After my long awaited vacation in the City of Pines, it's back to reality! The main reason why I invited people to go to Baguio was because of Panagbenga Festival. It's been ages since the last time I went to Baguio and I really want to experience the festivities first hand. I did experienced it alright, along with throngs and throngs of people but ignoring that, I really enjoyed my Panagbenga experience.
The first event we attended was the "Grand Street Parade" where various institutions in Baguio (mostly schools) participated in the parade. They performed some dances during the parade. Lucky for us we got there early and got front seat (street curb actually). The Korean and Japanese Baguio community also joined the parade.
The first event we attended was the "Grand Street Parade" where various institutions in Baguio (mostly schools) participated in the parade. They performed some dances during the parade. Lucky for us we got there early and got front seat (street curb actually). The Korean and Japanese Baguio community also joined the parade.
I was able to meet some Arashi fans situated in Baguio (I was about to say Arashists Baguio Chapter. Lolz!) but we weren't able to flail a lot. Thanks a lot for showing us around Baguio ❤ We had our snack-turned-dinner at 50's Diner. The place's really cozy and their serving of foods is huge. Correction, I mean HUUUUUUGE! I do love to eat and I do admit that I'm quite an eater but 50's Diner totally defeated me. Their clubhouse sandwich serving for one if enough for three people. The prices, to my surprise, are actually cheap for something that enormous! You can have your belly filled for around PhP100-PhP200. Not bad! I love the vintage car sported outside the establishment. All that’s missing are waitress in balloon skirt and roller skates, a working jukebox and people dancing to Elvis’ tunes!
50's Diner's great but it's really far from our transient, so we mostly had our meals at Kalei's Grill. The place is perfect for those who want to get together to chat/eat/drink. The place's cozy and during evenings, they provide live music for their patrons. Meals would cost from PhP100 to PhP150 and compared to Manila, their servings is worth (more than) your money. Another reason why we decided to have our meals here is that it’s directly below our room. Lolz!
The next day is something we looked forward to. Who wouldn’t especially if It's the main reason why we traveled 6-7 hours from Manila. It's Panagbenga's "Grand Float Parade"! We arrived at our usual place at an earlier time, hoping to get the same seat we had the day before and we're surprised with the number of people who're already waiting for the parade to start. The people doubled in number compared to the time we attended the Grand Street Parade. The floats were wonderfully made. Well, most floats are. Lolz! My favorite floats would be the Medieval-themed one, SM’s Tiger float and the 3-headed lion (the manes are made from broom husks). Of course, all floats are made of flowers. It’s no wonder Baguio’s considered as Philippine’s “Flower Capital”.
Next stop, Strawberry picking! The Strawberry Farm’s not that far from our trancient. One jeepney ride for 15mins or so would suffice for us to reach the farm. La Trinidad, Benguet houses Baguio’s Strawberry Farm. If you take a closer look at some of my pictures, you’ll notice a naked strip of land at the hill nearest the farm. The hill was caused by the past landslide that happened near the area. A small area of the farm was affected from the said incident. Enough of that… Going back to the good side, this activity is something I’ve been looking forward to since I love strawberries ❤ Picking the strawberries yourself costs around PhP200 while buying them straight from the farmers costs PhP100. I might crave for strawberries when I'm in Manila but in Baguio, there's literally strawberries everywhere! Strawberry ice cream, strawberry taho, strawberry wine, strawberry candy, strawberry whatever!
In all, my trip to Baguio was indeed remarkable and I so want to go back but not during the Panagbenga season. True that the festival is worth the trip and time and crowd but if one wants to visit the tourists spots, I highly suggest NOT to visit Baguio during the Panagbenga season. The next time I visit Baguio, I’ll make sure to visit “Asin Hot Springs”. Most locals that we met recommended us to visit the springs.
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