I did the unthinkable and went out of town on a long weekend. I normally don’t plan anything on long holidays as the Philippine non-working holidays don’t apply to my work. However, it applies to my friend and I was going crazy being cooped in the house for more than 2 weeks, so I threw caution to the wind and planned a weekend trip to Baguio.
Hailed as the Summer Capital of the Philippines, Baguio City is a cool respite from the sweltering heat of Metro Manila. Perched at 1,500 meters above sea level in the Cordilleras, Baguio enjoys temperature that’s 8°C lower than Manila’s. It’s perfect for a weekend getaway, since it’s just 5 hours away if you drive really fast. The city is also pretty small, so you can see most of its attractions in one day. Many also go to Baguio for the ukay-ukay shopping (thrift store or second hand clothing) as well as for the fresh fruits and vegetables.
This trip pretty much confirmed that I am not suited to be a hardcore backpacker. I do try to keep things cheap, but I also love indulging myself. The bulk of my expenses went into food and souvenirs. If I held off in the shopping, went to more budget friendly eateries and rode the jeep instead of taxis, the total cost would probably be around Php 2,000.
| Baguio April 2010 | |||
| April 9 – 11, 2010 | |||
| Cost | Cost | ||
| (per person) | |||
| Land Transfers | |||
| Victory Liner (A/C) | PHP 870.00 | PHP 870.00 | 1 |
| Taxi to Cubao station | PHP 110.00 | PHP 110.00 | |
| Taxi from Muñoz | PHP 70.00 | PHP 70.00 | |
| Accommodation | |||
| Baguio Transient House | PHP 1,100.00 | PHP 550.00 | 2 |
| Php 550 per room per night | |||
| Transportation | |||
| Taxi within Baguio City | PHP 730.00 | PHP 365.00 | 3 |
| Food Expenses | |||
| Meals, snacks, drinks | PHP 1,500.25 | PHP 1,500.25 | 4 |
| Miscellaneous | |||
| Internet | PHP 200.00 | PHP 200.00 | 5 |
| Toilet | PHP 2.00 | PHP 2.00 | |
| Souvenirs | PHP 950.00 | PHP 950.00 | 6 |
| Map | PHP 60.00 | PHP 60.00 | |
| Total | PHP 4,677.25 | ||
| 1 Victory Liner has buses that leave for Baguio in the Cubao terminal every hour. We rode the 2am bus going up to Baguio and arrived around 8am. | |||
| 2 There are plenty of transient houses in Baguio. Basically, transient houses are like self-service accommodation: no housekeeping, no towels, and you can cook in the communal kitchen (except you have to bring your own utensils and cooking equipment) | |||
| 3 We took the taxi everywhere in Baguio. The fare never went above Php 70, except during our first day when we asked the driver to wait for us while we camwhored at The Manor before taking us to Session Road. | |||
| 4 Ah, food. We do not scrimp on food. | |||
| 5 I had to work on Friday night so I loaded up my friend’s Smart Bro. | |||
| 6 Souvenirs include socks, scarf, magnet, local food products (ube, choco flakes, kalamay) and veggies | |||
Download: Baguio.xls (10k)
This post was last modified on Wednesday, 6 May 2015 06:44
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