Some Good Reasons To Avoid Baguio During The Rainy Season

[mogo51]

My SO and I will certainly visit, would like the cooler climate, but not the hills for trying to get around.

[MacBubba]

Since we came by plane, we were reliant on a taxi to get around.  Fortunately, it was easy to arrange in Baguio.

Yes, we found walking a bit of a challenge.  Being smokers, the hilly terrain left us huffing and puffing, where we normally would not be huffing and puffing in the lowlands.

[OnMyWay]

On 8/25/2015 at 6:47 AM, jon1 said:

I just saw this story on Rappler. http://www.rappler.com/move-ph/issues/disasters/response/103311-typhoon-ineng-baguio-photos

 

Just reinforces my reasons to only visit Baguio during the dry season. 

It's ok now.  They have the new signs up on Kennon Road.

[Queenie O.]

15 hours ago, mogo51 said:

My SO and I will certainly visit, would like the cooler climate, but not the hills for trying to get around.

I'll surely try only in the dry season:)

[Queenie O.]

23 hours ago, scott h said:

I have only been to Baguio once, and years ago. IMO its worth at least one visit. Lovely scenery during the drive, couple of nice museums and the Military academy. Plus all the stuff others have mentioned.

Just to see it and compare it to here in Cebu:) I can't even really fathom that Baguio could have pine trees!

[BluesDude]

My wife, me and another couple used to go to Baguio now and then as a little get away from the Subic Bay area. The cooler weather as always nice and back in the 1980's I don't ever recall the traffic being a problem... a lot has changed in thirty years. 

We always stayed on Camp John Hay and rented a cottage. A couple of times we even rented the "Honeymoon Cottage". Back then, Camp John Hay was beautifully kept, had a bowling alley, and horseback riding in the mountains was unbelievable. The only problem with horseback riding was the saddles were designed for little Filipino butts and man after a four-hour ride my American buddy and I had such bad saddle sores they took weeks to heal. I don't think I'd take the same ride today as some of the trails were really narrow and a long way down, plus the fact that my butt was a lot smaller back then than it is today so the sores might be nearly fatal. Anyway, there's some awesome trails to ride along the mountain trails if they still offer rides there. 

The last time I went to Baguio was under terrible circumstances. As a US Navy photographer and aircrewman, I was tasked to fly up there  and photograph the devastation of the strong earthquake that rocked the area in 1988 or 89. The photos were going to be used to show the US Congress to allocate funding to help with relief. One of the areas I spent time at was the site of the old Baguio Hyatt Regency. It was a terraced building and one whole side of it folded up like an accordion. Many folks didn't make it out of there. Baguio got hit hard,  but the worst spot I had to photograph was in Cabanantuan. There was a school there that was built with cinderblocks made with way too much sand and it collapsed on a bunch of school kids. Not my favorite shoot I ever had to do. 

Anyway, sorry this post started out lighthearted and ended up a bit on the dark side but life throws us curve balls sometimes. 

On a happier note, question: Can one still rent cabins on Camp John Hay or is it gone now? 

[Dave Hounddriver]

3 hours ago, BluesDude said:

The last time I went to Baguio was under terrible circumstances.

It was, indeed, terrible circumstances but thank you very much for sharing.  Sometimes I need to be reminded that things are not always rosy in Philippines.  It helps me keep perspective. Between Typhoons, earthquakes and volcanoes, this country has more than enough natural disasters.

[earthdome]

3 hours ago, BluesDude said:

On a happier note, question: Can one still rent cabins on Camp John Hay or is it gone now? 

Camp John Hay is still very nice. It is an economic development zone with new hotels, office buildings, houses, etc. They do not allow jeepney's. I don't know if there are cabins still available for rent. But it is very nice. Both Convergsys and Sitel have small call centers there now. You can still rent horses for guided trail rides. Very nice golf course. Annually there is a phil-am golf tournament that uses both the Camp John Hay and Baguio Country Club courses. They are next to each other. Even got Starbucks.

[OnMyWay]

I just messaged my bro-in-law to see if he knows about the cottages.

Baguio has built up a lot since the earthquake and I am sure many buildings would be devastated again if another big one occurs.

Blues Dude, do you have any old photos of Subic?  I would love to see some photos of some of the buildings and areas.  If you have any that you could post (in a new thread) or send me, it would be much appreciated.

I'm hijacking Jon's thread but he lives here too, so here is one aerial shot I found.  Maybe you took it!!!??  I don't know what year it was.

[BluesDude]

3 hours ago, OnMyWay said:

I just messaged my bro-in-law to see if he knows about the cottages.

Baguio has built up a lot since the earthquake and I am sure many buildings would be devastated again if another big one occurs.

Blues Dude, do you have any old photos of Subic?  I would love to see some photos of some of the buildings and areas.  If you have any that you could post (in a new thread) or send me, it would be much appreciated.

I'm hijacking Jon's thread but he lives here too, so here is one aerial shot I found.  Maybe you took it!!!??  I don't know what year it was.

I have a few scanned to digital format but more that are still negs or slides. I hope to scan a lot of them to digital but may not get to everything I"d like to until we retire. Give me a few days and I'll post a few on its own thread. 

As far as the aerial view you posted, who knows,  I could have shot it. It sure was a great place to be stationed. Some of my best friends today are guys I met living there back in the 80's.