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Boracay, Baguio, and Clark, Philippines

I had some good friends come and visit me in the Philippines for Christmas and New Year. I played the tour guide and took them to a few places around the country.

Boracay

Boracay is known as one of the top beaches in the world, globally. It’s a little more “touristy” than the rest of the country, but it’s a great starting place, and the weather during Christmas season really can’t be beat there.

From the beach facing towards the buildings. This is near “Station 2,” about the middle of the main beach area. Our hotel was also nearby.

Above is the view from our hotel. As a Christmas gift, I upgraded my friends to a suite overlooking the beach, with its own private pool, lounge chairs, and table area. It was really great to hangout there at night, and listen to the band playing in the restaurant on the ground floor.

Flying back on a small turboprop back to my hometown.

Baguio

Baguio is the “Summer Capital of the Philippines” – or it used to be, when it was an American commonwealth. It was built as a “hill station,” up in the Cordillera Mountain range, for us poor Westerners who couldn’t stand the heat of the Manila summer. When we were there after Christmas, it got all the way down to 17 C (62 F)!! Frigid! 😀

I really love the drive up to Baguio. Especially since they reopened Kennon Road for the holiday season – it’s a 33 km road built in the 1920s by American engineers to get up to Baguio that is one of the most scenic roads I’ve ever driven. Above are some examples of some of the views you see all the way up. And then there’s the Lion’s Head, one of the monuments/scenic viewpoints at the top of Kennon Road.

Once you get past the traffic (it’s crazy in town because it’s all small roads) – downtown Baguio is really nice. They still had a little “Christmas village” going on in Burnham Park, the main feature of central Baguio.
Burnham Lake, in the middle of the park, has lots of paddle boats you can rent (we didn’t, though – the lines were too long).
This confused me and I’ve been here a long time! Apparently, “momma” or “moma” is a betel-nut related chew that is used up in the mountains here – when you spit it out it leaves a nasty red stain (and turns your teeth red too!). So, yeah, don’t spit momma.
Clever marketing at the Christmas village. It made me buy a cup to try it – and it wasn’t bad at all 🙂
Another famous thing at night in Baguio is the night market which happens every night. All the cheap clothes, souvenirs, and knockoff goods you could ever want – if you can handle the crowds!

The next day we headed over to Mines View Park, which is…a park, where you have a view, of where the mines used to be. I mean, obvious if you think about it. But it’s a great view of the whole mountain valley, and *tons* of souvenirs, wood carvings, food, and other gifts.

On the way home from Baguio, we stopped quickly in Manaoag to see the Catholic basilica there, which has a special feature of a drive-through car blessing with holy water!

New Years – Clark/Angeles, Pampanga

For New Years Eve, we went to the house of a friend of mine to watch one of the most amazing things – the Clark-area NYE fireworks displays. First of all, Filipinos LOVE fireworks (who doesn’t?). Secondly, every single neighborhood, barangay (borough/ward), city, mall, and even individual businesses love to put on firework displays. Thirdly, because the city is so flat (no hills, anywhere), if you have a good enough vantage point, you can see fireworks going off in *every single direction* for 360 degrees. Videos don’t do it justice at all, but here’s an attempt:

After New Years, we drove once again a quick hour or so to Subic to spend a few days decompressing at a much quieter beach than Boracay before my friends left back to their real lives. I hope they enjoyed their stay in the Philippines!

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