Baguio Heaven

There’s this particular song we used to sing in grade school. It goes like this: “Oh Baguio, heaven for all people. For you we thank the Lord and God of all..” Speaking for people who have lived in Baguio and truly known its beauty and mystery, Baguio is heaven. Not to experience its wonder is to live a diminished life.

Having spent almost two years of my life in Manila and the rest in Baguio, the distinction is quite clear. Compared with Manila – where flooding is a norm and people do not sleep; where people do not walk anymore but would rather take tricycles to go some place only a hundred meters away; where everyone is in a rush and everything is fast-paced; where the concept of trust, trees and trench coats are non-existent; where the heat is unbearable and the air, deadly; where traffic and two-hour daily commutes are a way of life - Baguio is, indeed, heaven.