Baguio City Tour: Day Two

Mines View Park

On our second day, we left our pension house in DPS Compound at around 0830H. We rode a jeepney going to Burnham Park and from there we waited for a Mines View jeepney to pass by. Getting off right infront of the entrance of the entrance, our tour starts. This is the park where you would see a lot of souvenir items and I think the prices are reasonable enough. I bought all my souvenir from this place. Things to do in the area are pictures, pictures and pictures!

the view why people are going here for

right at the entrance

The Mansion - Wright Park

These two landmarks are situated right infront of each other. We rode again a jeepney going here from the entrance of Mines View Park; just ask the barker to be sure it will pass by the area, fares are just minimum. 

the gates of the Mansion; free entrance!

scenic view of Wright Park without the parked vehicles

on the other side, you may hire guided horses for a ride

Botanical Garden

Nothing much to see here now since they are still rehabilitating the park but if you want to complete all the landmarks of the city plus there's no entrance fee, it's just a hefty 10-15mins walk from Wright Park. Just do a research first on how to get there using a map; it's not a straight path that you would be taking.

this old lady dressed in tribal costume immediately made her way toward us and asking for a price, tsk!

BenCab Museum

From the Botanical Garden, we took our lunch first at Glen's 50s Diner. It's just one jeepney ride plying the route of Burnham Park from the outside (minimum fare). Then from the diner, we rode a jeep going to Burnham Park then within the vicinity of the town proper, we asked people on where is the terminal for Asin. BenCab Museum is about 5-10mins walk from the jeepney terminal in Barangay Asin. The museum is very neat and organized; all of us were amused from what we saw inside. They have this ecological tour downstairs but due to time constraint, we were unable to do that. They also have a cafe in the area!

3 Days / 2 Nights Baguio City Itinerary

Baguio City Tour: Day One

Philippine Military Academy (PMA)

Before eight in the morning, we left our pension house in DPS Compound (walking distance from Victory Liner Terminal). From the main road, we took a taxi going to PMA compound. In just about 20mins we were already at PMA's gate but was not allowed to enter since we are wearing slippers. There are stalls outside the gates that sells rubber soles which are enough to let you through the mighty guards. For the ladies they costs Php50 while for men it's Php150. From the gate, we just waited for a jeep to arrive. Only Php8 fare up to the parade grounds, which is also the jeep's turn-about point. 

I think this is their main hall

 

you may watch the cadets parade and march for free!

 

PMA Museum: just Php10 entrance fee

 Camp John Hay

From PMA, we waited again for a jeep at its turn-about point. This same jeep goes back to the city proper and will pass by Camp John Hay entrance gates (fare: Php14). From there we started to walk along this huge area for half day; very tiring yet still relaxing as the view is scenic and refreshing. They have only one main road and road signs are evident everywhere so just be patient in reaching your destinations. Restaurants are also available inside.

theater

 

the Bell Ampitheater

 

inside the Bell House (entrance is about Php50)

Burnham Park

From Camp John Hay's gates, you may wait for jeepneys marked Burnham; it's that easy isn't? Well, I just observed that here in Baguio City, almost every jeepney route starts and ends nearby Burnham Park, if not within the park. I don't have much pictures in Burnham Park but what we just did here is hired a boat and bicycles. So much activities and walking to do here though.

3 Days / 2 Nights Baguio City Itinerary

3 Days / 2 Nights Baguio City Itinerary

I've been to Baguio City for several times already since childhood with my parents and relatives using private vehicles but since one of my friend want to experience the city for the first time, we did a quick tour of the city budget-style! Sharing our do-it-yourself tour of Baguio City...

