Ask a traveler where he has been to in Baguio, the answer would definitely include Session Road. If you had the chance to visit Baguio, you would most definitely have walked along Session Road at least once, unless you rarely leave your place of accommodation, of course. I was lucky enough to stay in an inn situated along Session Road itself, so there wouldn’t be any excuse to not explore this most visited section of Baguio City.
Unlike most busy streets in US, Europe and some parts of Asia, Session Road, I noticed has few, if not, no bill boards along the streets. You will, however, find many residents and visitors still enjoying their climb up and down the hilly streets of Session Road. Session Road is the main pathway across Baguio city and it happens to be the city’s main commercial district. This is where you will find establishments ranging from food to fashion and accommodations. A variety of stores, bazaars, restaurants and banks are just a few examples of what you can find on Session Road. As a result, Session Road is often crowded with people, mostly Filipinos coming from the lowlands to enjoy the cool weather in Baguio.
However, the crowds on Session Road could spell trouble especially to tourists as they would mostly like be in possession of more cash compared to locals. I myself, thankfully, never encountered any problems but the warnings you get about pickpockets and handphone snatchers does keep me on alert mode, as it’s better to be safe then sorry I guess. Being in restaurants and shops however, ensures your safety as there are security guards, as weird as it may sound in these places. Going into a mall will get you searched and possibly walking through a metal detector. Walking down Session Road is no doubt, a lot of fun, especially window shopping, looking at different types of people conducting all forms of trades or just simply walking down this lengthy road. It is advisable however, to spend more time walking along Session Road during the night as the pollution is not as bad then.
Well I guess that would be everything, in a nutshell of course, on what you should know about Session Road. I am sure that there are more alleys and lanes that branch out from Session Road ready to be explored so that is exactly what I am going to do now. Session Road, here I come!
By Zeck
Thursday, December 20, 2007
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Assalamualaikom! I am Ms. Nesreen C. AbdulRauf and a Filipino-Muslim. I proudly study Mass Communication in the University of the Philippines (U.P.—up/above J), Cebu City. I, my twin Tasneem and my elder sister Nihal know your Professor Daniel Yeoh. We met in Baguio last Dec 2005.
This would be my first time to comment on a blog ‘coz I really don’t read blogs. For me, blogs are personal experience and subjective write-ups for public reading.
So here goes my violent reaction. Hehe, kidding…
Let me first point out something on the history of my motherland. There was a clash on the roots of the Filipino race but the Filipino anthropologist from UP, F. Landa Jocano, disputes Prof. H. Otley Beyer’s assumption that the Malays migrated to the Phil. and now constitute the largest portion of the population and a have a Malayan culture. She maintains that Filipinos, Indonesians and Malays of Malaysia are the “end results of both the process of evolutions and the later…movements of people. They stand co-equal as groups, without anyone being the dominant group, racially or culturally…” But of course, I know that Philippines is now lagged behind the economic race. I guess I would no longer be living when my country will be in the Second World. Elusive it is.
I have a notion that tourists wrongfully take traveling to another country as if going to Heaven. By this I mean, I sort of feel that when you’re a foreigner, you have high expectations as you are excited about the trip. Hence, you are allergic of observing behaviors or practices you’re not used to see at home and judged as improper or impolite. For me, wherever you go, you always carry with you your ethnocentrisms. It’s certainly inevitable. I have never been overseas and I’d surely love to. But I would primarily want to pilgrim in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. Next is to roam Southeast Asia then Europe and least is America which is loca over the oil of Middle East. I wish Bush would be ambushed. Sorry for the language!
As communication student, I know about issues on the national coverage. Philippines is very heterogeneous or diverse culturally and religiously but the newsrooms are not well constituted accordingly. Majority rules indeed. The advocacy of NORDIS is true and worthy.
Moreover, Baguio is the Summer Capital of the Phil. and thus flocked by locals and foreigners. People in Manila take refuge from pollution to Baguio’s cool climate and they carry with them the pollution. Kidding again… Seriously, yes, air pollution is a dilemma the Baguio government is dealing with.
I haven’t been to Sagada but I saw it in Piolo Pascual and Juday’s movie few years ago.
