Philippines: Black Or White

There is No Such Thing Ever as Black or White

As what the Chinese writer named Lin Yutang said, “No one realizes how beautiful it is to travel until he comes home and rests his head on his old, familiar pillow.” While I long to travel to a place that I could  post to my social network and say that “this the place that is closer to living life freely.” I assured myself that I have found one and it just didn’t give me the word life but somehow more meaning to it. Maybe I just can’t describe the feeling but it’s up to you how to define what I am trying to say about this haven.

Hurdling the mountains of Cordillera in the Northern part of the Philippines, there lies a Beautiful City at the top of the mountain. I don’t know but there is something about the place. I think it is the fun while picking and eating fresh strawberries and lettuce in the huge strawberry and lettuce farm in La Trinidad, the thrill while doing the horseback riding at the Wright park with the horse of my choice “Cindy” the pretty white horse then stroll around Burnham and eat hot cinnamon bread at the nearby bakeries along Session road. Maybe the walk under the tall pine trees inside Camp John Hay with that amazing butterfly gardens and the calmness brought by the pine tree scent.

Or perhaps, the Philippine Military Academy and the parades of those snappy cadets that put more meaning to Baguio than just brooms, fresh vegetables like broccoli and the sweet treats like peanut brittle. The highlight of the place is their Panagbenga festival means “festival of flowers” held every last week of February, the coldest season in Baguio.

There, my eyes were joyfully witnessing the parade of millions of flowers into shapes of heart, strawberry, animals and everything. Oh I almost forgot, my stomach sounded as I left behind hungriness because of the event. I stopped down to the nearby eateries where I found the best Chopsuey in the world. Chopsuey is a Chinese recipe where all fresh vegetables were mixed together with butter. To sum it all up, I had a great time of my life and the place became closer to my heart. While we are at Kennon road the middle of huge mountain facades heading back home, I observed and realize how wonderful the world is.

The mountains were amazingly sculpted by the hands of the greatest ever. Driving down from the higlands back to the city, I felt the cool breeze and the soft sunshine kissing my cheek as the song “Kanlungan”, my favorite Filipino song about nature, kept playing on the car stereo. Sigh!

That was the moment when all I want to ask is for the time to stand still. Furthermore, the best picture that captured and saved in my memory about that trip is the moment when I was seeing thousands of red roses and my favorite Malaysian Mums flowers during the floral float parade. As I saw the “Thank you, come again” signage, I thought to myself and I could merely say that in Baguio there’s no such thing as ever black or white.

About the Author: I am Beverly L Antonio, 24 years old.I took up B.S. Psycholgy I am currently working as an Enlisted Personnel under Philippine Air Force. Find me on Facebook.