2D1N in Baguio, Philippines (2020)

Random photo taken at Camp John Hay.

At long last, I have already granted my mother's wish for me to bring her to Baguio City last February 29 to March 1, 2020. Originally, we chose these dates to witness the Street and Float Parades during the Penagbenga Festival 2020. The said events were postponed due to coronavirus threats. My mother insisted that we still push through with the plan since my sister will no longer be available to take her place as 'dialysis nurse' for my father if we choose to travel instead on March 28-29, 2020, which by the way is my birthday (28th). We availed the services of a travel agency for a hassle-free experience. I actually contacted 4B Travel and Tours and they were the ones who made arrangements so we can be transferred to Byahe ni Jigz care.

PICK-UP
- Feb28, Friday, 09:30PM at Eton Centris, Quezon City

SITES VISITED
Note: Durations shown below are based on the time provided by the driver/tour coordinator and my own estimates. Most of the time, we get off from a specific site later than planned, I guess.

Day 1 Feb29

a. Lion's Head (15mins)
- We stopped here at around 05:00AM I guess, it was still dark when I took photos of mother with the Lion's Head at the background.

b. Baguio Cathedral (1hr)
- Some already took their breakfast during this time.

c. Botanical Garden (1hr)
- This is one of my favorite Day 1 sites. There were cute statues. It was kinda sad though that the flowers were not in full bloom when we visited.

With little meow meow.

d. Mines View Park (1hr 30mins)
- Here, we rented ethnic costumes and my mother rode on a horse for a picture taking. We also bought pasalubong T-shirts and a display souvenir in two of the park stalls.

This photo made its way to my mother's facebook profile picture.

e. The Mansion (1hr 30mins)
- The first time I went here, it was around board exam review time. It was too foggy then, we can't even see the "The Mansion" sign.

f. Wright Park (already included in the time allotted for The Mansion)
- The costume rental here goes with props. I'm not sure though if the props go with additional fees. We bought additional T-shirt here. The prices of commodities were similar to those in the Mines View Park.

g. Stobosa/Colorful Houses
- All of the passengers opted not to get off the van to see the houses up close. We were tired and it was too hot then.

h. Bell Church (20mins)
- The structures here are very colorful with similar presence to those found at the Botanical Garden. My mother was so amazed with the view of houses built at the mountain.

I live for this picturesque structures.

i. Strawberry Farm (2hrs)
- We just took pictures and videos and bought some produce. The strawberry picking experience priced at Php675.00 per kilo is too pricey for me.

Who doesn't love green farms!

We arrived at the transient house around 02:00PM. The driver picked up some of the joiners for dinner at the City proper and drop off at the Night Market. We've no plans of buying so we decided to just chill at the house and ate somewhere near. We also didn't want to spend extra on transportation from the Night Market back to the transient house.

ACCOMMODATION
-  Garuda Lodge and Transient House
The only problem I had with shared accommodation is that there is only one (1) comfort room to cater a number of people. I'm sure there were at least twelve (12) of us in the house. Of course there are private rooms available, priced at Php300.00 per pax.

I loved that the CR served its function right.

Day 2 Mar1

The tour resumed at around 08:00AM.

a. Diplomat Hotel (30mins)
- The outside walls look instagram-able. Chour. Don't believe me 'cause I'm not on IG.

b. Our Lady of Lourdes Grotto (30mins)
- We took on an unexpected extra walk on our way back to the van because I failed to remember the step leading to the road where our van was parked.

c. Burnham Park (2hrs)
- We had our lunch at a restaurant located at the dome housing the skating rink.

Skating Rink at Burnham Park.

d. Camp John Hay (30mins)
- If a longer time was given and other passengers insisted, I'd probably tried at least one activity at the Tree Top Adventure Nature Park.

We left around 01:00PM as we were not able to visit Philippine Military Academy due to a lockdown.

DROP-OFF
 - Mar2, Sunday, around 09:00PM at Eton Centris, Quezon City
 The driver said that the agency does not allow them to do pick-ups/drop-offs other than the designated pick-up/drop-off point.

EXPENSES (based on my records)

a. Tour fee (Inclusive of van transfer and accommodation)
- Php3,000.00 for 2 pax; front price is Php1,499.00 per pax
- Php300.00 per pax reservation fee deductible from full package fee

b. Food
- We bought some baon and water to serve as Feb29 light breakfast and snacks
- Php240.00 for 2 pax Feb29 lunch at Strawberry Farm
- Php187.00 for 2 pax Feb29 dinner at a carinderia near the transient house
- Php223.00 for 2 pax Mar1 breakfast, snacks and water
- Php60.00 per plastic Mar1 mango snack at Burnham Park
- Php451.00 for 2 pax Mar1 lunch at Burnham Park
- Php70.00 for 2 pax Mar1 Jollibee yumburger snack on the way back to Manila

c. Entrance/Activity Fee
- Php60.00 Mines View Park Entrance Fee (Php30.00 per pax)
- Php60.00 Costume Rental Fee at Mines View Park (Php30.00 per pax)
- Php50.00 per pax Picture taking with Horse Fee at Mines View Park
- Php60.00 Diplomat Hotel Entrance Fee (Php30.00 per pax); not all are aware of this because not everyone gets to pay, it depends if the ticketing man is there or not

d. Souvenir
- Php680.00 for 7 T-shirts (2 colored + 5 white)
- Php240.00 for the strawberry pen holder

e. Produce
- Php270.00 strawberries
- Php70.00 lettuces

I'd say Php5,721.00 is worth it because my mother enjoyed the whole trip. ☺

Just sharing a random photo of The Mansion gate's shadow to end this blog.