✈ Baguio 2017 — Paladin Hotel, Strawberry Farm and Bell Church

March 16, 2017

Realistically, I have never thought I was gonna be able to set foot in Baguio soon until last year when I was able to score cheap-ass roundtrip tickets during a Cebu Pacific Sale. Imagine, there's 5 of us and we only paid 3,000+ PHP! Again, that's back and forth.

So we chose the Summer Capital of the Philippines since Manila can be visited anytime. I mean, Baguio is pretty much a place you have to allot time and strength for, and we did just that. If you have a weekend to spare (like from Friday to Sunday), then I'll show you how you can use that duration to explore the city~ This includes transportation and tourist spots to visit.

On a Friday, we flew to Manila from 9 to 11 AM, had early lunch and then started our journey via bus. There are multiple bus lines from Genesis to Victory and we chose the latter. We rode from the Pasay terminal; there's a Cubao one too, among others. Victory Bus does hourly trips by the way, so you can't miss out.

Bus Fare (Regular Aircon): 455 PHP

Bus Fare (First Class): 750 PHP

The regular aircon bus has 2 stopovers - I only remember the one in Tarlac. It's for passengers to pee, buy snacks, etc. First Class already has its own CR, so I doubt if they do unnecessary stops. The regular bus is comfy enough even for the 7- to 8-hour trip but if you can very well afford, then you can definitely opt for First Class.

After hours of staying on my butt (but reeling because passed by La Union - #ImDrunkILoveYou feels, baks~), my family and I finally made our arrival in Baguio!

The chill is srsly different and I looove it

Okay, it wasn't snowing but when you're used to hot weather, you just appreciate the cold~ Or is that just me

There were a total 6 of us and we rode a taxi to Paladin Hotel. Oh, their taxis are Avanzas but only 4 can occupy / use it. It's so weird. Lels but we were able to convince a driver to bring everyone to the hotel for which we paid 20 PHP each.

I booked our 2 Premier Deluxe rooms - 3 people for each - through TravelBook. Here's my review... Checking in was okay. I knew they were gonna charge us a 1% service charge fee but they calculated it using the original room price, not the discounted one in the travel website. The receptionist was able to explain well though, so that's nice.

Pros:

Good location, you can just walk to and from Burnham Park, Harrison and Session Roads.

There's a lot of restaurants and stores around.

Cons:

No elevator, so be ready to use stairs.

There's 3 people per room but at times, they would provide only 2 sets of toiletries, etc.

For cleanliness, I'm not really particular. Of course, rooms aren't dirty. They're just normal, you know? Breakfast is inclusive to booking but I have to tell you that food is nothing fancy.

Moving on... What's to see in Baguio? Take it from us. Let's go!

First off, the taxi driver from the night before recommended his friend to take us around and wait for us for 2,500 PHP.

Now, the play-by-play:

STRAWBERRY FARM

Location: La Trinidad, Benguet

Entrance Fee: NONE
Strawberry Picking: 350 PHP onwards per kilo

The area is big and it has many divisions of not only strawberries but also flowers and vegetables like lettuce. Owners / caretakers offer you strawberry picking activity for varying rates - it depends on which you pick. You can do this as a group as long as you gather the kilo you are to pay for. For us, 1 kilo was enough.