Lakwatsera Friday: Tambay Muna

The lakwatsera isn't feeling well today so I'm not able to blog properly.

Here's a photo of me and Miggy when we visited Baguio in 2019. How I wish we could just hop on a bus and do it again!

Have a restful weekend everyone 😊

#BeKind #StaySafe

Pasalubong Shopping in Baguio

Our goal today was to buy pasalubong for our parents and earmarked time to buy goodies at Mountain Main Training Center (Good Shepherd) and get some veggies from the Baguio City Public Market. It was a bit challenging getting on the right road to the Good Shepherd place because some of the roads recommended were closed to traffic. We almost ended up going to Nueva Vizcaya! The view though was very nice and we just turned back to find a safer route to the center. It was real treat to see this lovely view.

We wanted to finish our shopping before lunch and attempted to go to the public market. Finding parking though was very challenging so we decided to just eat lunch first and just go back. Luckily we were able to park at the department store across the public market. I've been to the Baguio City Public Market several times already, but only discovered today that there is a pasilio just for flowers! The area smelled heavenly and it was so tempting to buy a bouquet.

The public market in Baguio City is one of the cleanest I have been too and I absolutely love shopping for vegetables and rice there. The best brown rice I have tried is from Baguio City and that was the main reason why I wanted to go. Aside from rice we got 2 brooms, strawberries and some veggies for our parents. There was also some fun zumba ongoing inside the market!



I realized that three nights in Baguio isn't enough! I still have a long list of new restaurants I want to try, but will have to save it for another time. I hope it won't take me another three years to go back! 

Happy Tummy in Baguio

Ahhh tonight I'm blogging using a tablet (with a bluetooth keyboard), so hopefully I will have an easier time. Hotel wifi though is a bit slow, but much better than the last time I stayed here in 2014.

Our family vacations generally revolve around finding good local restaurants we could dine in. Friends usually help with recommendations. Our friend, Vince, told us that there are now a lot of new places to try in Baguio. We've been to Baguio numerous times and have been to the usual tourist places several times so our theme for this vacation is, "Happy tummy!".

Our first stop last night was "Don Henrico's". Don Hen is a well-known local restaurant that originated in Baguio. We always eat at Don Hen whenever we visit Baguio. I'm glad though they now have sampler plates because I don't need to bring home any leftover anymore.


Next door was "Vizco's". Vince described it as the locals' sosyal (affluent) cake shop. The cake display looked amazing so we sat down and took a look at their gigantic menu (it's much bigger than the ballot cover folder when you vote). We ordered a strawberry cake and oreo cheesecake. It was absolutely heavenly! We'll definitely go back!

After dinner and dessert we were too tired to do anything else and went back to the hotel and immediately conked out. Well I managed to blog a bit about our trip last night (I don't really remember what I wrote anymore hehe). Ahhh Baguio, the cool air would definitely force you to catch up on zzzs.

Family Road Trip: Baguio

We usually try to take a few family trips every year. We always avoid crowds though and prefer to travel after the holidays.

We decided to head north again this year. We have not been to the summer capital of the Philippines since January 2014. It was an easy drive up from Manila with lots of stop overs to check out Poke Stops and to contribute new gas station locations on Google Maps. We left Intramuros at around 9 and reached Baguio at 4 in the afternoon. The trip would have been shorter, but we took time eating at Matutina's and checking out the new gas stations along the way and we went via Marcos Highway because it's safer.

We rested for awhile and then headed to SM to buy a few things and then walked over to Session Road to eat at Don Henrico's (the original!). We had dessert at "where the locals get their dessert fix" (Accord to my friend Vince) - Vizco's. After eating so much we were too tired to do anything else and headed back to the hotel.

I decided not to bring my laptop so I'm just blogging using the Blogger app. More photos when I get to blog on my laptop!

Baguio oh Baguio

To kick off work this year I headed up to Baguio for the inaugural of their GEG chapter led by Aris. It's my third visit in the last 6 months, but it was only on this trip I had some time to do other fun stuff. I was planning to recount this on a day to day basic but a creepy night visitor took over my blog for a few days. What I didn't expect was the trip would kinda detoxify me and wean me away from pork, beef and sweets! Argh!

On the first night I met up with Vince, Dean, Aris together with Philip and Iosif. I had always wanted to try out Oh My Gulay but never had the chance. I was ecstatic to finally visit the all-veggie resto (much to Philip's chagrin hehe) and was so excited I looked up their menu while waiting for my companions to come back from their meetings.

