And My Favorite 2012 Travel Moment is...

It has only been three years since the travel bug bit me. Being a finalist in the International Multiconference of Engineers and Computer Scientists' International Conference on Operations Research (nosebleed, I know) in 2009 marked my first long distance travel and my first ever plane ride which took me to Hong Kong and Macau. It became more of a leisure trip than the conference itself. 2010 brought me to various places in the Philippines: Palawan, Cebu, Bohol, and Sagada, all via packaged tours. I also returned to Hong Kong and Macau that year. Having missed some places on my first time there, that trip became the debut of my DIY jam-packed itineraries. 2011 was a year of jam-packed monthly adventures within the Philippines, involving seven mountains: 2 major climbs, one in Mt. Pulag where we failed to see the sea of clouds but experienced the very rare -4 degrees celsius instead, and one killer hike in Mt. Apo, where the skies tormented us, but also where I found the love of my life. The minor climbs were such an adventure, too, though, as we were all first timers who didn't hire a guide. In terms of altitude, 2011 was my most adventurous year ever.

Baguio After 24 Years: Philippine Military Academy

(Part 11 of a 14-part series)

Philippine Military Academy's Vision Statement

Trivia and Prelude: I took up ROTC in college. What's more? I belonged to the university's model battalion, whose training was not constrained by the usual Sunday morning training. We had Wednesday training, and whole-day Sunday training. What's ironic is that it happened after there had been propositions to abolish ROTC because of the death of an ROTC cadet. While other universities opted to abolish ROTC, in ours, the situation got reversed and even female students had no choice but to take up ROTC. Well, there was a choice, but it was so limited that the slots were all gone when it was our schedule to enroll. And because I have been so lucky ever since, the slots in the easier units have also already been gone, hence leaving me no choice but to join the "Rayadillo Honor Guard Battalion".

Baguio After 24 Years: Christmas in The Manor at Camp John Hay

(Part 10 of a 14-part series)

en route to the buffet breakfast

As planned, early in the morning the next day, the first thing on our list was to head to The Manor to try their buffet breakfast at Le Chef.

I somewhat hate buffets. Why? I always get confused! Confused on where to start, that is. Le Chef's buffet had too much to offer and I wanted to try everything. It was too hard to decide. The result: a 4-round breakfast for me.

Baguio After 24 Years: The Forest Lodge at Camp John Hay

(Part 9 of a 14-part series)

The Forest Lodge at Camp John Hay's marker

I'm sure most travelers would agree with me that nothing beats the feeling of being among the first to experience a new destination. That's why I so loved this part of the trip. Even our cab driver didn't know about Forest Lodge, and instead took us initially to Forest House. Boots and I gave out a resounding, "Hindi po yan", and told the driver that we had to head to Camp John Hay as The Forest Lodge is located inside.

Baguio After 24 Years: Pizza Volante

(Part 8 of a 14-part series)

Pizza Volante's menu cover

After covering seven destinations in Baguio, we were famished. I've seen Pizza Volante earlier while we were walking along Session Road. I've read good reviews about it so when I saw where it was, I was somewhat relieved.

Baguio After 24 Years: Burnham Park

(Part 7 of a 14-part series)

Trivia: Do you know that packed chips tend to blow up at high-altitude locations? I previously thought it had to be mountain-high, so I was surprised to see this while taking our time in Burnham Park...

Finding our way to Burnham Park was quite tricky. I did not remember much of it because I was already tired from walking and traveling up and down various long stairs with a backpack on our six previous destinations. All that I remember was that from SM Baguio, it involved crossing a footbridge, passing by Igorot Park and Harrison. It took quite a while before we reached Burnham Park and unlike the previous destinations where walking was okay because it was still too early, it's about noon this time, so walking on the midst of the heavy crowd was quite a challenge.

Baguio After 24 Years: Christmas in SM Baguio

(Part 6 of a 14-part series)

enjoying SM Baguio

This will be a very short post...

After taking photos in The Mansion, we headed back to Wright Park and rode a jeep back to the Plaza. It was already 10:00 AM so SM Baguio should already be opened. We needed to buy our supplies.

And opening time, it was. We encountered quite a queue before we could enter. There's nothing much special about this post but let me just share this...

Merry Christmas, from SM Baguio

And greet you all a very Merry Christmas! :)

Next: Baguio After 24 Years: Burnham Park

Baguio After 24 Years: The Mansion

(Part 5 of a 14-part series)

Since it's been quite a while when I've last visited Baguio (24 years at that :D), I didn't know that that side of Wright Park faces The Mansion. Since basically we just went where our feet took us, we crossed the road and got there.

Funny thing was, Boots seemed to not get over with my 15 pesos strawberry taho - feeling it was overpriced. As soon as we crossed the road, we encounter another strawberry taho vendor, and he asked how much. It was worth 15 pesos, too. Probably because he was finally convinced that it was the actual prevailing price, he finally bought a cup.

Baguio After 24 Years: Wright Park

(Part 4 of a 14-part series)

Since our jeepney also passed by Wright Park on our way to Mines View Park, we decided to just walk our way to Wright Park from Good Shepherd. The walk can't be considered as a normal walking distance, but it was manageable. We chatted while walking the uphill and downhill road, and before I knew it, we were right on the front of Wright Park's very long stairs already.

the long stairs at Wright Park

Baguio After 24 Years: Good Shepherd Convent

(Part 3 of a 14-part series)

Since the jeep passed by Good Shepherd Convent while we're on our way to Mines View Park, we instantly decided to go there next. It was pretty close so we just walked our way.

Baguio After 24 Years: Mines View Park

(Part 2 of a 14-part series)

We already crossed out one destination via our aimless wandering, but we were a bit uncomfortable with the uncertainty. Because for a change, I didn't want to be the one dictating what to do in this trip, I was waiting for Boots to say something that he'd really love to see or do, and when he told me, "Gusto kong magpapicture dun sa St. Bernard", I looked at him with gleaming eyes, because that was on the top of the list of things that I wanted to do. So after our first destination, we finally decided to ask someone for directions.

Baguio After 24 Years: Baguio Cathedral

(Part 1 of a 14-part series)

Baguio has been the first out-of-town place I've been to as a child. I was three years old back then when my aunt brought me with her during her company outing. I was so little back then (only my bangs were huge), and my memories of Baguio were all based from photos and stories she told me. At the end of this series, I will post photos of the three-year old me exploring Baguio - comparing the spots then and now, so stay tuned.

Old Houses in Malabon: Walking Tour

As I previously posted about how I somewhat single-handedly devoured a Judy Ann's crispy pata, I'm gonna tell what happened next. I got full - so full that I was hardly able to stand up. It was only befitting that me and my mom did some walking to aid in my digestion. Plus that part of Malabon offers interesting sights, too, especially if you're a fan of old houses. Well, I'm not, but my mom is.

Judy Ann's Crispy Pata: The Best in the Philippines

Ever have that place or food that you loved going to or loved to eat back when you where a little kid? As a child, Judy Ann's crispy pata has been my favorite. It has always been one of the few things I am so thankful for, for living in Camanava area. While others may exert an effort to head to this little jewel in Malabon, the place is just a stone's throw away from where I live - unlike my favorite bulalo in the country where I have to travel for more than three hours just to eat.