Blogs from Baguio, Philippines, Asia - page 6

We left Manila for Baguio at 2pm and arrived at around 6-7pm on the 2nd of June. I went there with my bro & cousins, for 2 days and 2 nights. We stayed at my bro's gf's family's guesthouse & we didn't have to pay a single peso. We felt bad, we wanted to pay them but they insisted we stay for free. They even prepared all meals for us! Such nice people, I swear. I've always dreamt about going to Baguio when I was kid, I've always heard about it in class and it's a shame that I didn't get to see it back then. From my cousins' comments, the Bagiuo charm is fading away. A city that used to be covered in pine trees is now suffering from industrialization. There seems to be more ... read more

My christmas was spent with family in Gatchalian and as always was brilliant. I often found myself standing back from the crowd reflecting and just taking stock of how special it felt to be with my family. It's a shame it doesn't happen more often. 26th - 29th Dec was spent in Baguio (usually about a 6 hour drive from Manila), but I swear the whole of Manila was there. The traffic was horrendous! It was also pretty damn cold, which I mistakenly thought I could handle being from London and all, but hell no! I was bloody freezing! Nevertheless, I loved it there. The views were breathtaking and of course the company was always great. We stayed in a hotel in Mines View, which has a pretty spectacular view point. I visited mines view quite ... read more

Yesterday, because no one else was available, I was asked to present the Cordillera human rights situationer to a couple of Norwegen interns. The presentation for the Norwegens went really well. Turns out I know what I am talking about. But since I have never really hosted the interns before I wasn't sure what else to do with them. Since we were finished the presentation by mid-afternoon, I decided to take the girls for a walk around Burnham lake, one of my favorit spots because of it's campy swan paddle baots, and then for iced tea in Vocas, a hippie restaurant with awesome atmosphere. The conversation was initially about human rights and the situation in the region, a continuation of the presentation I had given them in the office. But as iced tea stretched into the ... read more

Salidummay, a band attached to the cultural group launched their new CD tonight. The launching was a wonderfu success, with a big crowd and plentiful cheering. I had a great time, as I always do at these kinds of events, mingling and chating with friends and coworkers I don't see that often, and playing around with my friends from the cultural group. It has hit me recently just how important these gatherings are to activists working in such a stressful atmosphere. I used to love the get togethers, solidarity nights and celebrations because I am a social butterful with a nose for a good party. I love nothing more to be "out", floating on the energy of a crowd, seeing just what interesting and new things I can see and do. But recently, as the work ... read more

NORTH TO THE CORDILLERA OCT 12 to 19, 2008 Although it was hard for Al to leave the warm water and snorkelling, we did head north to the Cordillera and the Luzon area of The Philippines. What magnificent beauty! We flew from Puerto Princesa to Manila on Oct. 12th and immediately took a taxi to the bus depot to check out buses to Baguio and there was one leaving in a half hour so off we went, heading north. It was a winding 7 hour trip through the mountains; felt a bit like our BC mountains. The lights of Baguio appeared about 8 pm and off we went to our hotel. We chose The Burnham Hotel from the Lonely Planet, as it was listed as having lots of character. It did have character but also musty ... read more