LAKAD PAMANA: Baguio roadtrip

When I found out that LAKAD PAMANA is organizing a tour to the North
Manaog-Baguio, Lingayen-Tarlac-Pampanga. I told myself.. I'm IN!
so early in the morning we meet up in our place at early Saturday Dec. 3
230am  and started our journey to Mc Donalds trinoma to meet the others.

we had 2 vans available for our commute to the North, a toyota grandia and
a nissan urvan.

and with our IDs ready, we are going to the North for another

LAKAD PAMANA roadtrip.
this is Day 1, December 3, 2016
After a few hours we saw daylight. and were almost in our first stop,
our lady of Manaoag church.

we had early breakfast there.

our first stop was Manaog Church we stayed there and got to have
another breakfast. stayed there for an hour then were ready on our
way to the summer Capital.

then at around 930am. I began to see lush greens and the weather began
to feel pleasant. yehey!!! were in Pines City!

Baguio City is home to many tourist spots and is a weekend getaway of those
living in the hot City of Manila.

This makes it a favorite destination especially for those who would like to relax
and stay away from the excessive heat of the lowlands.

why Baguio? anyone who seeks its comfort where you could leave all your cares
behind. With its numerous tourist attractions and panoramic scenes and refreshing
pine scented fresh air it seeks to provide a relief to any traveler,


we checked in our hotel named Villa Silvina hotel,(former Villa La maja)
its found in #15 Outlook Drive South, (Behind The Mansion) its clean,
2 star hotel not that spooky, with a little bit of romantic touch in it.
located at Outlook Drive which is not a common lane for commuters,

but it's easily reachable via auv taxi from the city proper (Php 80-90). It's a
walk away from The Mansion & Wright Park and a few more strolls away
from the captivating Baguio Botanical Garden. you love the crisp smell of
wood and fresh greens at night. The lobby is chic, quaint and reminiscent
of the old Baguio houses I knew.

our first stop was mines view park
its a breathtaking views of mountain ranges and Baguio’s former mineral bowl
where gold, silver and other ores were once quarried. There are now numerous
pasalubong centers, souvenir shops around the park offering such items as
food items, ornamental plants, cactus and succullents, woodcarvings, and
man more.

its an overlook park that will give you a glorious picture of the valleys
you will be pleased to see souvenir items, native delicacies like ube jam and
strawberry preserves, and other products for pasalubong.
If you would enjoy shopping in Mines View Park. The kids would surely love
having their pictures taken with the huge St. Bernard dog and miniature pink
ponies in the park. Not to mention, you could also have your picture taken
wearing the traditional Ifugao costumes.(all at a cost)

we had lunch at Tapa Kiing John Hay. this branch is much simplier
compared to the ones in Metrowalk.

 NEXT STOP? BELL CHURCH

 
our next stop is the Bell church which is actually a Taoist temple.
located along Magsaysay Ave.north of the downtown area of Baguio.

you now, in my 3rd trips to Baguio, I can conclude that jeepneys are
already faced out there. none airconditioned AUVs are the NEW king
of the road.

with its proud red and green gates, its ornate buildings, its soaring pagodas, the
lush old trees. It’s the perfect romantic location with a partner
(if she is not asleep that is)!
its a nice place to appreciate Chinese culture embodied in intricately designed
structures and landscaped gardens.

Within its compound are intricately designed arches and buildings adorned with
bells and dragons. (flags are all gone?) It has a pagoda, and beautifully
landscapped gardens.
There are some artifacts about Buddhism that you will find at the Bell Church as
well as some literature about the history of China.

Multi-tiered Pagoda’s can be seen from the hills surrounding the area.
you would love how they mimic the trees they stand side by side with.

theres a lotus pond, also used as some sort of wishing well, is situated at the center of the court fronting the temple.

for photogs however, photographs are not allowed inside the main altar

This is a temple and people taking selfies posing in front of altars with their
cameras is disrespectful to the place.

NEXT STOP? GROTTO.

in 1913 Isabelo Tampingco was asked to carve an icon of Our Lady of 

Lourdes by the Jesuits in Baguio City. Located on top of a bald Hill, 

the Jesuits continued work on the grotto, adding stone steps and planting 

the surrounding areas with pines and flowers. ITS 252 STEPS.

