The WISIWYG Blog

Cold air went through my jacket… I knew exactly where we were. Shanties inartistically lining up on the mountain’s edge… not the exact sight I was expecting. We were in Baguio City. But at that moment, I thought, that was not the Baguio City that I wanted to see.

Bermuda Hills

We arrived in Baguio City at around 4:00 in the morning, and our first task: find the place where we will be staying for our entire 2D1N adventure. We knew it was a flat in Bermuda Hills. What we didn’t know was how to get there. So we hired a cab, asked the driver to bring us to Bermuda Hills, and once there, we relayed to him the mysterious direction that the house owner gave us: “Just follow the white line.” Hehe. Sounded creepy to me. But there was indeed a white line. And it did guide us to the rental house.

Being my first glance of what Baguio City looked like at daylight, I was not pleased at all with the sight that Bermuda Hills offered me. To be fair, though, it was a rather new subdivision with a lot of constructions still going on. But it was not the village that captured my critical eyes. It was the houses all jammed up towards the peak of the mountain. Others may find the sight artistic, even reminiscent of the Grecian houses we’ve seen in movies. I didn’t.

Good thing, though, it was not everything that Baguio has to offer. Because when we travelled to the other side, we found beauty.

Baguio Cathedral

Now, let me tell you quickly why we were in Baguio during that tranquil July 12 morning. It was the wedding day of our officemates, Harold and Amy, and the wedding was held on the city. The wedding was scheduled at 9:30 in the morning, leaving us with not much choice but to head directly to the wedding site after a hasty preparation.

The Our Lady of Atonement Church, more popularly known as the Baguio Cathedral stands atop a hill. Tourists can reach the place directly with a taxi cab (I don’t think I’m giving good directions here), but we opted to use the stairways to reach the cathedral, as advised by our taxi driver. Anyway, we wanted to eat breakfast along Session Road first before going to the wedding.

Late have we discovered that we made the wrong choice. While the path uphill offered some religious images worth seeing, the climb was so tiresome that I was again hungry when we reached the topmost step.

The thing that waited for us at the top, however, was a pleasant view to behold. The Baguio Cathedral is quite small, compared to the other cathedrals that I have already visited. But it has a beauty of its own. It was cleanly tailored on the outside and every bit religious on the inside.

The Hotel Supreme Convention Plaza

Now, no Filipino wedding is complete without a little reception afterwards. And for the Espallardo-Cutib Nuptial, the reception was held at Hotel Supreme. Again, I would not be telling you how we got to the place. I am neither a resident nor a tour guide. We just hailed a taxi and after a few minutes… wallah… we were at the Hotel Supreme.

The Hotel Supreme provided a wide hall for the reception of the couple (I wonder how much they paid for it). And except for a few glitches at the beginning, their program did flow well. The food was great, too. It’s sad, though, that they have to get the plates and dishes on the table while you still want to take your time indulging your taste buds.

Baguio City Market

We planned to roam around Baguio City right after the wedding ceremonies and the reception. Too tired from the event and still sleepy from our travel, however, we decided to cancel all those things and opted to sleep for a few hours. And after a few hours of sleep, we went to what may be the most accessible place and best destination with the time we have remaining: the Baguio City Market.

True to the statements made in a travel website, Baguio City Market is indeed a tourist destination of its own. Probably not for the sight there is to see, but for the things that are there for purchase. Souvenirs, fresh and affordable fruits and vegetables, delicacies… name anything you can buy in Baguio and you’ll definitely find it in the city market. And while some delicacies may be bought at another place at quite cheaper prices, the market would be the friend of the traveler hurrying to buy presents with the little time that he has.

Solibao

Not Solinao, and definitely not Bolinao. What am I talking about? I’m talking about Solibao, the resto where we gathered together to have our night’s fill of what good food Baguio has to offer. The restaurant is located across Burnham Park. The place was very Filipino, with the dishes they serve and the furniture they had.

That night, we ordered sinigang na baboy, sisig, inihaw na hito, barbeque, liempo and one more dish that I now can’t remember. After the satisfying meal, we were expecting to get an extraordinarily large bill. Much to our surprise (in a positive way), however, we ended up shelling out only 200 pesos each for all those delicious food that we have eaten.

KaffeeKlatsch

Not wanting to end our night in Baguio short, we decided to hangout on a coffee shop supposedly owned by the better-half of a once AWS employee (I hope I got my infos right :D). Meynard, our efficient guide (hehe), encouraged us to just walk to the place. Anyway, the place is near Solibao, he said. But after fifteen minutes of walking, we still cannot find the place! Another problem is that we don’t know what we are looking for. It ended up that none of us knows exactly how to spell the shop’s name :D.

