love this bamboo bridge. And contrary to my initial thought of it being fragile, it was actually sturdy as even two people could cross it at the same time.

Tam-Awan Village is located in 366-C Pinsao Proper, 2600 Baguio City. You may contact them through (074) 446-2949 / (074) 442-5551. For more details, please visit their official website at http://www.tamawanvillage.com/index.php.

Cemetery of Negativism

The Cemetery of Negativism is located in Camp John Hay in Baguio and is unlike any other cemetery I've been to for one will not find human remains here, just "frailties" that inhibit a person's growth.

I just find it very interesting to see a “cemetery” like this. But it made me ponder too on what my negativism is. And after much thought, I decided to blog about it HERE.

Truly, each one of us has that infliction, that limiting factor that hampers our growth not just as an individual but as valuable members of our society.

More than a year after I posted my Negativism blog, I think I have made some progress. Still, I wage an ongoing war with some, especially with the parts of me that have something to do with my having tons of pride and stubbornness. What can I say, they make part of who I am. I am a work in progress too thus struggles like this are just part of my journey for a better me.

A leisurely walk at Camp John Hay

We woke up early. Or rather, I woke up early as my friends may have had too much to drink the night before or were just tired that I did not feel them stir until nearly 8:00 AM. I just thus stayed in bed, reading the book I brought with me.

When everyone’s already awake, we decided to go for a walk around Camp John Hay. I love the garden of my friend’s neighbor!

And I love these tree shots too.

This one is a shot of a sculpture of an imitation of Our Lady of Liberty. By then, I was so tired of walking that I did not climb up to get a closer shot and instead opted to just use my camera’s zoom.

We had been to the Cemetery of Negativism too, which I will blog about later.

And among the many beautiful resthouses we saw, this one stood out. It was just very pretty!

A random shot taken during this walk is posted below. It's from the restaurant where we later had our lunch in.

It was a relaxing walk, albeit kind of tiring. Or maybe it’s just the old me talking. Ha ha ha!