#benguetprovince

Traveling with high school buddies will most of the time make you feel and act like you're still teenagers-- carefree, daring and sometimes a little irresponsible (or stupid) :)

So for this trip, we didn't book our accommodation in advance. We've been told that it's easy to find one from the fixers at the terminal. When we finally chose our hotel, I asked the guy, "Does that room have an AC?" and with a puzzled look he said "Oh no Sir, it doesn't". This was followed by a panicky "It doesn't have an AC?!" response from my companion and me to which our other friend quickly responded, "You don't need an AC here. It's cold. The last time I was here, our rooms also did not have that". And with an in-your-face kind of confidence, the friendly fixer said, "Baguio is centralized air-conditioned." Okay.*

It wasn't that cold. But the 15-20 around this time of the year is exactly what Baguio was made for. The wind was gentle but cold, especially in the evenings. And it smelled clean, fresh and natural.

For breakfast, Pan de Sal from Cafe by the Ruins was not only rich more importantly, it was enormous. The restaurant changes its menu regularly, depending on the available produce during the season. My Mountain Braised Duck lunch made me so full I could have skipped dinner. But this was vacation so dinnerless weekdays do not apply. Besides, we had to have the burger at the infamous 50s Diner where we endured the seemingly endless queue.

Like other tourists, we did the usual itinerary especially because it was the first time for one of our friends. My only condition was that I will never have a photograph with the pink horses at Mines View Park. It's just to circusy as well as cruel to those Albino horses (I hope I'm right).

Visiting one of BenCab's babies, Tamawan Village, was a treat. And in true Bencab/artist fashion, we had our portraits made by the village's resident sketch artists.

It may be the cold that makes the city still laid-back during the day despite of the apparent commerce. But as the sun sets beautifully on the mountain ranges of Benguet Province, the colors of Baguio's blooms attracting all attention during the day is matched by the colors of its unpredictable nightlife.

*The first time I went to Baguio, our hotel room had an AC. I thought, like in other places, it was the standard. Well, it's the opposite! 

All photos by our friend Jan Carlo Tuclaud.