SM City and Wal-Mart are not too different.

When I first landed in the Philippines in June of 2010, I really didn't know what to expect. I knew Manila and every town was crowded and traffic is a nightmare but what I didn't expect is the amount of malls especially the SM city malls. I have knew of the malls that a lot of people frequent because of the shopping and the air conditioning since not a lot of people have air conditioning in their homes. However lately, I heard more of these malls are starting to pop up. On the way to Baguio, I see a lot of them. North EDSA (which is the biggest on the Philippines), Pampanga, Tarlac, and Rosales. Some of these happen even in the remote of places in the provinces.

SM City Mall in Rosales

Right now there are 48 of these supermalls in the Philippines including 4 in China. One blogger popped up a question if the SM malls are good for the towns when it comes to jobs, or does it damage the charm of the town or the city? This pretty much is the same question when it comes to Wal-Mart in the states. We have a lot of Wal-Mart's and some of them are converting them into Supercenters, but they are mostly in the suburbs. There is one Wal-Mart in the Chicago limits and the company wants to build more but is causing controversy because Chicago has a lot of small businesses that it thrives on. Same with Baguio. There are lot of shops along Session Road and just noticed that more people flocked to the mall. Is this good? Well I have nothing against wrong against SM City and Wal-Mart when it comes to it. Both companies are a money making machine they have to do what to do. I heard and read that they are going to build another SM Megamall in Cebu. Cebu has one and Cebu is not like Manilla in any ways but they are planning a bigger mall that it will be become the 4th largest mall in the Philippines over the SM Mall Of Asia. Cebu? Really? So another question comes up, will it kill the charm that Cebu has or will it bring more jobs the city and the people need? That is a ongoing debate but it will be interested to see where it goes from here.

A typical day

After all that travelling with very little rest, I somehow woke at 10AM getting 6 hours of sleep.  I felt tired and exhausted but one thought in my mind said "It is a new day." Looking out at the window of our quarters, I see other buildings around me with the sun shining. In Baguio, it is not really humid so it is all comfortable. I just look around of where I was at and said, "I really can't believe that I am here."

Our typical morning would be the same through the whole trip. I would normally wake up at 6 to 7AM, putting on the morning shows. It is all in Taglog but that is okay. I just wanted to watch and observe. I usually have a bowl of cereal and just feeling the weather and the feeling of it all. I would watch The Price Is Right and then Showtime after that. Showtime was a brand new show that I was starting to get into at the time.  I would watch it every morning and I do enjoy the programming. They make sure the audience is well entertained and it is like a celebration. After Showtime, there is Wowowee which is the most popular show. Everybody back home is taking to me about saying how much they love the show. I have been a fan of the show but I noticed it is noticeably different than I used to. It is loosing some lustre and it was not the same but it was still very popular. After those shows are over, we go straight to the SM Mall or go anywhere around Baguio. After Noon, the travels that we took through was the most memorable for me. More stories to come.

Will we ever get there?

When we left the Mall Of Asia around 8:30 PM, we are on our way to Baguio. Apparently it had been fixed so getting out of the mall and actually getting around Manila was a challenge in itself. People were going home and still there was traffic, everywhere! We have all of our suitcases and and 5 people jammed in the van. We hit Roxas Blvd and seeing all the lights from one side to the other all in the row. I felt I was in a different place . All of us were exhausted and it was beginning to show. We have a 6 hour drive so the question of the night was, will we ever get there? We stopped at a service station and the driver was taking a while that it felt like hours. Then all of a sudden, the hood was open and he was cooling the radiator so it wouldn't overheat. This might be a long night.

We are on our way and after sometime, were were on the NLEX. The expressways are very similar. They have ramps to get on other roads and they do have rest stops along the way. The speed limit is 100kph and they are strictly enforced. I don't remember the driver even going past 100kph. During the whole time, the driver didn't say anything to us for the whole way. Apparently the day that we had was very exhausting. At one rest stop, he bought medication so he can still be alert and wake up. Now that is the time where I was afraid. A thought came into my had that said "We got to trust the driver." Once we got on the Subic-Clark expressway, it was smooth sailing.

We took a couple of other roads and went through the provinces. You see shops along the streets and everything was dead. I did see a couple of businesses still open but it is a Sunday. During that whole length I was dozing on and off. I did take a nap and hear the radio full of news and love songs so it was relaxing. Every time we get into a new town, I see the Jolibee, Chow King and all other fast food fares. There was a lot of construction too so we would veer off the main road into a temp road. No high tech construction machines here.

There are two ways to get to Baguio. We can take Marcos Highway or Kennon Road. Kennon was more direct and you will see the scenic better. Marcos Highway goes out of the way but it is a safe bet. The driver chose Kennon Road and from there were were on a ride for our life. This road is really hilly and curvy. We are going up on the mountain to get to the top. In my dozed state, we came to a construction area. We veered steeply down and we went across a stream. It was bumpy and scary all at the same time. Even worse off, all the driving up that hill and the weight really put a stress on the engine. Every once in a while, we pull to the side and the driver puts water in the radiator to cool it. This was happening every time we go up a hill or driving through a curve. It felt like hours just by going through this. We were very close to the city and the water was almost gone. Will we ever get there? Somehow by luck, we stop over at a auto repair store and they had a hose. This driver was spraying water all you can. There was another driver next to us and he was doing the same thing. It all felt surreal all at the same time.

We were finally on our way and we finally hit Baguio. We saw the Lions head and we decided to stop off. We were all exhausted and tired. We are finally here and the picture that we took really shows how we all felt at that time. It was 3:15AM in the morning by the time we took photos. We were both exhaused, perspiring and anxious to get to our quarters.

At the Lion's International monument in Baguio. We were exhausted and it shows.

We finally headed to our quarters in Baguio and the guard was waiting for us. The driver parked in the garage and the challenge was to bring all of our luggage. There was no elevator or anything so we have to go up 4 flights of stairs.  The guard out front with his rifle in hand, help us with all our luggage. When all of it was done, we are finally here. After a 18 hour flight, going through customs with immigration problems, 3 hours waiting out in the humidity at NAIA, 5 hours at the MOA and a 7 hour drive to Baguio, all I can do is just fall on the bed and said "Thank god I am here but what a memorable first day!." My adventure continues.