Baguio City

           The wife wanted to try a new restaurant, she loves to go to SM Mall.  We checked out several places, were pleased when we saw the vegetarian dishes available at Greyhound Cafe.  The place had a card out front announcing a soft opening.  I ordered #62 from their playbook, Thai Pad.  Turned out to be excellent noodles with mushrooms and a spicy sauce.

            While waiting for our food I was going through the reasons for a Thai restaurant with a twist, as they present themselves, calling themselves the Greyhound Cafe.  Did not appear to have any affiliation with "Take the bus and leave the driving to us."  Did not appear to be connected at all with dog racing, and the fact that Moravian sports teams back at the college in Bethlehem are the Greyhounds did not appear a factor.  I did not see any dishes made with dog meat, does not appear to be something to advertise.

             Later found out that this is the fourth Greyhound Cafe in the Philippines.   It started out as a fashions design business in Bangkok back in the 1980's and took on the cafes at a later date.  The website says they were named Greyhound because of the sleek and elegant fashions they produced.

             The price was 900 pesos with the senior discount for my wife only, they rejected my PA drivers license.  A bit expensive compared to other local spots, but a lot less than we paid for Thai food in the USA .  The amount of spice in my dish just about hit my limit, so if you try them out and you don't want to sweat and have your eyes watering, you might want to ask them to go mellow on the spices.  It surprised me at first, but as I ate it and got used to it, I agreed with my wife that we shall return.

@mugteck

Incidentally we are looking at the buying a house in Baguio in the future with a similar budget - around 3.5 million . Only small 2 bedroom required possibly a quiet area . Do you have any links to the properties in that subdivision you are looking at , or even similarly priced in other areas .

We were looking at Irisan and Dontogan so far . Not too central but not too far out also for sending the nipper to school etc . Will be driving in and out .

David .

           When my wife went online, facebook,to search for an apartment to rent this year she talked to the agent of the owner of our rental property, turns out she was also a real estate agent here in Camp City.  I do not have her contact info, just see her a couple times a week.  You might want to do as we did and stay at a bed and breakfast or some hotel in town to get started.  I am sure you will want to inspect where ever you are looking to buy for the usual problems possible living in the Philippines

Sure we plan to rent for 3 months in advance in central .

         Just experienced a Baguio Christmas, plenty of carol singing.  I was surprised so much ammo was part of the deal.  Right up to midnight heard periodic booms throughout the night.  I questioned my wife, as this was never part of Christmas back in Ilocos Sur.  She explained that Baguio is much wealthier than Santa, and they can afford to have such a celebration.  Looking forward to New Year's Eve.

            The Cathedral was very crowded both Sunday and Christmas for the noon Mass.  On Christmas all the chairs were occupied outside the church, as per our tradition we got there late both days.  On Sunday the traffic was terrible, and on Christmas traffic  was light, but less cabbies were driving.  Both days the mall was very crowded, had a few good meals.  On Christmas two vans of evangelic Christians made the 5 hour drive from Ilocos Sur, only to drive back home that night.  We were supposed to meet them for lunch, but by the time we found them ,1:30 PM, they had already eaten.  We enjoyed another meal at Greyhound Cafe, and also found a good Japanese traditional restaurant.  My life was very happy with her Baguio Christmas, no food prep, saw the family for only 10 minutes.

They just make bombs in Talaga, Argao. No ammo.

My life was very happy with her Baguio Christmas, no food prep, saw the family for only 10 minutes.
   

    -@mugteck

Lucky you....

@mugteck

Wait till you hear the sound od gunfire on New Years Eve!!!

          Took a cab to Rebel Bakery  for the 8 AM opening this morning, about 3 kicks out the road from Baguio headed back towards La Union.  They have very tasty but expensive pastery, got a double almond for 210 pesos plus a sevice charge.  Then I walked back the 30 minutes to the sign welcoming everyone to the summer capital, and another 20 minutes from there up to Pizza Hut, then down past my wife's favorite BDO branch and back home.  It was a great sunny day, took plenty of pictures of the valley below Baguio.  Why would I do this so early in the morning?

