My husband had work that kept him in Baguio since early in the year, and when April came around, carrying with it the dry, intense heat and the sweltering sweat of summer in the city, we decided we should treat the kids (and ourselves, really) to a trip up north. Unfortunately, the hubs was already in the Cordilleras and I was going to have to drive our 2 daughters plus the nannies by myself. Which I had never done before.
Don’t get me wrong, I was so excited! I scoured blogs for activities in Pine City that would interest any children below 5 years old. I had asked foodie friends about the best places and dishes to eat while we were there (Don Henrico’s taco salad, Vizcos’ strawberry shortcake, Cafe Adriana by the Hill Station’s, um, everything). BUT. I was not thrilled to be the driver for the trip.
So anyway, what was a sleep deprived mother to do? We didn’t really have much of a choice since we wanted the kids to go with us and taking the bus was really out of the question. On to the first part of our travel prep! For any trip that covers a bit of a distance, make sure your vehicle is up to the task. Safety first! I brought our gently-driven sedan to the manufacturer for its regular kilometer check-up before we hit the road. I also made sure all of the tires were still in good condition and that the gas tank was full.
I’ve read some blogs on driving to Baguio and some even had video tutorials for which streets or exits were less busy compared to others. There were articles that tackled the drive and the story of the city. Some said they were able to get there in three hours or even less. We left Quezon City at 5:40am and got to Baguio around 9:30am. Not bad for a first time, long-distance driver. But this was also the travel time if you choose not to stop anywhere. Tip: Get down from your vehicle at NLEx for the nice restos and coffee chops. Learn from my mistake! The kids fell asleep in the car and I didn’t want to wake them during a pit stop along NLEx. They woke up when we were already on TPLEx and guess what? There was nothing. Just long stretches of highway and small towns that had those little eateries for the adventurous backpacker. Not exactly kid-friendly places by the highway here. It’ll be when you reach Baguio that you’ll see the familiar restaurants and by then, you’re butt will be complaining!
The route I ended up taking was different from the ones I had read about in blogs. I took the Urdaneta exit instead of Binalonan. Why? Binalonan was outnumbered. I had hooked up to Waze during the drive and that was the recommended route. I also asked the guy at the toll on SLEx which exit would he suggest for Baguio and he said, “Urdaneta”. So Urdaneta-2, Binalonan- 1.
There were plenty of road signs leading to Baguio, which was very reassuring. Driving was smooth and easy pretty much throughout the trip. When we got to Kennon road, at the foot of Kennon the road drastically narrows and there were many vehicles lined up so traffic was slow-moving. The zigzags were also a bit intimidating because at times the rock face seemed be jutting out at sharp angles. In any case, zigzag road + two lane highway = you’re not expected to be driving like a lunatic. I loved the view of Kennon, it’s like you’re closed off from the rest of the world because of the looming mountain, the gigantic boulders and the lush greenery that embraces you. A scattering of houses and electric lines haphazardly crossing vast spaces of varying heights depicted a harsh way of life but I couldn’t help but admire those people who could live isolated on the face of an unstable mountain.
There were some areas of Kennon where they have nets in sections of the mountain. Those stories you hear of landslides burying people on their way up? Yup. It is a brutal reality which is why you should always be alert when you travel this way.
The Lion’s head when you get to Kennon is apparently a big deal. The brightly painted yellow sculpture looked so different from the one I remember when I visited the city as a kid. This place is also the start of really bad traffic in Baguio, there were so many tourists coming down from their vehicles so they could have their pictures taken with the massive figure. The area next to the Lion’s head had been transformed into a market that carried all sorts of souvenirs from the city. From food to household items to native costumes, they pretty much have it all there.
The streets of Baguio itself can be very confusing. There were so many roundabouts, bisecting streets, little shortcuts, and even road work that, to someone who stayed in the small city for close to a week, I still had to resort to Waze every single time we went out.
It’s still a charming city, even if it is packed with tourists. At least now it isn’t as difficult to get to this place as before, then again maybe that explains the number of tourists!
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