Baguio, the City of Pines

Location: Baguio, The Philippines
NP: Infected Mushroom - Avratz
Mood: Peaceful

"Went to see Pacquiao in Baguio, only to find out he was already in Gensan."

Baguio, known as the Philippines' "summer capital", was founded as a hill station for the US military in the early 1900s. It is a rather crowded, woodsy and vibrant city that is, by Philippine standards, very cool.

Burnham Park

Staying at Starwood Hotel (this time we booked in advance) even I, who always feels hot in Asia, could live without air-con and have no problems, only occasionally needing to use the fan. The temperature now at 6 PM, for example, is only 19C, with air humidity of 98% and light rain showers.

Alas, 19C still feels hot to me here where the humidity levels are much higher than in my country, but it is tolerable and sometimes, when it's windy in the evening, even slightly cool. This was certainly a nice surprise.

Other than the temperature, the city is populated by many students and walking on Session Road you'll never be alone. For a Finn, even Baguio is far too crowded, but at least it's not as bad as Makati.

Talking about Finns, I ran into two of them today at SM Mall. They were selling saunas to Filipinos at a stand and claimed business was doing well. One of them lived in Cebu. Didn't ask about the other one.

Finns (on the left) selling saunas at SM Mall, Baguio.

Other than the center of the city and Burnham Park where we rowed a boat, we went to see Mine's View Park and Lourdes Grotto. They weren't terrible, but I wouldn't really recommend these places for a visit. Mine's View is pretty much a very touristy area (by vast majority Filipinos) that only offers one nice view (there were no Igorot people present), and Lourdes Grotto may only be worth a visit for religious reasons. It, as well, offers a decent view above Baguio from the top of the stairs to the shrine of Lady of Lourdes established by Spanish Jesuits in 1907.

Mine's View Park's view.

The peak of Lourdes Grotto.

It is easy to like Baguio and it's snaking roads going up the mountains and spiraling down again towards the busy center. The cool mountain air and pine trees make it feel like something closer to home, an escape from the sweltering heat so tightly gripped around the rest of the Philippines.

I will be sad to leave here tomorrow.