Day 0	2230H	ETD Cubao (Bus: ~Php450)
Day 1	0400H	ETA Baguio City
	0500H	Check-in: Tuvera Pension House (~Php1200 per room per night, triple occupancy)
	0800H-0830H	Taxi: DPS Compound to PMA (~Php200)
	0830H-1200H	PMA Grounds Tour
		watch the cadets march/drills
		PMA Museum
		Lunch at a carinderia
	1200H-1230H	Jeep: PMA to Camp John Hay (~Php14)
	1230H-1630H	Camp John Hay
		Bell Ampitheater
		Bell House (~Php50 entrance)
		Cemetery of Negativism
		The Mile-Hi Center
		Snack: Filling Station
		Paintball (~Php200 for target shooting)
	1630H-1700H	Jeep: Camp John Hay to Burnham Park (~Php8)
	1700H-1900H	Burnham Park
		boat rental (~Php150 per boat)
		bike rental (~Php100 per hour)
	1900H-1930H	Walk: Burnham Park to SM City Baguio
	1930H-2100H	Dinner: SM City Baguio
Day 2	0815H-0900H	Jeep: DPS Cmpd-Burnham (Php8), Burnham-Mines View (Php10)
	0900H-1045H	Mines View Park
	1045H-1100H	Jeep: Mines View-Mansion (Php8)
	1100H-1200H	The Mansion and Wright Park
	1200H-1215H	Walk: Wright Park to Botanical Garden
	1215H-1300H	Botanical Garden
	1300H-1320H	Jeep: Botanical Garden-50s Diner (Php8)
	1320H-1500H	Lunch: Glenn 50's Diner
	1500H-1545H	Jeep: 50s Diner-Burnham (Php8), Burnham-Asin (~Php21)
	1545H-1730H	Ben Cab Museum (~Php50 entrance)
	1800H onwards	Rest at Pension House
Day 3	0800H-0830H	Jeep: DPS Cmpd-Burnham (Php8), Burnham-Mines View (Php10)
	0830H-1000H	Pasalubong: Good Shepherd's Convent
	1000H-1100H	Lunch: Glenn 50's Diner
	1200H	ETD Baguio City (Bus: ~Php450)
	1830H	ETA Cubao

Pardon for the prices as all are estimates since I haven't took down notes during our tour. At first I am hesitant of touring the city via commuting but because of this trip, I stand corrected. Total Budget consumed: ~Php4000; not bad eh?!

Ayutthaya Day Tour

Right after visiting the Grand Palace on the onset of its opening, we headed to tour the ancient city of Ayutthaya, known for its century-old temple and ruins. It's about 2 hrs travel from Bangkok when we got to set our foot on our first temple stop - Phra Chedi. This is I think the highest temple-mountain of the city and with that you need to climb steep stone staircases. I'm with my mom and aunts who managed to climb under the heat of the sun so I bet you will too! There is a minimal entrance fee here but I forgot how much; it won't go higher than THB50.

After touring the place, we stopped for a quick lunch over a nearby local eatery before heading to our last stop - Wat Maha That where the famous Buddha face relic on a tree roots can be found. The place is more ruin-liked and more spacious and said to be comparable with the ruins of Siem Reap temples though smaller in scale. Like with Phra Chedi, there is a minimum entrance fee here.

These are just two of the most important temples in the city. There are still a lot more to see. We just opted to visit two since we don't have much time. We were back in Bangkok before 5pm. Estimated time of visit for each temple is around 1-1.5 hour each. On this day, we rented again our airport taxi whom we used for our Floating Market tour for about THB2000-2500 since this is farther than Damnoen Saduak.

Damnoen Saduak Floating Market

Finally during my third visit in Bangkok I got to experience their so-called "floating market" and I chose to experience this on the largest floating market community. It's about 1.5-2 hours travel from Bangkok downtown. On this trip, we hired an airport cab for a day for not more than THB2000, we are a group of six people. We have been picked-up from our hotel at around 7am-7:15am since the floating market lasts only until noon time. On the site, we were dropped off to a boating wharf (actually there are a lot along the road). I forgot the exact prices but as far as I could remember we paid THB50 each for the entrance fee/environment fee plus THB300 per person for the boat. And the tour starts from here...

sometimes our ride gets tough and speedy so better hold on to your seats!

this is our first stop..it's a coconut factory where you could also buy some souvenirs

a lot of stores along you way, and boats too!

you may hail floating vendors and buy from them

I even saw some tourists eating their noodle soup on their boats, cool!

the busiest part of the market

this is the final stop of our tour, a temple (forgot the name of it though)

nothing much to see here except for some dancers practicing their craft

before hopping on your boat, try to feed the huge kois, you'll be amazed on how big they are

After the floating market, we planned on going to an elephant show but instead our driver took us to a different one - Elephant Village (only about 15 minutes from the wharf). Here we paid THB600 for an elephant ride which everyone of us enjoyed. It's only a 30 minute bumpy ride but worth the experience.

this is how high I am

they have made a village track with vegetations on the side for this ride

you'll even pass by a small body of water which scared the oldies

chained mother and child captive, kinda felt pity for them here

We were back in Bangkok downtown at around 2:30pm. Pretty cool and experience-packed half day for me!