Many of us came prepared for cool temperatures and we were disappointed to find the heat to be much worse than in KL. But only later in Baguio did we find the cooler mountainous temperature we were looking for, and it’s very similar to that of Cameron Highlands.
The bulk of the first day was mostly covered by traveling across the countryside and up towards the Cordillera region of Baguio. We saw lush greens, vendors selling their wares by the roadsides, narrow rivers, poorly kept houses, messy roads with all means of transportation littering the roads from jeepneys (remnant of the American occupation in the Philippines), to buses, cars and tricycles.
Vendors here have a daring bravado as they would stride onto buses with passengers to sell their wares and insist on selling, even when the passengers have already decline. Though most of us could see that making a living here is not an easy thing even though the cost of living doesn’t seem too high a price to pay.
The language barrier was frustrating at first as the people we were mostly in communication with, the vendors, would look blankly at us when we went ‘How much?’ or ‘What is this?’ But at the least, most of them spoke some basic English and we got by just fine.
Curving roads, misty air, purple sky and an orangey sunset would be the words I’d use to describe the road we finally took to go up the mountains after a 4 plus hour bus ride on normal roads. Not to mention the extremely audacious bus driver who drove the bend of the mountain like as if it was a road he could drive with his eyes blindfolded. Our bodies swayed and moved along with the dancing bus bringing us through a tango of sorts.
We ended the night with a fairly good meal at a pub with a live band. Though most of us were already tired beyond belief at the day long travel, many of us sat through the loud live music and enjoyed a decent meal to satisfy our tummies.
One thing of interest to note as we flew in is the lava-like design on the ground that could only be lava, remnant from a nearby volcano (I think). Definitely something for us to investigate as we travel around and ask, whether a living volcano still survives in this region of the Philippines?
Tomorrow seems to carry the promise of a new day, a day where we learn about the Cordillera Region, indigenous issues from the CPA and a feel of the Muslim religion here in Baguio would come into play.
Editor-in-chief
Shu Yi
For more photos from Day 1, head over here.
Why don't you ask the volcano himself? I'm sure that if he's living, he would answer appropriately :>
ReplyDeletewhat would the volcano do, fiks?
ReplyDeletespurt lava in response?
Well, if he's a male volcano... :>
ReplyDeleteDay1
ReplyDeleteHi, I’m Tas a Filipina and a student in the University of the Philippines (UP) Cebu City. It’s nice to read your experiences in Baguio which is one of my favorite cities here in the country. Yes the journey to Baguio is not that fun because the ‘road is dancing’ but you also have to remember that Baguio is situated on the mountainous or upland part of the country so that’s the reason why the road is not that smooth and easy and also that’s why Baguio has a cool temperature compared to the usual warm temperature experienced by most Filipinos located in other regions. Oh, you mentioned the feel of Muslim religion in Baguio well that’s a good observation because although Christians are majority in the Philippine population, Muslims are not minority but in fact well-spread around the country. Anyway Marawi City which is located in Mindanao and where Muslims are concentrated is also called as the ‘Baguio of the South’ because of its cool temperature. It’s also a nice place to visit where you guys could surely eat halal foods.
Meanwhile, I would like to disagree about your remark that “making a living here is not an easy thing even though the cost of living doesn’t seem too high a price to pay” because the truth is ‘making a living’ is not easy in any part of the world whether the cost of living is high or low. ‘Making a living’ is different from ‘earning a living’ in a way that the former means a person is gaining through self-employment while the latter receive income because he/she has paid work (employed by another person/firm/govt). So it implies that a person relying on self-employment does not have a formal and regular work and regular income and consequently less able to afford the cost of living whether high or low in comparison to an employed person. Poverty is a fact and it exists both in 1st and 3rd world countries The poor is in a situation where it is both hard to ‘earn a living’ and ‘make a living’ but there are surely diverse ways to survive, to live, and make it through each day. I guess what is important is that even though poverty is pressing hard on our brothers and sisters, we could appreciate that they still try to gain income in a laborious yet decent way.
I hope you guys had unforgettable good memories on you trip to Baguio and that you were able to experience Filipino hospitality. Malaysians are always welcome to visit and explore the Philippines as we live in the ‘one sharing and caring community of ASEAN’.
*If you want to reply about my comment just send it to my email at tca2007baps@yahoo.com. : )
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.
ReplyDeleteThis 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