           There was an AA meeting scheduled for 8:30 AM in the Rebel Bakery.  The previous week, two days before Christmas, no one else showed up.  The previous 3 weeks there were between 6 and 12 people at each meeting.  One week they started the meeting 10 minutes early, certainly unusual for anything to start early in the Philippines.   But no one showed up again this week. IIs it because  12/30 is a holiday, specifically Rizal Day? 

            An old timer with  33 years of sobriety told me AA and NA are still in their infancy in the Philippines.   I had noticed on line there are meetings listed in and around Manila, and near where US military bases used to be.  There are none in Ilocos Sur and Ilocos Norte.  The only other daytime meeting in Baguio is listed Tuesday at 7 :45 AM, a closed big book meeting.  Went there once in the beginning of December, no one showed up.   The only other meetings listed are Monday, Wednesday and Friday at Don Bosco church at 6 pm.  I rather not travel at night, but gonna have to check one out.

              In Bethlehem/ Allentown area of about the same size population as Baguio there are 6 or 7 meetings listed every day, including Sunday.  I was thinking another advantage of living in Baguio would be AA availability.  At least all the meetings are in English.  I will try again next year.

              Took a cab to Rebel Bakery  for the 8 AM opening this morning, about 3 kicks out the road from Baguio headed back towards La Union.  They have very tasty but expensive pastery, got a double almond for 210 pesos plus a sevice charge.  Then I walked back the 30 minutes to the sign welcoming everyone to the summer capital, and another 20 minutes from there up to Pizza Hut, then down past my wife's favorite BDO branch and back home.  It was a great sunny day, took plenty of pictures of the valley below Baguio.  Why would I do this so early in the morning?
           There was an AA meeting scheduled for 8:30 AM in the Rebel Bakery.  The previous week, two days before Christmas, no one else showed up.  The previous 3 weeks there were between 6 and 12 people at each meeting.  One week they started the meeting 10 minutes early, certainly unusual for anything to start early in the Philippines.   But no one showed up again this week. IIs it because  12/30 is a holiday, specifically Rizal Day? 
            An old timer with  33 years of sobriety told me AA and NA are still in their infancy in the Philippines.   I had noticed on line there are meetings listed in and around Manila, and near where US military bases used to be.  There are none in Ilocos Sur and Ilocos Norte.  The only other daytime meeting in Baguio is listed Tuesday at 7 :45 AM, a closed big book meeting.  Went there once in the beginning of December, no one showed up.   The only other meetings listed are Monday, Wednesday and Friday at Don Bosco church at 6 pm.  I rather not travel at night, but gonna have to check one out.
              In Bethlehem/ Allentown area of about the same size population as Baguio there are 6 or 7 meetings listed every day, including Sunday.  I was thinking another advantage of living in Baguio would be AA availability.  At least all the meetings are in English.  I will try again next year.
   

    -@mugteck

It seems a little strange to me that the AA meetings over there all seem to be scheduled for early morning by what you are saying.

Normally they are scheduled in the evening in the UK and that way is probably best since the members will have had time to sober up first. The one you mentioned scheduled just 2 days before Christmas where nobody turned up was probably because the members were still hung over from the night before.

           Three of the meetings are at 6 PM, Monday , Wednesday, and Friday.  Your knowledge of AA and meetings is pitiful.  It is true some show up hung over sometimes, but the overwhelming majority have been sober for many months or many years.

I'll never be cruel to a Gin and Tonic again. (Douglas Adams).

Golly I drink like a fish and smoke like a burning tyre and will die one day, the last place I see myself is an AA meeting, too many other things to do and we are happy. Choices.

Cheers, Steve.

               Three of the meetings are at 6 PM, Monday , Wednesday, and Friday.  Your knowledge of AA and meetings is pitiful.  It is true some show up hung over sometimes, but the overwhelming majority have been sober for many months or many years.
   

