Hotel Supreme Baguio

... misses involving our bus and on coming traffic. Filipino drivers use the opposite side of the road to Australian drivers.
It was 5:00 a.m. in the morning, when we finally reached the outer suburbs of Manila. We were another hour just sitting at a traffic round about, and that added more frustration to this leg of our southbound Journey. This and not to mention the fact, that I still needed to find and use a toilet. The inner city ...

... s* bus,k*y* n*gvideoke k*me..*h*h*..
After 20 minutes n* bi*he, n*s* BOHOL BEE FARM n* k*mi. M*y semin*r p* k*ming n*tend*n n*glecture si* ng life sp*n ng bubuyog, p*no sil* n*g*w* ng honey, tungkol s* queen bee, p*no n*gk*k*ron ng queen bee, un! Ung BEE RESTAURANT nil*, l*h*t m*y honey. l*h*t herb*l.. fennel, dill le*f, c*ss*v*.. bumili ng m*k*s*ys*y*ng HONEY SPREAD n* p*g pin*p*k mo, p*r* k* ng kum*in ng br*so de mercedes n* c*ke.g*nun k*s*r*p. Ung GARDEN SALAD nil*..sbr ...

... by an oncoming vehicle seconds later. But I was at the back and I couln't see if there were near misses. I just enjoyed the air conditioning, and by the end of the ride the heat rash around my elbows was gone. Getting into San Fernando La Union by six o'clock made trying to find a resort nearby a bit too much to ask with darkness fast approaching. My pick for accomodation was less than 50 meters from where the bus let me off. I dropped P 500 ($12.50) for a fan-cooled room and ...

Finally at the end of our trip. Baguio is a very mountainous place in the Philippines. It used to be called "The City of Pines" because of several pine forests, but most of those are now gone due to many people living in Baguio. It used to get very cold (enough to see your breath in the mornings), but it doesn't get that cold anymore because of all the people. It's still cooler than the low lands, so it's now called "The Summer Capital of the Philippines".

... Baguio ist eine Urlaubsstadt in den Bergen fuer die Einwohner Manilas (um der Hitze im Sommer zu entfliehen), ist aber nicht besonders sehenswert. Habe dort zu Mittag gegessen und bin dann in einen Bus nach Norden an der Kueste entlang (die man aber nur selten sieht) nach Vigan gefahren, die letzte erhaltene koloniale Stadt der Philippinen. An der Kueste war ...

... The man that murdered Julia has turned himself in and we all know that proper justice will be served. While this will not bring back Julia's life it will hopefully continue to provide closure and an opportunity to move on from this tragic event. I have managed to stay quite busy since Julia's memorial service in Manila. The week following her service I co-facilitated a three day youth leadership camp with fellow PCV's in Baguio City. The name of the camp ...

... absolutly amazing scenery. Our bus hugged the side of the road as we travelled through the mountains. It was the type of journey where you actually don't want to get off the bus because the scenery has been amazing. We did have a hairy moment where we saw the bridge we were due to cross, over a huge ravene and the bridge consist of a wide metal sheet (no side rails) just wide enough for the bus. I did the only thing ...

... get to know the locals here the all too many problems facing this country and my community come to life. From entire communities without water sources, teenage pregnancy rates (due to improper or lack of education about contraceptives), and the fact that the majority of the educated and skilled Filipinos go abroad for work, leaving the country with poverty stricken farmers (especially in my region, Benguet is in the top five ...

... officer, I spent the morning in the Mayor's office chatting with the office staff and just spending time with the locals. After eating lunch with my host family we went to look at our family farm. It was a beautiful drive and even more spectacular hike, the trail lined with pine trees and fresh air, a welcomed change from Manila. We did not go all the way to the farm, it is about a 45 min. hike, but looked at it form a distance. There are three ...

... surely hate to come to an end.

I thought it would take many years before I'd get the chance to revisit Baguio; it turned out to be sooner than I expected. Recently, some friends, who were attending a convention in the city, invited me to be with them. Although cash-strapped, I gleefully packed my stuff and joined them, lured by the prospect of seeing anew the cold mountain city that had me at first sight.

From ...