Travel With A Group It’s really a big money saver to travel with friends in Baguio. I usually go on a trip alone, but I definitely think that a group of five is better for this trip. As you may know I recently blogged about my 5,000 pesos challenge in Baguio. But your expenditures could get even less. Aside from planning your activities with your friends, you can agree on splitting the cost of the meals, lodging, and transportation among yourselves.

Night Travel I needed to be back to work by Monday, so I planned to spend my weekend in Baguio and left on a Friday at around 1am. I highly suggest you travel during nighttime as it will be easier to sleep. I was rested enough and had a good 6 hours of sleep for my day’s activities.

Hotel Booking I definitely recommend the Baguio Palace Hotel along Legarda road. Burnham Park and Session Road is a good walking distance. If you’re not picky like me, there are a lot of inns and transient houses can be found around the city. Lodging can go as low as P200 per person, per day.

Early Check-In The hotel where I stayed in allowed me to check in early because it was off-peak season then.  After taking the night trip and enjoying an early breakfast along Session Road, I was able to check in at my hotel by 8am. That said, you can freshen up and get ready for your day’s activities.

BenCab Museum The museum of National Artist Ben Cabrera is located beside his home in Asin. I paid P100 for my cab fare to museum. But if you split it with your friends, transportation could be not bad.

North Haven Spa I learned that Baguio is a spa destination. The North Haven Spa, located at Avelino Street corner Ferguson Road, offers a surprising relaxation for the Baguio tourist.

Parks I really enjoyed the parks around Baguio – Burnham Park, Mines View Park, and Wright Park. The best part is that there are no entrance fees. After strolling around, I got hungry, so I tried out different street food they offer. Yum.

Other Landmarks Baguio Cathedral, the Mansion, the Philippine Military Academy, the Lourdes Grotto, the Bell Church and the Baguio Botanical Garden.

Pasalubong The most popular Ube jam in Baguio is made at the The Good Shepherd Convent. I bought strawberry jams, choco flakes, peanut brittle and other pasalubong from the Baguio Market. My favorite so far is the peanut brittle, which I bought at Romana’s. Not to be missed!

DINING

• Pizza Volante
• Rito’s
• Vizco’s
• Brod Pitt
• Kubo Grill
• Cafe’ by the Ruins
• Camp John Hay

In 1980, the Escudero family opened the plantation to the general public and has since developed a worldwide reputation as a focal point to experience Philippine culture and history in a beautiful rural setting.

It takes about 2-3 hours to reach Villa Escudero from Manila. You can take private vehicle or one of the many bus lines. Take the South superhighway and exit at 50A (Lucena, Legaspi, Batangas exit). Then turn left at the Sto. Tomas junction. Head straight down, by-passing the town of Alaminos and San Pablo City proper. Slow down upon seeing Quezon arch and turn left immediately after.

I drove to the villa for a day visit at a rate of P1,105 for adults (weekday) and lunch by its manmade waterfalls. It also includes a welcome drink, carabao cart rides, and use of outdoor recreational facilities. Too bad I wasn’t able to see the Cultural Show which are only during Fridays, weekends, and holidays.

9 AM I started from my resort room towards the garden pavilion which is surrounded by lots of flowering plants, coconut and bamboo trees. With the early morning mist, I could feel the fresh air getting into my system  and it felt good doing deep breathing.

The road to the village area is unpaved. There are different modes of transport inside the Villa Escudero from riding the mini colorful jeepney, bamboo rafting, carabao cart, or just like me, you can walk around and jog around to view the Villa up close. The Villa is one big community of more than 1,000 residents and the houses are almost of the same make and design. I learned that the owners donated 300 square meters of lots to each family and the latter took charge of building their houses. The sight of an approaching carabao cart added to the old barrio atmosphere.

There is also a concrete air-conditioned Catholic chapel in the village. Even if the road is not cemented I still felt good since the tenants maintain the cleanliness of their surroundings.

After breakfast, I joined our group in the tour of the “Malaking Bahay” or the big house, the ancestral home of the surviving members of the family. We went next to the Escudero Private Museum, which features a trove of religious art and other important pieces dating to Spanish times.

