Some Good Reasons To Avoid Baguio During The Rainy Season

[OnMyWay]

I am right up to snuff mate, but thanks for the comeback :) .

 

In fairness I was able to stay 8 days and 4 days, 5 Star at Camp John Hay, playing golf in the Phil-Am Classic and it was actually amazing. Not the real world though, any venture into the city was an unmitigated disaster.

 

Our collegue here On My Way, belies my comments and frequently takes his family. In particular, they like the cold weather, so add that in for balance.

 

I suspect the true reason Chris is down on Baguio is because the hills are too steep for biking!   :no:

 

Although I love getting into the cool weather, we only go there often because of family.  As I said in previous threads, what I have enjoyed the most there is actually getting out of town into the surrounding mountains.  Very quiet, clean and scenic.  Of course you need a car to enjoy that.

[earthdome]

 

I am right up to snuff mate, but thanks for the comeback :) .

 

In fairness I was able to stay 8 days and 4 days, 5 Star at Camp John Hay, playing golf in the Phil-Am Classic and it was actually amazing. Not the real world though, any venture into the city was an unmitigated disaster.

 

Our collegue here On My Way, belies my comments and frequently takes his family. In particular, they like the cold weather, so add that in for balance.

 

I suspect the true reason Chris is down on Baguio is because the hills are too steep for biking!   :no:

 

Although I love getting into the cool weather, we only go there often because of family.  As I said in previous threads, what I have enjoyed the most there is actually getting out of town into the surrounding mountains.  Very quiet, clean and scenic.  Of course you need a car to enjoy that.

 

 

Have you taken the drive on Ambukloa Rd going East toward the Pan Asian Highway from Baguio? A 100km drive with the middle part like driving through a national forest. That area is undeveloped because the road was put in about 5 years ago. Not much traffic on that road either. I suspect that would be a great mountain drive on a motorcycle. Just watch out for loose gravel from small landslides!

[OnMyWay]

Have you taken the drive on Ambukloa Rd going East toward the Pan Asian Highway from Baguio? A 100km drive with the middle part like driving through a national forest. That area is undeveloped because the road was put in about 5 years ago. Not much traffic on that road either. I suspect that would be a great mountain drive on a motorcycle. Just watch out for loose gravel from small landslides!

 

 

Yes, actually that was the one we did last April.  We intended on reaching close to the top of Mt. Pulag but I took a wrong turn at a fork and ended up on an old, steep, one lane dirt road headed up the mountain.  I four wheeled it for a while but it was getting dicey, so I turned back.  With 5 adults and 4 kids in the car, I did not want to do anything stupid.

 

I thought I posted about that trip but I can't find it.  Here are a couple of pictures:

 

A view of Lake Ambuklao, probably 20-30 k from Baguio.

 

This place Lolo Cancio is really pleasant with a fantastic view out the back.  Good brewed coffee and snacks!  We didn't try any actual dishes.  Really nice people run the place and it is very clean!  I think it is on this side of the damn, not too far from the dam.

 

Katy and her cousin on the back deck.

[earthdome]

 

Have you taken the drive on Ambukloa Rd going East toward the Pan Asian Highway from Baguio? A 100km drive with the middle part like driving through a national forest. That area is undeveloped because the road was put in about 5 years ago. Not much traffic on that road either. I suspect that would be a great mountain drive on a motorcycle. Just watch out for loose gravel from small landslides!

 

 

Yes, actually that was the one we did last April.  We intended on reaching close to the top of Mt. Pulag but I took a wrong turn at a fork and ended up on an old, steep, one lane dirt road headed up the mountain.  I four wheeled it for a while but it was getting dicey, so I turned back.  With 5 adults and 4 kids in the car, I did not want to do anything stupid.

 

Nice pics. I have driven that road 5 times but always when we were trying to get to/from my wife's family home further north. Never had time to explore along the way. Only stop was for some pics from the side of the road.

 

If I were to move back to the Baguio area finding a place to live outside of Baguio somewhere down Ambuklao Rd. would be my first choice if I wanted to live outside the city but close enough to shop.

[AlGae]

On 8/28/2015 at 9:06 PM, earthdome said:

If I were to move back to the Baguio area finding a place to live outside of Baguio somewhere down Ambuklao Rd. would be my first choice if I wanted to live outside the city but close enough to shop.

This is a great tip; type of information I'm looking for when I go to Baguio to look around for places to rent in.

[Gratefuled]

I went there once, just once. Bus trip from Manila. I didn't know it was the rainy season. It was all ok til on my way back.

The winding road down the mountain road was treacherous. I saw one bus that was on the way up that was stuck in a hole along side the road. The people were still inside. I don't know what happened after that because our driver never stopped and continued on the way down. 

I'll never return to Baguio.

[mogo51]

Don't you  just love this forum. Dave and Chris49 a good read. If you don't sharpen your knife of a morning before going on this forum, beware!

Those photos looked great by the way.

[OnMyWay]

On 8/26/2015 at 11:07 AM, earthdome said:

Yeah, they mention the botanical garden area of Baguio being closed to traffic due to fallen pine trees and the electric is out, I lived in that area.

 

That picture of Kennon Rd is incredible. Yeah, you don't want to drive those mountain roads in heavy rains.

 

Instead we are enjoying the start of cool clear fall weather in the US Midwest.  Still miss Baguio though.

Since Baguio came up, I thought I would give an update on that picture of the landslide.

They still have not finished repairing that section of road.  It is one lane and the traffic was not well managed when we went there about 2 months ago.  We were stuck in traffic for an hour going up Kennon road.  Then my bro in law was here 3 weeks ago and went back that way.  Bad idea.  It was completely closed when they arrived at that section and they had to wait 3 hours for it to reopen.

The stupid thing is, when you are down in Rosario, there is no sign saying there are still problems, so people still head up Kennon.  TAKE THE LEFT FORK IN ROSARIO, TO MARCOS HWY!

It is not even close to being finished, so I will not be using Kennon anytime soon.

[Queenie O.]

I've always been hoping to visit Baguio. Are there any direct flights that you can take from Manila or Cebu that would allow you to avoid a road trip?

When is the best month to go?  I think that in January they have a cool flower festival. I'd like to get some fresh strawberries from nearby Benguet. They have the classiest ukay-ukay there too I've heard.

[Queenie O.]

I've always been hoping to visit Baguio. Are there any direct flights that you can take from Manila or Cebu that would allow you to avoid a road trip?

When is the best month to go?  I think that in January they have a cool flower festival. I'd like to get some fresh strawberries from nearby Benguet. They have the classiest ukay-ukay there too I've heard.