Friendly reminders before your Baguio Panagbenga trip

No doubt, Philippines is very rich in culture and celebrating fiesta in different regions is one evidence how significant this kind of celebration is. Through festivals, people will know the value of diversity and been able to accept all customs and traditions not only domestically but all over the world. One of the best representations of a happy festival in the Philippines is the Panagbenga or Flower festival held annually in the province of Baguio. The Flower Festival adopted the local Kankana-ey name “Panagbenga” which literally means “A season of Blossoming, A Time for Flowering.” It is usually a one month celebration every February with different activities, while grand parade happens every last week of the love month.

We have been to Baguio several times, but we never got a chance to experience their very colorful festival not until this February 2013 that got us the break to witness Panagbenga. Undoubtedly, Baguio’s flower festival is really a wonderful and happy experience especially for first timers. However, having experienced all the thrill and fuss, there are several learning experience and tips I would like to share to future Panagbenga travelers that might help them with their future planning.   

Panagbenga festival event tips

•     Book your Hotel as early as January

Panagbenga is a huge and famous celebration so expect that flock of people will go to Baguio to witness this colorful festival. Make sure that you have an advance reservation to your preferred hotel as most accommodation in Baguio becomes fully – booked as early as January.

•        Pick the hotel near the routes where the parade will pass by

Since we are not that choosy in hotel accommodation, we picked La Brea Inn as our choice of stay for 3 days in Baguio. We chose La Brea Inn since it has a very nice location near several food establishments (Army Navy, Mcdonalds, KFC, Chowking, Jollibee, ChicBoy) in Session road where the grand street parade and fluvial float pass by.  Aside from being so affordable (1700/night/room for 4) they also have balcony window on 4^th and 5^th floor where you can view the parade. La brea inn also offers clean and complete room amenities with free wifi connection and great customer service.  

La Brea Inn contact numbers : 0917-6087800 / 0923-2800395 (It's better to call them for fast response)

•        Book ahead your roundtrip tickets to Baguio

Expect flock of people on bus terminals especially after the festival so to avoid being a chance passenger, make sure you already have your reserved round trip tickets. The most famous bus line to Baguio is the Victory liner that offers you a hassle – free online reservation.  Usually, they accept reservations a month before the Panagbenga festival schedule. You don’t need to go to their terminal just to buy your roundtrip tickets; all you just need is visit their reservation site:  http://www.victoryliner.com/reservations/,your debit card or deposit the payment to Metrobank and they will send your reserved tickets via courier.

•        Travel light

When travelling, it is advisable to travel light so you will end up having lots of space for pasalubong, haha. Kidding aside, it is important when packing your things to have your list on what to bring so you will not forget anything you need. It is also helpful to ask the hotel if they will offer free use of towel and free toiletries to lessen your load.

•      Be an early bird during the parade

Both Panagbenga grand parades start at 8 in the morning and people already reserving good spots as early as 6 in the morning. As I have mentioned, you need to get a hotel with good location where the parade will pass by because it will lessen your time to walk from your preferred hotel to a good spot since all roads are closed during the parade. Since we checked in at La Brea Inn along Session road, it’s very convenient for us to go just downstairs and reserved a good spot in front of the hotel. During the street parade we reserved a sitting area around 6am while during the Grand flower float people were already taking a good spot as early as 5 in the morning.

•        Have your breakfast or bring some snacks

Since it’s a long wait, it is important to have your breakfast first so you have enough energy throughout the parade. Alternatively, you can bring your own snack or baon that you can eat while waiting for the parade. There are also lots of vendors selling street foods everywhere including sack or paper that can be your sit cover on your reserved area. 

•        Jam-packed food establishments

You must expect that after the parade everyone is rooting to have a good lunch at restaurants & fast food chain. As much as possible eat your lunch early or quite late as food stalls in SM Baguio and Session road are all full.  

•        Expect long walks and heavy traffic

Since all roads are closed during and after the parade, be prepared to walk for some kilometers either on going to SM or nearby tourist spots. You must also bring with you some patience as roads are full with vehicles that cause heavy traffic.

•        Don’t stay late at the Mansion and other tourists spots.

If ever having a side trip after the parade, make sure that you won’t stay late because you will have difficulties in getting public transportation as all FX services are full with passengers. Better yet rent the FX for a two-way ride with an additional charges.

Panagbenga festival is one of a kind flower festival you shouldn’t miss. You will be amazed on how locals dedicated themselves in making beautiful costumes and energetic dance moves. Your eyes will feast on different colorful costumes of every participant that’s really worth witnessing. The Grand Floral Parade was really refreshing and colorful. It was well attended, and included dignitaries such as Mayor, foreign delegations from Korea, Canada, Japan and local artists. (Bong Revilla & Indio cast; Robin Padilla & Kailangan Ko'y Ikaw Cast, Daniel Matsunaga, Shamcey Supsup, and Gary Valeciano. It’s really worth seeing festival in Baguio City, so colorful, so enjoyable and so amazing

A word of advice about the unseen things.