Vince, Dean, Iosif, Philip and Me.

I did not expect that the resto was on the fourth floor in a building on Session Road. I still have issues going up stairways and so I forced everyone to take breaks in every floor (haha). By the time we got to the resto I was huffing like I climbed Borubodur. I was so hungry by then I pigged out on bulaklak tempura, kabute pasta and OMG salad. Vince said all their veggies was organic. I was so inspired by the resto that I've been researching on all-veggie recipes.

Onion Rings, Bulaklak Tempura, OMG Sald, Kabute Pasta

The next day we went to the strawberry farm to pick strawberries. In the afternoon was the highlight of my trip where we had an overwhelming number of teachers attend the first GEG Baguio meet-up. It was really a momentous day and it was great to hear the expectations of the teachers on this new community. Congratulations Aris and all the teachers! And special thanks to GBG Baguio and GDG Baguio for the support.

Welcome to the family GEG Baguio!

I must say that even though Baguio is known to be one of the coldest places in the Philippines, it has the most hospitable people. Aris wanted us to experience the traditional Baguio home and invited us to his home. We had a pizza party and roasted marshmallows on the fireplace. It was a fun-filled evening and Aris really has a lovely home. Thank you Aris for this experience!

At Aris' home. I had 4 layers of clothing on coz it was coooooold!

And then well, you know what happened next.

The Blue Glow: An Explanation

Late Saturday night I posted about the "Creepy Night" I had when I was in Baguio. I was already shivering from the 12'C weather and this was made worse from the unexpected night visitor. Some of you have probably seen the video recount on Iosif's reaction when we asked him to verify the "thing". That post was supposed to be the last account of my experience but some of my friends have been asking me what it was we actually saw since there was only a "blue glow" at the end of the video.

Here's some photos I took of the "thing".

Sorry if the photos aren't as clear. As you can see the "blue glow" or "thing" is a person. A person really desperate to get free wifi from the hotel I was staying at. He had gone up the roof of his house at around eleven in the evening with his tablet, sat down on the (what I assume) cold roof (it was made of yero) and spent almost an hour online (well I hope he wasn't just playing Candy Crush!).

What do you think he was doing on his tablet?

The Night Visitor

This is the continuation of "Creepy".

Philip and I slowly moved the curtain so we could peek out the window. It was pitch black beyond our hotel's perimeter wall. We were both showing "brave" faces to Sweetie but the hair on my arms were standing and I could feel my heart beat harder. I had no idea what to expect and was hoping that maybe it would just be a cat and not the stuff I used to see and feel. Philip and I saw the thing at the same time. We looked at each other and then looked out again and then exclaimed "Oh my God!" at the same time. It took us a few seconds to process what we saw.

After seeing the thing we decided to get Iosif to verify. When Iosif got out of the shower Philip asked him to go see Jay. And this is what happened...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VLahQCVAISw

Places with Cool Weather in the Philippines

Baguio is one of the few cities in the Philippines that enjoy cool weather. The temperature can sometimes go as low as 6'C. The only other places I've been to in the Philippines is Benguet, Buda, Lucban and Tagaytay. Aside from going to the beach I love going to these places just to take a break from the heat in the city.

Baguio

Going to Baguio is easy. You can just take a bus and then in about 6 hours you're there (best to take the late evening bus). I've been visiting Baguio since I was a child and I remember during that time water heaters didn't really exist yet and I'd cry everytime my Mom would bathe me. It was just so cold! I enjoy Baguio a lot more now since I can take warm showers and there's a lot more food places to try and more sites to visit. Do visit the Ketchup Community to satisfy your hungry tummy.

Benguet

Ah the land of strawberries! Benguet is where our veggies come from and the farmland is a sight to see! I'm going back tomorrow to finally see the strawberry farm full of strawberries!

Buda

Buda is a town in between Davao and Cagayan de Oro and is a great place to stopover for a meal. The trip from CDO to Davao is about 6 hours. I've only been there once since my uncle wasn't too happy about me traveling by land from CDO to Davao. The place though is like Baguio when I was still a child and would be a great hideaway if I had the chance to go there again.

Lucban

Lucban is my Dad's hometown and is located in Quezon. We used to go there a lot to visit relatives and to enjoy the cool weather. Lucban has great heritage sites (it was occupied by the Japanese during the war), fantastic food (pancit habhab!) and it's where I received healing (Kamay ni Hesus). And one thing I love most about Lucban is the longganisa!

