A day at the Baguio Cathedral

The Baguio Cathedral. A symbol of the city, sitting on a hill above Session Rd. It has been the center of Roman Catholism in the city that I would say is over 90 percent Catholic.

Many people would remember their Baptism, Wedding, Confirmation or even Simbang Gabi in Christmas time. My mother remembers it as a sanctuary or refuge during World War II, and I think my maternal Grandmother is among the people that are was buried underneath during the war.

I remember going to Mass here at 6pm after the bells toll every Sunday and I would look forward to eating at Tropical Hut hamburger right across the streat at Session Rd. It was a ritual that was repeated many times with my Mother and sister Monette.

Baguio Cathedral today is again freshly painted and well kept. It has kept that same hue of paint throughout the years. It still overflows with people on Sundays.

The picture above is the normal full shot of the Cathedral.

This is the interior, with the altar detail.

A copy of the La Pieta is found in the left corner.

. Some detail of the stained beautiful stained glass that surround the church is aglow when bathed with sunlight

It was unfortunate that one of the stained glass windows at the back was broken during my visit but it made for an interesting shot of the view from the back. That of course is SM from the window, contrasting it with another shot of the church from SM.

Baguio Hills full of Houses

The hills in Baguio are full of houses. It's a sight to behold, the houses that dot the hills of Baguio form Aurora Hill to Hillside. It's a sign of the times, as the population of Baguio has multiplied through the years, so have the houses that fill the mountainside.

People have come to Baguio primarily because of the cool climate and what better way to live than on the side of a hill.

The random pictures I took of the houses on the hills show how man can adapt to his environment. I Think it is also part of the Philippine culture to live as close to the center of town as possible because if you venture out to the outskirts of the city, there are lots of vacant lots but everyone wants to have easy access to the amenities of the city, so most just crowd into the hills nearby.


Lots are a premium, I estimate that the average square meter cost of buying a lot is about $3,600 per square meter and slowly rising. There are many housing areas or subdivisions being built around the city and advertisements of houses an lots for as little as 1.5M Pesos abound.

Growth is inevitable and acquiring a piece of property in the Pines City is surely a good investment. Baguio is definitely growing in size, and there comes the added problems of traffic and polution.

Still Baguio is one of the best places to live in the Philippines and many who have ventured to migrate here can attest to that, including those that retired from jobs in the US and other countries.

Burnham Park Memories

Everyone whoever goes to Baguio remembers boating at Burnham Park. I do have a lot of fun memories at the lake, but of course I grew up a stone's throw away from it. I remember boating many times, usually when relatives come to visit Baguio and there is the obligatory ride on one of the flat bottomed boats that are manually rowed.
As you can see from the picture on the left, not too much has changed. The boats are still there, a little more creatively decorated with dragons and swans. I did not see the water fountain operate, hopefully it still functions. At one time it was a spectacle to see a colorful water fountain in the middle of the lake.


The bicycle rentals are still where they used to be, and it seems like the skating rink (below) had undergone some kind of renovation, adding a roof top. No skaters in sight though.
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Inside the athletic bowl was as I could remember from years past. I saw a few IRAA meets during my younger years in this venue. There was a lot of activity today at the bowl with some group excursionists having a briefing at one side, a few athletes running the field and some martial artists practicing their moves in the middle of the field as basketball ws being played in the courts.

The swimming pools were also maintained in the far left corner although I did not have time to take a peak.
Burnham as a whole was bustling with tourists on this day the 15th of April 2006. Every corner was also full of vendors hawking their wares of handcrafted souvenirs and the venerable snacks. Sorbetes, Taho, Barbecue, Raw mangoes and many others.

Session Road on a Summer Weekday

Bustling Session Road on a Summer day has a lot of Taxis plying this road of roads in the center of Baguio City. One thing noticeable in the pictures is the absence of the Jeepney. They are no longer allowed entrance to the Road to ease up congestion. This has helped a bit but as you can see, there still is a lot of vehicles around. Parking of course is no longer free as you have "Jadewell" attendants collecting fees as you park.

The yellow flowers are leftover decorations from Panagbenga Flower Festival of February. The trees, lend greenery to the scene and the large colorful signs, one of which is a movie ad makes a colorful Baguio, different from what I am used to.