Every year, our group B4life embarks to different journeys across the country, we've seen a lot of places and met different people from isolated regions. Philippines has a vast folklore stories and myths that have been told by the early Filipino ancestors and even in modern times, these timeless stories still bring goosebumps to those who believe in it specially among every Filipino children. Maybe the Filipino cuture is way different from western countries but at some point, even the greatest and brightest writers claim that such phenomenal events and unexplained things are interrelated and somehow affects the culture and mindset of the people. So far, we have noticed that in each places we visit, there are untold stories, terror and mysteries awaiting to be seen. I aint gifted to see those who cannot be seen by ordinary people, but our group is composed of discreet members who have the so called "extra sensory perception" (ESP) At first I was skeptical, how do they manage to feel what the others dont, One of our group member claims that the places we've visited before were haunted, It was so alarming but its part of the travel. The other member has the power to feel the presence, same as the others except me. As far as I can remember, Rhemy ( a group member) have told us in many occassions that there are other forms of spirits and demons lurking and watching our steps very patiently, Hmmm... most likely ghosts and other forms of spirits do it, but not all are harmful, some belongs to the light while the others are freelancers just trying to scare people away. There are also malign spirits that belong to the darkness of the underworld which are abnormally high in some places.They cause demonic possesion and eventually death when things come to worse, but fortunately we've never experienced such enormous spiritual battle against the darkness. If you should ever pay a visit to a place which is very uncommon or unknown, do not forget to call and ask guidance and protection from the Lord, mark my word, it saved us a lot of times not just from evil but also when we travel at sea. Always pay respect to the places you visit, you may not know but some jungles and islands have mythical guardians too, and lastly stay closer as much as possible with your travel buddies. Avoid having arguements with the locals, I'm not saying that we should give way to the local people even though they're wrong but if there's a reason to assert our rights, I think it is sane to do so. Because even the most ordinary people we see sometimes disguise to fool happy travelers. Before the month of May ends, Id like to say that it has been a wonderful summer for our group because we never experienced terrible moments but good memories to share that will definitely last a lifetime.

Exploring Baguio City

Baguio City is known to be the Philippine’s Summer Capital that tourists don’t fail to visit during warmest season in the year.  The city is located in the Northern region of Philippines and surrounded by mountains. According to its history, the arrival of the Americans in the early 1900s spurred development in the City. The American Governor Luke E. Wright commissioned Architect Daniel H. Burnham, (named after Burnham Park) a prominent Urban Planner to develop a plan for a health resort where the American soldiers and civilian employees could find respite from the sweltering lowland heat. This plan, better known as the Burnham Plan greatly altered the original mountain settlement and provided the first physical framework plan for the City. It paved the way for rapid physical development, the undertones of which are still visible up this date.

Baguio can be reached via 6 to 8 hours bus ride. There’s lot of bus liner that travels to Baguio City but the nearest bus station from the airport is the Victory Liner Bus in Pasay. They also have branch in Cubao where we always hop in every time we have a vacation in the city. The bus leaves every hour and they have air-conditioned/deluxe buses going to Baguio City. You can check their site here for other destination routes, schedules and fares. Other buses that travel to Baguio are *Dangwa Tranco, *Dagupan Bus, *Times Transit, *Marcitas Liner, *Viron Bus and *Four-H Bus. 

There are lots of beautiful and nice accommodations in Baguio City, from expensive first class to cheap and decent accommodation like transient houses. But it is advisable to book ahead at least a month before your travel schedule especially during peak season (summer, Christmas, holidays, Panagbenga festival) due to flock of visitors that arrived in the City. Here are some of the hotels where you can stay from 1^st class to budget hotel:

·         Microtel Inn& Suites near Victory Liner station    +6374 6193333

·         Hotel Veniz                                                     +63 74 446 0700, +63 74 4460702

·         Camp John Hay Manor Hotel                             +63 74 4427902 - 7908

·         Concorde Hotel                                               +63 74 4432056, +63 74 4425078

·         El Cielito Inn                                                   +63 74 442 8743, +63 74443 4846

·         City Lights (where we stay during our last visit) +63 74 4428080, +632 2463513

·         BaguioCountry Club                                         +6374 4425060

·        Venus ParkviewHotel                                        +63 744 425 597,

 

·         Benguet Prime Hotel                                        +63 74 442 7066, +63 74442 8363

·         Burnhamhotel                                                  +6374 4422331, +6374 442511

·         Forest inn                                                        +63 74 443 8436

But if you’re in a budget there are other options like transient houses. These are known to some back pack travelers where you occupy a room/bed-space or the whole house. Staying at transient houses is cheaper and may only 250 to 500 pesos per head per night. When you choose transient houses for your accommodation while in Baguio, make sure that the house is not isolated and located near light posts and always remember your safety. 

Must-see Places in Baguio (can be reach via public jeepney, cab or fx. Don’t worry taxis in Baguio City are cheapm, costs 30 pesos for flag down rate during our last visit)

·         Burnham Park

·         Wright Park

·         Session road

·         Mines view Park

·         Strawberry farm in La Trinidad Benguet

·         Philippine Military Academy

·         Camp John Hay

·         Baguio Botanical Garden

·         The Mansion

·         Baguio Cathedral

·         Lourdes Grotto

·         SM Baguio

Must try:

 

·         Good Shepherd Ube jam located near mines view   park

·         Lengua de gato

·         Peanut brittle

          Strawberry Taho

·         Fresh strawberry/jam

·         Horseback riding in Wright Park

          Biking at Burnham park

·         Climb 200 steps to Lourdes Grotto

·         Teacher’s Camp

Our group is so in love with this place that we tend to go back if we have chance. We so love the climate, the place itself and the food. The last time we’re here was last summer of 2009 and we really enjoyed our stay. Baguio is really the place for people who just started traveling because it’s so accessible. Hope everyone can drop by to this wonderful province of cool climate and pine trees.

<3<3<3 Admin Aey <3<3<3