28 December 2007

When I was holidaying in Baguio, I was offered an accommodation in a Pastor’s house in Asia-Pacific Theological Seminary (APTS).

The guarded gate of APTS

The steep slope in APTS only allow jeeps to fetch the passengers down, but not up.

This is the house of a Malaysian Pastor which I stayed in for 3 nights when I was in Baguio.

I found out from the Pastor that it costs about USD400 a month to rent this place. That’s pretty expensive you know?

Apart from that, I am sure the mountain view from the APTS will certainly illustrate the costly rent. Take a good look at the picture below now.

Isn’t this beautiful?

Baguio is situated in the mountains (similiar to our nation’s Cameron Highlands) but Baguio is super heavy-populated with 700,000 people.

This picture is taken from Mines View.

Mines View is a tourist spot where most tourists will capture good shots of Baguio city at the Mountains.
Not only that, Mines View is a fabulous shopping haven if you’re looking for souvenirs. This is where I bought most of my keychains and Baguio printed T-shirts.

It was supposed to be a sunset shot, but it failed to be.

Instead, I have managed to capture more parts of Baguio in this lovely evening weather from the SM shopping mall.

Honestly, I really embraced this kind of picturesque and scenic view in Baguio. I just loved it.

You would see an early sunset in Baguio in December. It was only 5:30pm when I captured this shot.
By 6pm, darkness would have conquered the skies of Philippines.

Another shot of mountain view taken about a few kilometres from the APTS.

I can’t stop falling in love with the mountains!!

Enough of mountains and valleys. Let me bring you to the streets in Baguio.

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As you can see, the houses on the left side of this picture is called ‘Honeymoon’, while the houses in the middle is called ‘Marriage’. Then on the left, it is called ‘Holy Ghost’.

I seriously have no idea why in the world they would name the housing areas with such funny titles.

Imagine this, “Hi, which part of Baguio do you stay in?” “Oh, I stay in the ‘Holy Ghost’!”

Taking a closer shot of Honeymoon.

Zooming into Holy Ghost.

These houses remind me of the settlement in Ringlet of Cameron Highlands.
Don’t they resemble each other?

I had to climb out from Baguio Assembly City Church’s window in order to take closer shots of Honeymoon and Holy Ghost.

Don’t worry, it’s safe to be on the roof. I am not that heavy to roll down from that old roof! Heehee!

These are Jeepneys.

Jeepneys are somewhat like our mini buses in KL.
You just get on to the Jeepney and pay about 7.50Pesos (RM0.62) for a ride.
Jeepneys are found everywhere in the Philippines, not just in Baguio.

Session Road is the main road of Baguio City.
This picture is taken at the central part of Session Road.

To me, Filipinos are well-mannered and they are very friendly as compared to the other Asians.
At least, they are humble in terms of addressing each other.
They will at least address you as Ma’m or Sir in each sentence.

SM is found in most cities of Philippines. It is like Tesco being found in most cities in Malaysia.

In Baguio, SM is the heart of shopping. You can find almost everything in SM Baguio.
In fact, I shopped like mad because it’s cheap to shop here!!

Apart from shopping, Baguio is a city of education too.
You can find a lot of colleges and universities in Baguio itself.

This is the University of Cordillera, lighted up with Christmas decors by evening.

Jerwin, this is where you are studying right?

Pastor Victor used to study in Saint Louis University.

And lastly…

You do not simply look for toilets in Baguio or anywhere in the Philippines.The Filipinos think that it’s rude to say toilets.

They rename it as “CR” – Clean Comfort Room. So, when you are looking for a toilet, please do ask for “CR” or “Restrooms”.

You would be seeking comfort in CR, I assume.