Our school proposed a four-night-five-day leisure tour to Baguio City and Manila for our class before the semestral break. After a month of preparation, a meeting was called to finalize the details of the trip. Everyone was excited because most of us had never been to Baguio City before! It was very interesting to note that it took us only few days to prepare.

As early as 2pm, the campus was filled with excitement. Bags of various shapes and sizes scatterred all over the place while everyone's busy of bamming around with friends. We left Legaspi City at 5pm onboard five chartered buses. A trip to Manila from Legaspi is about 12 hours. I didn't know what was happening inside the other buses during this 12-hour journey but our group had made it a lot more enjoyable! There's a lot of laughing and chanting; some were busy with card games and some other sort of stuffs. We even enjoyed the onboard karaoke where everybody joined singing until 12 midnight. That was really fun!

The bus arrived 6am at the SM Megamall in Mandaluyong City where we had to exchange bus to Victory Liner. The buses left at 8am. Meals were served onboard while we started our travel to Baguio City--the Summer Capital of the Philippines. Most were quiet--still getting enough sleep. We stopped in Tarlac for an hour to have some lunch. We were thrilled as we travailed our ways up the the highlands. The roads were narrow--some with blind curves and sharp turns and even deep ravine on one side. A bus takes an average of five hours on a journey stretching 250 kilometers from Manila through Kennon Road. It would be longer if you'll take the Marcos Highway or the Naguilian Road.

As we arrived the city proper, the rain started to fall, adding to the cool and crisp climate of Baguio. The average temperature is around 20 degrees celsius; they say it seldom exceeds 26C. We arrived 1:30pm at Hotel Supreme where hot soup and light snacks were served. The hotel is located along Magsaysay Avenue, overlooking the rolling hills. Because of our number, around 200, it took us sometime to complete room assignment. There were four to eight persons in each room depending on its size. After an hour rest, we went to Burnham Park, the only lake found in the heart of Baguio. It is located at Harrison Road. We leisurely explored the vicinity including the nearby shops. We remained there late at night before we went back to the hotel.

The following day, the group went to the Philippine Military Academy. On our way, we stopped at The Mansion and the outskirt of the Camp John Hay for some souvenir photos. We arrived at the Academy just in time for the "Silent Drill", a showcase of military drill performed by PMA cadets every Saturday. It was very impressive. We went on to the Mines View Park overlooking a cliff with some other attactions. You can hunt and bargain for souvenir items ranging from sweets, bags, rags, hats and other native products. At night, we spent fun at the poolside of the hotel.

Later that day, the group climbed to the Baguio Cathedral. From there, we proceeded to the wet market to buy some fruits and some other stuff. That afternoon, we packed our things for another two-day adventure in Manila.

We arrived Manila at 7pm. The buses parked at a vacant lot near the Galleria Suites. Some of them slept inside the bus while waiting for an accomodation which was being arranged. Some settled chatting outside while the others went to the malls. At 8pm, chicken meals were sent to the area for our dinner. At 9pm the buses left us at the parking lot because it was taking them too long; as per agreement, they should had been released by that time. At 9:30, a new set of buses arrived. There was a glow in each face as they find a place inside the bus only to find out that the buses would take us not to the hotel but back to Legaspi City!

There was panic, everybody's upset and complaining. They insisted to stay in protest. The noise and tension caught the attention of the security personnel. Some police officers came and requested us to leave. We asked them to give us more time because we had to settle the issue. At 11:30pm the owner of the buses arrived and insisted that we must leave according to their agreement with our school. It was getting late and there was no sign that the school administrator was coming back. Everyone's restless so they decided to leave. I stayed because it was my original plan to continue my vacation after the excursion; it was semestral break anyway.

The story did not end there; some of my friends told me they were staying also and assured me they had a place to stay. I found out that they didn't know how to get there. We called their relatives one by one and fortunately they were able to fetch them. It took me until 2am the next day to 'dispatch' all of them!

I learned that those who took the bus home arrived at 12nn at the campus but nobody heard their plea. The next semester did not promise us anything; the issue died as if nothing happened.

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