Day 12

We spent the day looking for alternate lodging and decided to stay at Benguet Pine Tourist Inn as this is our last night in Baguio. Next time we come, we will stay at Starwood Hotel as it is very clean and dorm bed is only PhP 250. Ole carried Shant’s laptop all day and finally got connected with Shant in the evening. We went to Katrin’s place and got her to authograph her book “Kapwa” which we will give to Rebecca when we get to Bacolod.

Today we simply enjoyed strolling and people watching around Baguio City and more gorging on tropical fruits. The photo shows pineapple, mango, guayabano, fragrant bananas, papaya, and the round green one is star apple. That made up our desert after a lunch of noodles and veggies.

Right across from the hotel is Baguio City's orchidarium and it is a nice collection of both orchids and other pretty flowers and greenery, including many familiar varieties like roses, hydrangeas, amaryllis, fuschias, and cacti.

We had hoped to take advantage of the full body massages offered by the local association of blind masseurs today. They spend 90 minutes and it costs $4. Unfortunately, we just did not have time due to the preparing for tomorrow's trip to Sagada. These massages are, however, offered all over the country so we hope to do one later.

RE: Filipino transportation via jeepney (see photo): Jeepneys are locally made privately owned jeeps with a long passenger area in the rear where passengers face each other during transport. It is the quintessential filipino transport mode and we are continually using them. They will stop just about anywhere for discharge or pick up. Usually they are brightly painted and decorated with ornaments and have popular music blaring continuously.