Botanical Garden - Baguio City

We were suppose to familiarize ourselves with various plants and flowers but we end up dressed like native Igorots. We enjoyed the feeling of being one of them for minutes and this is what matters most.

We looked beautiful together. The Igorot's clothes lessened the cold that we suffered that day.

We arrived around 7:00 in the morning. The fog was very thick specially on the garden but we were brave enough to stroll and bear the chilling temperature.

We started scanning the area searching for the most beautiful flower but below caught our attention. The fact that the garden is not in full bloom during the month of December dissuade us from wandering around. Our attention was drawn to these colorful clothes and ornaments.

Here comes Chief Aureo with his lovely princesses.  From left - Princess Anabel, Princess Virginia, Princess Marde and Princess Asteria. We should have been the greatest Igorot clan to ever lived, haha!

The crown prince was in Sagada together with the crown  princess. You may meet them some other time.

And what is this? Oh, No! Princess Virginia was taken away by an alien. If we cannot stop this, our culture and heritage will be forgotten. The influences we can get from this alien will slowly abolish our beliefs, values and tradition. (This is just a drama for fun, please do not take it seriously even if you can relate to it.)

We were delighted by the photo shoot we had. We were early and the guides are not yet available. It is time to go and check the next destination.

"Be an instrument in showering God's blessing to others, let Christ's love course through you."

The Lion's Head - Baguio City

They say that your trip to Baguio is not complete without visiting the Lion's Head. I guess this is because this statute is located at the entrance of Baguio City using the old route. A new road was constructed to provide better and safely access to Baguio City. Marcos Avenue is now the public road towards Baguio City so the Lion's Head can no longer welcome you to the city of pines. We now need to take a special trip to greet the Pines' King and complete your Baguio trip.

The Lion Park is located along the famous Kennon Road. This road was obviously named after its builder, Col. Lyman Walter Vere Kennon. His head was also carved in stone and was also placed along this road but the mighty head of the lion overpowers the head of the late military engineer.

This is how deep and how high the cliff along Kennon Road. We can never ignore the curve, wavy and bend lane drifting all the way down from the top of the mountain. Climbing up can never be easy and is always a challenge. One miss turn and you will fall off the cliff. Thanks be to God for keeping us safe.

It is reasonable to just close this road during rainy days. So when it rains, you can never complete your Baguio trip and you need to come back again when the sun is smiling over this mountain ranges.

We looked not that happy looking at this big stone. We were obviously not a fan. 

Tourists keep on coming. Thanks to Davies for repainting the most famous stone in Baguio. But I am not expecting the color to be like that. I imagine the head to look like an ancient one. Something that can scare off the intruders.

"Almighty Father, restore to me the joy of Your salvation and uphold me by Your generous spirit."

Camp John Hay - Baguio City

Another famous mountain resort in Baguio City is Camp John Hay. This place is very large and the taxi will just park and wait on this area. Souvenir shops and restaurants are also found on this area.

We need to climb up on this mountain and may need to trek to another hill to get to the museum, cemetery, butterfly sanctuary, golf course, manors and other facilities available on this camp. I am with a senior citizen so trekking is a big NO. There we go again, another reason why I should go back to Baguio is to explore Camp John Hay...

Inside Camp John Hay is STARBUCKS and it is up to you to imagine how cozy you will be while drinking a cup of coffee inside this shop, haha! But remember that there is no PUJ allowed inside Camp John Hay. It is also hard to find a taxi inside this mountain resort. You need to pay extra amount (fifty pesos) if you want the taxi to wait for you or you need to pay an hourly rate (200 pesos per hour) to secure a ride. For convenience and if you can afford, you better rent a car or van to roam around Camp John Hay. I will not advice you to stroll around because the beauty spots are very far from each other. 

The Top Tree Adventure is now famous inside Camp John Hay. We were excited to be here!!!

We were not able to explore again even if we were already at the entrance. We know and accept our limits.

See the stairs below and you will understand why we stop our track here in spite of the laughter and shouting we heard from the inside. This place is not for old folks, haha!!

All we did was picture taking at the entrance. At least we were able to document our journey around this area.

Need to do some personal stuff while roaming around this camp? Yes, the place below are the cheapest option you can get. We cannot just do it anywhere even if you are the only people around. We are ecotourists after all.

 "Love bears all things; believe, hope and endure all things for your love. Love should inspire us to give the benefit of the doubt."

The Mines View - Baguio City

Known for it's spectacular sunset is the Mines View Park in Baguio City. In a good weather, the landscape along those magnificent mountain ranges is perfect. Just check on the photos down below, it is amazing even without the sunset. 

