Baguio Insider

Will the real lion please stand up? This large rock naturally-shaped like a lion’s head was the original landmark that greeted all visitors to Baguio City. The Lion’s Club commissioned in 1971 the sculpting of the much larger one made out of limestone a few meters past it.

Kennon Road remains the Baguio locals’ preferred access route to Baguio City. Not only is it a more familiar road, it’s also, in my opinion, way prettier than Marcos Highway. The route is shorter by about 15km, plus the bends are easier on your vehicle. Those cars outfitted with inclinometers can tell, for example, that when the road curves to the left, the road also tilts to the left, thus making it easier to navigate.

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A lady from Germany emailed me an inquiry for lodging in July at my bed & breakfast inn, and she specifically insisted on airconditioned rooms. I explained to her that Baguio hotels and other lodging accommodations, not even those that charge Php4,000/night for a room for 2 provide airconditioning (see photo). The whole of Baguio, even our golf courses, are “naturally air-cooled!”

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I did a bit of blogrolling to check out sites that reference Baguio on Technorati today, and found quite a lot of Multiply sites that kept announcing excitedly, “Baguio, here I come!” And it was very heartening to note that folks, especially the young ones, still look forward to coming up for the Baguio Flower Festival (Panagbenga) despite concerns in recent years about how crowded it gets, how there’s no parking, etc. Maybe I’ve just been listening to folks who expect to just relax in Baguio each time they come up. Of course it’s crowded! And that’s to be expected because in just 12 short years, the Panagbenga has risen to the top of the Philippines’ fiesta calendar.

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I created a page called “Old Baguio.” There’s nothing in it yet, but I plan to post articles and photos of the Baguio I fell in love with.
Since Go Baguio!’s redesign, I have been receiving emails and comments from former Baguio residents who now live abroad. What we all have in common is, we knew Baguio during its “glory days” before the great earthquake in 1990 and miss it terribly.

Of course we can’t turn back time. All we can do is give you a glimpse of Baguio Past and hope that Baguio Present will try at least to live up to it.

Here are the things I miss:

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