Eventually, we did found the place. It was a cozy little nook that provided us warmth in the cold Baguio night. A live band was playing when we arrived there. And while they did not grant us our request (they can’t play David Cook’s version of Always Be My Baby), we did enjoy their music. Add to that the taste of the assortment of hot and cold beverages the shop offers. I had a hot choco for myself, and I did enjoy the taste.

Mines View Park

On our second day in Baguio, we had only one place in mind to visit: Mines View Park. Why? I myself don’t know. Well, it is a popular tourist destination in the city, and we can’t think of any other place to go.

Mines View Park, according to a web travel guide, once offered a good view of Benguet’s gold and copper mines. During our visit, though, these mines can no longer be seen. All that is left there to see are houses on the right side and the lush greeneries on the left side of the mountains. The left side, though, is still a good place for some picture taking.

Good Shepherd

From Mines View Park, we went to Good Shepherd to buy some pasalubongs at cheaper prices. I, for one, did not buy anything at the Baguio City market because I want to buy the delicacies where they were originally made. At the convent, I bought the strawberry jam that my sister was asking for, and a jar of ube jam all for my own :D.

Aside from the pasalubongs, the Good Shepherd convent also offers beautiful sceneries on its own. We had a lot of group pictures on the place, including some ala boy band takes.

Wright Park

Still two hours before lunch, we have already visited what we planned to visit and bought what we ought to buy. With that much time to spare, we decided to visit the next tourist spot near Mines View Park: Wright Park.

When we arrived at the park, the sight and the smell of horses welcomed us. Not interested on riding a horse or even a pony (we don’t have much time and cash), we decided to just roam around the park. The only way to the great sceneries of the park, however, is through a stair of however many steps. Left with not much alternative, we did climb the stairs, taking pictures of ourselves along the way each time we get tired.

Up the stairs is the “park” part of the Wright Park. With flowers in bloom during our visit, the place proved to be an ideal place for picture taking. And we did just that. We took pictures every step of the way, with Joie and Rhoy as our subjects for most of our shots.

Farther on Wright Park is the much pictured spot in Baguio City, the Pool of Pines. I took a shot of it myself, but mine was not that great. At the end of the Pool of Pines can be found the Mansion—the official resting place (hehe) of the President of the Philippines in Baguio City.

I Have To End This

You’ve read that right. That was, in a quite lengthy summary, all the places that we have visited and all the things that we have done in Baguio City. There are other places that we have not visited during our stay, like the Botanical Garden, the Bell Church, the Grotto of Lourdes, and a lot of other historic and scenic sights. Well, that is expected, knowing that we only planned to stay for one and a half day in the city. Damn all the work that needs to be done the next day! Hehe.

Well, this is the end of my long story. And if you have not dosed off while reading up to this point, I would like to congratulate you! Hehe. Reaching this point of the article is even worth congratulating ;). So until my next adventure, Ja ne! Hehe. Just don’t know how to close it. ;)

Dev 1 pips at the Puerto Princesa Airport, before boarding the bus to Sta. Loudes Wharf

 

After a delay of nearly an hour, we left Manila on board a Cebu Pacific plane at around 9 AM and reached the Puerto Princesa airport more than an hour later. From the airport, we travelled by land for some 30 minutes until we reached the Sta. Lourdes Wharf. And from the Wharf, it took us another hour of travel by sea to reach the shores of Arreceffi Island.

"Tuloy po kayo, tuloy po kayo, sa aming tahanan, munting paraiso..."

 

The Main Restaurant

 

The Travel

It was a long travel from Manila to Grande Island – a travel made even more tiresome by unwanted delays.  Our group left Manila on board two Victory Liner buses (one from Makati for the Advanced World Solutions group and one from Alabang for the Advanced World Systems group) at 6:15 AM and arrived in Subic at exactly 10:15 AM, just in time for the ferry that would carry us to Grande Island to leave.  Being there exactly on time, however, proved to be too late for us, because we were not able to catch the 10:15 ferry and had to wait for the next boat which is scheduled to leave at 11:30. 

At nearly 12:00 noon, after more than an hour delay, we were finally able to reach the Island Resort.  Because of the delay, however, the excitement of seeing what sights the island has to offer had slipped out of everybody’s mind. Instead, all of us were looking only for two things—our lunch and the beds where we can rest after a tiring travel.

Taking the weariness away, however, one will be able to appreciate the great view that the island can boast of.  The view is not as majestic as what better known resorts can offer, but it was beautiful nevertheless.

