Baguio Landslides - Stay Away!

[OnMyWay]

Hey Don,   Thank you for another boots on the ground report about central Luzon.  It has been awhile since I was last up there in 1981. Besides the cooler climates, fresh strawberries and silver handicrafts.....what are some of the Baguio's main attractions now?  

 

I think the big earthquake was in 91.  Abby moved here in 92 to go to school for 4 years.  She said that it was deserted then.  Many big businesses pulled roots and left.  It was very quiet and provincial.    After a few years they started recovering and have been overbuilding ever since, with not much in the way of planning.  I can't believe how tall they build here, even when most buildings are built on a steep slope.  It looks like another disaster in the making.  Unfortunately it make take another big earth quake to stop the current over crowding.

[OnMyWay]

Negative, cool air is nice, but from October to Feb-March the place is downright freezing, I did not enjoy that at all.

 

I'm the opposite.  I love the cold weather!

[earthdome]

I lived in Baguio for 2 years up until Feb this year. Just in that short of time I noticed how much worse traffic was. Baguio is just getting too darn crowded. I do love the cool weather there.

[chris49]

I lived in Baguio for 2 years up until Feb this year. Just in that short of time I noticed how much worse traffic was. Baguio is just getting too darn crowded. I do love the cool weather there.

 

Local municipal services also lagged behind, as the place is quite dirty, for what is considered a marquee city, a sort of boutique city of the 60's up to 90's.

 

Transportation issues, If ever you could get a tricycle or taxi (hard to find), even then they more very slowly through the city centre, which seems to have a bottleneck, going in an out. 

 

As you can see I am not a fan. However again on the plus side, University of Baguio and St. Louis University, 2 of the leading provincial colleges, with top exam results, engineering, law, medicine, nursing. But adding to the problem with a large number of boarding houses clustered around the campuses.

 

Baguio has a number of festivals, like the Baguio Flower Festival, which does attract a large number of visitors, like Don, On My Way, apparently, but not my thing at all

 

The alternative here up north would be Laoag, about 70 km north of where I live. Quieter, but for me a much more livable city. And they have their Fiesta's in season. The have a BI, Immigration sub office which is always handy.

 

Let's talk about that later. I'm going up again in 2 weeks.