After Under the Tree Book Cafe, we passed by Baguio Cathedral.
At the moment we stepped on the gate of the cathedral, the fog started blanketing the view again.

Hayyy, we're about to leave Baguio after an hour. Goodbye, fog... -_-

Our Lady of Atonement / Baguio Cathedral

After this Cathedral, we started walking again because we had to go back to Hotel Veniz. Since we already have a cognitive map of Baguio in our mind, we just walked until we reached Session Road and then when we were already near Hotel Veniz, we took the long cut so we could pass by Burnham Park again.

Burnham Park is at the heart of Baguio and is considered as the "Mother of all Parks" in the Summer Capital of the Philippines.

Fog at Burnham Park
Unlike our first day when it rained so hard, Burnham Park was just foggy that afternoon. Thick fog that is but tourists were enjoying themselves nonetheless. That's the allure of Baguio anyway. Maka-refer sa ibang tao as tourists, e noh? Locals kasi kami. Haha.

I don't watch American series but my friend said that this place was like a scene taken out from the Walking Dead.

This is what Burnham Park looks like on a foggy afternoon. Personally, it's dreamy more than eerie.

Last picture before going back to our hotel, before leaving the Summer Capital of the Philippines... :))

We rode a taxi to the terminal of Victory Liner only to find out that the ETD of the tickets they were selling was at 2AM. It's not like we have the time and the money to lengthen our stay so we decided to take chances and walked to Dagupan Bus Terminal to check.

Thick fog at SM Baguio. Grabe... <3 Weird ko. Hahaha.
From Victory Liner, we walked (directionless. kahit saan. walang tanong-tanong kung nasa tamang lugar ba kami) until we reached SM. As what I've mentioned in one of my last post, finding the way to a place was easier for me if I use SM Baguio as my starting point.

And there, our bus left at 6 PM which was just in time to catch the sunset while driving down the zigzag and picturesque road of Kennon.

Must find a place along Kennon Road to see the sunset once again when we go back to Baguio someday. Haaaay.

This is the end of our Baguio 2014. :))
HOPIA like it.

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Anyare sa September?
Bakit bigla na lang siyang nawala? Kakasabi ko lang na gusto kong maging fruitful 'yung September ko eh pero parang wala. Ang bilis!! Anyway, I believe that October will be a lot better in all aspects of my life. Claim lang ng claim!! Huhubells. Claim lang ng claim!!!! (Ano pinaglalaban ko ba? haha)

Life has its special way of surprising people by making (good) things happen all at once.

By the time you're reading this, I've already edited out the part where I wrote about that something which is supposed to be this month's highlight. It's so crazy how I spent weeks waiting for a news then a day after I decided to stop keeping my hopes up and to just do something else, the news arrived leaving me with no other choice but to "give-up" other things for it. Huhuhu. But it's not everytime that I'm torn about my decisions so I'm still being grateful and hopeful that nothing else goes wrong and nothing else adds to this heartbreak I am sort of experiencing now. Wag naman sabay-sabay please. Life, don't make me choose among the good things. Proper time management naman oh! Claim lang ng claim!!!! At ic-claim din na naka-spread out 'yung mac-claim pls. Ang hirap pag sabay-sabay.

Haaay. I've been uneasy since my mind is so preoccupied with needless worrying but I... huhuhu. Shems, lahat ng bagay kayang gawan ng paraan! huhuhuhu

...

Isang taon na simula nung nawalan kami ng kasambahay and it has been a year since I started washing plates after we eat, organizing my closet, etc. You see, even if I don't belong to an affluent family, we've had a maid to do household chores for us eversince we were young. But it's hard to trust anybody these days so we decided that we are better off not having one.

Those times when I am washing plates, I just couldn't help but think of all the days I spent doing nothing but eat and leave all the used plates in the table for another person to wash.

Buti na lang, change is constant and by undergoing these changes, you learn a thing or two. We all know that life's series of having and not having, of moving and not moving, of loving and hating (maisingit lang!). I failed to appreciate the comfort I had until I lost it. During the first months, kulang na lang pakainin ko sila sa dahon ng saging para lang wala akong hugasan but now I am more than glad to wash used dishes and kitchen utensils because of the fact that I CAN. Having the ability to do something is worth a celebration in itself, diba? K na lang. K. 'Yan, pero wag kang judgmental kasi baka sabihin mo ang babaw ko. May kanya-kanya naman tayong pinagdaanan kaya hayaan mo na e sa ito 'yung gusto kong sabihin. Ang sungit ko. Hahahaha.

Thing here is, we all have a person who makes our lives easier so now that it isn't late, be grateful to him/her.

When you have things to do (a lot of things to do), you appreciate your idle moments.
When you have nothing to do, you appreciate your busy days.

Haaay, life. Wala ka na bang iko-komplikado?

