Going home

Finally, just a word about our accommodations and travel. We stayed at the small and old Burnham Hotel just off Session Road, which is Baguio City's busiest commercial avenue. I found it on the web when I found out that The Manor Hotel in Camp John Hay was fully booked. This old place allowed me to book online, unlike the newer hotels that I found. Inside, it doesn't look like a hotel, except for the front desk. It actually felt like staying in the guest room of one's grand aunt, if you know what I mean. It could use more lights though, both in the common living room and the bedrooms—it was a bit too dark to read comfortably.


I think I mentioned at the start of this series that we just took the bus from Manila to Baguio. We took Victory Liner's special, express bus. It's 'special' because each bus only accepts 29 passengers—three people in each of ten rows. The seats are recliners with leg rests, and they're wide and the leg space is roomy! I'm tall, and when I sat down, my knees were nowhere near the back of the seat in front of me. Bliss! But why only 29 passengers when there's space for 30? Now that's the reason why it can be an 'express' bus and not have stopovers. That last space is taken up by a lavatory, very similar to that of airplanes. A great convenience and a faster trip—love it.


And now for a small gripe. I like Victory's bus terminal in Baguio City. It's wide and clean, the waiting area is nowhere near the ticket counter so it doesn't get too crowded, and the second floor has souvenir shops. Why can't their terminals in Metro Manila be like it? The ones here are downright dingy and do not help promote local travel. I wish they'd fix up their Metro Manila bus terminals—and have more special, express buses to other destinations. BAGUIO CITY SERIES #9