Cafe in the Sky: Must visit when in Baguio

Yes it took me a month to write this blog post about Café in the Sky but even if it’s late, I know it will still be worth it because this post will be informative (hopefully). 

When I posted my quick review via Trip Advisor, I have received a couple of inquiries, thus posting an official blog about it (with more details) will definitely help a lot more people who are interested to see the magnificent view on top!

Quick Side Story - Café in the Sky is located at Tuba Benguet and they became extra famous when the teleserye “Forevermore” was played at primetime.
There were influx of tourists at that time and there were some areas of the forest that were taken for granted.  The control that was placed by DENR is to make the place a protected forest area and closed them for tourists.  Their case is still at the court and who knows when it will end – as for Café in the Sky – they want to end the case ASAP so that they will be open for tourists again and be fully operational.


That being said – I would like to confirm that Café in the Sky has NEVER been CLOSED. 

They continue to be operational but not to the optimum level where tourists are coming in and out from breakfast until dinner.

During the day (between 7am – 5pm) there is a DENR checkpoint, where, if you are driving with your private car, you will be put to stop and will be asked for a DENR permit to enter the premises.  This is not only applicable to tourists but also applicable to locals (people from Baguio themselves). So it is not advisable to go during the day using your private car.   Not only there is a DENR checkpoint, if you are a private driver, I doubt if you will be able to smoothly handle the terrain, as it is steep going up the mountain.

My piece of advise – before visiting Café in the Sky – make sure that you have contacted Kuya Marlon (their Chef at 0946 965 9332).  This contact number is also made available online when you look up "Café in the Sky" via Google.

He will be the one to connect you with respective FX Drivers who can drive you to and from Café in the Sky.

The pick up point is at Petron Station (this is just along Marcos Highway). 
It will take approximately 20 minutes going to Café in the Sky.

From Mountain Lodge (where we always stay when we are in Baguio), it was only a 15 minute taxi ride going to Petron Station. 


We were there at 4:30am, had some coffee and burger from Minute Burger and our FX Driver drove us to Café in the Sky at around 4:45pm.  The best time to go to Café in the Sky is before the break of dawn – like as early as 4am to 5am. 

Baguio Sky Line with their wonderful lights.

At this time of day:
1. The DENR checkpoint are a lot easier to pass through (I am note sure how it happened but it’s just that).
2. You will see Baguio City’s Sky Line and lights – it was magnificent and to echo what I wrote in my timeline – it was like looking at the galaxy
3. You will see the bright stars (please hope that it will not be cloudy) and the moon.  A definite view to look forward to
4. You will witness the break of dawn – though it’s not a sunrise golden view because of the mountains blocking the way – it was still a great experience
5. It’s very cold – I will peg around 10 degrees and it’s cool (haha)

The best view to take photos.

Café in the Sky do not serve a lot of dishes. I would say probably because they do not have a lot of visitors.  I must also warn you that they are quite expensive (see below menu) but are a sure win for the stomach, especially their TapSiLog.  I understand this in particular because they have low tourist visitors since their area was closed to tourists (again, 4 years ago) and of course they need to earn some money to continue their operation.

Once you arrive Café in the Sky – my tip is for you to not have breakfast yet. Why? You are really there to witness the view and not to eat.  My suggestion is to have some biscuits with you if in any case you will feel hungry.  Then proceed outside the Café at their terrace – in there, you will see a great view of the Baguio Lights, the stars and the break of dawn.  Below is a quick top view of the Café and where I recommend you to head and set up your cameras. 

Trust me – when we were there, we accidentally stayed at this spot and a lot of tourists guides were guiding their tourists at our exact place to take pictures – so better be there first.

Be prepared with your winter get up – well it’s not as cold as the winter weather in NYC or in Japan but definitely colder than the metro.  Also, the view at Café in the Sky is cool for winter clothes photo opps.

Enjoy your stay there because the view is really worth it!


Xoxo
 

Do we Blend in or do we Stand Out?

We are human beings and a quote says that no man is an island. Therefore we connect with people to be able to relate, live and learn.  From the time that we were born, we were surrounded with people, by our family and friends. 

