baguio and back again

We were back in Baguio City on June 7th for an overnight trip, and while walking down Shuntug Road I told J, “People are probably less cranky here.”

It had been so painfully humid in Metro Manila the past few weeks that I think it contributed to my hotheadedness. Baguio’s chill breeze was a welcome respite.

It was J’s birthday weekend, and Casa Vallejo had slashed its room prizes by nearly half. I booked the tickets and a Standard Room in May.

To get to Victory Liner, we got on a taxi with a strange driver. He drove slowly, took turns slowly. At the end he drove past the bus station, and I was too pissed and scared to tell him to make a U-turn so we just got off. The tricycle we took to the station broke its chain. Don’t you love us Baguio? Don’t you want us back?

Finally we got on the bus. It was my first time to ride their First-Class bus and the aircon froze my kneecaps off.

We arrived safely, though, and thank goodness.

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We were too early for Cafe by the Ruins, so we waited at a nearby McDonald’s until 7 AM.

It was my first time to have breakfast at Ruins. We both ordered their newest Ruins Longganisa, homemade and delicious. A bit pricey at PhP300+ but portions were generous.

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We dropped by Casa Vallejo to leave our bags and walked down Session Road.

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“Kaya mong magsarili!”

It was our first time to try Strawberry Taho. We saw it on sale outside the church.

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BenCab Museum. J had fun watching the ducks.

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Back to Session Road. Pizza Volante.

We tried the newest item on the menu, Po Boy.

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This pizza proved to be too large for the two of us. We took half of it to the hotel, and hours later it was still soft and yummy. Amazing.

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The room at Casa Vallejo was quite small, but that’s fine by us.

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We napped for a bit and went down to Hill Station Restaurant for dinner.

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I was only able to take a photo of our dessert, but we highly recommend their Seafood Carbonara, Hill Station Green Garden Salad, Cambodian Coriander and Garlic Chicken, and this dessert!

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Off to sleep with our bellies full.

Breakfast view.

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The next day, we had lunch at Solibao Restaurant. Had their Bagnet Kare-Kare and Lumpiang Sariwa.

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And Strawberry Shortcake at Vizco’s — of course! :)

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What we miss now that we’re back in humid Manila: cheap, really good food, homegrown restaurants, not-sad salads, the cool weather.

We’ll be back for sure.

dwellers by eliza victoria — coming soon from visprint

Dwellers by Eliza Victoria (Cover)

Dwellers by Eliza Victoria

Novel in English
Horror/Fantasy/Crime/Suspense

Rule No. 1: You don’t kill the body you inhabit.
Rule No. 2: You should never again mention your previous name.
Rule No. 3: You don’t ever talk about your previous life. Ever.

Two young men with the power to take over another body inhabit the bodies and lives of brothers Jonah and Louis. The takeover leads to a car crash, injuring Jonah’s legs and forcing them to stay in the brothers’ house for the time being.

The street is quiet. The neighbors aren’t nosy. Everything is okay.

They are safe, for now.

Until they find a dead body in the basement.

——–

Cover art and design by Aldy Aguirre
Coming soon from Visprint Inc.

travel factor: mt. pico de loro/mt. palay-palay

Wet with mud and rain, sliding down the mountain using my butt and palms, I wondered, briefly, why I even signed up for this.

Compared to Mt. Pinatubo, the climb to Pico de Loro was harrowing. I had a scary moment when I had to sit because I couldn’t catch my breath and I could already see black spots in front of my eyes. The muscles near my right kneecap cramped up on the return trek –  a new pain, so new that it took me a while before I realized I was already having cramps. It rained while we were on the summit, and on the way down I slipped and fell in the mud more than twice. Four days after the hike I still find it hard to bend my knees. Perfect for newbie mountaineers, my foot!

BUT I was glad I went ahead and discovered that I could survive such a crazy trek. While on the summit we spotted rain in the distance, and saw black rain clouds rise up around the summit like smoke. We saw dragonflies flying more than 600 meters above sea level. I heard complex bird calls I’ve never heard anywhere before. And the most amazing thing was the entire week before the trek I was worried I would be a burden to strangers, but it turned out that Bebang Siy’s husband, Poy, was there with his sister, Rianne — so I became a burden to people I sort-of know! Pwede na rin! Haha! Thanks to these two, otherwise I would have been found crying in an ant-infested corner of the trail.

My thanks once again to Travel Factor, especially to sweeper Fonci Patricio. Syempre sa sobrang bagal ko sweeper na ang kadaldalan ko pabalik. Kalurkey. 

