Tam-awan Village
I asked my aunt, who lived in Baguio most of her life (and certainly the past few decades), how to get there and she hasn't even heard of this place! The huts are authentic Ifugao, trucked in from somewhere authentic I was told. This is a business establishment so they have added some touristy touches like regular tribal dancing exhibitions. It was a treat seeing national artist BenCab do the dancing bit.
A unique (though modern) art form was what one of the artists called "solar painting." At first I thought it was some photochemical reaction using indigenous plants, but somewhat disappointingly, it was wood etching using - get this - a magnifying glass. The wood gives off a nice scent during the etching process. We were amused watching this dancer in tribal costume trying his hand at the solar painting complete with Rayban sunglasses.
Pinsao Proper.
VOCAS (Victor Oteyza Community Art Space)
Right in the heart of downtown is an artist's refuge like no other in the country. I've seen quite a few of these abroad and hopefully more patrons sponsor these things here. The rooftop of one of the buildings was covered with plastic roofing, creating a huge space. A wonderful assortment of art objects were whimsically scattered throughout the place.
VOCAS incorporates a vegetarian bistro called Oh My Gulay! So, the tables and chairs were not just for show. From the name of the restaurant, you just know that the owners brainstormed quite a bit to come up with quirky, humorous names for the dishes. Pasta primadonna (their version of pasta primavera), Anak ng putanesca, Caesar asar. Don't miss the talong parmigiana.
VOCAS is at the top floor of La Azotea Building, Session Rd, across Porta Varga
Bell Church
A nice place similar to the Taoist temple in Cebu. Makes for a unique experience especially if you're of a different religious persuasion. Go through the tourist bit: light some joss sticks, drop those kidney-shaped wooden fortune tellers and see what the future holds for you, then have the nice old man translate the printed stuff about your future. Donations welcome too.
Unless you're very fit, climbing all the way to the top of the temple can take some doing, and will take care of your weekly exercise quota.
Maryknoll Sanctuary
Nice gardens. Consistent with the slightly liberal Maryknoll mindset, there are artifacts scattered throughout the gardens that represent various religions from around the world. There's also a place set aside for an art gallery with rotating exhibits.
Camp Sioco Road, along Marcos highway, just outside city borders.
Asin Hot springs
Like Pansol in Laguna, a number of small resorts have sprung up here to take advantage of the natural hot springs. We only got as far as Palm Grove because of the bad roads beyond it (locals refer to it as Abortion Road, as in you're likely to have a fetus knocked out of you when you're pregnant). The resort itself is like any middle class facility all over the country. But the surrounding mountains will keep reminding you that you're high up in the mountains. The pools are not hot (not cold either) and you have to pay extra to get into the bath houses.
Along the way are dozens of woodcarving shops. If you're into local handicrafts, might as well get yours here. The prices are one-third to one-fourth those in the tourist shops in the city. The woodcarvers are said to come from Ifugao but some of the designs are admittedly modern and sometimes downright foreign and pornographic. It took some doing to get an original design bulol (rice god). Everybody claimed that somebody bought their entire stock the day before. As the next picture shows, the carvings are not your father's barrel man!
Faith-healers
For a really unique experience, why not have a nagging ache (or cancer, for that matter) treated by Baguio's faith/fake-healers. These snake-oil salesmen have really hit it big. One even parlayed his earnings into a political career and got himself elected mayor. They even have a guild of some sort (to screen out the "fake" fake ones!). You're a tourist so it's acceptable to be suckered into this. Just ask around, there's even one in the market.
Slaughterhouse turo-turo
There are a dozen or so carinderia-type eateries around the slaughterhouse in Magsaysay Avenue, adjacent to the bus terminal). The meat is therefore as fresh as can be.
They didn't serve us dog meat (claiming it wasn't available, although it was on the menu), possibly because we weren't locals (they said they think it's banned, wink, wink). We ordered Soup No. 5, bulalo, goat half-half (half grilled meat and half kilawen; I love the name!), igado, dinuguan, twice as much rice as we could eat, and soft drinks.
Total price for 5 pax? Less than P300. Balajadia restaurant has two branches and seems to be the most popular. We then had dessert of coffee, cake and pastry at Forest House in Loakan Rd. Total price for 5 coffees and a couple of cakes? About P1,000, or more than three times what we paid for lunch! Talk about an unbalanced budget.Cemetery of Negativism
Have you been to this corner (or rather hillside) of Camp John Hay? Apparently, one of the previous camp commanders wanted to concentrate on the positive, so he "buried" the world's negativisms, as he refers to them. Sounds more like excuses and regrets to me. There's Letz Studyit, who had a delayed birth and late maturity, and another named Just Kant Shakit, who died of passivity, and Knot a TeemPlaer, who was born a star, lived a meteor and died in flames. Many of the tombs have animal sculptures on top of the tombstones, so this place is popularly called the Pet Cemetery.
Couple this visit with a tour of the Bell House, or CJH Museum.Bliss Cafe
This vegetarian restaurant is run by a couple who has embraced the Buddhist lifestyle. Not only is the food healthy, but more importantly, downright tasty. And the ambience couldn't be beat: just sitting down and soaking in the place is as relaxing as being in a spa. Art works (including some by Chin-Chin Gutierrez) are scattered throughout, including the toilet.
Eat and have a zen-like experience. Leonard Wood Rd inside Munsayac Inn.
