Burnham Lake Park

Burnham Lake Park
Baguio, Philippines has a lake in the center of the city; if you walk down hill from Session road, it would be hard to miss Burnham Park and the Lake. Session Road is the center of everything in Baguio; it is the starting point of all understanding of this large city, find Session road on the Map.

I said large, because we took a taxi for 100 Pesos to La Trinidad a city 2-3 kilometer north the other day and never left the city

Baguio is destined to become a megalopolis, one of the targets of immigration. Presently the people of the world are moving to the city, and off course, they must choose a city, Baguio is one of the chosen cities in the Philippines.

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Baguio, Philippines
Southeast Asia
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
Red Lion Pub and Inn - Baguio City, Philippines
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This is the lake in the center of Burnham Park, a family place; I suspect a good place to girl watch.

I would recommend you walk down Session Road, buy some cheap bread, walk to this park, sit and watch the Philippine culture it is the better half.

DUCK BOATS

There is an intangible, untouchable quality about Philippines girls and young people this can maybe be explained with these Duck Boats. Philippines people are playful, they say yes sir, hello sir, they can be extra ordinarily polite. It is difficult to explain, hard to touch, I can walk by 10 staff workers in the hotel and not one will say hello, they may never start a conversation. I can try to buy something and they will say no, they do not have it and I am looking right at it, there is no desire to work.

This is a no win situation for me, however the Philippines culture is childlike, best appreciated when you treat the people like children. Do not expect too much, do not hope for them to be responsible, however if you wanted to go ride on a Duck Boat, this is the perfect culture to share the ride.

There is a balancing act that needs to be done in the Philippines; you need to take a triple dose of Duck Boats daily and one dose of reality here to enjoy the country. This is not the place to do business, it is nuts, way over the edge crazy, the Philippines is a cultural amusement park. Take your triple dose of Duck Boats and keep your mouth shut, not an easy thing for me to do.

Burnham Lake Park

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Methinks those photos are SWAN boats ...but speaking of Ducks...Are you man enough to eat BALUT? Ahh, the thrill of a warm bodied embryonic duck with all its little feathers, beak and tiny feet sliding down your gullet will give you the true spirit of being a native wanna be!!

Nothing like waking up in the morning to the vendor hawking his warm duck eggs....BAA LOOOT, BAAAA LOOOOOOT.....

My family is crazy about Balut...I am crazy about a nice, roasted ADULT duck without the feathers, thank you!!

JD

Gadget from has written 1,020 comments

I met a Chef in New Orleans who loved food the same as you JD. I think you can be a food critic in Baguio.
Andy and Thai GF on 275 Peso bus to Vigan. Thank you BlackBerry.

Traveled 86 Countries | Visited 45 Cities | 24 Photos

TheButterflyTribeKhalifa from has written 22 comments

The duck boats are adorable, but where are my adorable pictures of children Andy? There MUST be a few children in Baguio somewhere. hehe

Happy duckboating, and three cheers for your Blackberry!

Khalifa

Im blown away by this post - this is superb and insightful travel writing, and makes me feel less bad for not completely understanding and winning over Philippines culture, not succeeding to make everything work perfectly for me. (like, why did the gorgeous hotel clerk at Cherry Blossoms Hotel treat me so curtly and not even smile?) Great observations, unlike other travel bloggers who see everything rosy and peachy you are not afraid to tell it is like it is and be politically incorrect.

And .. yes .. BALUT is a must try. However Im not sure I could it without a few San Miguels first, which Im trying to avoid now.

Gadget from has written 1,020 comments

A Quote on my Website

- Can you accept people and cultures just the way they are? -
Kirt in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil December 23, 2000
http://www.hobotraveler.com/newsletterhobo104insert.shtml

It is impossible to explain in one post the past, present and future of my travel experiences. Truly the world wants to see the world as rosy and peachy, where poor people are nice and if only given a chance they would succeed. The world is what it is, no more, no less, each person gets what they deserve.

I sat in a dorm room in Rio de Janiero while Kirt a Peace Corp volunteer from Ecuador challenged me,
- Can you accept a culture as it is, or do you need to change it? -

There is a difference between saying a comment about a culture and actually taking efforts to change it. I say many things, I do little to change them, I try my best to accept them. Complaining about a culture is a desire to change a culture, volunteering is a desire to be God and change a culture.

I was proud of Kirt, he understood he did nothing in Peace Corps, we can change our pants, we cannot change people, places or things.

There is a radical difference between what I think and what I do here in Philippines, I can accept everyone around me, however do not ask me to agree. I have no plans go down the food chain and become less developed.
Thanks
Andy Graham of HoboTraveler.com in Vigan, Philippines 2009

Traveled 86 Countries | Visited 45 Cities | 24 Photos

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