    -@mugteck

I did not mean to offend so sorry for that and you are correct that my knowledge of AA meetings is, let me say limited since I have never had the need to attend one. I do think scheduling the one AA meeting early morning though was a mistake. I also take my hats off to everybody who does have a drink problem, does admit to themselves they have a problem and volunteers to attend.

          For most people it is a matter of deciding if you have a disease and deciding if you want to treat the disease.  Some are satisfied to find out that they are an alcoholic, would tather not change their life style.  Some have other mental diseases which makes it difficult to treat everything at once.  I've known some very frustrated bipolar alcoholics.

@mugteck

Grog and cigarettes aside did you ever get to visit the Ben Cab Gallery up there? Just curious to your thoughts as my sis and BIL are visiting us here next year and for me was an attraction to visit for them as a day trip from here as well as a night or 2 in Vigan city in the old Spanish town with the cosmopolitan European feel, we had a great time there many years ago and looking forward to revisit, any other suggestions for visitors?

Cheers, Steve.

         Steve: The Ben Cab Gallery is on our list for January, it is off the Asin Road turnoff next to Rebel Bakehouse.  We are headed back to Ilocos Sur for about a week, mainly to pick up our 3 bb boxes worth of goodies and inspect our house to prep it for sale.

          I do enjoy the rustic feel of Vigan, first thing that impressed me was the calesa using horses with diapers.  No sense fertilizing the streets.

Good to hear you are both happy with Baguio, maybe catch up one day, we are a couple of hours away and visit there from time to time.

Have a great new year to all there.

Cheers, Steve.

               Three of the meetings are at 6 PM, Monday , Wednesday, and Friday.  Your knowledge of AA and meetings is pitiful.  It is true some show up hung over sometimes, but the overwhelming majority have been sober for many months or many years.
   

    -@mugteck

Am curious as to whether these AA meetings are just for expats or do the local community attend and if so the gender breakdown?

        The meetings I attended had one other expat out of 12, the rest being Filipinos, two were women.  The organizers and chairmen were all Filipinos, they said there is a higher percentage of expats at meetings near the old military bases.

            Made a great discovery yesterday which netted me 9 more pesos than I expected.  Stopped in at Jolliebee to purchase two tuna pies, the spicy variety.  Last year when I bought one the price was 50 pesos, with the senior 20% discount I paid 40 pesos.  Yesterday my bill said 100 pesos original price, tax exempt sales 89.25, VAT 10.75.  Then it listed my 20 % discount off the 89.25 plus it gave me all the VAT back.  So my net cost was 71.57.  They rounded it off in my favor, so for my 100 peso payment I got 29 pesos change.  An effective discount of 29%.  HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

          Something else changed in our barangay as of January.  There was a spot where 6 or 7 cars would park every day.  There was a sign posted 2 weeks ago saying that since the barangay council did not pass a tax code, as of January 1, 2024, there would be no parking allowed at this spot.  When I walked by yesterday there were no cars parked there.  I did notice the locals take the other no parking signs seriously.  Not like the signs at the water facility which say "Absolutely no hanging clothing here"  said sign is surrounded by hanging clothing every day except Christmas and New Years.

Just out of interest - what are the tuna pies like?  I hate the chicken at Jolibee so that could be a good option for me if i visit.

        The spicy tuna pies hold my interest.  They sell three at a price of 140 pesos, save 10 pesos by buying 3, but 2 is enough for me.  Not really all that good, but is tolerable compared to the alternatives.  I would suggest one plain and one spicy to get the best idea.  If I go back will get two spicy, I will probably hold off until I get back to Vigan next week, go out dining with the family.

           13 family members showed up In  our van at 8:30 AM this morning, driving here from Manueva.  We served them breakfast, talked forever, and finally headed out at 11 AM for the Philippines Military Academy.   It is located on the side of the mountain just past Camp John Hay, right after the Texas Instruments building.  We made a cameo appearance at Camp John Hay, just to take pictures of the Welcome to Camp John Hay sign.  At the PMA they wanted to see the driver's license, plus they took my passport and made a photocopy.  Not sure what that was about.

