Michi Photostory

If you are going to Baguio, do not forget to include Tam-Awan Village in your itinerary, it is a place where you can have a glimpse of Cordillera village life and commune with nature. The village has seven Ifugao huts ( Anaba Hut, Bangaan Hut, Batad Hut, Dukligan Hut, Kinakin Hut, and Nagor Hut)and two Kalinga houses (Lukkong Hut and Bugnay Hut). The Ifugao huts are very simple, it has no nails and hardware but it can lasts for many generations.


We do not know how to get there we just ask for directions. There is no signage or guide so sometimes we feel that we’re lost but we just kept on asking for directions, so we’re happy when we reached Tam-Awan Village, we’re not lost. Teee-hee!

Our second day in Baguio and thank God for giving us fair weather, we started our tour in La Trinidad. First stop is Bell Church, it is a Buddhist Temple that has pagoda, landscaped garden and fountain.

Hubby and I have been here before with our college friends, we just revisited this place for my son. Though I'm not sure if he will remember this since he's just three years old. 

Baguio is known as “Summer Capital of the Philippines” so there is no doubt that people love to visit this place, especially during summer season. I’m one of those people who visit Baguio every summer. I was seventeen when I first set my foot in Baguio and the rest is already a history.

Would you believe I’ve been in Baguio in different status, I was single, in a relationship, engaged and married (parang Facebook status lang, hehe) so I can definitely say that Baguio is very dear to me, I will never get tired of this place.


After visiting my in-laws in Pangasinan, we went to Baguio to spend the rest of our long weekend. We’re supposed to stay until Tuesday but we were able to finish our itinerary within 24hrs. Yes, we explored Baguio within 24 hours. Sharing with you, our itinerary.

Read: 2 Days Trip in Baguio

Day 1 in Baguio; Sunday 

1:30PM – Arrival at Hotel Veniz
3PM – Late lunch at Solibao at Session Road
4PM – Start of tour

1. Baguio Cathedral
2. Burnham Park

Baguio Cathedral and Burnham Park are both walking distance from the hotel.

6PM – Dinner at Good Taste (beside Centermall)
7PM – Back to Hotel Veniz

Read: Hotel Veniz Review

The weather did not cooperate with us but the rain did not stop us, we still went out to tour my son. We started our walking tour in Session Road, looking for a place to eat our lunch. It is nice to walk up and down and feel the city; you will see different restaurants, establishments and wagwagan (ukay-ukay).

Then we went to Baguio Cathedral. It was Sunday so the place is really crowded even it was raining.


Last stop is Burnham Park; my son really enjoyed his boating experience.



We went back to Hotel Veniz because I can no longer stand the freaking coldness of Baguio, my jacket is not thick enough to keep me warm and my legs are really shaking.

Day 2 in Baguio; Monday  

7AM – Breakfast at Hotel Veniz Grill
8:30AM – Start of Tour

We check-out early so we can finish our itinerary.

La Trinidad and more...

1. Bell Church
2. Strawberry Farm
3. Tam-Awan Village and Arko ni Apo
4. Weaving School
5. Lourdes Grotto
6. Mines View Park
7. Good Shepherd
8. Wright Park
9. The Mansion
10. Camp John Hay

Before 1:30PM we went home, we skipped PMA and Botanical Garden. Last stop is

11. Lion's Head at Kennon Road.

Read: Day 2 in Baguio
Tam Awan Village and Arko ni Apo
La Trinidad and More 

Food Trip in Baguio 

Solibao

We had our late lunch at Solibao, we’ve got sizzler platter of pork binagoongan, lechon kawali, and soup of the day. The sizzler platter is already a complete meal; you have fried rice, egg, meat, veggies and one piece of puto bumbong for dessert. I’m not into veggies but I enjoyed their vegetables, you know that it is really fresh. I also love their puto bumbong while my son loves their soup.





Good Taste

I’ve read a lot of good reviews about Good Taste so I see to it that I will not leave Baguio without trying this restaurant. It is located beside Centermall. At 6PM the place is already jam-packed, there are people waiting on the stairs for their takeout order and it is hard to look for a vacant table, it only means that this restaurant is really good.




We ordered fried rice, soup with siomai and garlic buttered chicken. I’ve read a lot of good things about their chicken so I was really expecting that it was really good.  But I was disappointed when I saw the chicken, it is not the chicken that I’ve been thinking of, I thought I will be eating a crispy garlic buttered chicken like Wong Sau’s Buttered Chicken. Well, it is also my fault because I did not ask.

Garlic Buttered Chicken is like buffalo wings, hubby and I dislike Buffalo wings so we did not enjoy our meal but if you like Buffalo wings you will love this. But I still recommend this place if you want an affordable meal.

Hotel Veniz Grill  



I did not expect that we will have a buffet breakfast at Hotel Veniz. My husband said, their buffet breakfast is better than Microtel Baguio when it comes to choices.  We all love their French toasts with cream.

Read: 2 Days in Baguio

Pasalubong from Baguio

This was the first time that I stayed in a hotel because every time we go to Baguio we stay at my friend’s condominium or we rent a transient house. I was torn between Microtel Baguio and Hotel Veniz, but I chose the latter for two reasons, strategic location and affordability. 

