#LaborDayBaguio

April 30, 2014. It one was one of those spontaneous moments when five busy auditors had the random idea to go to Baguio the next day all just because it was Labor Day. Not the famous #laboracay, but a #labordaybaguio theme for us five crazy heads.

The plan is to reach Baguio by morning and leave the same day to Manila. Good thing there were showers in the office so we can already prep up that evening coz there will be no more time and place to refresh in Baguio. When we arrived at Victory liner later that night, there were no longer any bus seats available for us. Since it was a holiday, many people were also going home to their provinces. We decided to take the Dagupan bus instead and from there take the bus to Baguio. 

If I remember it correctly, it was around 7 hours trip in total to reach Baguio. What I immediately noticed after stepping out the bus, was of course the place' cold weather. It was like walking around an airconditioned island. It was not exactly freezing cold so casual clothes we were wearing already sufficed. 

After having breakfast at Jollibee Session Road, we headed to our first destination- the Strawberry Farm. I always liked the idea of picking strawberries and was one of my main motivation in going to Baguio. I was happy to learn that we get to pick as much strawberries as we wanted for only Php275 a kilo. Apart from filling up our baskets and shopping for strawberries. we also got to taste Baguio's Strawberry ice cream. I remembered it tasted so good. There were even real strawberry bits as toppings. 

True to its promise

Yum!

After strawberry farm, we rode a tricycle to Mines View Park. Mines View Park is the famous tourist attraction in Baguio we often read from our elementary books. It was a crowded place but a must-visit to get a good view of Benguet.

top view from Mines View Park

We also couldn't miss the chance of a good souvenir and taking Instagram-worthy pictures so we tried out Igorot's colorful costumes for just Php20. There was also a pink painted horse which was offered for tourists for picture taking. We were really having a good laugh after seeing the horse as it reminded us of a good friend ;p

Ang saya ni Dex!

Igorot OOTD for ladies

the pink horse which reminded us so much of *toot*

 Igorot head dress

A famous pasalubong destination for their ube jam and brittled peanut, we stopped by Good Sheperd. The place was crowded as well with people lining up for more goodies. 

We then headed to the Mansion, a place of residence by the President of the Philippines everytime he goes to Baguio. Gates are opened when the President is not in the place. Beside the Mansion was the Wright Park. We did not roam the place since we thought it would just be another park and a bunch of pine trees. Besides, we were already hungry ;p

The Mansion Gates

Just like my future mansion

Top Model right here

One of the more famous food stops in Baguio was the 50s Diner. An American themed diner, the place was packed of tourists and perhaps locales when we arrived. They offered large servings at a very reasonable price.

inside the diner

Just look at those sinful servings!

vintage car outside the diner

It was already raining when we were inside the diner and it still didn't stop even after we finished our meal. So instead of Camp John Hay as our next destination, we decided to spend time at SM Baguio instead. We hailed a taxi and much to my surprise, apart from the cheaper flag down rate, they don't close their windows coz they don't need to use aircon, very energy-efficient! Even SM Baguio was an open air establishment. We planned to watch a movie because of cheaper movie tickets in provinces than in Metro Manila but there was not a good schedule that would fit our itinerary. We stopped by Figaro for coffee and so we can also charge our phones and gadgets. 

When the rain stopped, we decided to just walk around Session Road and stopped by Burnham Park. We rented a boat for Php200 if I'm not mistaken and enjoyed the park's man-made lake. To be honest, it was a bit tiresome rowing those boats, but good thing we had a guy in the team. Thanks Dex for saving the day! 

Already a bit late, we just decided to eat from one of the restaurants around Session road. You'll find many selections as you walk along similar to the number of ukay-ukay stalls sprawling in the area (Baguio is also famous for these segunda mano items). It was Pizza night for us at Pizza Volante. Unlike 50s diner, I would not really recommend the place as the food serving was small and we generally didn't like the taste of both their pasta and pizza.

the whole gang

We ended the day with more chats and strolls around Session Road looking for more souvenir items. Here, you'll find a lot of carved wooden souvenirs that will surely surprise you.

We took the bus to Manila also that night as planned. All was good thanks to our tour guide Fritzie who has lived and studied in Baguio. There was still lots of places to see as a day is surely not enough to tour the summer capital of the Philippines. But as promised, I will be back ;) 

Shopping and Airport mishaps (Day 3)

Day 3 was shopping day.