Whatever situation we're in, let's always remember to live our lives with gratitude.

Surprise me, October. :)
EDIT: Your suprise on your first day was a real shocker that I was kind of upset but I'm hoping for more, October. KERI!!! :)))

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We thought that we were to go home after checking out of our hotel but we extended until the afternoon so we had the time check out other places of interest in Baguio.

The long weekend was Saturday to Monday but we were there Friday to Sunday.
Sunday came and it was very very congested in Baguio. It's also noticeable that the traffic near the tourists spots was heavy so it's a good thing that we have gone to Mines View Park earlier that day.

The taxi driver asked us if we were going to the Wright Park Riding Circle or just the Wright Park. Clueless we answered, "Kahit saan po 'yung malapit." Hahaha. So he brought us to the Wright Park Circle where there are a lot of horses you can ride for P 300.00/ hour. Horses can be brought out the park for a fee should you want to. The smell of the place can be a little hard to withstand because it's not just one but a lot of horses that you're dealing with so if you're sensitive to smell, you might want to skip the Riding Circle. Not that it's unbearable but I know some who's really sensitive to smelly places eh.

We saw this stairs and decided to take climb it to see what's upstairs.
Effortlessly climbed the steep stairs because we're healthy like that.

'Yung may mga kabayo, Wright Park Riding Circle.
'Yung nasa taas, Wright Park.

Find this beautiful tree in Wright Park.

There is an elongated body of water which, in my opinion, is unkempt. I looked up Wright Park's history in the internet and found out that place is called "Pool of Pines" and the body of water used to be lined with flowering plants. So sad that there are a lot of unkempt park in the City of Pines. :( I kind of understand that these parks don't require tourists to pay for entrance fees but Baguio has been getting a lot of revenues/taxes from tourists so it makes sense that they maintain the beauty of the parks...

Across Wright Park is the Mansion.

For Instagrammers, you might want to geotag a photo taken there with the correct spelling as in Wright with a W and not Right Park. I saw "Right Park" as one of the location suggestions. Anyhow...

The Mansion was built in 1945 for the U.S governor-generals and this is currently used by the Philippine presidents whenever they go up Baguio for official visits.

And it started raining once again so we hired a cab to take us to Geney's Ramyeon House instead of Botanical Garden which is also found in the area.

"Kuya, Victory Liner po. 'Yung malapit sa SM." - 'Yan sasabihin niyo pag gusto niyo pumunta sa Geney's.

We saw this place on our first night in Baguio. Hindi talaga namin tinigilan hangga't hindi namin nakakainan. hahaha.

Skewered Tteokbokki: P 10.00

Geney A Ramyeon

Kimbap

You'll actually find a lot of Korean Restaurants in Baguio since there a lot of Korean nationals living and studying there. I even saw an unlimited Samgyeopsal restaurant near The Mansion.

Second floor of the Session Building is this cafe called Under the Tree Book Cafe which has a very interesting interior.

Aside from a shelf filled with books which you can read while you're there, there are a lot of post it notes from customers on their wall. My Amnesia Girl lang ang peg? haha.

There I am looking for a post that I can relate with and I found one that said, "Anything worth having is worth waiting for." Haaaay. Lord. Give me the courage and wisdom to know if I must continue to wait. Hahaha.

Looking for a Korean Cafe in Manila? Try SHP Bibimbap and Korean Cafe in Taft Area.

My order was Matcha Latte. Isn't it surprising?

I forgot the price but this is good not because the location is far from home but because it's not too diluted and not too creamy for a matcha latte.

Aside from the ambiance and the taste, you got to love their affordable price plus their free wi-fi connection.

I walked to the counter and before I even opened my mouth, the guy was like:

"Wi-Fi Password?"
"Ay hindi, pahingi ng number mo. Kailangan ko ng textmate." HAHAHAHA.

Ayan. Should you find yourself in Baguio on a rainy day or even on a clear day when you just want to sit and chat with your friends and/or loved one over a cup of any drink with a slice of cake or cream puff, this is the place to be. Woo. Nakahinga rin. Ang haba ng sentence.

Do you know other cafe places in Baguio? Feel free to tell me so we can visit them too. Dami namin anda pang Baguio eh. :))

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GOOD MORNING!! :)

The picture below was taken at around 6:30 AM from the 6th floor corridor of Hotel Veniz.

Our last day for this trip! Huhu.
Since we don't have a view of the outside from our room, I was surprised when I saw how foggy that morning was. Sige na nga, akala ko nung una e ulan 'yan kaya medyo nalungkot ako pero fog naman pala.

These are only some of the options from their breakfast buffet. Eat-all-you-can kung eat-all-you-can, diba. :))

Then we went to Mines View Park for souvenir hunting. You'll find a lot of souvenir shops in the area. Remember that the cheapest pasalubong you can get isn't always the best even if it seem like a bargain. Product quality oftentimes comes with the price.