It was time for jogging and I proceeded to the riverside of Labasin Lake where I passed by the pool and then the Don Placido Hydro-Electric which was built in 1872 and rebuilt in 1937 to provide irrigation and electric power to the farms and the village. A man-made waterfalls became a product of the plant which now serves as a refreshing backdrop for a restaurant in the resort.

In just about 50 minutes of jogging and walking, I saw the villa up close and it gave me a better appreciation of its role in history. The villa is also good place to go if you want to experience rural life in the early 19th century. The best part for me is the bamboo rafting, which was once the means of transport during the old era.

At 5pm it was time for my departure and I paid P680 for the Day Nipa Hut which I rented since 9:00a.m. that day. Definitely a wonderful place in the Philippines to visit. I will be back next time.

The tour lasted about 5 hours, and included Price Mansion, MacArthur Park, Palo Cathedral, Hill 120 and a side trip to the San Juanico Bridge. The price was 2,500php per person, 2 person minimum. Includes all entry fees, tour guide, air conditioned van and boxed lunch. Since I was alone, the tour cost me 5,000php. Expensive, but sometimes have to spend if you are limited on time and don’t know your way around. It was certainly convenient as it was all done via Leyte Park Hotel. The tour guide and driver were both friendly. Overall, I considered worth the cost.

Price Mansion is where General MacArthur had his office after taking Leyte back from the Japanese. There are several pieces of memorabilia there, including many pictures, the actual sound system used and other pieces. There is a hole in one part of the wall where they say a Japanese bomb was dropped while the General was in his office, but it did not detonate, and thus MacArthur was not hurt.

MacArthur Park is the site where General MacArthur made good on his famous oath to return to the Philippines when he was driven out of the country by the Japanese. There is a famous statue there commemorating his landing on the beach in Tacloban, and it was one of the main pictures I wanted to get while there.

Hill 120 is where the American flag was raised the first time during the re-taking of the Philippines.

Palo Cathedral is a very large church and was used for injured soldiers and civilians during the war.

San Juanico bridge connects the island of Samar and Leyte. This is a nice looking bridge, built during the 1970′s under the Marcos regime.

Pictures of Tacloban Philippines World War II Memorial Tour

The museum has four levels of exhibits.  The entrance fee for resident is around 275php and for visitors about 475php.  I was able to have a tour guide for an additional 100php.  What a deal this turned out to be, as my guide Charles, is extremely informed about all aspects of the exhibits.  As an added bonus, it was a private guided tour, there were no other visitors with us!

The tour lasted 2 1/2 hours, and the time flew by as all the exhibits were beautiful and interesting.

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We started on the 4th level at the Gold of Ancestors Pre-colonial Treasures In the Philppines exhibit.  The exhibit has 1,059 dating back as far as the 10th century. Most were acquired by a private collector, and have never been seen in public. Among the pieces on display are cutwork diadems (like crowns), funerary masks, ornaments and ritual containers.  There is one piece that is almost 4 kilos in weight.  The displays are beautiful.  Each one has a drawer below it that you slide out for even more pieces to look at.  On top of the drawer is a magnifying glass you can move around and study the intricate details of the gold works.

Embroidered Mulitples 18th to 19th Century Philippine Costumes is another fun exhibit.  I found it very educational regarding the local material used in the making of the clothes.  The stitching and detail on the pieces on display are amazing.

A Millennium of Contact: Chinese and Southeast Asian Trade Ceramics in the Philippines Collection of over 500 pieces of ceramics from China and other places in Asia collected by  the Villanueva famly.

For art fans, the collection of Fernando Amorsolo’s works of the Pilipina (Women of the Philippines) is a sure winner.  Juan Luna and Fernando Zobel works are also included in the Pioneers of Philippine Art exhibit.

All in all, the Ayala Museum is a great way to spend a few hours to see some of the treasures of the Philippines and learn more about the rich history of the archipelago.

Related Links:
Newsweek – Going For The Gold
Ayala Museum