Since it was still Summer Season Sale in Hong Kong, a lot of stores really offered huge discounts. We scoured Central for stores like Cotton On, H&M, Forever 21, GAP, Topshop and many more. All to a shopper’s content!

Busy shoppers

Since I decided to go solo in my third day, I got lost in time and was almost left for the last bus heading to the airport. What I regretted in my trip to Hong Kong was my short glimpse to the Avenue of Stars. The place proved to have really a good view of Hong Kong when I passed by but I did not have time to just sit around and take pictures. When I go back, I promise to spend more time there and even watch their lights show.

Avenue of the stars

When we were at the airport, one of the most embarrassing things just happened. We were so busy buying cookies and mooncakes as pasalubong, Leiden and I lost time again and forgot our boarding time. Since the airport was so big, little did we know that Cathay had been announcing our names over and over. When we realized how dead we were, we ran our way to the boarding gate and met Cathay officers already rushing us in. The flight was delayed because of us! I am just thankful they waited! When I reached my seat, all I can do was close my eyes and pretend to sleep. Never again!

Our airport meal

Anyway, we all arrived safely back to the Philippines with lots of shopping bags and big smiles from our super fun but short 3-day trip! Never mind all my mishaps. It sure made my HK-Macau adventure even more memorable! J

Childhood Dreams: Disney and the HongKong sky (Day 2)

What I always love about staying in hotels apart from sleeping is their buffet breakfast. And I must say, Hyatt does not disappoint. A wide spread of buffet, for all your tummy's needs and cravings. Be it chinese noodles, dumplings, Japanese sashimi, all types of bread, cereals, juice flavors, pancakes, and so on. Now, I think I'm hungry again! They even have Yakult too! And not the small ones like what's sold here in the Philippines, bigger version. We eat to our heart's content so we don't have to go for lunch after. 

Day 2’s highlight was our visit to Ngong Ping Village and Disneyland.  

Before reaching Disney, we dropped by JCL jewelry group, where they offered huge discounts to visitors. Not really a fan of jewelry, but my friends were able to score ear pieces at such good bargains.

All the excitement rushed in when we were finally heading to Disney. Upon arrival, we decided to drop by first the Ngong Ping Village before enjoying the fun rides at Disney. Ngong Ping is just nearby through the Disney train. The MTR in Disney was not the usual train but was customized with Mickey windows and rail handles.

The Disney gang

Catch the hidden mickey!

Ngong Ping 360 Cable Car. One of my favourite activities in our Hong Kong trip was riding the cable car especially that we selected the glass floor so we can see what’s down below. I was amazed by the technology that was used which made me feel less scared as I was more assured of the sturdiness and safety of the cable car. We were all in awe at the whole ride. We are how many meters above sea level, that without the glass walls, we’ll be able to literally touch the clouds. Trees and even waterfalls down below looked so tiny. There was a large buddah figure on top of the mountain but we decided not to climb it and just looked at it from the village.

Trees looked so tiny.

Just imagine how high we were.

So that's the large buddha on top!

Citygate Outlet. Before going back to Disney, we decided to stop by the outlet store near Ngong Ping for a quick shopping. Citygate houses numerous outlet stores from Giordano, Nike, Swatch, Guess, and high-end brands like Kate Spade, Coach, etc. The Fossil watches I bought for myself and Papa were real steals as they were almost at 60% off compared to market price in Manila. I also scored a Nike backpack for my brother at a huge discount.

Disneyland. Just in time, we returned to Disney to witness the showcase of our favourite Disney characters especially the Princesses in a street parade. I swear Disneyland will turn you into a kid. All my childhood memories came to life. Watching theatre shows like Lion King and Mickey, seeing the characters up close, coming eye to eye with Cinderella’s castle amidst the fireworks backdrop just like how they are in Disney movies, they all bring a different kind of nostalgia, a sense of joy, as if I were a kid again.

Disney theme rides are not so extreme and are kid-friendly. Must try are the rides in Space Shuttle, Toy Story land and Grizzly Bear.

The required jump shot :)

Be careful of the water coming out of their floats!

Ladies love Tarzan :p

 

The famous Cinderella castle. Didn't get to take a picture of the fireworks in the evening.

While I was busy riding the extreme rides, these girls just took pictures.

Ladies Market. After enjoying Disney, since there was still a few time, we decided to drop by the Ladies Market to buy some souvenirs. In the Ladies Market, you get to buy the pasalubong favourite, I Love HK shirts for just Php100 each. Key chains and ref magnets also came at a cheap price. But you would have to haggle. Since they also take advantage of tourists and sell it at a premium if you don’t know how to bargain. The Ladies Market is really similar to Divisoria but we did not have much time to look around since it was already near closing time.

