A Year Out From Chyna’s Passing And I Still Miss Her Dearly. Here’s A Comic I Made About Her. (you

A year out from Chyna’s passing and I still miss her dearly. Here’s a comic I made about her. (you can buy a physical copy from my gumroad)

A rookie wanderer's guide of travelling: Baguio version.

There were the chills that everyone wants to experience when people went in that place because of their extreme wanderlust.

This young wanderer was a High School freshman when the woman’s mind decided to set foot in Baguio for the first time. The details of the event are fuzzy now, but it was for the school’s annual field trip. That was just a few steps to feel the “Baguio experience” then, which was something the wanderer’s friends and the wanderer itself had been working hard to achieve. To ensure that the wanderer would be joining the trip, the woman had to work a little harder. The wanderer’s classmates did not know it then — the woman’s classmates thought that every penny the wanderer had for that trip was given — but the wanderer had to earn it by working for the woman’s grandmother every weekends.

That was the woman’s earliest memory of Baguio City. Even now that the city has undergone a lot of changes and more cool, rustic towns have become accessible, the wanderer still find a bus bound for Baguio again and again. It is hard to forget something that left such a magical first impression. The wanderer means that, there were the chilly breeze and thick fogs every night.

Baguio was built as a hill station in 1900, at the start of the American Colonial Period. That’s why the names of many of the key landmarks sound western or American. Burnham Park was named after Architect Daniel Burnham, who planned the city; Wright Park after Governor-General Luke Edward Wright; Camp John Hay after John Milton Hay, who was President Roosevelt’s Secretary of State; and Bell House after General J. Franklin Bell. The Mansion, one of the city’s most recognizable buildings, was constructed to serve as the official residence of the Governor General.

Today, Baguio is the biggest city and the economic center of the Cordillera region. Despite being a resort city, it is highly urbanized, home to almost 350,000 residents, many of which are from surrounding towns and provinces who moved to the city for work or studies. It is this cooler attitude that makes Baguio a magnet for tourists trying to escape the searing heat of the lowlands, especially in the summer.

Baguio looks easy and simple on the map, but it is a lot more complicated in reality. But picture it this way: At the very center of the city is Burnham Park. Many of the key places of interest are located somewhere around it. Most key roads is somehow directly connected to it. Even jeepney terminals are easily accessible from the park.

Hence, if it is your first time and the people wants to see the key attractions in the city, pick a place that is located near Burnham Park. It does not have to be directly across the park. Even hotels that are just a short walk away will do. This area will be the most convenient.

But if the people to seek some peace of mind and not there to go sightseeing, choose a hotel that is located away from Burnham Park and a little bit isolated from all the busyness. Baguio, after all, is still a bona fide urban hub, with lots of buildings and vehicles and people.

Baguio is almost synonymous with strawberries, but the most visited strawberry farm is actually in La Trinidad, thirty minutes away. Here, the people will find plots of strawberries alongside vegetables and flowers. The travellers can buy strawberries there for P250-P300 per kilo. If the people wants to pick the berries by their selves, prepare to shell out additional P200.

Lying along the farm is a pasalubong center made up of several souvenir stores. If the people gets hungry, try the strawberry ice cream and strawberry taho!

Most probably, Burnham Park is Baguio’s most well-known attraction. When the people see it on the map, it does not look much, but in reality, it is huge. With in the expanses are the several smaller places of interest. The Melvin Jones Grandstand is the most visible, but if the tourists walk around, the people will also see the Children’s Playground and the Orchidarium, among others.

There is also a lot of activities to enjoy here, mostly catering to families. The travellers can rent a swan boat so those people can paddle along Burnham Lagoon or the tourists can rent a bike or go kart and ride around the park. Another popular tourist spot is Mines View Park, so called because it overlooks the gold and copper mines of Itogon town below. The view point is also a fantastic spot to watch the sunrise. Unlike Burnham Park, the place can get crowded because the area is not that spacious. The tourists and travellers can also find a lot of souvenir stores around.

A short walk from Wright Park is the Mansion. Built in 1908, the Mansion served as the official residence of the US Governor-General in the Philippines. Today, it is the official summer palace of the President in the Philippines. Right across the Mansion is a long pond, the far end of which is a favorite photo spot. Situated between Wright Park and Teachers’ Camp along Leonard Wood Road, the Baguio Botanical Garden is another popular destination in the city. It’s a great place to relax and surround yourself with the trees without going too far from the city center. This is also pretty vast, so expect a bit of walking.

The wanderer wants to tell more places to travel in Baguio. But, the woman also wants the readers to not spoil everything that the woman experienced in there. The wanderer explained that, it is still a different feeling when someone is telling the people about their own escapade via social media, personal talks and etcetera versus when those people experienced the same feeling that their friends or acquaintances are gushing about. And lastly, the wanderer can not wait to travel to another place to share an another page of a beginner’s guide to travelling.

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r3v0lver-ocei0t

4 years ago