           The military academy has all kinds of inspirational signs posted along the roads,but I could not remember any of them.  One section has parking available and a variety of pieces of equipment.  The oldest I saw was a 1909 howitzer, most everything else was of WW2 vintage.  They uad one of the 50,000 Sherman tanks built betweeh 1942 and 1945, a Japanese cannon from 1934, and a series of  ever improving howitzers through the Korean War.  They also have a Korean War Memorial.

           Got a view of the motor pool, it was mostly tour buses with Philippines Military Academy painted on the sides.  Got a PMA t-shirt two colors with Fort Polar, Baguio City beneath the shield and a scroll with the saying "Molding leaders for the nation".  Like all the t-shirts I buy here it is made in the Philippines and 100% cotton.  The extra large size costs 150 pesos, $2.73 US at current exchange rates of 55 pesos/dollar.  Got the wife a 75 peso refrigerator magnet.

            Next stop was the mansion, not worth it to me.  It is where many conferences have been held, it was originally part of the 1909 original plans for Baguio City.  It burned down during WW2 and was rebuilt in 1947.  Since Baguio is considered the summer capital, all the leaders starting in 1947 to the present have stayed there during rainy season.  Wife got some pics from about 100 meters away, got to see gardners working the land.  We went across the street at Mamosi's and had lunch, some good vegetarian dishes plus the usual pork, beef, chicken and seafood.  The 15 of us got a kettle full of white rice, but halfway through the meal 10 individual servings of rice were ordered.  Reminded me of when I came to the Philippines in 1994 and saw families eat meals which consisred of nothing but white rice.

              The last stop was Mine View Park, also near by.  The parking was free, but it was 10 pesos for adults to enter the park.  I had to see what 18 cents purchased.  As there were a series of steps which lead down to a lookout point, it was worth the view.  Not only that, but there were 3 horses available for picture taking.  It was 50 pesos for individual shots, 100 pesos for group pictures.  In addition a headdress was  available which had many feathers and looked like a native American piece.

             Tomorrow we will be heading back with them to Ilocos Sur to collect the goodies from our three boxes we shipped on October 8th from New Jersey, they arrived on 11/30/23.  Fastest shipping ever.  Earlier last year there were all kinds of backups at the Panama Canal because of local flooding, thought the shipment would be arriving about now.  Thank God for Teddy Roosevelt.

Interesting to read your Baguio posts. Thank you for sharing.

Do you use a computer or perhaps dictation? It would take me for ever to write so much using my phone and it would be full of typos!

13 family members showed up In  our van at 8:30 AM this morning, driving here from Manueva.  We served them breakfast, talked forever, and finally headed out at 11 AM for the Philippines Military Academy.

.

Fastest shipping ever.  Earlier last year there were all kinds of backups at the Panama Canal because of local flooding, thought the shipment would be arriving about now.  Thank God for Teddy Roosevelt.         -@mugteck

....,.......

Awesome mugteck,

I am hoping I can do the same trip as well minus thec13 relatives.

Panama Canal-Teddy Roosevelt

Suez Canal-Dwight Eisenhower

I am glad my balikbayan box is not going through Suez Canal. 😉

    Interesting to read your Baguio posts. Thank you for sharing.
Do you use a computer or perhaps dictation? It would take me for ever to write so much using my phone and it would be full of typos!
   

    -@C D87

         I do not have a phone, use a Samsung 8 years old tablet, punch the letters in one at a time.  With spell check it can be a pain sometimes.  But it knows me.  If I punch in the and then the letter P it automatically prints Philippines,  even if I was talking about the baseball team from Philadelphia called the Phillies.

           We are heading back to Baguio tomorrow, taking the 4 hour 30 minute bus ride from Manueva.   I was surprised at how much quieter Manueva has been as opposed to Baguio.  Our immediate neighbors no longer have a rooster, so some mornings I slept through until 6:30 AM.  Also, a few local "security" dogs died and were not replaced,  adding to the silence most nights.  Amazing as it may seem, even though the "security" dogs were not replaced, the crime rate held steady at 0%.  The biggest noise I noticed was the night and early morning Santa winds coming off the sea.   Sounded like close to 45 mph gusts sometimes, had to lock all the doors and windows.  The winds often continued for about the first 20 minutes after sunrise, found myself out on the national highway leaning into some strong winds.

