Baguio City memories

I first went to Baguio City in June 1989. I was going there to study. To ease my anxiety, my dear mother accompanied me during that trip.

We took a bus and the trip was pretty amazing. It was my first time to experience Kennon Road. It was my first time to experience the marvelous zigzag road. On one side of the road are mountains adorned with thin, cascading waterfalls. On another side, is a mighty river.

Arriving at the city, it was my first time to see rows and rows of pine trees, heavy with pine cones. It was my first time to see houses on the side of hills. It was my first tim to see and feel fog in the middle of the day.

It was my first time to walk along Session Road, and to see a few taxi cabs and passenger jeepneys darting back and forth the uncrowded road.

It was my first time to see the flowers blooming in Burnham Park.

I remember having a throbbing headache perhaps because of the zigzag road and the 5-hour trip. But breathing Baguio’s cool, soothing air helped ease the headaches.

Fast-forward to the present. I can no longer remember how many times I have traveled to Baguio. I have been there with friends, I have driven my family there on vacation, and have gone back to my beloved UP Baguio on a reunion.

Things might have changed, and the traffic might have gotten from bad to worse along Session Road.

But my fascination with the City of Pines will not fade and I am hoping to return to Baguio soon.

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Postscripts: To the North via SEAIR

Good to know that just this April, Southeast Asian Airlines (SEAIR) has launched direct round-trip flights between Manila and San Fernando, La Union. SEAIR thus has become the first leisure airline to serve the route from Manila to San Fernando through the newly upgraded San Fernando Airport .

The one-hour flights are scheduled Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. SEAIR passengers can also avail of complimentary land transfers from San Fernando to Baguio City and back. Baguio is the economic and tourism center of the Cordilleras and is popular for its vibrant city, beautiful mountain sceneries and cool weather all year round.

This is definitely good news for travelers not wanting to take the 5-hour land trip from Manila to Baguio.