Speaking of movies, I really love to watch nonwestern films now! I can relate to Bollywood cinema industry esp. on its religious content. I wanna watch Asian movies too. Sir Yeoh lent us a Malaysian teenage, feel-good CD in Baguio. It was about the sport futsal. Liked it!
Do you know that the market in Baguio is the cleanest I’ve been to? The floor is dry. In other cities, mmm, I’d rather let you see it for yourselves.
I noticed that no one mentioned about the Ukay-Ukay in Baguio which is also called UK by Filipinos. Those are imported and most are branded used clothing sold at a minimum price. It’s one of the reasons Baguio is well-visited. Many believe though that those are actually charity to Third World countries but are commercially released.
Shameful it is but all those time I was in Baguio, I haven’t visited UP branch there. How I regret it. I’ve passed by it many times. UP system have many organizations in it. I’m surprised about the clusters in UP Baguio esp. the Legally Blondes. In UP Cebu, everybody knows each other. Everybody’s familiar. I’m not affiliated with any org ‘coz I believe it will only eat a slice of my time pie and anyway, I get along well with anybody. But yes, a UPian and a non UPian can tell if someone is a UPian with the way he/she appears physically: the slippers and a pambahay (home get-up). Of course, since most UPians are middle class or lower middle class and few elites. The grading spectrum in UP is 1.00 being the highest followed by 1.25, 1.5, 1.75, 2.00, 2.25, 2.5, 2.75, 3.00 (passed), 4.00 (conditional failure or incomplete), and 5.00 failed. There are teachers branded as smiling 5 since they are thought to have no mercy and free willingly give a student a 5.00.
I also want to clarify that the manager in McDonalds you mentioned is not accurate with what he said that they don’t serve pork. In fact, I am surprised with many Christians who don’t know that hotdog is pork. Unless, chicken hotdog. There is even a Beef hotdog in the market but when you see the label it enumerates: beef, pork. Astagfirullah! Muslims here in the Philippines, since a minority, are troubled with finding halal. McDonalds and Jollibee serve their spaghetti topped with hotdog slices. There is also a speculation on the gravy. It leaked that it is made of pig’s liver. Funny how others utilize every single part of a pig. Skin is made into a chicharon (crispy snack), blood is cooked into dinuguan, its oil into a lard or cooking oil. Its organs grilled in street eateries. Name it!
Admittedly, I wish I was born in a Muslim country where I am able to practice my religion unconstrained and eat freely but not greedily. J So yes, you are right that you’re lucky for living in a multi-religious country.
There are good values practiced in a jeepney such as the driver relying on the passenger’s honesty to pay in the absence of a konduktor (person in the rear entrance who collects payment and call out waiting commuters in the street). Having a konduktor is not allowed in some cities since it is dangerous for the person to fall from the jeepney. Also, passengers politely ask those near to the driver to pass the fare fee.
I hope you could also witness the Panagbenga (Flower Festival) of Baguio, Sinulog of Cebu and other famous parades of the Philippines. If Malaysia is truly Asia, Mindanao (southern island of the Phil.) is truly Philippines, for me. It was less colonized by the Spaniards, Americans, and Japanese because of the Moro Resistance. Yeah…! J
It was kinda funny about one of you mistaken to be a Filipino, a proof indeed that we have the same roots, to a certain degree.
I understand the feeling of confusion whether it is a complement or not. I and my twin and our youngest Princess Helwa Wafah are mistaken many times in Baguio, Manila and here in Cebu either to be Koreans most of the time and Chinese sometimes. We always answer that we might have a Chinese ancestry in our genealogy.
I’ll never forget that experience in Western Union Money Transfer in the upper Session Road where another old woman client asked how many years we were in the city. I answered in Tagalog, that we’ve been there in less than a year. She then made a loud shocked, amazed reaction. At first, I thought that that woman was insulting us. I thought she thought of us to be dumb and yet to know the language. Finally, she further remarked, “Wow, as short as that and you’re already fluent in Tagalog! You really studied it huh?” Then it became clear to me that she has taken me and my sisters to be Koreans (since Koreans are mushrooming in Manila, Baguio, and Cebu). I clarified that we are Filipino-Muslims and she shrinked and could really not believe it. The staff in the agency was also laughing ‘coz we are their suki (frequent customer or client).
I wish I could visit Malaysia and see Monash University and truly be in Asia!
Wassalam.
nesreen_a07@yahoo.com
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