I cheated. its highly recommended that you cheat when you reached 

old age. haha!

I learned that there is a zigzag road through the sides of the hill where 

vehicles can bring  people directly to the grotto’s apex. 

252 steps is more than half the part of the experience for young couples!

unless the other is asleep.

NEXT STOP ? DOMINICAN HILL

This old, abandoned hotel is located at the top of Dominican Hill, so it's best
if you could take a pre arranged tour like LAKAD PAMANA, so you guys
could take pictures while visiting every  angle of the hotel.oh by the way, you
cannot go beyond the first floor. you need to be friends with the caretaker to
do that.

Diplomat hotel is drawn by it's mystery and it's charm because of the
halloween special of Jessica Soho, there are lots of visitors inside! you could not
take a good shot properly without having to take visitors along with your shots.

when you get inside, it feels like you're in another place in another time but the
chills? well, we didnt feel them, I dont know if its because of the mcdo salt packs
I bought with me or was it because everyone was inside taking pictures selfies,
hoping to  catch a ghost photobomber.


this area is where they often see & hear spirits of children playing.

ok ok ok... there are no ghost here.(well, at least on this trip) maybe
because(again) I bought Mc do salt (asin) as protection. or maybe there just
were too many people inside. too crowded. so they decide not to manifest.

pics by maam Arlene

pics courtesy of  sir Roy

NEXT STOP ? TAM AWAN VILLAGE and dinner at FARMER'S
DAUGHTER RESTAURANT.

The temperature in Baguio was just right, that I could wear shorts and a jacket
without freezing to death.
after this we went back to our hotel rooms to have a rest, then off to the
night market we go. before calling it a night.
things I regret not doing on the first day:: a selfie with ateng. didnt even get her
fb.

day 2.- December 4, 2016

early in the morning Donna woke me up and told me to go have our
early morning walk at 630am to have breakfast at Jolibee(haha) yeah
yeah Baguio has all the great views and souvenir shops, but food is
not that cheap! after breakfast, we checked out and prepare our
2nd day tour.
our first stop was the Mansion, wright park and the flower shops
around it. yeah, I didnt get to take selfies there. because she was
asleep most of the time! I decided to buy myself some cacti to bring
back home.

our 2nd stop was Bencab museum, everybody decided not to go IN
so we dont have pictures of whats new after 6 months.(the last time
I was in was the summer of this yr.)

after Bencab, we had our Pasalubong shopping at Good Shepherd's.
we had a short walk to Burnham park, we went to the market around
session road and got ourselves halo halo from CK. hahaha! then
we went back after an hour. things I regret not doing on the second day:
selfies in burnham, mansion, wright park.

we went to Lingayen after our Baguio trip. here are the pictures sorry if
its only a crappy cam phone.




and here are pictures of Lingayen beach.

7 decades ago (December 22, 1941), this same beach front has been a 

strategic base for the military operations of the Filipino and American allied 

forces. They are defending the Lingayen Gulf against the Japanese troops 

commanded by Gen.Homma. Unfortunately, this part of land was successfully 

occupied by the Japanese forces and Gen. MacArthur has no choice but to 

retreat to Bataan.

 Until after 3 years (1944), with heavy naval and air attacks from the US forces,
Lingayen Gulf was taken over by the American troops and on the 9th of January 1945.

  I just wish that Lingayen is just afew kilometers drive away from home. Here in
this historic beach, locals pause and enjoy the gray sand and the waves.

 after Lingayen we went to Tarlac City proper and Pampanga dine at MODERNO
before heading for  NLEX and finally home.

here are some night shots taken along the way.

 for Php. 1600.00 its very affordable, you get to see Baguio and other Cities from the
north, meet new friends and take lots of great shots home. and the cold 17 degrees
weather is so relaxing.
the next time you guys want a weekened get away tour contact them.0917 7657549
look for Gilbert or Roy.

ONE LOVE. this is your LOVERBOY  Dennis signing out.