Exploring Philippines 105 - Baguio City (Post 3 - The Mansion, Mines View Park)

Within a few meters after landing on the final step and after a turn, the most photograph place (according to some writers and bloggers) in the city of Baguio came into the picture.  The pool and The Mansion always offer a certain form of identity and pride to this place.  We were lucky that time because we almost had the place by ourselves.  Inside the compound of The Mansion, visitors are only allowed to a certain point for picture taking.  The military officers who are guarding the place are always on the alert every time visitors will enter the gate.  At one point, we asked the guards to have a picture with us but they declined our request because according to them, they are prohibited in joining any picture taking activity with the civilians lest they will be reprimanded by such action.

Mines View Park was our next stopover, a popular tourist destination in Baguio.  Actually, the place is now overly populated with souvenir shops and stalls that sell goodies and there’s really not that much to see except for the relic of the past and the picturesque mountains of Benguet.  There are now houses at the base of Mines View Park and from atop, tombs can be seen in the backyard of these houses. If one is not oriented with the customs and traditions of our brothers in this region, the sight of tombs in their backyard could be an eerie sight for an outsider. 

Our last stop that day was at a mall.  I don’t know if it is a prerequisite for some to drop by at the mall when they visit Baguio.  Perhaps, even for my colleagues, it could have been a habit already.  Anyway, it was not actually the shopping why they wanted to be there.  I must admit also that the ambiance of the mall is quite different from the rest of the malls within the country.  It is an open one where its cooling system comes from the nature.  And most of the visitors, just like us, love to spend some time in the verandas for a good glimpse of the city landscape.

The Mansion

Mines View Park

At the mall