            We had an air conditioner installed in our bedroom last year, turn it on around 8 PM and the room cools down rapidly, very sleepable 30 minutes later.  The shower heater which our niece's husband installed in November of 2014 still works very well.  He was a Greek Cypriot, and one cold shower had him returning from shopping the next day with the water heater which he installed.  He was in the construction and home furnishings business on Cyprus, told him any other improvements he wanted to make was fine with us.  He went into the hospital in 2020 right after his wife returned to Cyprus from her father's funeral here in Manueva in February.   Then the pandemic struck and the Cypriot never got out of the hospital, died some months later.

          We did get back to Vigan to see the Thursday night water show.  Prepandemic they only had shows during Christmas season (October to January), but now they bill themselves as a heritage city, have music, lights and the fountain for 30 minutes all year round.  The music they played last Thursday must be some current pop stuff, never heard any of it before, but it was well coordinated with the lights and water.  It was more crowded  in 2019 when it was all Christmas music.  Seems funny to hear  "Dashing through the snow in a one horse open sleigh"    Although Vigan is famous for their one horse open carriages.  They even have the horses rigged with special diapers to catch the solid exhaust before it hits the streets.  I was also amused learning they were dreaming of a white Christmas, just like the ones they used to know.  Closest I came to white Christmas was putting whit onions and white radishes with mayo in my Chicken of the Sea balikbayan box tuna shipped last October.

So why Baguio mugteck? Vigan has lots to offer though only been a couple of times could be a great retirement spot, We are here further south for family and a nice quit home to live.

Cheers, Steve.

         Milder climate, many things within walking distance.

Understand mugteck, Baguio has lots to offer if you are not downtown, surrounds yes. We have stayed intown a couple of times over the years and had the A/C running in the hotel room as no balconies and seemed very polluted, out of town very different and amenable.

My walks are up and down the beach in front, jump on a bike or car for purchases. Where is your wifes family based? If it's ok to ask.

Cheers, Steve.

         Manueva, Mabilbila, and Narvacan

She is happy to be away from family? I set a limit with my better half, 30 to 40 minutes drive we are 40/5 minutes drive away and works perfectly, rarely see them unless we go there, downtown San Fernando that is a rat race and stinky. I avoid but Ben visits at least every 2 weeks. Great people but bad location for me.

Good luck mugteck.

Cheers, Steve.

            The barangay kids were louder than usual so I fired up the smart tv and put on some music.  The first collection I came to was folk music of the 60's, 70's, 80's and 90's.  It was appropriate since the first selection was Simon and Garfunkle's  Sound of Silence.  After a few more of them such as Blowin in the Wind and This Land is Your Land, I decided I needed something more upbeat.  Selected a new Reggae collection, and like most it had Ob-La -Di Ob- La Da.  I listened closely to the ending to verify what I thought I had heard previously.  They sang " If you want some fun, sing Ob-La Di Bla Da"   the beatles version uses "take" instead of "sing"  i guess the change is part of cleaning up the music.

           Back in 1969 I was sure the Beatles were promoting LSD.  Not only this song, but I never bought the John Lennon explanation that Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds was inspired by his daughter's imaginary experience.   If his daughter saw newspaper taxis appearing on the shore waiting to take her away, then perhaps she had tapped his stash.  Mr Kite and " I get by with a little help from my friends, I get high with a little help from my friends" also included.

             Then there was the Moody Blues In 1968 with Legend of a Mind, all about Timothy Leary.  Starts out "Timothy Leary's dead.  No no he's outside looking in."  I used to subscribe to the Moody Blue's fan magazine Higher and Higher.  In there I read that the band called up Tim Leary and sang Legend of a Mind to him, changing the words to " Timothy Leary Lives".  He was on his deathbed and died the next day.  It was also pointed out to me that it appears drugs have been involved in music for hundreds of years.  What was Yankee Doodle ingesting when he stuck a feather in his hat and called it macaroni?

