The great road trip to Baguio City

It is a long way to Baguio City. Five to six hours by land at the most. This is the reason why I’ve resisted going here since being part of a media junket three years ago. I just have this thing about visiting places and revisiting them once again. I’d rather go elsewhere I’ve never been.

This time was different though. I was about to show the sights to my twins, and Mr. Z, for the first time. He was a driver in a foreign land, all right, and I tried futilely acting as the navigator. The instructions my brother barked over the phone seemed simple: go straight through the North Luzon Expressway and exit through this and that. Except that we tried the countless alternate routes along the way and we ended up not being sure whether we saved time by doing so or took the longer route.It was night time when we reached the great zigzagged road that was Kennon.

A must for long-distance travel is to review all the motoring rules, such as checking your car’s condition after colliding with a van on Christmas Eve… aach! Travelling with kids can be challenging too. Especially as you have to deal with pee breaks, the wearing of seatbelts and keeping them from being bored.

Tykes in the car

Good thing that some wise chaps invented junk food. It always pays to stuff your car with them. The kiddies (and the driver) will always be thirsty and hungry 😛

DSC00767

As for me, I just find gasoline station food amazing and the way they’ve transformed into culinary destinations in themselves. There is just something different about eating at Pancake House in a mall and eating at the same chain in a remote pit stop.

One recommended stop-over is the Caltex Star Mart in Rosario, La Union. It sold some luscious pastries from the Baguio Country Club such as raisin bread and carrot cake.

Baguio Country Club pastries

This Star Mart had a cozy coffee shop and free wi-fi, a must for when you want to be connected while on the go. Always look for the sign!

Free wi-fi!

Other important things to bring: iPods and portable video game players. They are great boredom breakers.

Paolo plays Mr. Z’s DS Lite

Eating is of course one of the things I look forward to on these road trips. You never know what noteworthy place you might stumble into. On the way back to Manila, along Marcos Highway, we checked out Rito’s Cafe which is a good place to have a decent $1 breakfast, and their steaks are below P200. The bulalo was not really to die for, but the rest of the Filipino specialties are.

DSC00774