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So, Part 3.

The reason I made this the last part because it is the longest and I have not had enough time the past few days to compose a decent post. This also is closest to my heart, so I wanted to dedicate a longer time in writing it.

MY JUICING JOURNEY

About a year or so ago, I’ve gotten into the juicing bandwagon. I started juicing vegetables and fruits (my sister and I even created a website about it, which is being neglected at the moment), and basically just started living a healthy life of no fastfood, alcohol, softdrinks, overly-processed foods etc. It had a positive effect on me and my body. I lost so much weight in very little time and was glowing. I’ve derailed from it a lot of times, in fact I’m not as active in juicing as I initially was, but it’s something that I know I would want to do for the rest of my life. And I am working at getting back on track (and reviving the website too!).

I haven’t been active mainly because of two reasons:

  1. I’ve traveled so much the past year and lugging around my juicer was kind of not an option. I tried buying juices from shops, but sometimes it’s just not enough and it can become really expensive – which is my reason number 2. 
  2. It can become really expensive. LoL. I buy my organic produce from Tagaytay, which is just about a 30-minute drive from where I live. My friend and I discovered organic farms that sold organic fruits and vegetables at a reasonable price. It just becomes unreasonable when you have to think about the gas for your car and the number of times you have to go there to get produce for your everyday needs. I used to go every week and I would shell out 1-1.5k per outing. Not too bad, actually, but it’s still pricey compared to just buying stuff from the wet market nearest you which can cost you at about 500 pesos, buying the same amount of food – just the inorganic version, that is. Bah.

So I guess you know where this post is headed. The main reason why I want to move to Benguet, La Trinidad specifically, is this:

Fresh Vegetablessssssssss!!!

Fresh Vegetablessssssssss!!!

and this:

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Strawberrieeeeeeeeeeeeeeees!

Of course, the cool weather is also up there on my list. But these two take first and second place. Just imagine all the vegetables that I can get my hands on on a daily basis – without driving too far. The thought is just insanely delicious. And with my impending move to Zamboanga (my parents’ hometown) not looking really great what with all the power problems that the city is encountering at the moment (which I can’t afford because my job is online, therefore I need to have power all the time), I AM JUST SO TEMPTED TO PACK ALL MY BAGS AND DRIVE ALL THE WAY TO LA TRINIDAD, GET AN APARTMENT, AND LIVE A LIFE MUNCHING AWAY ON CRUNCHY, FRESH VEGETABLES. LoL. And yes, that needed capslock typing. Thank you very much.

The idea is really just becoming more and more prominent. What used to be just a fantasy is becoming what could possibly be the most important decision of my life right now. And I am seriously considering saying yes to it.

AFTER A FEW MINUTES…

So I just went and checked a few properties in Baguio and the Benguet area. Haha – SO EXPENSIVE! Especially the ones that are in the city. Lucky for me because I want to stay in the provinces where the farms are. 🙂 The search has gotten me more excited about this. I should be able to get my own home maybe in 3 years. *crosses fingers* In the meantime, I’m just toying with the idea of renting a small studio unit, if not, I’ll stay in Zamboanga, buy a generator, and stay there until I’ve saved up enough to buy my own house in yummy La Trinidad.

BAGUIO SIGHT-SEEING

With that out of the way, let me tell you about the rest of the trip.

I went there with 3 great friends (colleagues), 2 of which were the ones I was with when I went to Baguio once. And the other one, Kat, was experiencing Baguio for the first time. So being the good friends that we are, we played tour guide and granted her two Baguio wishes:

  1. Eat at 50’s Diner.
  2. Go to Strawberry Farm and eat Strawberry taho.

It was a rather short list, but very understandable as we can only do so much in a short weekend trip. NOT. We managed to squeeze in a few other things:

  1. Attend Jessie’s wedding on Saturday.
  2. Go to Mines View Park, Burnham Park, Botanical Garden, and The Mansion.
  3. Meet up with colleagues for a karaoke session at The Chairman’s.
  4. EAT at restaurants like Inglay’s, Jack’s, Good Taste, and Ebai’s.

WI-FI ON THE GO

We took a Victory Liner bus on Friday night, March 8, going to Baguio. It was my first time to ever try a bus that had wi-fi. It was awesome. Well, I really didn’t know because I slept the whole time. But I think my friends enjoyed it. LOL.

The Victory Liner terminal in Baguio had wi-fi too, and that I enjoyed a bit as I was able to check-in to Foursquare as we all know how important that is. Hahaha *rolls eyes at myself*.

And because we arrived there super early, we thought we’d cross off one item from Kat’s list and ate breakfast at 50’s Diner. WE DIDN’T REGRET IT.

The food was delicious! I ordered a… uhm, I forgot what it’s called. *facepalm* But it was yummy!!!

50's Diner foooooood! My order was the one at the lower left and that yummy-looking shake - the 50's Mocha.

50’s Diner foooooood! My order was the one at the lower left and that yummy-looking shake – the 50’s Mocha.

Acy and Kat!

Acy and Kat!

After that, we headed over to Liza’s house to take a shower before going to Benguet State University where Jessie was getting prepared for her wedding. It was also where we stayed for 3 days. 🙂 I already did a post on Jessie’s wedding, so I’m going to skip that whole bit.

That night, we went to The Chairman’s KTV and Gilligan’s Bar to hangout with colleagues that live in Baguio. I don’t have any pictures because I didn’t bring my camera there – which is probably why I really enjoyed my time. LOL.

The next morning, Sunday, was our “gala” time. It was our only free time as we had to work the whole day on Monday and go home on Monday night.

Our first stop was a restaurant in La Trinidad called Inglay’s. Oddly enough, I didn’t take pictures of the food. Hmmm, I don’t know how that happened and why. But it did. Hahaha… I loved how the tapsilog came with what looked like brown/mountain rice.

Acy and Kat again!

Acy and Kat again!

After we’ve waken ourselves up with coffee and a sumptuous meal, we headed over to the strawberry farm. And I’m proud to say that we just walked from BSU to Inglay to the Strawberry Farm. It is a short distance, but still!

I loved the fact that strawberries are in season when we got there. Because the first time for me was off-season and we didn’t get to see much life in the farm other than vendors selling Baguio goods. But this time, it was greaaaaaaaat! We didn’t pick strawberries but we took looooooaaads of pictures! I’m going to post some here:

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Everlasting and Kat doing her obligatory tourist pose.

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Tres Marias

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Left: Reena; Right: Acy and Kat uploading pictures on FB. hahaha

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Strawberries!

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Hahahaha, “ang ice cream na pang-Instagram.” That’s the ice cream vendor’s sales spiel.

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Baguio shirts and Kat!

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Kat happily taking snapshots of the everlasting flower.

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Everlasting

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Butterfly on a flower!

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Different angle.

The afternoon was spent going to parks and other tourist spots in Baguio City.

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Hahahaha… Reena and Kat were eating Acy’s bubble gum-colored bonnet.

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Horses

It was a very tiring day. Our last stop was at Good Taste where we met with friends from work and ate a yummy dinner.

Yummy food in BIG servings!

Yummy food in BIG servings!

The next day we had to work so we spent the whole day in the dorm. We went to town at around 8pm to have a late dinner with workmates again before heading off to Manila. We ate at Ebai’s which is just beside Victory Liner terminal. I wasn’t feeling okay then so there aren’t any pictures.

See, I told you this is going to be a wordy post! Hahaha… I’m sorry? Anywho, I guess that’s it. I’ll update you when I finally decide on whether or not I’ll be moving to Benguet. Hahaha – RA