At first we thought that the park was closed because of the ongoing renovation but a portion from the side was open. Turns out that they are constructing a better flooring so it would be easy to descend the observation deck.

A picture with the famous Saint Bernard of Mines View Park.
Ang lala lang ng P 50.00 isang shot pero dahil turista, patulan na 'yan!

Ifugao traditional clothing is also available for rent for P 10.00 at dahil nga turista kami, patulan na 'yan din.

This is the view from the Mines View Park. The reason why this is called Mines View Park is because it overlooks an abandoned mine which I wasn't able to locate. Never mind that, I'm curious as to how this valley would look like a decade or more from now. I saw a picture of this place taken when it's valley was untouched by developers (not a lot of houses) and when there were still a lot of pine tress. Hmm. Punong-puno na kaya 'yan lalo ng bahay several years from today? Looking at the houses now, it seems to me that Baguio has also started to become congested and who knows how congested it is going to be if the government doesn't intervene with the booming construction. Not saying that I'm 100% against the development but when you look at it, there's a huge possibility na darating 'yung point in the future na itong lugar na 'to, hindi na siya Mines View Park kundi Houses View Park. Sustainable development is something that they should focus on especially when Tourism is one of the major sources of income for Baguio City.

We then walked towards Good Shepherd Convent kasi kabilin-bilinan nung mga taong naiwan namin sa Manila na bumili ng ube jam galing dito. Ganyan maka-pose dahil wala na kong anda ulit. hahaha. Tawa na lang. A jar of ube costs P 160.00 each but then they only sell two bottles for each customer.

It should be easy to locate this convent when you're in the area and make sure to go here early because a lot of tourists buy their souvenirs here.

Lines. Lines. I love lines.
I heard that the lines in Good Shepherd becomes insanely long in the afternoon so be sure to arrive here early especially on a weekend. They accept credit card pala. :)

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Pagkatapos ng bagyo, Baguio ulit.

We went to Hotel Veniz, our home for days 2 and 3.
Look at the fog.
I suddenly want to experience living in Baguio. Hehehe

Book your stay here:

Hotel Veniz Session

Punta na kayo sa Baguio ng rainy season and experience this too. Medyo mahirap lang that you'll have to cancel some plans because of the rain but this view and the feeling of being "one" with the fog is an attraction itself that isn't usually found at other places in our country.

I don't know the exact reason but even if this looks gloomy and creepy at times, seeing fog floating around me makes me happy.

This was our bed in Hotel Veniz
It's a good budget hotel. For P 600.00/person/night, you get a decent room. Wala nga lang view but it's okay.

Kung mas mataas ang budget, pwede naman mag-hotel na lang kesa transient house. Syempre, iba pa rin 'yung ammenities na meron kung talagang hotel mag s-stay.

LCD TV and aircon

Bathroom

I found it hard to bathe or use their water heater kasi extremes lang 'yung temperature na pino-produce.

Pag ginilid mo 'yung pag-open, unti-unting iinit 'yung water pero darating sa point na 'yung init ng tubig e pwede ng makapagpa-kulo ng egg. Umuusok na nga sa init eh. So ang gagawin mo e igigilid mo ulit para mabawasan 'yung init, tas maya-maya,bigla na naman mawawala 'yung init hanggang sa parang ice cold water na 'yung lumalabas sa shower head. Oh wells, baka 'yung kwarto lang namin may problema nyan.

Free Nescafe classic sticks and chocolate chip cookies.

Hotel Veniz is near Burnham Park and Abanao Square. Its location is very strategic since almost all jeepney routes pass by the area. They have complimentary coffee, toiletries, towels and a free breakfast buffet in the morning. Sulit na ang bayad. However, there is no wi-fi connection in the room so you'd have to stay in the common area to connect.

We went back to Camp John Hay and stayed here at the Manor Hotel for around 3 hours.

Ganda.
The initial plan was to go around Camp John Hay again but it started raining hard when we were about to leave The Manor so obviously, na-scrap 'yun.

Medyo nagkagulo pa kami after The Manor kaya nakarating kami ng Mines View Park at Good Shepherd Convent nung gabi pero ayoko na i-detalye 'yung nangyari. Ang point, kahit papano kailangan talaga mag-plano para hindi paikot-ikot. Plan pag maganda weather at plan pag hindi maganda para ma-utilize lahat ng oras.

When we went back to Hotel Veniz to eat dinner, the night market has already been set-up so went down to look around the stalls. Ang tempting bumili ng mga jackets ganyan kasi ang gaganda ng mga ukay dun pero hindi ako nakabili. Huhu. Sana pala bumili na lang ako.

Book your stay here:

Hotel Veniz Session

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Book your stay here:

Hotel Veniz Session

Book your stay here:

Hotel Veniz Session

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