Baguio Backpackers: Ben Cab Museum

For a more relaxing activity, try visiting Ben Cab museum!

Admission to the museum
General: Php 100
Student: Php 80

How to get there? Below is the map from BenCab. If you plan to commute, hire a cab. I don't think there are a lot of taxis passing by that area without a passenger.

Tip: When you plan to hire a cab, group the places that are near each other so you can take your time and not rush.

You can also take a jeep to Asin road from the jeepney terminal near Baguio market.

There's not much to say but... visit the place! It's really interesting. If you enjoy looking at artworks and paintings, or you want some quiet time, you should check it out.

Tin seemed to have enjoyed going around the museum, playing around with the statues:

"Whistle Blower" by Orley Ypon
Oil on canvas, 24x36in

I, too, played around with the statues:

But the paintings really fascinated me:

"Back Side" by BenCab
Acrylic on canvas, 2014, 32x24in

"Chinamoy" by Cawaon Cablog

"Huwag Mo Damdamin Ang Mga Bagay Dahil Ang
Bagay Walang Damdamin" by Lynyrd Paras

Some of the other paintings I liked:

" Sleepwell" by Yao Sampana
Oil on canvas, 2014, 24x36in

"Nowhere" by Olan Ventura
Acrylic on canvas, 2014, 36x24in

"Benguet Houses" by stevesantos
Water color on paper, 2010, 55 x 76 cms

It was about lunch time when we finished going around the museum so we decided to grab a bite at Cafe Sabel.We had Chicken Pesto Panini and Hungarian Sausage Pasta.

The cafe was pretty cozy. It was quaint and colorful, with a couple of paintings on the wall.

Lemongrass Iced Tea (Php 70)
Chicken Pesto Panini (Php 100)

Honestly, I don't know much about Benedicto Cabrera (Ben Cab). There was one thing I was curious about: Who is Sabel in Ben Cab's life? There were paintings of her or were named after her, the restaurant was named Cafe Sabel, it made me wonder who she was. His wife, his first love, his only love, his inspiration... his muse? Found the answer here.

[In 1964] Observes and sketches from his window in Bambang a bag lady/madwoman/scavenger named Sabel. To him she is a symbol of dislocation, despair& isolation – the personification of human dignity threatened by circumstances. Undergoing numerous transformations over the coming years, she becomes a landmark for every stylistic painting transition.

During his first solo exhibit of oil and acrylic paintings at Indigo Gallery in Mabini in 1966, he introduced the character of Sabel.

#cultured

I'm definitely going back to check out the Farm and Garden.

Baguio Backpackers: Strawberry Farm in La Trinidad, Benguet

I must say, this is one of the highlights of our trip. It was actually my first time to go to the Strawberry Farm in La Trinidad, Benguet. Even though most of the cab drivers we had during our trip asked if we plan to go to La Presa Farms, which is now famous because of "Forevermore" on ABS-CBN, we still chose to go pick strawberries!

Baguio Buddies: Jenny, Tin, Nini

How to get there? From Burnham Park, it takes 15-30 minutes (15 minutes per Google Maps, but then again, you will be crossing mountains).  We rented a taxi for half a day. Per hour, they charged us Php 300.

When's the best time to go? Be there as early as 8am. Since it is quite far, it's better to start your day early. It's still popular with tourists since they can pick and buy, not just fresh strawberries, but also vegetables like cabbage, lettuce, string beans.

You know you're in La Trinidad when there are trucks full of green leafy vegetables passing by.

And you know you're in the strawberry farm when there are lots of ice cream and taho vendors offering their products in strawberry flavor.

The market. There are many stalls outside the Strawberry Farm. It's actually similar to Mines View Park but with fruit and vegetable stands. You can buy pasalubong in La Trinidad as they also have delicacies such as strawberry jam, lengua, crinkles, just to name a few. Didn't check the prices anymore since I was done with pasalubong shopping.

Some items that can only be found in La Trinidad are strawberry-designed pouch (which I got 3 for Php 50) and bonnet, Ilocos blankets (which my friend bought at Php 160, I think).

The farm. Every plot has a different vegetable planted on it. We didn't know where to go but we just walked to where the people are.

To get started, just ask around if they are open for strawberry picking.  The first place we asked charged us Php 500/kilo. We went further into the field and found one that charged a little less at Php 450/kilo. The trick in picking strawberries is cutting somewhere in the middle of the stem.   Don't remove the crown as this will expose the inside of the strawberry.

Unfortunately, there was not much to pick.

Hi kuya!

Buying strawberries. There are types of strawberries to choose from: big or small, will last for 3 days or 7 days. Be careful where to buy your berries. Wag magpadala sa sales talk. Ask if YOU can choose the strawberries you wish to buy. Sellers tend to just grab and get whatever strawberry is easy to get from their pile.

We got the strawberries for Php 250/kilo.

Our trip to La Trinidad would have been sulit if we had our own car. We would have picked not only strawberries but also vegetables. We would have gone crazy shopping for souvenirs, even walis, from the surrounding market.

Here we go Baguio!

For the first of my many adventures this 2015, I decided to go to Baguio with my friends.

It was the perfect place because:

1. The weather was cold, and living in a tropical country, we always want to be somewhere much cooler.
2. We get to enjoy the place while everyone's in Manila with the Pope (or so we thought)
3. It will be my best friend's first time to go there! Which adds to the fun of it because we get to see the tourist spots again, in a different light.

To be honest, I have little memory of the times I was there with my family so going there with my friends felt like it was my first time to be there too!

First backpacking trip ever, though!

