Hello everyone! DarwinTheExplorer here!

I would like to welcome every Steemians here to my very first official travel blog. And for the debut of my travel story, let me take you to Baguio City, the Summer Capital of the Philippines. So sit back, relax and hope everyone will enjoy.

To travel is to live. This, I think best describe my experience as a traveller. WOLO or we only live once. We must enjoy our life to the fullest. And to be able to explore different places is one way to fully live this beautiful life.

Let's start!

Last February 2017, a friend of mine invited for a Manila trip. She said we will go on a side trip to Baguio after Manila. When I heard about the Baguio adventure, I was excited obviously because Baguio is in everyone's bucketlist especially for Filipino traveller. I just paid a one way trip from Cebu to Manila. I spent P2000 for the one way trip. Yeah it was expensive since I booked the flight a week before our trip.

When we arrived at NAIA Terminal 2, we were picked up by a friend who's in Manila. In fact, we did not have any problem with the transportation there. We toured around Cavite and Batangas using his car. Thanks to him, we have our own car service. After a day of roaming around the metro, it is our time to visit Baguio City.

Disclaimer: I can't give details on the bus fare from Manila to Baguio.

Baguio City is about 250 km from Manila. You can take a bus ride or better to have your own vehicle. Luckily for us, we have one. From Manila, we passed NLEX and SCTEX both are expressways going to the north. As far as I know, there are two main roads going to Baguio, Marcos Highway and Kennon Road. The former has a wider roads but takes a longer time than the latter. Obviously, we chose Kennon Road. And after more than 3 hours, we passed the first landmark of the city, the Lion's Head. Situated along Kennon Road, this symbol stands 40 ft (12 m) and has been the city's icon for more than 40 years now.

If you're in Baguio, this should be in your must-visit list, Burnham Park. This nature park was designed by Daniel Burnham who is also the namesake of the park. It is a huge park with a lot of attractions to visit. One of the attractions is the Burnham Lagoon where you can rent a pedal boat for P150/hour and can carry up to 3 people, even 4 depends on the size of the boat. It was fun! I have never seen such a wonderful lagoon in my life. I think my first.

Baguio City is one amazing place where culture meets nature. It is evident in their green sceneries such as Baguio Botanical Garden, Camp John Hay, The Mansion, Mines View Park, etc. If you wish to explore these places, you can take a public jeepney or a taxi. But I would suggest to hire a van for a whole day tour.

Baguio Botanical Garden

Camp John Hay

When we went there last year, the temperature was at below 10°C (so cold 🤒). I guess it is a requirement for every houses to have heaters in their shower room. In fact, SM Baguio, a popular shopping center in the metro does not have any air conditioners installed.

Pine trees can be seen all over the place. In fact, it is home to different species of plants and trees. Definitely, Baguio City has a lot of wonderful attractions to offer. This place is worth a return.

Oops! The strawberry?! I will continue this story in my next blog.

That's it for now. This is DarwinTheExplorer temporarily signing off.