We now return you to our regularly scheduled program, already in progress.

          Saw some new structures made of silver pipes in Burnham Park.  Was informed that it is the foundation for tents that will be erected all over the park for the 28th annual flower show.  The tents will house flower vendors and many other vendors.  The show officially kicks off this Saturday and runs through 3/4/24.  Unfortunately we are heading back to Ilocos Sur this Saturday, so we will have something new to look forward to next year.  It has been a bit cooler here lately, the other night the low was 13C, 55F and the high only got up to 21C 70F.  Manueva gonna bet quite the change.

         The vendors at the flower show were firing on all cylinders Thursday, as 36 food vendors were open for business in the food court tent.  4 others outside the food court were busy.  On the retail side, plenty of t-shirts and other souvenirs available.  Above the walkway along the retail vendors it was protected by many umbrellas suspended high above.  There was no indication if the umbrellas were for sale.  Many women here carry umbrellas for all kinds of weather.  When the sun is out they are used like parasols, but I never see any men using them in this manor.

          We tried some Korean street food, was sushi and breaded fish, crabs, shrimp and tofu on sticks.  Got me a mango graham shake, 22oz for 80 pesos.  Others had the same product for 100 and 120 pesos.  Of course most of the food was Filipino, but there was a place called Hungry Hungarian roast beef sandwiches.  Workers did not appear to be eastern Europeans.

          Today is Groundhog Day in the USA, not celebrated here.  Why would they import a silly superstition about a Groundhog predicting 6 weeks of weather when they already have plenty of home grown superstitions?

           Finished the three James Pattetson books I bougjt at the used book store in the mall in Baguio.  The wives murder mystery club book was ok, not planning on reading any of the other 5 in the series.  Never, Never was about a female detective from Sydney sent out to a uranium mine in the dessert where some people had disappeared.  They call the dessert Never Never land.  It was entertaining enough, did get tired of reading what a hard life the detective had endured, growing up as a passed around foster child with her brother.

           Max is science fiction for young adults, about genetically modified children who have wings and feathers, can fly and dive at 200 mph.  In addition some of the six developed gills.  They are assigned to protect the envirnmentalistsn from evil big business types who want to keep earning money at the expense of the world.  The main character has a teenage crush on one of the other child birds.  It was different, but I will not be seeking out any other books in the series.

           So I am down to three books, the two Baldacci books plus the John Grisham book The Innocent Man.  It is a different Grisham book, not a novel but a true story.  Gonna head into Vigan Monday, will probably check out the book stores to see if they have improved at all since 2020.  Not holding my breath.

    I'll never be cruel to a Gin and Tonic again. (Douglas Adams).Golly I drink like a fish and smoke like a burning tyre and will die one day, the last place I see myself is an AA meeting, too many other things to do and we are happy. Choices.Cheers, Steve.        -@bigpearl

Hallelujah!

          Went to the National Bookstore in Vigan today, and it was no better than 4 years ago.  The only popular novels they had was a 4 year old David Baldacci which I read few years ago and the first Jack Reacher novel from last century.  The Reacher novel, Killing Fields, had an illustration on the cover from the current tv show, which I have never seen.  Not sure what my next move is, but I am out of books, no tv, intermittent WiFi, and it is getting h9tter every day.  The National Bookstore had no history books, gotta try the bookstore in the downtown Robinson Mall, cannot be any worse.

Time to head back to Baguio mugteck? You know I was a fervent reader for perhaps 30 plus years and loved most of what I read but 10 years ago I stopped reading, not sure why but have not read a book in all that time, I farmed out/gave away around a thousand novels but my favorites I kept, boxed up and sent to the Philippines, maybe 300 novels and the boxes are still sealed in the pump house 5 years on. I think I have found different things to keep me occupied in the form of new partner/moving/building as well I have no problem going to sleep now, before I could read for hours and nod off, now when the head hits the pillow I'm snoring. 

Sad your internet is not working so well.

Cheers, Steve.