Baguio-Quezon

These photos were taken last Sunday afternoon. One of the reasons why we would rather stay home is because there are already lots of people in the city, and vehicular traffic comes to a standstill.

This is the hilltop market area. On normal days, this road is relatively orderly and clean. On Panagbenga, vendors occupy the streets and the crowd swells in size.
To the right is the Abanao Center. The mall occupied the street and placed a stage so traffic is rerouted. You can see the silhouette of the City Hall beyond.
It is a challenge going through the overpasses. I must advise guests and locals alike to exercise caution lest you lose your valuables in such crowds. Better safe than sorry.
The Maharlika Livelihood Center with a strategic location along downtown Session Road, is adorned by ads of competing telcos.

As consolation, we were greeted by an amazingly blue sky as it got illuminated by the fading sun.

Posted in: Abanao, Hilltop, Maharlika on Friday, February 29, 2008 at at 1:03 PM 3 comments  

While we stayed home last Saturday and instead watched from the comfort of our own home the street dancing parade, we dared go to town with Jo-Lo the following day after the Float parade in the morning despite warnings from the neighbor that we might have to walk back. Undaunted, we flagged a taxi at Kennon Road and dropped off at Harrison Road.

We made a beeline for the landscaping contest, which showcases local talent for, um..., landscaping. We have also seen rather unique flora in the past through this event, and so we had our eyes peeled once again for something unique.

But with all the beautiful orchids and ornamental plants in the area, guess what took
our attention. Gumamelas! Otherwise known as Hibiscus. The plant which has a variety that grows wild and we, as kids, pound the petals to a pulp, add water and some detergent, and produce bubbles out of looped wire.

But these were not ordinary gumamelas. The flowers were huge! My wife and son Jo-Lo had their photo taken beside the shrubbery.


The photo below is from the landscaping contest. More photos can be found at the Kaleidoscope photo blog.

The following day (Monday) is a holiday, and so I had the great opportunity to see the first day of the Trade Fair along Session Road, which is closed to vehicular traffic for an entire week and booths are set-up offering various goods.

Ornamental plants take center stage.

There are a couple of pocket gardens as well. Tourists and locals alike love having their photos taken in these areas.
This is Narda's store. Ms. Narda Capuyan is quite a popular name in Baguio City, as she is a rags-to-riches success story by enriching her cultural heritage and showcasing their native wares.

Handicrafts are in abundance here...
... as well as some truly interesting finds.



A small group of stalls branched out along the former SkyWorld Condominium Building. We were delighted to see store upon store of shoes, sandals, and all sorts of footwear from Marikina! The slippers below were so colorful that we couldn't resist buying a pair each. At the upper section, the sound of local gongs and musical instruments attracted us and a sea of onlookers. Young people in the native outfit were dancing. It is heartening to see that the next generation is keeping tradition and custom alive.

That night, musical entertainment was the main fare as popular band Six Cycle Mind entertained the crowd. A quartet likewise serenaded the group a couple of blocks away.

I would like to plug my good friend Leo's shop, Kurio, whose booth is at the upper section of Session Road. He's got really nice stuff. If you're visiting the trade fair, do drop by his store!
My wife bought this nice sunflower wall decor as a gift for a good friend.
All this walking can definitely work up an appetite! Not to worry, there's lots of foodies to choose from!

What fun! I will be going up to Baguio this weekend once more to witness the final couple of days of the Panagbenga 2008!

Update, March 06:
Lino of Linophotography witnessed the Parade of Flowers and is more than happy to share with us his collection of wonderful photos thru Flickr!

Posted in: Panagbenga on Tuesday, February 26, 2008 at at 11:27 PM 6 comments  

While festivities are underway in Manila for the EDSA I celebration, Baguio City is busy with the Flower Festival. Street dancing became the highlight last Saturday, followed by the flower float parade on Sunday. We stayed at home last Saturday and watched the Session Road activities through the TV instead. Traffic becomes notorious at this time, and regular transportation comes to a screeching halt. However, we went out the following day and enjoyed the afternoon at Burnham Park.

The old scating rink was, as is customary, decorated with landscape designs. We roamed this area and had lots of fun appreciating the garden set-ups.

Today, we are at Session Road, which will be closed off for a week starting today. There will be booths showcasing products not only from the Mountain Provinces, but from other regions as well. And there will be loads of food too!



I actually just dropped by to send off this news about how we are celebrating People Power through Flower Power! Til next time, I will be showing other photos we took of the festivities here and at my new photo blog, MyKaleidoscopeWorld.