Great trip! The pain was worth it.

PICO DE LORO

Maragondon, Cavite and Nasugbu, Batangas
Major jump-off: Magnetic Hill, Ternate, Cavite
Minor jump-off: Ternate-Nasugbu Highway, Nasugbu, Batangas
LLA: 14° 12.855 N; 120° 38.785 E; 664 MASL
Days required / Hours to summit: 1-2 days / 2-5 hours
Specs: Minor climb, Difficulty 3/9, Trail class 1-3
Features: Distinctive spire at the summit, forests, scenic views of Cavite

Source: http://www.pinoymountaineer.com/2007/08/mt-palay-palaypico-de-loro-664_9808.html

ITINERARY

04:00 Meet-up at designated location in Ortigas area
04:30 ETD Ortigas
07:30 ETA Ternate Cavite, eat breakfast snacks
08:00 Registration, Start of trek
11:30 Arrive at summit!
12:00 Lunch
13:30 Start of descent
14:30 Sidetrip to the falls
15:00 Resume descent
17:00 Arrive at jump-off point, wash up
17:30 ETD Ternate, Cavite
20:30 ETA Ortigas

PS I didn’t go to the monolith because damn are you crazy

Mt. Pico de Loro Climb

Poy and Rianne:

Mt. Pico de Loro Climb

It was a big group, 64 in all:

Mt. Pico de Loro Climb

Mt. Pico de Loro Climb

Some of us took the wrong trail and ended up on the other side of the campsite. Oops. But it was a great view:

Mt. Pico de Loro Climb

Mt. Pico de Loro Climb

We had to loop back and go through thick clumps of bamboo.

Campsite for lunch.

Mt. Pico de Loro Climb

Mt. Pico de Loro Climb

Mt. Pico de Loro Climb

Mt. Pico de Loro Climb

To the summit!

Mt. Pico de Loro climb with Travel Factor

Corregidor in the distance.

Mt. Pico de Loro climb with Travel Factor

Hamilo Coast?

Mt. Pico de Loro climb with Travel FactorThe monolith.

Mt. Pico de Loro climb with Travel Factor

Mt. Pico de Loro climb with Travel Factor

Look at that striking white line of a road:

Mt. Pico de Loro climb with Travel Factor

Here comes the rain.

Mt. Pico de Loro climb with Travel Factor

The campsite from above.

Mt. Pico de Loro climb with Travel Factor

Mt. Pico de Loro climb with Travel Factor

Mt. Pico de Loro climb with Travel Factor

I was told the Pico de Loro trail, though covered and cool, was harder than the Mt. Pulag Ambangeg trail. Well, damn. I guess I’m going to Pulag next? :)

a brief visit to the alma mater & other sources of enjoyment

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A lot of construction work being done on campus. And a lot of strange graffiti came with it. Like this one.

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Barcino date night.

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We got Netrunner! It was fun to own our own card game. Two players. One plays the Corporation, the other plays the Runner (or hacker). And I almost always lose to J, the poker-faced Corporation.

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HeroClix, introduced to us by Adam and Carljoe. Here we are sweating it out in the summer heat outside Adam’s door.

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I made my first win with these guys! (Thanks to Poldo for lending them to me.)

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And a cute, fat cat. Hi, Minggoy.

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sinag microfunds: dreams on canvas + bulwagan ng dangal

Sinag is a non-profit organization “dedicated to giving students in the Philippines the opportunity to complete their education and have a better chance in life. We provide an online microfunding platform which allows concerned citizens from all over the world to contribute any amount to a student loan fund that helps financially struggling students graduate from school and realize their dreams.”

Sinag recently opened an art exhibit and fundraiser called Dreams on Canvas on May 24, Saturday, at the Bulwagan ng Dangal near the Main Library) in UP Diliman. The artworks will be available for viewing until June 24. Do drop by and buy an artwork if you are able, or share this with art aficionados you know who’d like to add a painting to their personal collection.

If you want to help now, you can make a one-time donation of PhP 1000 and up, or be a sponsor by donating PhP 500 monthly. Read more about it here.

Or just share this post. :)

About Sinag.

Sinag FAQs.

Meet the Sinag Team.

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J and I are UP alumni, and we have never heard of the Bulwagan. It’s a bit embarrassing. But it’s a beautiful place with rotating exhibits, so do check it out!

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‘project 17’ in the classroom

Students of UP Diliman’s Literature & Society class (English 11) reading Project 17! Much love to them and to Prof. Gabriela Lee, who took this photo.