While in Baguio...

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While staying in Baguio for a certain length of time, I observed that not all areas of the city received continuous supply of water. In some places, there is always a problem with the water supply. In the place where I temporarily stayed, water came in trickles from its faucets. The owner of the place was a little apologetic to me for this inconvenience. Most hotels and inns in the city sometimes advertise to new arrivals to this popular summer destination that water is not a problem in their establishment. Indeed, water is a precious commodity in this city whose population increases by leaps and bounds, especially during the summer months. During the late months of the year, the city also experiences an increase of visitors from the lowlands. While water is a problem, there are ways with which city residents and business establishments seek instant solutions. There are companies in the city that service households and business establishments by providing them with tanks of water for a fee. If a resident does not want to pay for his supply of water, all he can do is stay close to his faucet at certain times of day to watch for water to flow. This usually happens during early mornings and early evenings. On my part, I have two huge water containers in my bathroom to collect water and store them for future use. At the Burnham Park, which is considered the premier park of the city, you see the same faces of vendors and service people plying their foods and their services to city visitors. Burnham Park is a very huge park. It can be considered one of the oldest and the biggest in the country. On ordinary days but most especially during the weekends, hundreds of people visit the park and hold their family reunions and picnics there. Food vendors and commercial photographers and massage therapists and charity groups asking for donations are also an increasing population in the park. But they are courteous enough to keep their distance. But once you stay in one spot of the park and start to do your business of trying to relax and enjoy the ambiance of this city and its most-sought temperate weather, ambulant vendors, massage therapists and manicurists and even a few beggars start to gather around you and get your attention. Around the park, vendors and ambulant food vendors selling hot coffee, peanuts, corn, ice cream and other fast food delicacies will continuously challenge your decision-making ability on whether to buy or not. Are you going to buy out of hunger or out of pity? There's nothing you can do really except to face them and say yes or no (a number of times). Whatever, I can say that in any other tourist area in the country, as in other tourist locations all over the world, the presence of vendors are always a fixture. I appreciate their presence because they offer an alternative to expensive restaurants and expensive shopping centers. So I welcome their presence. I am never annoyed. Sometimes, they even offer reliable information to tourists on how to get to this place or that place or where the other tourist spots of the city are located.

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