PART I : Its NOW or NEVER

It has been a month since Prince and I came back from our Christmas Travel, but I have not posted anything about the trip, except last December 20, when I was so pissed of because we missed our flight. My mind is in transit these days because I am turning 30 in ten days, and I have to make a reflection of my life. Then there are political thoughts that I wish to write about that has been set aside for quite a while now, then there is my unfinished article about something that I had to say to special people, and many other stuffs, so I decided that it is now or never that I will write about out Christmas Travel.

Prince picked me up from my place at 6:30 in the evening of December 13, 2007 and we went to their house in Ladislawa and had dinner with his mom. At 7:30, we kissed Prince’s mom good bye and then James and Gift (Prince’s younger brothers) drove us to the Davao City International Airport. We were so excited. Both of us have experienced travelling and being on a plane, but this time, it is different and it special for both of us. We went to the check-in Area and we were one of the earliest passengers for the 9:45 flight. After checking-in, we went to a coffee shop inside the Airport. We excitedly talked about things to do once we reach our destinations. Then at 9:15 our flight was called and so we went to the pre-departure area, still excitement continue to progress, we must have looked silly because of the smiles in our face that we could not contain. Without fuss, we found our seats inside the plane and we relaxed. We had a good talk all throughout the 1 hour and 45 minutes flight, and made special plans for our trip to BAGUIO.

Our flight landed at the Domestic Airport at 11:20. After collecting our things, we took a taxi going to Pasay Bus Terminal. Prince bought tickets for us for the bus scheduled to leave at 1:20 in the morning. We waited for a little more than an hour, and then we were on the road and within 30 minutes I dozed into a very sound sleep. I woke up with a flash of light from the camera and when Prince said in my ears “Welcome to Baguio!” I woke up and smiled with excitement and I felt that unbelievable that I was already in the City of Pines. While Prince was gathering our luggage, I stood for a brief 20 seconds, closed my eyes and breathed some fresh cool air. Prince hailed a taxi and asked the driver to drive us to Gibraltar road where Miles home is. Miles home is a transient home near God shepherd Monastery and just a block away from the Mines View Park. It is very affordable, clean and spacious, and very accessible to jeepneys and taxis. When we got into our room, without responding to something that Prince said, I slumped into the very cozy bed without changing into sleeping clothes. After 3 hours, I woke up to the smell of fried tapa and coffee. I got up and devoured the food that Prince prepared for our late breakfast and very early lunch. After breakfast, I showered and prepared for our first day in Baguio.

At 1 o’clock in the afternoon, we walked to the Mines View Park. It was a very good time to walk because the air was cool and the sun is at its highest. There were many buses lined near the park. Tourists swarmed the place because aside from the beautiful view of the old mine, there are souvenir shops at the park, and there are really cool things to do, like having your photo taken with a terrier and Labrador, and huge horses (Prince and I posed as cow boy and girl). We also checked out some silver shops because Baguio is famous for their silver.

After staying for an hour at the mines view, we took a taxi and went to the Baguio Botanical Garden. We saw some old men and women of the Ifugao Tribe at the gate of the Botanical Garden. Acting as typical tourist would do, Prince and I took turns of taking photos at the gate and the name of the garden, then suddenly, all the old men and women were forcing themselves to join us. Thinking that it was an act of claiming ownership of tribe as Indigenous Peoples of Baguio, we just did not mind them joining us. I got a bit upset after one of the photographers around called-out and said “sisingilin kayo nyan, Tig-sampu yan bawat isa, bawat pose!” (They’ll charge you 10 pesos for each person for every pose). I was flabbergasted at the idea, and so I hurriedly grabbed 3 twenty peso bill and we went inside the botanical garden. I wondered what happened to the dignity of this people. Is it poverty? Or, it is an effect of tourism development? I don’t want to discuss it right now.

