Day 7: Back to Baguio

At 6:30am, the elite group boarded the bus from Sagada back to Baguio. It was time to say goodbye to fresh air and Echo Valley, hot tour guides and very affordable weaving products.

Although Feeza thought that the journey back was terrible and when we reached Baguio the dust was worst than Sagada, deep in all of us we had the same four words as Feeza.

“I miss Sagada already.”

Back in Session Road, Baguio, Aron was contented.

“Finally I ate a fine Chinese meal at Chow King! (Spicy Fried Rice with siomai)”

For Pooi Yarn, having Spicy Wanton Noodle Soup for the first time since arriving in the Philippines really made her miss home.

Jasmine Chew indulged in the FTV (Fashion TV) Channel and shopping at SM Mall. Meanwhile, some of the others shopped at the local market.

Maxine and Zeck loved the market. “A shopaholic’s paradise! Better learn to bargain and bargain fast!” Maxine’s bargaining skills could be heard from a couple of stores down the alley. “There are so many things to buy at the market and I’m into indigenous stuff so it’s a perfect place for me to go!” says Zeck displaying a new collection or so every day or two.

After a long search, Linda even found the Balisong knife she had been looking for! However, Max Tan has a piece of advice for all travelers here:

Max: “It’s dangerous to shop in Baguio. There are many imitation goods.”

Some people: …

…went for night entertainment at night...

For Grace and Jojo, it was their first time seeing male strippers.

“Interesting…” Grace definitely saw much more than she counted on.

Jojo spent her 21st birthday there. She felt the guys-in-underwear were “so close to her”.

That same night, Susan thought she was at the Baguio Zoo. “I felt really bad for the male dancers because they danced to us like caged animals.”

Meanwhile, our Cultural Director gave her thoughts about their performance standard. “I think some of the male entertainers are really hot! I admire their flexibility and their dancing moves!”

Erica interacted with the entertainers there for the inside stories. “I was surprised to find that the male entertainers are straight and most of them are single parents.”

What does 1300-13-1300 taste like in Baguio?

“Not as good as Malaysia.” It was Shu Yi’s first time trying McDonalds in the Philippines. The primary reason being the lack in variety.

“I tried Jollibee and the sauce for the spaghetti tasted like sambal!” Melissa, our chaperone identified Malaysian tastes in the food. For me, spaghetti would no longer be limited to just what we normally eat as the typically Italian dish..

Prof. Daniel didn’t really mind where he ate.

“I had dinner with Baguio friends whom I hadn’t seen in one and a half years!” The anticipated reunion was the highlight of his day.

For Alia and Temme, satisfying the lowest level in Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs had never felt better.

“Yesterday night was the best slept I had since I arrived!” Alia is not shy to proclaim her immense interest in, sleep.

Temme slept for 12 hours straight. “It felt good to finally sleep for a long long time!”

A good night’s sleep only left us eager to embrace the new day ahead. I couldn’t wait!

By Mindy