Sad to say, we were not able to wait for the sunset. Baguio City has a lot to offer and our stay is unfortunately short. We need to keep moving to cover more area.

So there it goes again, another reason why I should go back to Baguio is to see the famous sunset at Mines View Park, haha!

Mine's View Park is also full of vendors just like any other tourist spots here in Baguio. The price here is better compared to other sites according to the blogs I read. There are lots of flowering plants for sale but we are an airplane away so we can only took photos as souvenir. 

This huge dog is also famous at Mines View Park. Almost everyone, especially children, paid twenty pesos just to have this dog on their photo. I paid too, and so here we are together on our once in a lifetime photo session.

I never thought that my father loves dog but he is paying too. There are lots of Saint Bernard dogs, one even wear pink accessories just like the white horse below.

But I did not choose the pink horse even if pink is my favorite color. I chose to ride the bigger stud because of my weight. She is so pretty and not worth to take my burden.

"When God gives us times of plenty, we can save some for times of low, just like an ant"

The Wright Park

One of my unexplored part in Baguio that is hanging on my wish list is this park. My plan is to ride a horse here but then time is always the constraint. The weather too is not helping. This is one of the reason why I should go back again to Baguio. Some day, my plans will be duly executed.

This shelter is located inside the Wright Park. I am not sure what is this for but visitors can take a rest and relax on this area. The street located right across the mansion is the entrance of this park. This is a long walk away and you can be exhausted.

Tourist are crossing to and from right on this path because this separated the Mansion from the Wright Park. All around are pine trees standing long and proud towards the sun. It is best to ride a horse from Wright Park and enjoy the lush forest from the back of the beast, wow!

"Always pray to God for help, no matter what."

The Mansion

Welcome to "the mansion", the official summer residence of the president of the Republic of the Philippines. The ground was impressive but we were not able to get inside. 

Haha, we better head up to another tourist destination in Baguio. Let's go and continue the fun! 

"Submit to God."

PMA - Baguio City

My father loves PMA. It has been his dream to have a PMA graduate from his family. Unfortunately, no one is interested on this field and I am sure that nobody will be able to fulfill this dream in his lifetime.

Courage, Integrity and Loyalty. These are the values that each Filipino should endeavor to inculcate, imprint and flourish so that we can grow and surpass all our challenges of being a third world nation. Our continuous indifference to these values because of our endless greed of worldly things will drag us down and sooner this will hunt us throughout our lives. I already sound old and academic, haha!!

Well, this is how it looks like in a hazy weather. During the cold months, early mornings and late afternoons will be more or less this foggy.

It's gonna be super cold and tourists like us should be ready with their warm clothes, bonnets, insulated boots and mittens. Those who are well acquainted with winter may have laugh on us but what can we say, we live on a tropical country. Haha!!

Roaming around the PMA grounds requires a lot of energy. Promenading in a weather like this will drain your vigor and zero visibility will definitely kill your spirit. How can you savor the picturesque terrain and landscape of this countryside will all those mist around? But we never had fog on our area so this was still a very welcome experience. Thank you, Lord.

The PMA ground was all verdant and hazel. I love the colors. It smells fresh and cool. It was refreshing and relaxing. How I wish I live here.

The ornamental trees rimmed along and in-between the streets were dancing in harmony with the cold winds. Imagine the cadet marching along this street with the sound of drums and bugle. That should be a moment to witness but we are not lucky to experience it. We tried but I guess we need to try again.

The impressive flowers are also everywhere. I have seen these species in other places but the bloom they showed here is special. The magic of this place is not limited to vegetables. The trees and flowers planted here have flourish alluringly.

Wild sunflowers are scattered around Baguio. They will bloom in the month of December and we are lucky this time because our timing is perfect. Sunflowers are everywhere. The city ordinance protecting these wild sunflowers was a success. Thanks to the community!

My eyes were happy. Friendly colors were everywhere. No wonder visitors keep on coming to this place. These breathtaking sights are for free so what are you waiting for? Come and visit them.

The sights of guns and artillery may also impressed you. Scattered on the PMA grounds are the old tanks, planes and helicopters. Boys will be delighted to see them.

We also tour ourselves inside the PMA Museum. Various photos and artifacts were stores for tourist to see and understand its history.

The area is huge and we get tired. We found this place and rested for a while. But then we realized that this place looks well on a picture, haha!!!

We also check the souvenir shop and bought some items. Our hungry tummies were also excited to check the boodle bar.

One final picture before we bid goodbye to this adorable place.

"God's gift of life makes this place beautiful. This is the greatest present we ever have."