What You Should See and Do in Baguio City this Time of Year!

Recto Hall Lawn, Teachers Camp.
Image from World Travel Server

Baguio is not just cool and romantic. It's full of adventures and mysteries and secrets. And yeah, don't forget about food. I remember once going there with two friends and staying in an old school building somewhere on Piko Road in La Trinidad.

What we did during nights was buy our dinner from town and then go back to our room to eat in the middle of an empty, dark and abandoned school campus. The cold wind blew hard, slowly pushing doors and windows in the classrooms around us, making ghostly creaking sounds.

Why didn't we just eat out? It was hard to get a ride home at night. So, instead of running the risk of being unable to go back to the school at night, we decided eat there. So, imagine being all alone there in the whole campus. It was exciting and mysterious.

To me, the best menus in the small-time town eateries are pinapaitan, sauteed sayote leaves, grilled porkchops and igado. But we didn't have them. What we had for dinner was sliced bread and corned beef in cans. Plus bottled water.

I tried this adventure a second time with my family and friends. Again, we stayed in an old building said to be haunted by ghosts. Nope, we didn't go there for ghost hunting. That was too dangerous, although I am experienced in prophetic spiritual warfare. We settled for the old building because the rent was cheap. And we had to keep our expenses within a tight budget.

Baguio City is full of old buildings that were built during the American occupation. Like the cabins and apartments in Teachers Camp, built in 1908 for Thomasite and American teachers, and Camp John Hay, completed by J. Franklin Bell in 1913. The mansions around Wright Park and Mansion House were mostly built in the 1920s or 1930s, probably earlier, and I'm sure they keep some secrets in them worth investigating.

Casa Vallejo was known as Dormitory 4 and served as lodging for the foremen who supervised the construction of Kenon Road. In 1923, it was leased to one named Salvador Vallejo who renovated it into a hotel. Now, that is one hotel I'd like to try the next time I visit Baguio City. I'm sure it has some mysterious secrets to reveal. It's somewhere along Session Road.

And PMA. It was set in Baguio City on September 1, 1908 on Constabulary Hill (formerly, it was in Manila). Now, the place is know as Camp Allen. The school was built in 1914. Later, in 1948, after the country won against the Japanese Imperial Army, PMA was transferred to its present site, Fort Del Pilar. The Philippine Military Academy is know as the oldest military school in Asia.

And of course, there's Brent School, Episcopalian, established in 1909 for Americans.

Yes, do visit the traditional tourists spots in Baguio City, but don't miss seeing the places above if you want to add adventure and mystery into your experience.

Quezon City Tandang Sora Shrine

balita.ph

If you want to see historical places in Quezon City, make sure you put the Tandang Sora Shrine first on your list.

On January 6, 2012, the remains of Melchora Aquino or "Tandang Sora" were transferred from Himlayang Pilipino to the Tandang Sora Shrine on Banlat Road (near Tandang Sora Avenue) in Quezon City. This is the site of her original home during the Spanish regime and it's just a short jeepney ride from my place. In fact, you can walk all the way to it, if you have enough time.

Melchora Aquino is the Mother of the Philippine Revolution for the extraordinary efforts and sacrifices she did to help wounded katipuneros who fought the cruel Spaniards. Some call her the "Grand Woman of the Philippine Revolution," while others, "Mother of Balintawak."

Melchora was born on January 6, 1812 and died on March 2, 1919. Due to her participation in the revolution started by Andres Bonifacio through the Katipunan, Melchora was arrested by the Spanish government and exiled to the Marianas Island in Guam. In 1903, Melchora was brought back to the Philippines by the Americans, another cruel invaders in our history.

I've personally met some grand children of Tandang Sora and they all look humble, kind, patient and reserved. Yet, you can discern the braveness in their hearts when you talk to them or look into their eyes. They won't compromise their principles.

The length of Tandang Sora Avenue extends from Quirino Highway in Baesa to the back of UP Diliman along Katipunan Avenue, going through Commonwealth Avenue which goes to Fairview. Simply tell the driver to drop you off at Banlat Road and take a tricycle there to the Shrine.

I can remember when Banlat Road used to be rural, with rice fields and rustic scenes and houses. Traveling through Tandang Sora was like traveling in the province. Almost all the houses were semi nipa hut and wood and concrete. But today, the place is bustling with commercial establishments and modern subdivisions.

Image from Wikimedia Commons

Enriquez Ancestral House: The Kind of Old House I like to See

Image from The Real Act.

I'm always enthralled by old houses that were built way back the Spanish or American occupation of the Philippines. And one of them is the Enriquez, Ancestral House. This kind of surprises me because I never thought there was a place like this in San Jose, Bulacan. I hadn't heard of a tourist destination in that locality until now.

This house I got to see.

The house was said to have been founded in 1850 and is still inhabited to this day. Boyet Enriquez lives there. He is the grandson of the house owner, Col. Vicente Enriquez, the very aide-de-camp of Gen. Gregorio del Pilar.

“Hangga’t maaari pine-preserve namin dahil dito kami nakatira… mine-maintain namin na hanggang ngayon bahay pa rin siya,” [We live here so we try our best to preserve the house. We maintain it so it may remain a house], Boyet Enriquez said in one interview,

“’Yung mga lumang bahay, pangkaraniwan caretaker na lang ‘yung nandoon. E dito hanggang ngayon dito pa rin kami nakatira,” [Other old houses are occupied by caretakers. We, (descendants of the real owner) still live in this house], Boyet proudly added.

The Enriquez family wants to preserve the original look of the house.

“Kahit wala na kaming makukuhang kahoy na ganu’ng klase, ‘yung pinakasimilar na kahoy ang ipinapalit namin du’n sa mga parteng nasisira para ma-preserve ‘yung pagkaluma niya, yung itsura niya,” [Even if no original wood exists to replace rotten ones, we choose what's very similar to it], Boyet explained.

They have replaced the dilapidated kitchen flooring with a floor slab, according to Boyet. But they made sure it still looked like the original floor. The ante-room is now made part of the living room. Boyet, who himself is an architect, added that in old times they made use of different kinds of woods with different natural colors and textures to probably compensate for the lack of paints. This way, the architecture achieved aesthetics.

An interesting thing about the place is that, some of the documents of Marcelo H. Del Pilar were said to have been found here. That's aside from having historical artifacts and rare antiques. Old things have always fascinated me, helping me imagine how people of long ago lived and moved, taking me back to the time when my grand parents were still young.

The Enriquez Ancestral House obviously needs serious repairs, not just to keep it standing, but most importantly to preserve it, especially how it originally looked. But it looks like the Enriquez family does not receive as much support as they need from the local government to preserve the house. I hope the house doesn't end up like the old houses I saw demolished to give way to commercial establishments, like what I heard they plan to do with the Rizal Coliseum in Manila.

If you want to visit Enriquez Ancestral House and other tourist destinations in Bulacan---and are looking for a nice hotel accommodation to stay in---click the image below.