To get you in proper perspective, I am taking this photo from the top of the Puso ng Baguio Bldg. You can hear the beeping of car horns and the revving of diesel engines as you observe this normal sunny day. People of course are walking up and down as usual. On the left used to be the Skyworld Condominium which was toppled down as a result of weakening from the great 1991 Earthquake. It is now an "Ukay ukay" or "Wagwagan" haven. Simply translated to slightly used clothes and other articles that you dig out treasures from.

Many establishments from my high school days are still there, CID Educational Supply(curiously split in two), Luisa's cafe and PNB to name a few. Many are missing like Coney Island, Koken's Barbershop and Bherumulls, Bombay Bazaar and Streamline.

Which store I have not mentioned can you add to the list of stores that you miss most?

Instant Micro Reunion

Just accidentally bumped into a couple of batch mates from SLU Boy's High School Class 1981 today. We were attending mass at Don Bosco in Trancoville when I chanced upon two familiar gentlemen - that's Martin Valeriano and Cristito Valdivia. Of course we had a great time reminscing right away, talking about high school, funny stories that I could not type here. The batch is organizing a 25 year reunion sometime in December - Here's a link to the website http://www.slulbhsbatch81.org/

(l-r)Tito, Manny and Martin

Fun at Bakahan at Manukan

One of the reasons to go home is to taste the exotic cuisine of the Philippines. It just is not the same to be eating fresh seafood or meat here for some unexplained reason. Maybe our seafood is freshly caught with no freezing involved or our meats are from lean mean hardworking cattle, full of muscle and fat, none of the added supplements are added so everything is fresh and full flavored.

The trio of restaurants located in Upper Session Rd boasts of Native Cuisine and oversized and life sized statues that dot the stairs down to the eating places. The Bakahan at Manukan, The Pinoy Hotpot and the venerable Barrio Fiesta all at one location. That's a lot of food at one place and for sure a lot of cash for the owner.


Great idea though having a themed staircase as you could see in the pictures. Big Native figures interspersed with funny scenes representing Filipino daily lives.








From the "kutuhan" to the "bawal umihi" representations. It's a lot of fun taking pictures. It's also a good way of poking fun at our humurous culture.

Guess who is the wife in the string of nangunguto.

Bawal Umihi is actually an invitation to urinate.

My son posing with the policeman.

The food of course is excellent. Pricey for Philippine standards but it was packed when I was there, many tourists but also local families that are celebrating the Holy week.

Baguio Visit - The SM Phenomenon

Baguio has again changed, I would say leaps and bounds during the last couple of years. This I think was brought on about by the SM phenomenon. That's right SM as in ShoeMart, the biggest mall chain in the Philippines and possibly in Asia.

It's amazing to see people at the mall. Session Rd. is still there, which used to be the hub of the city. It is still there but the hub could soon change to SM. Much like being in Manila, the place to go to is at the mall, or even in the states where one's thought of leisure time is going to the mall to see movies or window shop or have a bite to eat. That mindset is dawning in Baguio. There were pre-SM malls - the Center Mall located in Magsaysay Ave and the CooYeeSan Mall that is now almost closed that was located in Naguilian Rd. Those two showed signs of fluorish and that Baguio was indeed ready to become the next SM bastion.

The SM Baguio Mall is a combination of a lot of Baguio things. I have only been there once but I could see some Baguio legends represented in the structure of the building. Most notable is the patio or viewdeck. This is reminiscent of Mines View park with a view not of the mines but of the city. Burnham park could be seen, so is the Cathedral and everything in between. This view of course is the same view you had when you checked in one of the Pines Hotel top floors prior to when it was burned down in the early 80's.

Another thing, I am not sure is intentional is the presence of a glass elevator in the middle of the mall. Memories of Hyatt Terraces perhaps prior to it's destruction in the Big Earthquake of 1991. So is the tiered look of the facade is again a hint of the terraces. The granstand is there to maybe replace Melving Jones as the spot for outdoor concerts and of course the Movie theaters are there to finally have a first rate, comfortable place to watch movies.

Of course the people are here. This is the place to meet, the hub of the city. It has definitely changed Baguio's landscape, and many other things. One thing for sure if you have not been there yet, this is a place to go in itself. The pictures that I took today appear amazing today but for sure every Baguio visitor in the future will have the same views available to him or her and will pobably become Baguio's most photographed site. But if you've never been or before you come visit, here's the view of the SM viewdeck.

Harrison Rd with Burnham Park to the Left and the city to the right.

A view of SM from the Athletic Bowl.

SM at night, busy until 9pm.

I am now in Baguio