Day 2 was indeed very productive! We got lots of places covered J

Amazing Race: Hong Kong- Macau (Day 1)

This is a long overdue post of my very first out of the country travel that happened in August of 2013.

I had the opportunity to travel abroad through my former company, PwC Philippines. Good thing Hong Kong does not require visa for entry, just your passport, travel itinerary, hotel booking of course, and payment of travel tax. We boarded on a Cathay Pacific plane, my first time! :) And I must say the service is different and above par from what I have experienced from local planes, even for an economy class. I had wide selection of movies and TV series to keep me from getting bored in the plane. We had sumptuous meal too even for just a 2 hour travel time.

Upon arrival we ate lunch at a local restaurant (forgot the name) in Hong Kong which I think is a usual venue and dining place for tourists since there were a lot of people upon our arrival. The restaurant was big but was still packed with many guests. The food was okay. I've realized I'm not really a fan of Hong Kong food not even ducks. We checked in at Hyatt Regency Hotel in Tsim Sha Tsui. For a 5-star hotel, our room was truly heaven. The beds, the pillow, the linens, and of course our comfort room too! ;) 

First on our itinerary was not touring Hong Kong but going straight to Macau. So in the afternoon around 3PM we boarded via Turbojet and arrived in Macau for 30 minutes or so. It was a bit rainy then and I'd say it was one kind of experience. We were like riding a Disney adventure ride as people in unison, say Oh! as waves go up and down. All the passengers started to get dizzy and a lot of them had sick stomachs. 

All smiles before that surprise wild ride!

But anyway, we arrived safely and headed to immigration counter for inspection. We were met by a Filipino couple who must have recognized us as Filipino tourists and offered to tour us in Macau for 50 HKD each. Since I have already researched heavily about Macau, I did not want to hire any guide. Our group split up with my close friends tagging along with me and trusting my research! I really just wanted to prove to myself that my research was correct and we could do it even without help from guides! 

Macau is very tourist friendly since there a lot of shuttles owned by casinos which you can ride on for free. As long as you know which casinos are near what destinations, you can travel Macau briefly for free. 

Wynn Hotel Fountain Show. Our first stop was Wynn Hotel for their Fountain show every afternoon. Just don't get very near the fountain or you will really get wet. We had to move farther since the fountains were really big. It's a free show and a must watch for tourists- expect a dance of water, lights and fire. 

Panorama shot of some of the casinos in Macau

Senado Square. From Wynn Hotel, we had to do a lot of walking to reach Senado Square. You will be able to pass by a lot of different casinos too. Night time is the best time to tour Macau as you will enjoy the city lights from casinos. Senado Square is an architectural delight in Macau. It was like traveling back in time to Spain. One attraction in Senado Square, is the nearby St. Paul Ruins. Its a church that only had the remaining front door and walls standing up due to an explosion that happened in the past. Before reaching the ruins, you will pass by a lot of different stores selling beef jerky, cookies and different delicacies. They offer lots of free tastes too! For our hungry stomachs, it sufficed, and a milk tea from one of the famous milk tea shops there as San Chai of Boys over Flowers had one in the same place. 

City of Dreams and Venetian Hotel. After having our fill, we went on casino hopping from City of Dreams and Venetian Hotel. Venetian Hotel is my favorite. You will fall in love with interiors and wall paintings. We wanted to try playing in one of the slot machines and test our luck but time did not permit us. We already had to go back to Hong Kong. 

Inside City of Dreams

Venetian Hotel

When we realized that we already had a few minutes left, we rushed in finding a cab and ran our way to the terminal. It felt like we were Amazing race contestants trying to reach the pit stop. Oh our horror when we found out that the ferry had already left! Good thing, the officer told us that there was still another trip and that our ticket would still be valid. And much to our surprise, our other friends arrived in the terminal as well. They were also late! We just laughed our hearts out that night! What an experience! We all went to the same places and I was able to prove my itinerary! Haha! 

Upon arriving in Hong Kong, we headed to McDonalds to have dinner. McDonalds in HK have a healthier menu. They have vegetables as side dishes! I wish Philippines would have a healthier option as well.

After all the race, adrenaline rush, and casino hopping, we ended Day 1 with a good night’s sleep! J