joyride: baguio tripping
Tuesday, October 04, 2005
i went on a daytrip to baguio over the weekend (arrived 8 am on a saturday and left 3 am the next day, so technically it was less than 24 hours and hence, a daytrip). it was a tiring yet fruitful experience. but i would never have done this a few months ago, let alone when i was younger.
truthfully, i hated baguio when i was an adolescent. the city wasn't that compelling enough to go on a daytrip. i'd go to davao any day but baguio -- no freakin' way! just remembering the smell of horse dung (huwhat?!), the urban un-planning, the disorder of session road and all that chaos made it the last place on my checklist. i felt it wasn't worth it. if it can be avoided, i would.
so why the sudden change of heart?
well, i was actually there for a photo exhibit of a friend, a.g. saño in bliss café but i've seen the exhibit back in manila last january. i also wanted to go to ben-hur villanueva to show my potfolio but didn't have time to. so, what made me go this time around? of course, i was compelled to show support for my friend and present my portfolio to an artist that i admire. and to be with friends that i can level off and have a great time with when i travel, that is indeed a gift. but then there is another lure that tugs at my heart.
baguio is a place of artistic bounty. nooks and crannies are filled with unique artworks. just walk along session road and you'll see the gaudi-ish work of kidlat de guia on the sidewalk. go to tam-awan village and be inspired by works of different local and foreign artists. walk across it and you'll be in the workshop of ben-hur. spend an afternoon in bliss café and be immersed in a world of zen. eat breakfast at little john's and draw sceneries on your paper placemat.
anywhere you go in baguio screams of art. a photographer will always have a subject in this place. a hundred shots can be taken outside the dangwa bus station, ukay-ukay or the market. case in point: that weekend, gari b.'s digital camera was going around from person to person taking shots of subjects that they want. it was fun to have this much freedom taking photographs. it was an exploration of capturing art itself. indeed, the spontaniety and uniqueness of it all delves into creation and each creator is linked to the Creator Himself; that there is a glimpse of the divine when we create.
(coolness.)
but there are a lot of things that are still the same. wright park still smells of horse dung. there is still urban mayhem. people still double park on session road. and the city is as chaotic as ever. but i've learned to accept it. what changed is the way i saw baguio. it has becoma a place where i catch a glimpe of my own heaven. and when i find a need, i go, even only for a daytrip.
*****
so, when will the next trip be?
posted by lex @ 11:53 PM,
