Finding bliss in Baguio
Baguio City, about 250 kilometers north of the Philippine capital, is a favorite travel destination regardless if it’s for a family summer vacation or a quick weekend getaway, thanks to the convenience of transportation to and fro the city, its perennial cool weather, and the affordable cost of living.
My father’s cousins live in Baguio so our summer breaks as a family were often spent in the so-called City of Pines. I can still vividly recall waking up in our relative’s abode in my knit sweater, with the distinct scent of nature permeating the morning air, in awe of how the fog obscures what I make to be a lovely view of the city skyline from their terrace.
Today, the streets are more crowded, trees felled down to make way for commercial establishments, and the Baguio scent and fog have been shrouded with pollution. Progress comes with a price, and usually, the currency is compromise.
The Baguio that more than once gave me a sense of wonder in my youth has developed so much it no longer matches my remembrance of the city.
Yet, all the things we love about the city stays: Taxi drivers are still honest down to the last centavo; Good Shepherd’s ube (purple yam) and strawberry jams are still worth queuing for hours for; and nature is still as welcoming and soothing.
While I am not enthralled to be visiting Baguio as an adult — due mostly to my belief that it was better years ago than it is today — my recent week-long trip afforded me newfound delights in the city I thought I knew too well.
I stayed at the Bliss Home Stay, owned by fellow Plum Village Philippines sangha member, Jim Ward.
On my first day, Jim welcomed me with afternoon tea, as we talked about our lives. By dinnertime, Jim, his partner Mia, and my fellow house guest Bea, and I shared a delicious, homemade Thai-inspired vegetarian curry. I was in the company of strangers, but the warmth I felt was incomparable.
When I travelled up north days ahead of my college friends’ scheduled trip, one of my closest friends, David, asked why. “Magninilay-nilay ka dun, ano?” (I bet you’ll be contemplating there, won’t you?)
I’m not sure if I ever responded to what seemed like a rhetorical question. Of course, I needed a recharge. Being away from where the thick of things happen, even for a short while, to find my solace is unbridled pleasure.
I found myself walking around the Baguio Botanical Garden on my birthday, and I was content. That was the respite I needed.
Then, again, I visited the same garden as well as other tourist spots when my college friends finally arrived in the city.
^ From left: At the Diplomat Hotel, BenCab Museum, then La Monet Hotel.
Photos from David Toledo
The true reason for going up north that week though is my college best friend’s wedding. Via and Ralph have been together for five years. Like any relationship, they had their share of challenges both as two individuals and as one unit, but they kept trudging along the path to their union. (I feel so invested in their relationship, you’ll actually find me crying and swooning in their wedding video. Haha!)
I was witness to how their relationship grew through the years, and I’m happy to have been granted that access to some private details of their lives.
^ Last night of singlehood
before they become Mr. and Mrs. Rumbines
Photo from David Toledo
^ Photos snatched from Michelangelo Photography
One lesson I learned from them was from a casual conversation I had with Ralph sometime even before their wedding day. He said the years don’t count in a relationship — there are couples who have been together far longer than the Sweetie Patooties, Via and Ralph’s pet names, yet are breaking up before they even tie the knot. “That’s because what matters is for two individuals to be looking at the same direction,” Ralph tells me.
All one has to do is look at the lovely couple and see love. They found their bliss. •
My father’s cousins live in Baguio so our summer breaks as a family were often spent in the so-called City of Pines. I can still vividly recall waking up in our relative’s abode in my knit sweater, with the distinct scent of nature permeating the morning air, in awe of how the fog obscures what I make to be a lovely view of the city skyline from their terrace.
Today, the streets are more crowded, trees felled down to make way for commercial establishments, and the Baguio scent and fog have been shrouded with pollution. Progress comes with a price, and usually, the currency is compromise.
The Baguio that more than once gave me a sense of wonder in my youth has developed so much it no longer matches my remembrance of the city.
Yet, all the things we love about the city stays: Taxi drivers are still honest down to the last centavo; Good Shepherd’s ube (purple yam) and strawberry jams are still worth queuing for hours for; and nature is still as welcoming and soothing.
While I am not enthralled to be visiting Baguio as an adult — due mostly to my belief that it was better years ago than it is today — my recent week-long trip afforded me newfound delights in the city I thought I knew too well.
I stayed at the Bliss Home Stay, owned by fellow Plum Village Philippines sangha member, Jim Ward.
On my first day, Jim welcomed me with afternoon tea, as we talked about our lives. By dinnertime, Jim, his partner Mia, and my fellow house guest Bea, and I shared a delicious, homemade Thai-inspired vegetarian curry. I was in the company of strangers, but the warmth I felt was incomparable.
When I travelled up north days ahead of my college friends’ scheduled trip, one of my closest friends, David, asked why. “Magninilay-nilay ka dun, ano?” (I bet you’ll be contemplating there, won’t you?)
I’m not sure if I ever responded to what seemed like a rhetorical question. Of course, I needed a recharge. Being away from where the thick of things happen, even for a short while, to find my solace is unbridled pleasure.
I found myself walking around the Baguio Botanical Garden on my birthday, and I was content. That was the respite I needed.
Then, again, I visited the same garden as well as other tourist spots when my college friends finally arrived in the city.
Photos from David Toledo
The true reason for going up north that week though is my college best friend’s wedding. Via and Ralph have been together for five years. Like any relationship, they had their share of challenges both as two individuals and as one unit, but they kept trudging along the path to their union. (I feel so invested in their relationship, you’ll actually find me crying and swooning in their wedding video. Haha!)
I was witness to how their relationship grew through the years, and I’m happy to have been granted that access to some private details of their lives.
^ Last night of singlehood
before they become Mr. and Mrs. Rumbines
Photo from David Toledo
^ Photos snatched from Michelangelo Photography
One lesson I learned from them was from a casual conversation I had with Ralph sometime even before their wedding day. He said the years don’t count in a relationship — there are couples who have been together far longer than the Sweetie Patooties, Via and Ralph’s pet names, yet are breaking up before they even tie the knot. “That’s because what matters is for two individuals to be looking at the same direction,” Ralph tells me.
All one has to do is look at the lovely couple and see love. They found their bliss. •