Escaping the City Lights

Wazzup Pilipinas!

The buildings, the different noises, the blinding lights, the angry voices of the drivers stuck in the traffic, things that can be observed in a place where time fly so fast, that if you’re not fast enough to catch up, you’ll be left out. It can be so tiring at times, you think you’ve been fast enough but in a matter of seconds, so many things can happen. This is the city. This is where I grew up, like I said it can be so tiring, but you only need to do two things in order to release the stress brought by the life in the life in here, and that is to take a break and escape.

On the night of May 29, we left the busy streets of Manila, together with my parents, my sisters, my grandma and uncle, we went on an 12 hour drive to my grandmother’s hometown, Bangued, Abra.

The car ride to Abra was really fun; stories were exchange while 90’s music is being played. Everyone shared their funny stories, trying to kill some time, except for me. I just enjoyed listening and laughing along with them.

After almost 7 hours of drive, tiredness suddenly kicked in, one by one, everyone started to drift to sleep, but I didn’t. Instead I try to enjoy the silence, I opened the window beside me and the fresh air came rushing in, it’s so calming. I looked outside and I can see these lights being emitted by the buildings, it’s not too much, but it’s something, at least for me. I'm so far away from the city. Finally. 




The next morning, I woke up with the aromatic smell of coffee, we came to a stop in a gas station to have some breakfast, after that we were back on the road, after another 4 hours, we finally reached our destination.

We were greeted by friendly people wearing these very welcoming smiles. We were all tired and sleepy, so we’ve decided to rest first, and postpone the adventure for the next day. 

The next day, we drove down to Vigan, Ilocos Sur. Vigan is amazing, and it’s just really awesome. The old houses gives this major throwback feeling. I also enjoyed the food, I tried this type of specific soup that is very similar to "papaitan." We also visited the town’s plaza where all types of food are being sold, we also tried the very famous, "empanada." It was actually great, sitting in the open, eating a lot of foods while talking about stuff.

After that, we went to Baluarte. They have these 3 adorable tigers, they’re huge but they’re still adorable. I want to hug each one of them to be honest, but good thing I didn’t.

We spent the rest of the day shopping, taking pictures and of course, eating. We all went home with a smile in our faces.

On our way back to Abra, we passed by this sea side. We just sat there and took pictures and watched the sunset. After that we were back on the road again. It’s actually really exhausting, but the adventure is not yet over.

The next day it’s time to say goodbye to Abra and its time to say hello to Baguio City!!! It’s actually my first time to visit the City of Pines so I’m quite excited. We did a lot of things there, but the most memorable one for me is the Superman ride in Treetop Adventure on Camp John Hay.

The view took my breath away, literally. We were suspended 15 ft above the air, and below you can see the tall trees and the amazing view of the mountains of Baguio City. It was only a 2 minute ride so I wish it was longer. Time really does fly so fast when you’re enjoying yourself.

It was around 5 pm when we left Baguio City, and thus the end of my little adventure. It was really memorable especially because I got to spend my vacation with my grandma whom I didn’t get the chance to bond with most of the time. The ride back home was so quiet, maybe because everyone was exhausted, even me. We arrived home at around 2 am and I went straight to bed without changing my clothes. I fell asleep, not even noticing that I'm back in this loud, noisy city.

My trip to Vigan and Baguio was really fun and memorable, but here I am again, back in being the city girl that I was. I can’t wait for summer again. I cant wait to take a break again, and to just forget everything, and to just enjoy myself once and for all.


Contributed by Bianca Lazaro