Baguio City, the City of Pines. Whenever we want to relax, we always think of a place cool and breezy. A place where we can bond with nature and try life's simpleness. The Summer Capital of the Philippines always served as my fourth home. Well the second is Kalinga and third is Tarlac. Many colleagues and relatives reside here mainly to study or for residency.
Just last November, I decided to unwind in Baguio. It took me 5 to 6 hours before I reached Victory Liner terminal in Engineer's. I noticed that I was already in Baguio when they turned off the AC in the bus. Stepping down from the bus, I started to chill as I light a cigarette. Thus, the first thing I found was a "taho" vendor which helped me survive the chill.
The second day, as I started to meet some high school friends at one of the most famous place in Baguio, The Burnham Park. From there SM Baguio was framed perfectly for a photograph to start my vacation.
The temperature was not that cold anymore but sweats are still impossible to come out from my forehead.
While waiting, a familiar sound started to catch my attention as a "taho" vendor came from our back.
What's different from the "taho" from the bus station? It's strawberry flavored and it actually has a strawberry in it. Yum yum!!! its a better food to fill a hungry stomach and a body that'll have a good sight seeing around the city.
Well, eating it with some old friends made it sweeter...
from left to right: Rhea Salucon, Ever Bangelan and Juveren Mendoza
The black ribbon stained with blood are floating on different social sites and networking portals. Its part of the sadness brought to us by the recent event in Mindanao. The country is mourning for the brutal killings that happened in Maguindanao. A number of individual murdered, raped and tortured mercilessly. They were family members of Vice Mayor Mangudadatu which will file candidacy for gubernatorial race for 2010 election and some are media men which will witness the filing.
Now that everybody is mourning, we should also shout for JUSTICE to what happened. As Mindanao is one of the most enticing island of the Philippines, we should knock on the government official's door for an immediate action to resolve the growing conflict in the Southern part of the Philippines.
JUSTICE FOR THE MANGUDADATUs, JUSTICE FOR THE JOURNALIST, JUSTICE FOR MGUINDANAO...
With todays flooding news of nature related issues such as global warming and deforestation, its enlightening to know that somehow, the smallest towns in the Philippines are still striving to preserve the beauty of nature despite the abundance and the peomise of wealth, they opted to protect and live with nature.
Considered as a 3rd class municipality, Balbalan in the province of Kalinga remains to be a nature lover and learn to live with nature.
With the rapid development happening in the province including the cityhood of its capital Tabuk, the Kalngas make sure that the province remains as it is for they value the gift of nature and he nature as a whole.
Situated within the heart of Northern Luzon, Balbalan is one of the coldest place in Kalinga. It is East of Abra and would take almost 10 hours via bus from Manila to the province's capital, Tabuk City. Local jeepneys would take you to this enchanting place for about three hours passing through different towns plus the promise that sceneries will be breathtaking. Thus as an advice, it would be great to try "topload", or riding on top of the jeepney for a more exciting trip. This would also enable tourist to enjoy a bird's eye view catch of the sceneries.
Balbalan remains to be one of the top preserver of nature as they still have around 90% virgin forest of different trees and plants. These greens are living alongside with locals at Balbalasang National Park. Its a hectare of virgin forest which is shared by the town with Abra. However, news said that the half of the forest in Abra was already damaged due to illegal logging and kaingin. The rest of the forest are preserved by the local government, NGOs and the residents of the place.
Balbalan, also offers great rapids for its visitors. It offers a good adventure as the local tourism office encourage visitors to try their White River Rafting at the Saltan River. It is the river connected with Chico which is more famous in the province. The adventure in Saltan is hype though because of the rapids and the stone formations alongside the adventure.
Balbalan also offers historical sites for if you visit the old schools in the town, you will notice old American architecture and their library offers old American textbooks, some of which are dated 15th century. This proves that education in the area is not that impossible. To prove this, almost all locals are not that fluent in Filipino but you can fluently speak to them in English.
The locals in Balbalan are quite hospitable when I had my visit. They actually offered there houses as a temporary residence for my group, though a local hostelis located near the municipal hall. We were given foods and coffee wherever we go. If in Manila, a visitor is offered with a soda, they actually offer hot brewed coffee even if its noon. When you go to there kitchen, the aroma of coffee is stuck in every inch of their wall as it adds texture to every sip you make.
Another famous delicacy in this area are "dekots" or "malagkit" in FIlipino. They were actually the local "tikoy". "Butong" or "Pinasuy", are their famous dishes. These are actually foods or any dish with chills, and its a lot of chilis. Their dishes are accompanied with their "bagas" or the rice which is organic. They serve the famous brown rice which they harvest from their "uma" or farm. The best of which they are all organic.
With regards to wine, the Kalingas won't be the last on my list for they had one of the best alcoholic beverage I ever tasted. A glass of "basi"(sugarcane wine) or "tapoy" (rice wine). It has this sweet and bold taste that you would love. Maybe the way they do it is the secret ingredient, for they actually ferment it for more than a year and kept buried in an antique jar.
Another best thing in the place is their climate. Its warm in the morning and cold at night. The place also is a bit strange for having electricity from 6:00 in the evening until 10:00 only. Networks such as Smart and Globe is not a problem however when midnight comes, they are all gone. But its always best to spend the evening camping alongside the river watching fireflies play on a giant Pine Tree.
Balbalan, offers not only these things, but side trips such as Buaya Cave and Mt. Calvary can be arranged with your tourist guide. Its always best to go to Balbalan on summer when roads are not slippery. Contacting the local tourism office of he province is also a must for they will arrange your guides upon arriving.
If you are a nature lover and loves adventure, Balbalan is a perfect place for you. Your tight budget won't be a problem, the most expensive on my trip to Balbalan is the fare but it all pays off after seeing a majestic paradise hidden up north...
And, if you happen to catch the yearly Summer camp, you'll also enjoy the cultural presentations...
I have missed the idea of blurting out the things that you can't really say personally. I have been through life's joyrides and accompanied the travel with some adventures. Now that I am starting a new life, a new world and new responsibilities, I will be showing the world the things that I will be doing.
Its been a year since the last time I wrote a blog and its a closure for something that gave my life's little story a big twist. Now, it will be a new interesting stories that might help you on your next journey.
Well I won't make this too long as this will be the first entry on my page, let it also be an opening letter to whoever will read this.
