The Quaint Traveler: Baguio City December

Ladies and gentlemen, May I present to you the "Summer Capital of the Philippines" Baguio City! You may wonder how it was awarded the title: Since Philippines is a tropical country, it is usually hot and humid and Filipinos favor it as a retreat during regular seasons especially holidays because of the cold and foggy weather.

Mines View

First up, you should try the street foods at Mines View park. I especially crave the dried pusit (dried squid), which one could only experience in Baguio and some selected areas in the country. Other street foods you can try there are what you see on the picture below. The kiosks sell almost the same yummy street food.

Street Foods at Mines View Park

Enjoying the street foods of Baguio with (from left to right): Wilmer, Tey, Shine, Me and Liana

You can notice the foggy mountain with houses sprouting everywhere. You can also take pictures with Horses and some other animals for Ten Pesos more or less. If you're looking for souvenirs, Mines View Park is overflowing with different items from customized shirts, key chains, knitted bags, bonnets etc.

A little detour and you'll end up at El Kabayo where you can rent the horses for a few minutes to a few hours.

Another must-see in the City is Tam-Awan Village "Garden in the Sky". A nurturing environment for local artists in a place where arts, culture and history are well celebrated. Coming from the city itself, you'd have to take a cab to get there. It is just a few minutes away from the streets of Baguio.

Random Shots at Tam-Awan

With the official seal of the Tribe

Trekking is the only way to get around the village.

A prototype meeting hall of the tribe - our trekking break

The Artist's Sketch room where you can have
your portrait sketched by a local artist.

Not many know of this cafe adorned with
authentic paintings and crafts.

I walked around and found myself right under the artist's sketch room.
Volkswagen Vintage Parts!

For our quick dinner, we looked for something usually heavy and tasty. Where else to go but at SM City Baguio. Yellow Cab was the choice of the night.

If you're in search for a place to hang out, Nevada Square is the place to be! It hosts a group of bars and restaurants where you can dine, drink and party all night long.

There are a lot of good restaurants you can find in the area, but coming from locals, a cheap but savory, tasty and scrumptious treat for your taste buds - look for Good Taste Restaurant at Lapu-lapu Street.

Thumbs up for the goody goodness

Make time on your last day to drop by Good Shepherd for their famous "ube jam". It also is a sanctuary, I'm sure you'll stay a while with the green, green environment.

Green Nature

The Grotto at Good Shepherd

As for the hotel, we stayed at Veniz Hotel. It nestles some of Baguio's finest restaurants and the room accommodations are very nice and comfortable. Situated beside the famous Burnham Park, giving the feeling of being close to nature just outside your door.

Check out their site at http://www.hotelveniz.com/