I was asked by a friend to join them for an overnight trip to Baguio and of course I agreed and since I've been there for X number of times I offered to be able to look for a transient house that we can stay to instead of booking for a hotel which will be more expensive since it's just a week before the said trip.
I only have contacts with the previous hotels that I have stayed with my family so I searched for recommended transients and saw "Zig Baguio Transient Apartments", they're top on the list so I checked the page and saw the units available and immediately contacted the owner. He offered us unit 7 which is good for 6 pax since it has 2 bedrooms, a bathroom and it has a kitchen. We got it for 350/head for an overnight stay.
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The Apartment is near Teacher's Camp, you may not be able to notice the place since it's being fixed. Renovation are being done for more units to be added. They're also open for long term stay, btw. :-)
We arrived by 2:00pm, went straight to Zig's to leave our stuff and went out for lunch. We left the car and decided to walk and take a cab. We went to Ketchup Community, I seriously love their Canto's ribs, it's one reason why I'll also love to come back here. <3
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We've planned to go to Wright Park after eating but since it rained, we decided to go back to our apartment and rest while waiting for the rain to stop.
Another thing I love about Baguio is that you don't have to worry about your taxi fare since it's seriously cheap compared to MNL even if you get stuck in traffic. Sadly, thousands of jeepneys, taxis and trikes are responsible for almost unbearable levels of traffic.
We all took a nap and set our alarms by 7:30pm since we're going out for dinner and to the Night Market. Good thing, it's no longer raining that evening. :-)
We went to Session Road since it's where we'll meet my friend since she'll accompany us into the Night Market. She suggested that we try Vizco's Restaurant and Cake Shop since they serve great cakes. LOL and so we did, but unfortunately there's no table available for us, but good thing, the restaurant beside whom I believe is an extension of Vizco's but has a different name provided us seats so we ordered from them and tried Vizco's cakes for dessert. I wasn't able to take photos of what we've ordered since it was given separately. But, the food is great and also on big servings.
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Right after dinner we went straight to the Night Market. So it consists of a lot of items you can buy, from clothes, shoes, bags, street foods and a lot more. It is usually open every day starting from 8:45pm onwards (as advised by my friend) as long as there's no typhoon like the last time I went here. So we started checking out clothes and it was seriously being sold for a very cheap price. I was able to buy 6 plaid tops for only 300php since it's 60php/each but 100php for 2, I also bought a skirt for only 20php. Cheap right? LOL we went back to Zig's by 1:00am. We're supposed to drink by then, but it was really a tiring and exhausting day. I only had the chance to get a 2 hour nap that day and so we decided to call it a night.
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6:30am: GOOD MORNING, BAGUIO! :-)[/caption]I was awaken by my alarm and when I opened the door, I heard the bell from the Korean church on the other street and some people from PMA jogging around (I saw the shirt they're on which has PMA on it). I woke up every one so we can prepare for breakfast. We went to 50's diner for breakfast. This had been one of the famous restaurants here in Baguio, they have 2 branches and there's usually a long line here during lunch and dinner. They already have a competitor "Grumpy Joe", it was said that the food there was better, but we haven't had the chance to try it because seriously the line was too long and no, we don't have the patience to wait because of our limited time, maybe next time. ;-)
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After breakfast, we went straight to La Trinidad, Benguet since they would like to visit the Strawberry Farm and yes there's traffic on our way there, but to our dismay.... Strawberry picking is not available since there's no strawberries to pick. LOL we ended up eating strawberry ice cream instead and decided to leave. We went to Wright Park and 3 of my friends went Horseback riding while the 3 of us stayed in the car, ate strawberry taho while waiting for them since we're too lazy to go down. Lol
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It's already 12:00pm and we need to check out from Zig's by 1:00pm but we asked for an extension and he charged us extra 50php/head and we're good until 2:00pm. We went to Good Shepherd to buy pasalubongs' before heading back to Zig's. We checked out at exactly 2:00pm and went straight to Hanger Market, oh by the way we left the car on Session Road since we'll have a hard time to look for a parking spot near Hanger Market and so we just walked going there.
Hanger Market is known for a place to buy cheap pasalubong and fresh vegetables. There's a lot of stores to choose from which has different offers you just need to find the store where you'll do your talent for "bargaining". I bought some vegetables since I was asked to and of course the ever so famous Baguio brooms. LOL
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Our 2nd to the last stop: Diploma Hotel; It used to be a rest house and a seminary way back 1911 before it was developed into a school and eventually, a hotel. A lot of documentaries have been written about this mysterious structure. Up to these days, many curious people go to Baguio to see the ruins of what used to be the spellbinding grand hotel that boasts of its large rooms, striking details and admirable design. Going upstairs is no longer allowed since it was said that there's already falling rocks that may cause accidents.
Good thing we're on our last stop when it started to rain; Central Park Restaurant for late lunch. One of my faves here is their Bacon Rolls Dumpling plus they offer free tea and again, big servings for a very cheap price. Every order is already good for sharing. :-)
Food trip + Shopping = Sums up our 24 hours stay in Baguio. :-)
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EXPENSES:
| GAS & TOLL /6 | 500/each |
| Transient /6 | 350/each |
I didn't include my food and other expenses since I didn't tracked them. But I spent 4,500 for this trip. That includes the expenses above plus the food I ate and the stuff I bought for myself and for pasalubong's. :-)
