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IT is
7:30 in the morning of Wednesday as I write this and
already, it is 29°C in the shade. As it had been—and
even worse—over the recent looong holiday weekend, when
most of the public spaces in the metropolis that provide
air-conditioned comfort from the blistering heat of
summer—meaning the malls, of course—were closed, the
usual mall population having seemingly abandoned Metro
Manila to the ostensibly breezy landscape of Boracay. Or
some other location alongside some nice body of water
where they can cool down and frolic and have fun.
My idea
of the perfect summer refuge, however, is far from the
madding crowd of Boracay or any other famous or
not-so-famous strip of beach. It is a six-hour-plus ride
up north through long stretches of nicely paved highways
and the occasional winding roads, nestled atop a verdant
mountain lush with pine trees and perennials that are
often caressed by fog and low-lying clouds, where the
temperature is temperate even on a typical summer day
and turns really nice and nippy as the velvet evening
sets in.
Yes, the
B in my kind of summer idyll is not Boracay but Baguio
City, which has long held the title—in this country
obsessed with titles—as the country’s summer capital and
remains to be so to a lot of Filipinos here and abroad,
the continuing dominance of Boracay on the tourism map
notwithstanding. Established by the American colonizers
in the early days of the 1900s, Baguio—which has always
had a rather cosmopolitan flavor on account of its
considerable foreign settlement—has come under
increasing modernization, as the national and local
governments, private corporations and passionate
individuals with the deepest ties to its history and
people resolved to rebuild and restore the city to its
former glory—and then some—following the devastating
1990 earthquake and the equally devastating SARS scare
that came after. Indeed, interspersed now among log
(faux and real) cabin-type commercial establishments and
old-but-still-exquisite low-rise buildings in the old
American architectural style are edifices of a decidedly
modern-minimalist aesthetic, such as the sprawling new
People Support building near Session Road, along with
the new flyover that eases motorists into this northern
hub and a number of businesses already prepping for a
time when this formerly sleepy city becomes, not unlike
New York, a city that never sleeps.
And if
Mayor Reinaldo Bautista Jr.’s big plans for Baguio City
plays out without incident, it will be a vastly superior
Summer Capital of the Philippines that will celebrate
its centennial anniversary throughout 2009, not only
with the annual Panagbenga Festival and its usual pomp
and pageantry but also with a rehabilitated Burnham
Park, a reinvigorated Mines View Park, an even cleaner
air and cleaner streets, less congested roads via new
traffic schemes that may or may not include the closure
of Session Road to vehicular traffic, an interactive
museum, a reimagined public market, perhaps even a
brand-spanking-new convention center that the city
government is shepherding together with SM Prime
Holdings, along with a new hotel operated by Radisson
Hotels and Resorts. This
Baguio City of the
not-so-distant future will become a tourist destination
not only during the hot summer months but throughout the
year.
Still,
there is no doubt that for all this rush to
modernization, Baguio City and its movers and shakers
will endeavor to retain much of its lovely laid-back
quality, that sense of a life unhurried and pregnant
with precious moments to fill the lungs with the
pine-fragrant air, soak in the morning/evening chill,
and feast on the lushness of nature all around you.
In this,
the people in front and behind The Manor at Camp John
Hay, including general manager Heiner Maulbecker and
parent company Camp John Hay Development Corp., have
greatly succeeded.
Spread
over 246 hectares of perhaps the most precious tract of
land in the province, The Manor may have all the modern
luxuries and amenities down for the full enjoyment of
the guests, including its 175 beautifully appointed
rooms—all with a view of the magnificent natural beauty
that surrounds the property, each with Wi-Fi access for
the inveterate workaholic—plus its various F&B outlets
and its own wellness center, but there is still very
much the sense of the old Baguio, worldly and wondrous,
that informs one’s stay. From the hotel’s log
cabin-style aesthetics to the fireside chats over
cocktails that happen in the evenings at the Piano Bar;
from the freshness of the kitchen delights whipped up by
the fabulous Chef Billy King, to the leisurely walks one
could take at The Manor’s sprawling garden or its nearby
surroundings that include a picnic grove, a world-class
golf course, a butterfly sanctuary and an eco-trail,
among others. Indeed, waking up from the deepest, most
restful sleep to the invigorating scent of pine trees
and the dreamy gorgeousness of a dewy, fog-soaked
morning is one sensation that I will never trade for a
frolic on a white-sand beach and a night of steamy
island partying, hard bodies in full view
notwithstanding.
Despite
the fact that
Baguio is many hours removed from the seductive urban hum of Mega
Manila—or perhaps because of it—the city is not all that
difficult to fall in love with over and over and over
again. With its breathtaking natural beauty, its
deliciously temperate weather, its vibrant culture, and
an indigenous community that is proud but nonetheless
inviting, one might even be tempted to do a Marin Frist
of Men in Trees, the sophisticated Manhattanite
who left
New York
City for Elmo, Alaska, and never looked back.
Tempting, indeed, especially when it’s now 33°C in the
shade as I conclude this.
* Camp
John Hay Manor, Loakan Road, Baguio City, Philippines
2600. For inquiries: (6374) 446-0231 to 50 local
1003/1004 (Baguio),
(632) 845-0892 (Manila), reservations@cjhhotels.com. |
