Baguio Trip: The Aftermath

After a quick tour at the Mines View Park and shopping for "pasalubong", we went back to the hotel to pack up our things. As soon as we were ready, Jeff suggested having our last photos taken inside our unit.



We took a taxi to get to the Victory Liner terminal. I initially thought that getting a ride home would be easier since most tourists already left the day before (Sunday). But that was the worst assumption I have made. The terminal was a pandemonium! People were all scattered, some are just sitting on the floor. Jeff and Joie fell in line to buy our tickets while we all waited to watch our baggage. Unfortunately, the earliest departure time was 9 pm.

We were all willing to stay a day longer and just leave the next day but Erlie had to take her shift at 7am. So Boyet called Kuya Roy to ask if there are other bus terminals besides the Victory Liner. He said that there are three other bus operators near SM Baguio. But we got this information a little too late because Jeff and Joie already paid for our VL ticket. So we rushed to SM Baguio hoping there would be earlier trips to Manila.

We first saw the Philippine Rabbit terminal which was definitely less crowded. The earliest departure was 3pm, approximately an hour away. While they were buying the tickets, Boyet and I dashed back to VL to have our ticket refunded. We were there at the cashier’s office around 2 pm. The guard asked us to wait for a few minutes because the cashiers were changing shifts. We thought of selling the tickets but the one Boyet asked has a 3pm ticket. Hehe! So we went back to the cashier’s office but we were not entertained. We saw a couple, a foreigner and his Filipina wife. Apparently, they have been there for almost 30 minutes to get their refund. The foreigner told us, “It’s very easy to buy tickets from them but it’s very hard to get refunds.” We surrendered as it was already 2:45. We couldn’t risk being left behind by the 3 pm ride so we headed back to the Philippine Rabbit terminal.

I have always fantasized of being a part of The Amazing Race. And luckily, I had a taste of it even until the remaining hours of our stay in Baguio. The PR bus was not as comfortable as the VL but I didn’t mind. Jeff neither!