Let me write about a time when me and my friends each needed badly an escape, and we all found ourselves in one of my favorite places in the Philippines, Baguio City.
Looking at our photos, and remembering vividly our individual states of being at that point in time, I can somehow figure what each of us was going through.
Fate somehow gathered us together to spend some time away from the hustle-and-bustle, and just enjoy the chilly breeze of hilly Baguio. No planned itineraries, no urge to be tourists, no particular spots we wanted to re-visit. Just a time away from our stressful lives.
THE GATHERING
It was in January 2018, a week after we buried our good friend Nico 😦 , me and five of my close friends from Elbi (uni) agreed to catch Baguio at its coldest. Me, Zen, and Tope (who flew straight from Singapore), were the first to leave Manila, followed by Ed and Tys, and then Jap.
We were aiming for an evening trip to arrive in Baguio in the wee hours of the morning, but we realized we were too early in the bus terminal. We later found ourselves killing time via taking a nap for couple of hours in the nearest motel — yes, we received judgmental stares from the receptionist, as we suspiciously looked like a curious case of ménage-à-trois.
Upon arrival, we immediately headed to the famed Session Road, where we had breakfast at Pizza Volante.
Actually, I remembered it was too early for our check-in time, so we decided to eat first.
Since the rest of the gang won’t be arriving until past lunch, the trio decided to first have another quick nap.
We met Ed and Tys during lunch in a fine restaurant — Hill Station at Casa Vallejo.
The food here was superb, btw. And the ambience was perfect.
THE “ALCOHOL” MARATHON
Our overnight trip turned out to be a drinking marathon, not that we were surprised. All we know in the beginning is that Ed wanted us to go to a “dirty inuman*“, which we initially thought was a place to do nasty nasty things. We did not give much thought about it and just tried to enjoy our brief escape.
Little did we know that it will be a full-blown drinking weekend — we will find ourselves later filling our bodily cavities with alcohol from Saturday afternoon until the break of dawn the following day.
*inuman = drinking place
We kicked off our alcohol marathon during lunch when suddenly Ed ordered a bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon. The waitress did not budge and just gave us a nervous smile. After a few minutes, Ed jokingly barked at the lady, “Oh, you think we were kidding? Get us that wine A.S.A.P.!”
We then went to our second stop, Cafe Zola, where we waited for our last member, Jap.
The ambience was a bit different. It was vibrant, with lively music and hip lighting and upholstery, which caters more the younger crowd.
I didn’t have much photos of the rest of the night, which tells me when my tipsiness started to creep in.
We actually ended up in Ed’s “dirty inuman“, which funnily turned out to be just a (dirty) dingy drinking place, and not the less wholesome place we imagined (read: NO scantily-clad performers dancing onstage).
Ed was right, though. It was a fun place because the food and alcohol were cheap, PLUS, there was a karaoke machine for everyone to enjoy. And you know how we Filipinos love our karaoke sessions. It is extra challenging to let go of the mic once it is in our hands.
We ended up ordering alcohol to our hearts content that we still had a couple large bottles of beer even after the dirty inuman staff closed the bar, with us still inside merrily singing.
After ushering ourselves out, we found ourselves auto-piloting to a convenience store nearby and grabbed even more alcohol from the shelves. Then we went back to our abode only to find out that a big bottle of Absolut Apeach (that Tope brought from Singapore) waiting for us.
So the night of drinking, joking, singing, flirting(?) continued.
We finished when the first rays of the sun appeared signaling us that it is already bedtime. (lol)
THE PHOTOSHOOT
Another plan Ed was concocting was a photoshoot with the theme “Abroad” — we will wear outfits and shoot in locations that would make it look like we’re overseas. The goal was to post photos on social media of us wearing Spring or Autumn attires, and not tag a location so that our circle of friends will wonder where we were.
It did not quite happen as planned because, you guessed it right, we were too hungover the morning after to actually get up and go to the desired locations in Baguio.
We, however, ended up still wearing our warm outfits, but only managed to take photos in Burnham Park. Hrmmm… Objective not quite achieved, but still fun enough.
Enjoy some of our shots below. Ed was directing us, while he and Zen were the ones mainly taking the shots. Ed was also editing some of the photos.
It was definitely a memory worth immortalizing. An escape we all needed. At a perfect time when we were each too broken to function in our daily lives. And at a place that couldn’t have been more perfect – chilly, with alcohol hot-spots, with good food, and a 5-hour drive away from the noise that is Manila.
Baguio is <3.
Hope to see you again soon, Baguio.
A video snip of us, singing “Ngayon o Bukas Man” by Kartoon Chemistry, one of our favorite Elbi anthems – this was right outside the convenience store, after we stepped out of the dirty inuman.
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