Baguio

12Jul09

So I went on a long-premeditated trip to Baguio this weekend to do some self-reflection– a change of atmosphere from my usual Manila weekends spent either hanging out & drinking with friends, or just staying at home to a very colorful household. Contrary to what I told my parents, I made all the plans and travelled alone. I used my free nights in Microtel and packed two weeks’ worth of clothes since I wasn’t going home anymore before heading to my area on Monday.

Self-reflection you say? Doesn’t sound like me no? No one wanted to believe me either. The thought of doing it alone was scary but I just had to do it. Come on, this wasn’t really any different than traveling to Iloilo last year! Well, I felt like I needed to relax by myself, and what better place to do it than up north in Baguio, where as my friend Jay said, “it feels like being kissed by the sun on mint chapstick”. It was rainy and cold the whole time though except for today, but ah what perfect bed weather! I left Tarlac at 4PM on Friday and arrived in Baguio at 7PM. Jay, the CP sales assigned here in Baguio, picked me up at the hotel for dinner in O’Mai Khan, this Mongolian resto. We then went to his place to watch an MJ concert DVD while getting high and drunk. Wahaha, ok it was my first time to get high and it was very liberating! I felt dizzy as if I was floating, and it was better than being drunk since I didn’t have to puke it out. I was also drunk on Gilbey’s Premium Strength and gin tonic but the feeling of getting high took over– and we were so knocked out that I just slept on the couch! (Sayang my room in Microtel, haha)

On Saturday morning we had breakfast at 50’s Diner (where I saw the most ginormous clubhouse sandwich ever!), then headed back to our places to rest and relax. I finished Lipstick Jungle, went online a bit, and just lounged around in bed until 4PM to go to SM. My contact lenses popped out the night before (it was so cold at Jay’s place!) so I had to get new ones to take me through the week ahead. The rain was crazy, but the crowd in SM was crazier! It was so cold, and nothing beats eating churros con chocolate while watching the rain pour over the foggy view of Baguio. I then wandered around driving before I got back to Microtel to meet Jay for dinner. We ate at the pricey Le Chef in Manor, had beers at Red Lion Pub, then headed to Nevada Square to get more drunk. Haha. Nevada Square is the nightlife place, where there are about 5 bars/ clubs. Not bad at all, but the crowd was all young. Nabaduyan si Jay eh, he used to spin there daw. After having a few drinks in Acid Club, we went to another place to do videoke with his friends, then headed home.

Now’s my last day here and I feel a bit heavy hearted to go down. I wasn’t really able to go around the touristy places like Burnham Park or Mines View, but I’ve been there already before and I prefer relaxing and doing things as a local in a different place. I’ll just go to Good Shepherd to get some pasalubong stuff (chokoflakes!!!) after checking out, then I’m probably going around a bit before heading back to Tarlac. Maybe then it’s the best time to do the real self-reflection no?

Funny I was expecting to do things all alone this weekend, but I ended up doing the same things, just in a different place, atmosphere, and with different people. I don’t feel though as if I defeat the purpose of my trip– in fact, it was more successful than I imagined. I was able to relax by myself, but not too much to the point of getting suicidal, haha. I was able to get some closure about HB (more about that in a different post), I was able to feel good– the high and drunk way, I gained a new friend in Jay, and I was somehow inspired by him in that I wanna do things differently when I go back to my area. Jay was telling me he was already so comfortable here in Baguio that it would seem like an uprooting to get him out of this place. More than a CP salesman, there was more to him– he goes boxing, spins at bars, does some photography– and I feel like there has to be something else that defines me aside from my work. When he asked me if I had any hobbies, I couldn’t really identify anything, as if there was nothing more to me than my work. And to my other close friends in CP, I don’t like it that our friendship is defined by everything about HB. Now then, I’m inspired to find something else to myself that even if you take my work away, there’s still something I can be proud of about myself. I’m also inspired to maximize my area, though seriously there really is nothing fun to do in Bataan-Olongapo-Pampanga-Tarlac-Nueva Ecija-Pangasinan, especially when the whole time is spent doing store checks and admin work even in the evening!

When I woke up this morning, I felt the same feeling as I did everytime I was in Copenhagen, that everything was different and I was alone. I miss Manila a bit now, and I miss my friends, but this trip has done me more than I can think of. I’m 23 now and I’m not getting any younger, so the race is on to improve my life, and maybe it just had to take this trip for me to realize that. Being detached from the regular hustle and bustle puts things in a different perspective. I’m seriously beginning to realize the importance of saving for the future, doing all the things I want to do while I’m single, so I have no regrets. I feel like there’s still more that I can do in my life and I’m not using even half of my potential for anything yet. I’m starting that by being honest with myself and doing a self-inventory. I now have resolutions. This self-reflection trip was a success. :)

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Tags: Drama, Travel