Date: March 14-15, 2009
Destination: Baguio City, La Trinidad, Benguet
Travel via: Land (bus, jeepneys, FX taxis)
Note: This is for archiving purposes. But still worth sharing. :)
Wave the Fog! :)
We woke up at 5AM the next morning in order to be in the Strawberry Farm by 6AM. It was a freezing cold, by 11 degrees Celsius. We took a quick breakfast and hailed a taxi and in 20 minutes we finally arrived at the Strawberry Farm.
Strawberry Fields Forever! :)
Strawberry Farm is from La Trinidad, the capital of Benguet. It is a short ride from Baguio City. This town is also the Salad Bowl of the Philippines due to vegetable trading or what we call "bagsakan" in local dialect. You can buy fresh vegetables at a very low price. So once it was brought to markets particularly in Manila, prices increased from 30% to 50%. For example, if you buy carrots for 10 pesos per kilo, you will purchase this in Manila for 50 pesos per kilo. This may be due to transportation cost. So expect if rainy/storm season happen here, prices will increase further.
Welcome to my Farm! :)
We arrived at the farm and we were greeted by thick fog which were very amazed. Aside from strawberries, there were flowers, vegetables such as cabbage, lettuce, cucumber, etc. planted and ready to harvest. But due flog, we do nothing but take pictures, pictures and pictures!!
We go in the middle of the field
We passed the array of flowers
Nice wave along the fog guys! :)
Picture one more time! :)
There were many pasalubong shops along the fields. From food delicacies such as strawberry/ube jam, peanut brittle, lengua de gato, etc to souvenir items such as T-shirts, keychains, woodcrafts, etc were sold at affordable price. You can haggle if you want.
Just a tip: If you haggle, speak to Ilocano dialect and I'm sure they will lower the price. Use the sentence, "Mano daytoy?" (How much is this?). You may comment "Nangina manang..." (Miss, It's expensive...) if they gave the price higher than what you're expecting. They will surely lower the price for you. :)
Aside from food and souvenir, you will buy fresh strawberries, vegetables and fruits. I bought lettuce for 20 pesos per kilo, broccoli for 15 pesos per kilo and small potatoes for 20 pesos per pack.
We went back to our transient house since we bought many pasalubongs. Hehehehe! We rest for a short while and we headed back to itnerary.
Next stop: Camp John Hay
Camp John Hay Manor
It is one of my favorite place to visit. Good thing we rest for a while since it is the other side of Baguio. We hailed again a taxi and in 30 minutes we arrived at the destination. Camp John Hay developed in the early 1900’s by the United States Armed Forces as a rest and recreation getaway for their troops, Camp John Hay rests amidst 246 hectares of Baguio's most beautiful tract of prime land. Camp John Hay is the only remaining protected pine forest reservation of the City, a haven for nature lovers and families for a much needed reprieve from their busy lives. (source: http://www.campjohnhay.com.ph/campjohnhay.php)
Cool on top!
Picture time!
the Manor
Picture time!
Picture time!
Love the Pine Trees!
Next stop: Philippine Military Academy (PMA)
The farthest of all tourist attractions we visited. After we finished taking pictures at Camp John Hay, we visited Philippine Military Academy or PMA which situated at Loakan district. From Cam John Hay, we rode a taxi and it took 30 minutes until we arrived at PMA. We passed some establishments such as Texas Instruments, Sitel, Baguio Export Processing Zone and the Loakan Airport. We arrived at the site in the afternoon.
The main building
Hand Salute!
Picture at the Park HQ
We took photos on every location of the academy. We also met some cadets and officials. One of our members asked to take photos with us.
Thanks for the initiative, Alma! :)
Mr. Cadet, please smile at the camera... :)
Picture with chopper
A Tree House!
at the Parade Grounds
Picture time
Picture again!
Picture with the General
Wacky! :P
Wacky with the General! :)
Since it was 3PM, we went back to the hotel and this time, we rode a jeepney (Baguio Plaza-PMA-Kias). Fare was PHP17.50 (year 2009) and we rode again a jeepney (Baguio Plaza-Trancoville) PHP8.50 fare. We packed our things and we took photos before we left the transient house.
See you again some other time, transient house! :)
We thanked Manang (caretaker) for being accommodating on our 2 day stay. She said that if we will go back again to Baguio, make sure to stay again to the house. I said we will and it happened after this trip.
By the way, if you want to rent this house (3 rooms, 2 restrooms, living room with fireplace, a kitchen and dining table) good for more ten or more people (friends, families, etc), you may contact Nica Nana-Soriano (contact number - 09279646250) or Ben Valerio (09276072598).
We hailed again a taxi and we arrived at Victory Liner Bus Terminal, paid the ticket (PHP435). But before we left Baguio, I met my niece, Rea whose that time resided in Baguio as a teacher in St. Louis University Grade School. I introduced to her to my friends/officemates.
Me and my niece, Rea. :)
By the way, the terminal was almost full and we took the 4:30PM trip bound for Pasay-Cubao. Again, we were seated at front. There were many pasalubong shops but a bit pricey compared to central market and Strawberry Farm in La Trinidad. I bid farewell to my niece since she headed to her boarding house. We left Baguio on time and we arrived at Cubao,Quezon City at 10:30PM. It was a great experience with my friends/officemates and visiting Baguio is worth amazing. This is not the last time we went there, we almost did it every year and yes, we are still counting for more. :)
At Victory Liner bound to Manila
Thank you Baguio for a nice 2-day vacation! :)
Agyamanak Baguio/La Trinidad Benguet! J
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