Before getting into our itinerary, here are some tips on planning your trip to Baguio:

1. Plan it during off season. I know the whole point of going there is to experience the cold December breeze, which happens to be the peak season. However, I must warn you that it may not be a relaxing vacation if you are there during the Christmas holiday. Traffic congestion, crowded restaurants and tourist spots.
   
   
2. If you want to risk it, plan well. If you want to go to different places in Baguio, it's better to have it all planned out, rather than get stuck in traffic most of the time in your stay there. Baguio can be divided into 3-4 areas, depending on where you want to go. For example, our itinerary involved going to these places:
• Camp John Hay - Treetop Adventure, The Historical Core, shopping in the outlet stores and food trip
• Mines View Park, Good Shepherd, The Mansion and Wright Park
• Burnham Park, Session Road food trip and thrift shopping along Harrison Road
• La Trinidad Strawberry farm and BenCab Museum
  
  

3. Get tickets as soon as you reach Baguio, especially when it's peak season. You might not get home in time for work or school. At least if you get the bus tickets early, you have a better chance of getting the time and seat you want.
   
   
4. Do not be afraid to talk to the cab drivers, be-friend them even! If you are unsure about your plans during the trip, getting tips from the drivers would help. You never know you may even get a discount for when you ask them to drive you around for half a day or so.
   
   
5. Bring a lot of friends! The more the merrier, isn't it? And everything will be much cheaper cos you get to share expenses.
   
6. When all else fails, enjoy the cool breeze, surrounding nature and the thought of being far away from civilization even just for a few days.

Those are just a few tips off the top of my head. Don't worry, there's a lot more to my Baguio backpacking adventure:

Bellhouse in Camp John Hay

Strawberry Farm Picking in La Trinidad

National Artist, Benedicto Cabrera' museum

Food trip in Baguio!

Much love,

Nini

It's Almost Summertime!

And it’s time to plan those beach trips with your family and friends! Everybody knows why it’s good to plan this early, but if in case you don’t:

1. To take advantage of those early bird promos for airfares, if you want to go somewhere far from Metro Manila (e.g. Boracay, Cebu);
2. Of course you gotta reserve as early as possible because it’s peak season for beach resorts in the months of March-May, so you've got a lot of competition in reserving; and
3. You’ll have something to look forward to while you’re stressed at work or even in school! :D

May I suggest a beach trip, not so far from Manila? That is – BATANGAS!

It’s just a car ride away from Manila where you can find lots of resorts with still beautiful beaches. Last year, I went to three different resorts in Batangas: Balai Isabel, La Luz and Stilts. I haven’t told you about our Stilts daytrip, so here goes:

May 2012, my barkada and I went to our first beach trip ever at Stilts Calatagan Beach Resort. It was roughly a 3-hour ride from Alabang (left at around 6am and got there at 9am), but when you’re with your friends, you won’t feel like it was a long trip. 

Sab, Eunice and the sleeping Lorenzo

Someone recommended this resort to us and after seeing the pictures on their Facebook and website, we were convinced (and excited) to go there!

Upon entering, it looked like a ranch because of the vast lands before you get to the parking and front desk.

Before entering the secret garden of Stilts :>

From there, we had to walk a bit. And when we got to the beach...

Blue and beautiful... BLU-TIFUL! Haha!

Them boats for snorkeling :)

Very open and spacious. It's actually perfect for big events like weddings or team building seminars for orgs or companies. When we were there, there was actually a scheduled event.

There's a lot to see and do in Stilts!

Mini playground: For the kids to play or where kids at heart like us can hang out.

Inspirational quotes on trees: A nice read while strolling along the sand.

More quotes in the cottage area.

Lovely flowers: Adding color to your beach experience.

SOBRANG GANDA lang talaga, okay! Haha

Duyan :)

Swimming Pool: When you just feel like swimming in chlorine.

Enjoying the pool before setting out sea! (Photo by Klar)

We played with Trixy's underwater camera before going out for snorkeling! Employees told us that  they were going to close the pool at around 11:30am, so we went here first.

Snorkeling: Take the time to enjoy the beautiful corals underwater :D

Snorkeling! (Photo by Lianne)

Beautiful corals (Photo by Trixy)

The kuya's who went there with us were very friendly.

I had a hard time snorkeling. It was my first time, actually. I struggled to swim and snorkel with the life vest on but if I removed it, I might have drowned haha but I would love to do it again after seeing the photos my friend took of the corals :D after a while at sea, I felt kinda dizzy, though.

Other than snorkeling, you can also go out kayaking... In the waters, of course, unlike these two: (haha!)

(Photo from Lianne)

Cottages: Rooms by the sea.

I think I even saw someone dive out of the cottage :))

 

Wouldn't it be nice to wake up at the sound of the splashing seawater? This is one thing I loved about the resort. We only planned a day trip so we didn't get a chance to spend the night in one of these lovely cottages. Check out the rates here!

"So awesome. Right?"

Sand and Seashore: Playing dirty then getting wet and wild :))

Making sandcastles.

Our mermaid friend. (Photo by Klar)

That hut by the shore we claimed ours.

The exploration team.
Just looking around, hoping to see.. oysters?

 Clean Bathrooms and Shower: A MUST, anywhere we go!

It's all just wooden walls and doors, and a cemented floor, but it's clean, and that's all that matters.

Delicious and Refreshing Food: Enjoy halo-halo and mais con yelo, among others, on a hot summer day!

We also ordered fish and pizza for lunch and it was really good!

*~*~*~*

We really had a nice time at Stilts! It's a very beautiful resort! After reminiscing like this, I wish I can go there again. Maybe someday. For now, I wanna visit other beach resorts in the Philippines!

So, where are you planning to go this summer? :D

If you haven't decided where to go this summer, why don't you go to Stilts?

For more details, check out their website.
Like them on Facebook!