The resort boasts of a white sand beach, although the expanse of the beach area would keep you asking for more.  The water, in various shades of blue, is calm and crystal clear—ideal for snorkeling and other similar activities.  Inland, the resort offers a swimming pool and beside it, a man-made lagoon, probably made for fishing and other activities.  Another inland water facility, probably another pool, is under construction during our visit.  A hotel, chalets, cafés, changing rooms and activity centers completes what one can find in the resort.  The rest of the island is inhabited by trees and what-animals-may-live there. 

When asked about the food, most of my officemates would readily say that it was not the best thing that the resort has to offer.  The picture above, which represents how most of the plates appear after eating, clearly betrays the common opinion.  But I do share the sentiments of my officemates.  It may be because there is nothing much new in their menu or some of the foods served were really not that flavorsome.  Many, however, enjoyed the barbecue served during dinner and many came back to the buffet table more than twice that night.

The Activities

The outing committee originally planned 9 games for the entire duration of the outing.  However, due to the delays and the weariness associated with it, only three of the games were played.  The games, however, turned out to be more enjoying than I expected it to be, although no one can deny how tired all of us were after those three games.

Aside from the activities planned by the committee, we pleasured ourselves with many other activities offered by the island, with swimming and eating just a small part of it.  Enjoyed mostly on the second day, we took what we can benefit from the discounts and freebies that the resort gave us as part of our outing package.

Just after breakfast, most of my co-employees already headed to the beach for swimming, banana boat riding, and snorkeling.  The ACTION Batch 8, on the other hand, can be seen roaming around the resort’s vicinity onboard ATVs.  Back at the hotel, Gel and Erik took advantage of the 50% discount on the resort’s massage services.

The Fun

“Grande Island Resort may not be the best resort the company has visited for our yearly outing,” one of my officemates said, “but it was definitely the best outing we had so far.”  New to the company, I haven’t had the pleasure of experiencing the past outings and the past resorts visited.  With the fun I experienced on the island, however, I think my agreement to my officemate’s comment can be justified.

For one, it is a rare instance to see our Sensei’s dancing Filipino dances that most of us haven’t even had the experience of performing.  And even rarer it is to find our company President dancing with my other officemates to the beat, and with the costume, of a Hawaiian dance.

Then, there’s the inuman and the interesting inuman stories that kept us laughing our hearts out through the night.  But more interesting—and more hilarious—were the after-inuman stories of the bloopers made when almost everybody were drunk.  These after-inuman stories kept us laughing up until past 1:00 in the afternoon before we leave the island.

The End

So that was our company outing for the year 2007.  My storytelling manner may not have given the fun we experienced enough justice but I tell you, it was indeed enjoying.  But the fun doesn’t have to end, and so are the expectations.  Because next year, the company is turning 15, and all of us are expecting a better and a much more enjoying company outing for the year 2008!

As part of our Nihongo curriculum, I was assigned to give a speech tomorrow about a place worth visiting.  And considering that this blog has not been updated for quite a while now, I thought it wise to post my speech here.  Well, not my entire speech actually... because I can't translate all of these in Japanese :p

As a Bicolano, I would want to promote a place in my own land.  My dilemma: I am not well traveled, not even in my own province.  And since I have already spoke about Naga City and Legazpi City in my previous speeches, the next place that came into my mind is Sorsogon.

I haven’t been to Sorsogon, although I could have been if I stayed longer in my previous company.    Through research, though, I have learned much about the place that was so near my home yet have not once visited.

Sorsogon is located at the southernmost tip part of Luzon.  From Manila, Sorsogon is about an hour of travel by plane (via Legazpi Airport).  One may also reach Sorsogon by land, although it would take a grueling 10 hours to get there.  With all the wonders that one can see on the province and the nice things that one would experience, the tiring travel would surely be well compensated.

For nature lovers, the months of February through May would be the best months of the year to visit the province.  This four long months mark the peak of a famous activity in Sorsogon, more particularly in Donsol – whale shark interaction.  During these months, tourists gets the chance of swimming along the giant but gentle animals -- the whale sharks.  This is aside from all the other things in nature that the province is bestowed with, like pristine white sand beaches (and even pink ones), hot springs (especially in Irosin), and others.

For those who simply want to experience the Sorsoganon culture, one should probably visit the province during the last two weeks of October, when the annual Kasanggayan festival is held.  The main activity in the festival is the Pantomina sa Tinampo, where Sorsoguenos would participate in folk dances held on major streets of the province.

As I’ve told you, I have not been to Sorsogon yet.  So to all Sorsoguenos out there, please feel free to correct any error which I may have included in this post.  Nevertheless, I am happy that once again, I will be able to introduce another Bicol province to a group of people foreign to the place, some of whom don't even have an idea where Bicol is.