I See a View From a Hill

After an exciting day yesterday, it actually only dawned on me last night that today would be my last full day in the city of Baguio. Thankfully, I hadn't planned anything too expansive for the extra day that I had invented so I figured that I would hopefully manage to conquer all of my wants into today.

Being in the northern part of Luzon, the largest island of the Philippines, and here in particular as I hope yesterday demonstrated the common theme of Baguio and the surrounding areas, is the spectacular views it is able to provide to visitors. Session Road, the busiest and most well known area of the city, is essentially a huge hill, at the top of which is the cathedral I visited yesterday.

Today, the theme again was height and views, this time in the form of a visit to Mines Park View, which sits at the top of one of the city's very tallest hills and provided me with a great opportunity to enjoy my last day here by taking in some spectacular scenery.

I looked at the map before I set off this morning, and it said that it would take around 45 minutes to get to the park. I asked at my hotel, and they said that I could either take a taxi or a Jeepney there, but anyone who knows me well will recognise my slightly extreme sense of adventure, and also desire to save a little bit of money in the process! Besides, it was a glorious day outside, and I certainly didn't think that a nice long walk would do me any harm.

Road signs, and directions for tourists are fairly few and far between in Baguio, but the lady at reception had suggested that if I wanted to take a Jeepney, then the best place to go would be Session Road. I headed in that direction, and after walking towards the huge shopping mall at the top of it, there was actually a road sign to point me in the right direction.
I walked for about another 20-25 minutes before seeing another road sign confirming I was headed in the right direction, however I used the Jeepneys with 'Mines View Park' on the side to help guide me, and provide at least a little reassurance.

After about 30 minutes of walking along some winding roads I came across Baguio's Botanical Gardens, and then another park which I had seen was on the way called 'Wright Park'. The area was nowhere nearly as impressive as Burnham Park, but climbing up some stairs there was the opportunity to ride horses along a trail, and also a little pagoda in the middle to allow you to sit down, should you feel like one was needed.
Another of Baguio's sights, 'The Mansion' was sitting at the end of a shorter, and thankfully flatter path looking very royal in a city where most people appear to live well within their means.
The Mansion is the official summer residence of the Philippine's president, and is naturally located in the city which is known as the summer capital of the country. I took a few photos outside, and through the gates, but it looked as though you had to pay to get into the grounds.

I lost my bearings a bit having walked through Wright Park and then stumbling upon the mansion, but a Jeepney whizzed by confirming my suspicions of continuing to walk in an ascending direction were correct. I now started to come to some very twisty set of roads, and although I couldn't see very well through the thick tree cover, I started to suspect that I wasn't that far away from reaching my destination.

I thought Mines View was just going to be a small country park with a couple of viewpoints mixed in, but it turns out that there is actually a little community up there, one which appears to be thriving reasonable well off tourist Pesos. As well as an official gift shop, and a museum, there was the usual collection of vendors selling everything from 'selfie sticks' to 'I Love Baguio' t-shirts.
I entered the park following a very shoddily marked out path, and after fighting my way through people selling snacks, offering me the opportunity to have a photo taken on a horse with pink hair, and dress up in traditional costume for a portrait, I eventually found the viewing terrace.
It was already pretty full of people, and almost immediately I could see why their cameras, phones and Go-Pros were in overdrive.

Just as I described yesterday, that it is often difficult to describe everything that I experience within a day, I feel like I should also point out that I don't really feel like my photos are doing justice to some of the sights I am seeing. This is what makes me disappointed that I have nobody to share these wonderful experiences with, and no matter how many words I use, it will not even come close to seeing it first hand.
The view from any point on the terrace was spectacular; there was a panoramic view that started from the left with traditional rice fields, and continued 180 degrees to rolling hills and then to the city below. I desperately tried to get my camera to capture anything, but it was impossible.
I've been privileged to see some excellent views in my life; the three that stand out the most to me do so because of their field of vision and also an ability to pick out things you are standing way above which now seem miniature.
I would definitely have to say that Mines View Park stands up there against what I have witnessed during my experience during Up at the O2 in London, at Top of the Rock in New York, and in Athens when I scaled Mount Lycabettus at sunset.

I stayed at the top for about half an hour or so, before deciding it was time to head elsewhere. I decided after walking all the way to Mines View, it was time to check off something from my Asian bucket list so I took a Jeepney all the way back to the city (more on this experience in a separate post). By this point, and after all the walking, my body was crying out for some food so I stopped at a little stand just next to Burnham Park, and swiftly ate a portion of Shwarma and rice. I decided to brave some spicy sauce today which made it taste all the better and got rid of the horrible taste of the tomatoes that I tried in vain to get the guy selling it to me to omit.

Next stop was Camp John Hay - a former US Airbase which is now used as a recreation site by many visitors to Baguio. Instead of navigating my way there on foot, I decided to reward myself for success in finding Mines View earlier and instead take a taxi. It cost me 47 Peso (about 69p) and took about ten minutes from where I'd grabbed some dinner so it was well worth it. Most of the the camp is now restaurants, but there are some open spaces for picnicking as well as a golf course and a few basketball courts. In a bid to retain some of it's heritage, there are some museums and a couple of monuments dedicated to it's role in housing US soldiers, and after walking down a trail and through all the parts of the camp which were accessible to visitors, I decided that I knew the way confidently enough to head back towards the city, and my final stop which would be the SM Mall.

Filippino's, like many of their cousins on this continent, enjoy nothing more than spending their time shopping, and at the top of Session Road is the alter at which they can preach. SM are a giant company in Asia who own a large majority of the malls in major cities, and the one in Baguio is a giant structure with five floors of shops and restaurants which attract people towards it like a bear to honey.
Not that I am a big shopper in any way, but I have found it very hard to resist to odd souvenir instead having to make do with photographic memories of the gifts I'd like to bring to people back home.
Needless to say, there was no such restrictions on the Filippino purse strings as people poured up the hill and into the mall as I eventually navigated my way back to the main street of the city.

One thing I was particularly impressed about (apart from the free wifi) is how they have included Baguio's many sights into the mall by including a viewing deck on each floor. At the top you can see many things including the lake in Burnham Park and the shimmering white brick which makes up the cathedral. In the sun the view looked particularly spectacular and it seemed that there were as many people enjoying the terrace as there were the restaurants which were strategically placed out on them.

An hour or so walking around the shops looking at things I wasn't going to buy was more than enough for me, so I headed back to my hotel via a brief stop at Burnham Park to rest my weary legs in the sun. Once it disappeared behind the clouds however, I decided it was time to head back to my room.
I did wander back to the park later, where I made my final stop at some of the food stands to sample some of their delights. I had been eyeing up Satay yesterday, and picked up a couple of sticks along with some cheesy fries followed by an ice cream desert.

I have an early morning tomorrow, and am aiming to have breakfast and get the bus back to Manila all before 8am (whether or not this will be the case, I don't know). I have really enjoyed my stay in Baguio City, and although I stopped in Manila first before coming here, I feel like this has been the first stage of what I hope will be a fruitful adventure.

Onwards next to the southern part of the Philippines and a three night stay in Cebu City...


Roxette
View from a Hill (1988)