Tagaytay

I go most often to Tagaytay though since it's just about an hour away from where I live in Manila. We usually head there just to get some cool air and relax and see the sites. But since you can only take as much photos of the Taal Volcano (it hasn't really changed in my lifetime), the best thing to do in Tagaytay is to eat! You can experience a wide variety of cuisines and visit cafes just to chill.

Feeling the heat? Relax, visit a cool place in the Philippines!

I Will Make You Hungry with this Post

Warning: this is an epic post about food, gathered from years of travel and eating.

My doctor was very happy yesterday to see my progress. He said that he and my cardiologist were very worried about me, but seeing me walking and smiling again have relieved them. After doing a quick 2D echogram with his handy gadget he said that my lungs are clear and I just have 1 millimeter of water in my pericardium which should go away in time.

I've actually been feeling much better in the last week. I just stayed home for five days straight to rest and started venturing out for walks in the last 3 days. I think it's really helped regain some of my strength and I was really surprised that results from my spirometer exercises have increased to 1,250 ml (yay!). I can also raise my arms straight up now and wear a tshirt without wincing in pain (wearing though is a different ballgame from taking it off).

Anyway so since I've been stuck at home and been ordered to take my mind off work (and keep away!) I've just been watching TV, reading, blogging, updating my journal and dreaming about my favorite food.

My doctor said it'll be safe for me to travel in about a month. Ahh, aside from seeing family and friends back home I look forward to finally eating food I like. Here's my itinerary:

Vigan

Longganisa

Empanada

Manila 

Spaghetti from Makati Supermart Coffeeshop in Alabang

Cheeseburger from Dayrit's

Jollibee, of course

And my first glass of cherry beer at Shift Restobar in Guijo, Makati

Pad Thai at Krung Thai in Marikina

Baguio

Strawberry Shortcake from Cafe by the Ruins (and loads of strawberries)

Buffalo Wings from Don Henrico's (it has to be in Baguio because I can eat the chicken there)

Bicol

Pasta Pinangat in Albay

Chiffon Cake and Pambonete from Casa Moderna

My Tita Olive's cooking

Cebu

A feast at AA Barbecue with my AA buddies Jerome, Andrew, Sweetie and hopefully with the girls, Chelle, Anne, Celine, Mitch and Jomar (no Jomar isn't a girl haha)

Boneless Crispy Pata from Dessert Factory

Bacolod

Bottomless cakes from Calea

Eating mangoes at Carbin Reef

Iloilo

Tuna Taco at Bauhinia (I hope it's still open!)

Davao

Pork Marinara, Unforgettable Pork Ribs and yummy cakes at Lachi's

Cagayan de Oro/Bukidnon

Cakes and pizza margherita at Candy's

A feast at Panagatan

Steak at Del Monte Golf Club

General Santos/Saranggani

A feast at Saranggani Highlands with my friends

Tuna kilawin and grilled tuna at Ranchero Grill

Making this post has seriously made me hungry.

Brrrrr Baguio!

Too little time to blog, but here's a rundown of my freezing Baguio experience:

November 29, 2007
1:00 a.m.
Hopped on a Victory Liner bus to Baguio

1:00 - 6:30 a.m.
Zzzzzzzz (yes it's my talent, I can sleep anywhere)

6:30 a.m.
Tulala

7:00 a.m.
Stuck in Baguio Traffic

7:30 a.m.
Crashed at event organizer's hotel

10:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.
Work work work!!!



In-between: Panicking over the Makati siege and kept bugging Mom and Dad and Miguel's guidance counselor.



More STI photos here.

7:00 p.m. onwards
Eat and zzzzzzzz

November 30, 2007
Bonifacio Day (holiday)

So, you thought I'd manage to go around Baguio? Nahhh. The only thing I actually managed to see were: SM Baguio, Session Road, Camp John Hay - that small strip between the CJH Convention Center and the Filling Station (walked back after eating lunch), and food. Check out though what made me gain a couple of pounds overnight at Lakwatsera Ako.

12:00 to 6:30 p.m.
Bus back to Manila
What I did? Zzzzzzz. Natulog siyempre.

And so I thought I'd manage to do some work, but... I conked out when I got home. The bumpy ride really did me in.

*Photos by Sweetie and Mhel Garrido/Kim.