Talk about crisp air, cold breeze, green hills and hillocks, sounds so Baguio.

It’s the farthest I’ve been in the Northern part of the Philippines.

Baguio City is famous among local and international tourist for it’s beautiful sceneries, foggy pine forest, and enchanting big old houses. Flowers are abundant, and decades-old trees standing still in the test of time.

Driving through the city, i was fascinated more with the big old mansions and bungalows. The city was established by Americans in 1900 at the site of an Ibaloi village known as Kafagway. This explains why Baguio had these houses built century ago. And what could be more interesting are the stories behind these old domains. Scary might it be but these houses awed me, though you can’t push me to knock at their doors.

Baguio markets have a lot to offer. There is a splendid supply and display of goods and products locally produced. Flashy woven fabrics, fetching beads and fashion accessories to impressive wood carvings, flowers, and fresh vegetables and fruits.

Baguio shirts are great gifts to take home from the trip. Also there are pretty trinkets and key chains for give-aways.Even brooms and broomsticks that cost more than a hundred pesos in Shopwise, you could get it half of the price or even less. Ube jam and pickled fruits and vegetables at the Good Shepherd’s are yummy. They also have pastries.

When we were shopping for souvenir shirts and other stuff at Mines View i was amused with the old women tending my purchases. I told her secretly to just whisper how much my shopping cost so my husband wouldn’t be bothered with the budgeting issue. She spoke to the cashier in their dialect to what, maybe, I had advised her. The only word I was able to catch is ‘asawa’. But anyhow, they were helpful.

Silver jewelries are good buys at Ibay’s Silver Shops. Beautiful pieces of earrings, necklaces, rings, and charm bracelets. And one more thing, after six months (I think, I forgot) you could bring back your purchases and exchange them for something else.

It was storming the last time we went up to Baguio. So we didn’t really get the chance to wander every where. We had hot chocolate at Camp John Hay, passed by Burnham Park, the Botannical Garden and the PMA (Philippine Military Academy) grounds. The big SM-Baguio was also our refuge amidst the bad weather whenever we are too far from where we were staying.

And speaking of refuge, shelter, or a place to stay and dine, Baguio City have hotels to accommodate tourists. They have first class hotels and restaurants along Session Road, Magsaysay Avenue and Abanao Streets. These areas in downtown Baguio lies the business and commercial structures where department stores and shopping centers could be found.

The city, i guess, is one of the busiest in the Philippines. It’s crowded and traffic could be heavy. And warn you, there’s a color coding in Baguio. We got stopped by a traffic enforcer and read us the city ordinance. We talked it out and resolved the issue anyways.

Pine trees and Strawberries comes into my mind when i hear the name Baguio.

** The name of the city is derived from the word “Bagiw” in Ibaloi, the indigeniuos language of the Benguet Region, meaning “Moss”. Baguio is at altitude od approximately 1500m (5100 ft) in the moist tropical pine forest most conducive to the growth of mossy plants and orchids.