Inside the botanical Garden, I felt better because it was a very huge place for a garden and it was a good place to enjoy a walk and talk on an afternoon for lovers. We met a group of freelance artists and offered to do a charcoal painting for us for free and it’s up to us how much to donate for the maintenance of their gallery. So Prince and I agreed to have ourselves painted. We thought that it will only take them 20 minutes to do it, just like they promised, but it took them an hour to complete the work. After they hand us their finished drawing, we were delighted, we decided to find a restaurant for our dinner. On our First dinner in Baguio, we went to Gerry’s grill at SM Baguio. After dinner, we bought some food and drinks at the grocery shop of SM and walked to the Burnham Park. We only lingered for 30 minutes at the Burnham Park and we went to the streets of Lower Session Road for their evening Market of Ukay-ukay (Second hand clothes and ready to wear stuffs). At 10 o’clock, we decided to go back to Miles Homes. We only stayed up for a few minutes for the 10”oclock news and then we went to bed.

On our second day, we woke up early, ate our breakfast and went to the Camp Del Pilar where the Philippines Military Academy is located. It was a very good day for us because as usual, the weather was so beautiful that day, it was cool, yet the sun was so bright. I imagined an academy that looks like one of those rough n’ rugged training camps with so many stuffs for heavy trainings and activities. I was amazed to see how clean the place was, and how huge and it has beautiful view of the mountains and valleys. It was a very good visit to PMA because that day, the Batch 2010 had their pass and review parade. It was really admirable and a very, very good presentation. There is discipline in all the cadets and it is very obvious in their actions and in the way they move around the camp. The place is so clean and beautiful. At 12 noon, we left PMA and took a taxi and headed to Camp John Hay. At camp John hay, we ate our sandwich and went to the commissary and look for something to buy. We bought some strawberry preserves and jams, and some Ube, peanut brittle and some other sweets. Then, we looked at the beautiful manor and some other beautiful houses. We also visited the butterfly sanctuary and we enjoyed taking photos with the butterflies. We then realized that we were disturbing the sanctuary, so we decided to go back to downtown area.

We roamed around the market, in SM souvenir shops and bought some caps and shawls and then we continued our walking and from time to time, we would stop and enjoy some cold drinks in some bars and coffee shops along lower session road. At 3 in the afternoon, there was a parade and I posed near the band. It was a parade of the City Government to announce the first Simbang Gabi (or evening mass) and the lighting of the country’s tallest living Christmas tree. After the parade, we continued roaming around the city and we found our way to a steakhouse, and then had dinner there. After our dinner, we went to an internet café and uploaded some photos from our camera. After our cameras were cleared, we went to the see the tallest living Christmas tree in the country and posed for the camera. After our photo session, Prince and I decided to go back to our room and prepare for our trip back to Manila. We fixed our things and after which, while enjoying the 10 o’clock news, we enjoyed our ice cream and planned our side trip to Asin the following day. At half past 12, it was already very cold, so we went to bed.

On our 3^rd and final day, we packed our things, cleaned the place and paid the manager. We thanked them for their assistance and bid them good bye. We went to the Victory Liner Bus Terminal, we bought tickets and scheduled to leave at 11:50 in the evening, so we deposited our baggage, and then we went to the jeepney terminal near the City Hall bound for Asin. After almost an hour of travel, we were dropped-off to a Hot Spring Resort.

Prince and I had a very great time at Palm Grove Resort and Spa. We enjoyed swimming in a very large pool and then we had a outdoor hot bathe. After the hot bathe, we showered and had a late lunch in their cafeteria. While having lunch and enjoying Halo-halo and Mais Con Hielo, we also enjoyed the beautiful vista in front of us. We relaxed and talked, and took a jeep going back to Baguio. From there, we went to SM and spent our remaining time shopping for some small stuffs. At 10 o’clock in the evening, we went to Victory Liner Terminal and waited for our trip to be announced.

While waiting for the bus, Prince and I fixed our things and talked about how great was our experience. It was also a very good decision that we did our side trip to Palm Grove Hot Spring Resort and Spa in Asin. We can’t help but look again at some shots taken at the resort. It was one great experience. At 11:20, our bus is on the road back to Manila.

End. . . . . Next story on Now or never, is our trip to Palawan. . . . till next week folks!