Posted in: Panagbenga on Monday, February 25, 2008 at at 4:11 PM 1 comments  

In a drive to reduce our garbage output, we have decided to dump the biodegradable stuff such as peelings and excess veggie cuttings into the patch of soil outside our house. Before, this dumping ground was near the gate, which is the end farthest from the house. At night, it becomes inconvenient to take the trip - no matter how short it is - to the dumping site because it's c-c-c-c-cold. And so we'd just tiptoe to the edge of the steps and throw stuff at the patch near the house.
A couple of weeks back, we saw this patch nurture a healthy growth of tomatoes! From shrubbery, these grew over the weeks and soon flowers bloomed. Now, we have some tomatoes growing on our small garden! It's quite a pleasing site. At the other end, near the gate, a bitter gourd vine has started to crawl its way around as well.
Having been hyped up by this wonderful growth, I'm planning to purchase some pots and plant other vegetables. My mother-in-law is excited as well, and she waters the tomatoes regularly. We can't wait to harvest these tomatoes!
Question! Is tomato a fruit or a vegetable?

Posted in: fruits, vegetables on Thursday, February 21, 2008 at at 3:04 PM 1 comments  

I was arriving in Baguio a bit late than usual; it was lunchtime already and the bus was still in Marcos Highway. My wife asked my whereabouts and informed me that the University of Baguio was on fire! At least three of its buildings were affected. A few minutes before 1PM, I was already on my way to the fire to... well... see how things are and take a few photos. You can see and smell the burning area from the Cathedral, but it's mostly smoke that you can see. I walked on, crossing the path between St. Louis School Center and the former Boys High. Lots of people were on the streets, perhaps awaiting the outcome of the fire. They were not the panicking lot, just bystanders and onlookers, majority of whom are students either of UB or of SLU who cannot pass through because the roads have been blocked.

From Assumption Road, the fire doesn't look to be that serious, as you can see from the photos I took on that side of the road. But later on, I met a friend (Mayhem) to told me that the fire was indeed a serious one as I had totally consumed the high school building, one of the older structures in the UB Compound. I had a sort of flashback to my high school year when we once visited the UB High School building where they were celebrating University Day. We entered the building and entered the ghost room, where you had to traverse a dark and narrow passageway with ghouls and ghosts on both sides of the corridor. It was plain, wicked fun. Now, that building is gone.

Mayhem said he will send me photos of the fire, as he had a vantage shot. True enough, the fire from his viewing side showed how devastating it was.


The question is, how will the student be able to finish their studies, with only a few more attendance credits to summer vacation? I hope this can be addressed for the kids' sake. Looking at it from a positive viewpoint, good thing it happened on a weekend where there were no classes; it could have been worse. So far I haven't heard of casualties from the fire.

Posted in: UB, University of Baguio on Monday, February 18, 2008 at at 2:46 PM 2 comments  

Panagbenga, or the Flower Festival, is now in full swing in Baguio City! It's really a great time to be in Baguio at this time of the year because it's the coldest. I'm in Baguio every weekend so I won't miss the wonderful weather even if it's just for a Saturday and a Sunday.

I was walking over to the City Hall when I saw this Calendar of Activities. I took a quick shot from my camera phone. The quality of the photo was good enough to publish as it is; I intended to copy the schedule but I think the poster will suffice. I retained the size but lowered the resolution though for faster download time. Just click on the photo below to see the bigger photo.

Enjoy!

Posted in: Panagbenga on Tuesday, February 12, 2008 at at 7:22 PM 3 comments  

Aside from flowers, Baguio City is also popularly known for its vegetables. There's a certain crunchy sweetness to its carrots, cauliflowers, snow peas, and lettuce. As a native of Baguio, I have also grown to appreciate the abundance of vegetables. Perhaps it's also because my parents love serving this on the dining table. Pinakbet, dinengdeng and chopsuey are staples. We even had a vegetable patch once upon a time, where my father planted upo which grew quite nicely.

In the market, vendors sell assorted vegetables at 6 kinds for a hundred pesos. You may find these quite a bargain, but since these are perishable items, make sure you check your purchase before handing over your hard-earned money. If you have the time, it is still best to get from vendors where you can hand-pick your veggies and have them weighed. Try the Hangar market, which is at the other end of the market strip frequented by tourists (one end being the Maharlika Livelihood Center).

For those who visit the Strawberry Fields in Benguet, be sure to drop by the Trading Post where veggies from the region are dropped off for delivery to Manila and other areas. You can get your veggie fix for a good deal if you buy in bulk. But if you will just make a small purchase, the price there is not significantly different from the Baguio City market.

Carrot sticks, anyone?

Posted in: food, market, vegetables on Friday, February 08, 2008 at at 9:02 AM 1 comments