And now for a public service announcement.
Mia and I took a trip to Baguio this week–it was a chilly 9 degrees! (The coldest in 20 years.) Thanks to Pynky Magsino of PNKY for letting us stay in her cottage for the first two days. There is no place in Baguio quite like her cottage and B&B, and breakfast at the PNKY Cafe is a must.
The rest of the trip was spent at the Baguio Country Club, where service is excellent and their food very tasty. (I ate dinuguan in the caddies’ lounge one morning and it was delicious!) They also gave Mia and I two loaves of their famous raisin bread, which, needless to say, is history as I write this.
Andy Maglipon of The Orchard gave us a copy of this shortcut to Baguio. It took us all of four-and-a-half hours from Balintawak to Baguio City. We found that it’s not entirely accurate, but it’s not difficult to follow. Just bring a pen and brush up on your addition and subtraction skills, and you’re all set.
It was a pleasant drive through rice paddies and salt beds, through charming little towns…you won’t regret it. Roads are well-paved, but perhaps it’s best if you travel in the daytime. Enjoy!
MANILA TO BAGUIO
At the end of NLEX, take the CONCEPCION-MAGALANG route towards Baguio. At the sign “To Concepcion, Tarlac” right beside the SUBIC-CLARK-TARLAC highway, reset your odometer to 0.0 and turn RIGHT.
| KM | DIRECTION | REMARKS/LANDMARK |
| 0.0 | Right | To Concepcion, Tarlac |
| 3.0 | Left | After Caltex station on your left (there’s actually a funeral parlor right at the corner, but who wants to use that as a landmark, right?) |
| 21.4 | Left | La Paz, Tarlac/TOTAL station to your left |
| 22.8 | Right | Towards Victoria, Tarlac |
| 38.5 | Right | Victoria, Tarlac |
| 38.6 | Left | Via Pura |
| 45.2 | Right | Tree in the middle/To Guimba, Nueva Ecija |
| 57.1 | Left | To Cuyapo, N. Ecija |
| 87.4 | Left | Towards Rosales, Pangasinan |
| 89.8 | Right | Towards Asingan, Pangasinan (Interesting tidbit: Ever wonder why there are so many salt beds in Pangasinan? Because it’s ‘pang-asinan’. I’m not kidding.) |
| 98.1 | Left | |
| 102.8 | Left | Via Asingan, Pangasinan |
| 110.1 | Right | |
| 116.9 | Right | |
| 117.6 | Left | |
| 118.1 | Right | Binalonan town proper |
| 119.1 | Right | Binalonan Junction to Baguio (you’re actually on McArthur Highway) |
BAGUIO TO MANILA
| KM | DIRECTION | REMARKS/LANDMARK |
| 0.0 | Left | Binalonan Junction |
| 1.7 | Left | Binalonan town proper |
| 2.3 | Right | |
| 3.0 | Left | |
| 9.8 | Left | |
| 17.1 | Right | |
| 21.8 | Right | |
| 30.1 | Left | |
| 32.5 | Right | To Cuyapo-Guimba, N. Ecija |
| 62.8 | Right | |
| 74.7 | Left | |
| 81.3 | Right | |
| 81.4 | Left | |
| 97.1 | Left | |
| 98.5 | Right | |
| 116.9 | Right | |
| 119.9 | Left | To Concepcion-Magalang road |
| 128.7 | Right | To NLEX |