Read: 24 Hours in Baguio

It is very near in market, restaurants, shopping centers, wagwagan, Burnham Park, Baguio Cathedral and Session Road. My husband who always stays in Microtel Baguio reserved our accommodation but I told him to cancel the reservation and call Hotel Veniz (kuripot mode).

Every time we go to Pangasinan to visit my in-laws we always passed by Retiro Street where you can see different lechon stores and restaurants and if we are hungry we will eat at Mila’s Lechon. But last Saturday, I decided to try the Redragon Buffet and Quickmeal, this is just in front of Mila’s Lechon.

We’re the only customers at that time so we have no problems in getting food. There are wide array of choices, there is pork, chicken, beef, fish, veggies, soup, desserts and fruits.  It''s really worth it for the price of P168 and P40 for unlimited drinks. We enjoyed our food and if I do not have a sore throat, I definitely have a second round.  They did not charge my son, who only eats soup and banana. =) Good thing that we’re early because before we left, visitors from Christening came so imagine the long lines and crowd.

I replaced my 3 in 1 printer last June because the scanner was broken. I’ve tried Canon and HP before so I want to try something new, I bought Epson ME 320 (Multifunctional for Economical, Efficient and Effective Endurance), knowing that I could save more.  

I haven’t read Before Ever After book of Samantha Sotto but I have this craving for her famous Baked Eggs. Inspired by her recipe, I made my own baked eggs using my available ingredients.
This is really a very satisfying dish and I would definitely try the other recipe. Visit this blog for her recipe. 

This is the first trick or treat experience of my son and I was so happy that he wore his costume. He doesn’t look like a pirate to me; he looks like Peter pan in red. Hehe! We have the option to choose where we will attend, Mckinley, Cavite or Cebu, of course we choose Cavite because we are Southerners.



I have no expectations because I never attended any trick or treats event. After registration we waited for our turn for booth hopping.





Then we gathered in one room for Magic Show and Games.

Last Friday, my husband sent me a message about their Company’s Trick or Treat; I never attended any Trick or Treat event so I am really clueless when it comes to the costume so I search the internet for some samples and hoping that it is available here. 

Though I was feeling low last Saturday, I still went out to look for Halloween costume for my son. This will be his first Trick or Treat experience and I do not want to miss the chance. We did not attend the past few events because my husband was not available to accompany us.

Unfortunately, there were few costumes left and no available size for my son. I like the fireman and policeman costume because it includes tools but it doesn’t fit. Then I saw this Pirate Costume and luckily it fits him so I bought the costume. I guess this is the cheapest costume, half the price of the policeman and fireman set.


I just hope that he will wear this costume because right now, he doesn’t want to wear the belt and bandana.

My laptop crashed last Saturday morning, this is the reason why I’m so sad and it seems that I am just existing but not living. Eating my comfort foods didn’t help and I could not even sleep because the whole day, I was just thinking about my files and if there is a way to recover it. 

I have a lot of things and errands to do but I was not really in the mood and because of that, I wasn’t able to finish my checklist. It may look so pathetic but I just felt that part of me was missing, so I cannot really let go and focus. But I’m trying to move on and prepare myself just in case we could no longer save my files.

If there is one thing that I could not live without, that would be my laptop. It is really part of my everyday life and the only time that I’m not using it is when I’m on my vacation trip. Yesterday, I was doing my normal routine when my laptop just crashed down and I could no longer start my windows. It seems my world just stops revolving because I don’t know how I can troubleshoot my problem. I’m trying the safe mode so I can still save my files but unfortunately, it is not working.

I’ve been bugging my brother to help me, he told me to reinstall without choosing the format hard disk so I can save my files but there is no guarantee that I could save it. I was really sad and I want to cry but I have no more tears left (naubos na yata sa speech ni “Budoy”). I’m so worried because I have no backup copy, I’ve lost my files since 2005, including my widget codes, blog posts, articles, preschool worksheet that I have just downloaded for my son and my two itineraries for our upcoming trip. I’ve been doing this itinerary since September and I have to do it all over again. The saddest part is I did not save my picture since October 2010, just knowing this date gusto ko ng mahimatay because it only means I’ve lost our CDO-Camiguin, Puerto Princesa, Boracay, Kota Kinabalu and Cebu trip pictures. My only consolation is the photos that I have uploaded in Facebook and here in my blog.

Lesson learned: “Do not ever forget to back up your files”

My husband is trying to comfort me, he was telling me na 3 years lang life span ng laptop (mine is turning 3) and maybe it is time to replace your laptop. I should be happy because he is willing to replace my laptop but of course, I have to give up something. It is no secret here that I’ve been meaning to replace my camera but I have to make a choice. I am so confused and yet I have to bite the bullet.

Yesterday, we went to two different malls scouting for a laptop but we went home without buying one because I was still hoping for a miracle but there was no miracle, still can’t use my laptop. I am hoping and praying that my brother could still save my files because it means a lot to me. But for now, I have to make a decision, “to buy or not to buy”.