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| Baguio City |
Even with a little hangover, I forced myself to get up earlier than usual on Christmas day to turn off the fan. It was cold.
I had to get my first cup of Benguet’s finest. And in the middle of my musings over coffee, I must have decided I wanted more of the cool air for twelve hours later, I found myself adjusting my seat on a bus bound for Baguio.
I am not crazy about the city. I have always known it to be merely one that I pass by several times on my way to and from Benguet, Sagada, Banaue, Batad, and Kalinga. Once before, I went on a day trip here with friends, but that was just for coffee and a stroll. This time, it was going to be for coffee, a stroll, food, a bit of photography and an overnight stay, to sleep a bit longer than five hours. These are things that I could do anywhere, but the city's climate spells the difference.
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| Night Market |
Baguio could be a very beautiful city. The air, besides being romantically cool, is fresh. You can take strolls from church, to parks, to coffee shops or museums. Everything is a walk away. And if you are too tired to go on foot, you can take cabs whose drivers do not negotiate for fare or ask for mandatory tips.
However, it is getting a bit cramped. During most of the day, it was difficult to walk along streets and avenues without being stalled by throngs of people going about their ways. Waste and spits need to be managed, especially at the parks. Something needs to be done about the road traffic. And for aesthetic purposes, architecture needs to be improved, but this is not as urgent as the others.
In a few decades, I can see the city dying just like Manila has. It is not hard to see that overcrowdedness is the culprit and I have a feeling that a lot of the problems this city is experiencing are caused by people not originally from the city (tourists and migrants). And of course, by the people in government for the lack of will to make things better in Baguio. But such is the story of most cities in the Philippines. Such is the story of this country.
But, I enjoyed the stroll and the coffee, and it was a joy to see families and friends at the park passing the afternoon.
I chanced upon the
night market, for which an entire street is closed, forcing motorists to take alternate routes. I did not take time to explore what exactly people were doing there crowding the street. There were not a lot of food stands or kiosks like in the banchetto here in Metro Manila to binge on. Most of them were just standing there, as if waiting for life to take a more exciting turn. Or, perhaps, the cold night had frozen all activities.
It will take a long time for me to be convinced to go back there. Baguio, in spite of everything, is still a city to find respite in, but she leaves me empty. I picture a land screaming for help, for temporary relief. Meanwhile, another truck full of mineral water bottles is being unloaded for a convenience store beside the hotel I'm staying, And, a new group of tourists just checked in.
The air is cold.
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In a few decades, I can see the city dying just like Manila has. It is not hard to see that overcrowdedness is the culprit and I have a feeling that a lot of the problems this city is experiencing are caused by people not originally from the city (tourists and migrants). And of course, by the people in government for the lack of will to make things better in Baguio. But such is the story of most cities in the Philippines. Such is the story of this country.
I chanced upon the night market, for which an entire street is closed, forcing motorists to take alternate routes. I did not take time to explore what exactly people were doing there crowding the street. There were not a lot of food stands or kiosks like in the banchetto here in Metro Manila to binge on. Most of them were just standing there, as if waiting for life to take a more exciting turn. Or, perhaps, the cold night had frozen all activities.
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