Diva-ine Life: Lindsy and Me (lol) O

I've been gone for almost a week, peaked with excitement before I left and bone-tired when I arrived. I could barely walk down any flight of stairs.

Lindsy and I took a road trip of sorts to Baguio - Banuae - Batad, Philippines. We had this planned from February, originally going to Sagada. But as time drew nigh, the girls whom i have invited declined the invitation to go. Finance related problems if you know what I mean. So, the lonely road challenge was faced by just Lindsy and me.

Let me recall this trip...

I just came from my department summer escapade in Laiya, Batangas (Palm Beach Resort). I arrived at home at 9:20 pm, with Lindsy already waiting for me at my house. I hurriedly finished packing my bag in 10 minutes flat and off we go to Victory Bus Terminal in Pasay. having booked out ticket a week bag, the bus ride was less of a hassle for us both. All we had to do was ride the scheduled bus and wait until we arrived in the cooler land of Baguio.

BAGUIO!

We arrived in Baguio at 5:00 am. It was still dark and the bus ride was as chilly as it was outside. As we stepped off the bus, Lindsy and I were taken aback on how "cold" it was. considering that I was just wearing my jeans "puruntong" style, and Lindsy wearing her leggings and some cotton top. (By the way, surprising enough, Lindsy just brought one bag. She said she really thought over the stuff that she'll bring.)

It seemed like it was our first time touring Baguio City. Lindsy's previous trip was at least a decade ago. Mine was much more recent, 3 years back, but it was a very social trip. Visiting ang touring the more expensive part of the city. Of course I am thankful for the blessing, but it is always good to know any place starting from down up.

As we stepped off the bus, men were waiting in front of the door to shove up our noses even more pamphlets and flyers of different transients and hotels in Baguio. Who am I to blame them? It's tourist season for Baguio... Business must boom more than usual.

To stretch out crumpled butts and chilled legs, we looked for a nearby CR to change clothes and refresh ourselves. We asked for directions for a nearby breakfast place (we learned that it was Jollibee still) and walked for like 15 minutes to the said branch. We got lost 2 times at least in that 15 minute walk. (Pero syempre, kampante si Lindsy kasi ako ang kasama. Matapang kasi ako kahit di ko alam yung lugar.)

We breakfasted and looked for the transient my friend supposedly booked for us. When we got to the place, we were ripped off by 1000 pesos for a room. We decided to still get it. We were so tired and so dirty, we didn't really care how much we spent on it. We were finally able to relax a bit and finally, see Baguio by 10 am after a fitful nap and a refreshing shower.

We took pictures at Burnham which was a blessed 5 minutes away from our transient. Headed next to Good Shepherd for their famous Ube Jam. Shopped a bit at some road stalls near Minesview. Then squeezed ourselves in a mound full of people IN Minesview. We then waited for my elementary school bestfriend Jenny at one of the nearby restos. Hallelujah! She finally came at around 11:30 am. (Ang dami na namin nagawa in 1.5 hours... Adik!)

We went to The Mansion, Wright Park, Camp John Hay and all its intricacies. Ang laki pala ng John Hay! More than 700 hectares... No wonder ang dami niyang hot spots. Jenny was an instant tour guide for the day.

We had lunch in one of the lesser known tourist spots. Locals are fond of this area for its affordable food and good taste. Jenny had work at 2:00 pm so she had say an abrupt goodbye and see us all over the following day. We decided to go to Tam-awan Village after lunch. It is one of the Native Villages preserved as a museum of sorts. Dyan namin kinuha ung picture ni Lindsy na may sungay. galing ko talagang direktor!

This is just day 1. We got tickets for our Banaue trip in the afternoon. Then I was missing Facebook a lot by then so I dragged Lindsy with me to a nearby computer cafe, surfed for an hour and went to sleep right away at 8:00 pm. I personally needed to catch up on sleep for the next day's drive to Banaue.

Day 2 was a bit more relaxed than the first one. We breakfasted at around 9 am at McDonald's Session Road, met with Jenny and again toured us in the Wag-Wagan section of the City. (The fondly called Ukay-Ukay by Manileñas). Jenny just got off from a very successful job interview and was in a dressed-to-kill outfit. We looked for suitable slippers for her before we headed to MaryKnoll Eco-Park. This was preparation for the Banaue trek we were facing.

Again, a quick goodbye from Jenny so we checked out from the transient at 12 noon. Where we stuffed our bags is a secret. We then went to see Pastor Benny in La Trinidad. He shared on his church, their upcoming Bauko outreach, life in general. And finally I asked if he can pray for us for our Banaue trek. He did and we went on our way back to see Centermall, dinner of mais yet again and got halohalo in the local cafeteria.