Panagbenga 2016: Baguio's Festival of Flowers

25 February 2016

Hi Ram!

It's me again. I hope you're doing fine and healthy and still kicking it. I know this post is like suuuuuppeeerrr late but hey, I finally get to write it. Hahaha

As a kid, I always hear about Baguio and its cold weather. The Summer Capital of the Philippines, it was dubbed. When my classmates would tell stories of the vacation they had there, I would feel envious. There was even a time when I was young and I was asked if I had been there and I said yes. I lied. Peer pressure you can say.

And then when I grew up I started hearing and reading stories of how haunted some of the places in Baguio are. It kinda gave me a different perception about the place. Until, finally, last year just weeks before Christmas, I finally set foot on what would be my second home. You can say I had chills, like literally. It was freezing cold in Baguio on a December dawn!

But that's not what I'm gonna tell you about. This year, me and my friends (the same ones who took me to Baguio last December) decided to go back to witness the annual Panagbenga Festival of the Baguio people. We chose the last week of February. On February 25th, after work, we went directly to Victory Liner Cubao Station to board an overnight bus that would take us to Baguio.

We were 4. Me, Thea, Carlwyn and Nel. Nel's parents live in Baguio and that's where we stayed. They were a really nice couple with a funny side and I felt like I have adopted them as my own parents. Currently, I now have 5 sets of parents. Hahaha

This is Tita Elvie and Daddy. :D

The following day, the first one on our itinerary is the infamous Diplomat Hotel. After we all got prepped up, we took a cab to the local market and got on a jeepney to Diplomat Hotel.

Now this place has a reputation of being haunted. And when you get there, you'll actually have an eerie feeling about the place. Just days ago, I have watched a documentary about Diplomat Hotel for the Halloween episode on one of our local TV shows. Gee... I hate horror.

The Ten Commandments at the entrance.

Chillin' on top.

The Crucifix.

And this is the 4 of us on top of Diplomat Hotel.

Last pic before we left Diplomat! :D

Then we went to Burnham Park and strolled through Rose Garden where they have a lot of, well, roses.

A bee pollinating a flower.

We had our lunch there since we thought that it's hard to find a place that isn't crowded at that time of the year.

The shop stalls near the Rose Garden.

And then we took a jeepney to Bell Church. We weren't able to visit this place last year so we made sure we won't miss it this time.

The facade of Bell Church

Then we went back home to rest before we went to the Night Market.

And this is me wearing a sando on a cold Baguio night. Hahaha

He meant business.

This is me with my lover at SM Baguio. #Nutella

The Night Market is situated at Harrison Street just beside Burnham Park. In the morning, the street is passable. But at night, they close down the whole street and set up stalls for the night market.

SHOES!!!!!!!!!!!!

Then we had some light booze at a bar called Bohemian. And Nel even performed on stage.

This is Nel singing.

(Trivia: This is where a scene in the movie That Thing Called Tadhana was shot.)

We woke up early the next day to watch the first day of the parade. Or at least we thought we're early. When we reached Session Road, both sides of the street were already occupied. Good thing they invented the zoom features of cameras!

Then came in the Binibinis...

I particularly like this pic because I called this person while pointing my camera at him and ask him to smile. He gave one of the most genuine smiles I saw from the parade.

And from here on, its ASS...

And ASS.

And some more ASS...

On one rare moment, I get to have Session Road all on my own:

Then lunch...

We then strolled around and saw food trucks in the park.

And when in Baguio, you don't skip Ukay-Ukay. You just don't.

We even found this Ukay-Ukay/coffee house that sells books at very low prices!

The bookworn: THEA.

The next day, we made sure we woke up early. Like, REAL EARLY. Even then, the whole stretch of Session Road was already full of people awaiting the parade (and making sure they stay under the shade). We managed to get a place on the sidewalk but it's elevated and there is a tree branch obstructing my view so I crossed to the other side of the street where I got a better view. And a better angle for taking pictures.

Maleficent.

SM Float.

7-11 Float.

Zagu Float.

Hunt's Float.

Selecta Float.

Cheetos Float.

Asi Taulava

NLEX Float.

The whole Jollibee crew!

Jollitown Float.

M Lhuiller Float with Melai and Jason.

Pascual Float.

Sitel Float.

Efficascent Oil Float.

And these are the 2 Ates I met on the parade. They're a really nice couple.

Coca-Cola Float

The Butterfly Man. He was releasing butterflies during the parade!

And look! A Butterfly on my hand!

ABS-CBN Float.

Coco Martin!

And some bunch of Cosplayers:

END OF PARADE. :D

Hungry, we looked for a place to eat and found this artsy-themed food hub.

Chanelling Buddha.

And these are my friends being who they really are: KIDS.

Later that night, Daddy cooked sisig for us and we drank the night away.

Me with Daddy

We woke up the following day and headed to the market to buy Pasalubong. Then we went back to the house to prepped our things and get ready for the trip back to Manila.

And lemme tell you this, I don't ever wanna go home. Seriously.

While watching the parade, I texted my Papa that it was really nice in Baguio and if I can maybe find a job there and a place to stay, I'd probably spend the rest of my life there. But, alas, I am a traveler, I couldn't stay on one place. And besides, there's work waiting in Manila.

How about you Ram?
I hope you're not working anymore and just busy enjoying life. I hope at this point in time you already have a lot of money to buy that plane ticket to Kenya and stay there for a month, like what you've always wanted. :)

Till next time.

-RAM