Then, when we went to school, we were living our day to day life with our classmates, teachers, peers and school mates. A way lot of interaction around here.

Followed by our work environment, when we eventually enter the corporate world or even start our own business.  We interact with different people and we all know that there are a lot of personalities around the world. 

The question is, when we are with the rest of the people around us, do we blend in or we stand out? My answer it's not an exact science, because whether we blend in or stand out depends on the situation we are in. 

You see, and probably you also know, that all of us are Unique. There can be more than a hundred thousands of personalities around the world and no one can have the same exact personality.  With that in mind, we cannot say that in every situation we "Blend In" or "Stand Out". 

Let's take some situatuons where I believe it would be best to Blend In and Stand Out. 

School Play -- 
In this scenario you can do both. How? 
If you are playing a key role in the play, it is important for you to "Stand Out" and play the role you are assigned to. If you do it well then it will help on the overall plot of the play and make it successful.  If you overdo your role, it will appear exaggerated and it will not create a good storyline for the play -- in this particular scenario - you "Blend In".  Make sense?

Project Management --
This is when there can be different mini scenarios where you either Stand Out or Blend in -- Here's when:

1. If you are the Project Manager - definitely you have to stand out because you have to manage the entire project and get things going.

2. If you are not the Project Manager - but when there is a task that needs to be picked up. Opportunities knocks very seldom and when they do, it can make or break you. So when there is a task that needs to be done, grab it and "Stand out".  Make sure that you can accomplish it :)

3. If you are a team member - who is handling a big ticket item on the project.  You "Stand Out" in your turf (to make sure everything is done at your end) and "Blend in" with the entire team - this is another way of saying to become a "Team Player"

4. When a decision needs to be made - you can either "Blend In" with the rest of the people's decision (meaning, you just agree with the majority).  Or "Stand Out" and be firm with what you believe in even if it's only you who believed in it (or a few of you).

There can be different scenarios where we either Stand Our or Blend In. What's important is that when we do - it's always for our and our family's best interest.  Where we can learn, contribute and be fulfilled.

Bonus: In the Corporate Setting - If you see that an employee is "Blending In" with a lot of decisions and projects, we have to be cautious.  Employees who "Blend In" can be someone who doesn't care about a particular decision or someone who needs to learn how to be firm.  If it's the first one - we need to start talking to this employee and find out the motivation.


Xoxo

Today: How do we deal with Fear?

It's a whopping 9 months (parang nanganak lang!) since my last blog post! It was very long considering that I am very outspoken and loves to share a lot of things to people.

Several things and I don't want to explain in detail. *wink*

Let us just say that "A LOT" has happened in the past months that I had to prioritize the things that matters the most - MY FAMILY!

A LOT Means:
A - Amazing
L - Life Changing
O - Overwhelming
T - Tremendous

Events had happened!

After 9 months, I found the perfect blog post to start sharing again and it's very timely. I didn't think about it but it was given to me. It was given to me last Sunday, during mass and I feel blessed. 

Last Sunday's Responsorial Psalm it said:

 "The Lord has done great things for us; we are filled with Joy".

The past months has literally been a roller coaster ride and it was not your smooth roller coaster ride. I meant: 

1. Real quick turns along the way
2. Some lose screws that had to be fixed
3. Rusty railings that made the ride slow
4. Unstable base
5. Unreliable coaster operator

And a lot more!

But despite those miseries and frustrations, the Responsorial Psalm reminded me (us) that after all that happened, hey, we should all be grateful because indeed the Lord has done great things for us.  When I thought about it, yes indeed, I received a lot of things from Him and to share the bigger ones: 

1. My family and I are all alive
2. We know how to take care of our health concerns
3. I have a very secured and stable job (bonus: that I love what I am doing!)
4. I have a great support system from my family and friends
5. I still see Life as a Journey and I have faith in humanity

My list is endless and I can't thank Him for making me and my family strong! 

Another thing that I would like to share was some of the things shared by Fr Randy Baluso (we had mass at Padre Pio Eastwood) and he shared a line from the movie After Earth. 

"Danger is Real, but Fear is a choice" 

This is so true! I can say this because of the circumstances that my family and I experienced.  No one will ever help us conquer fear but ourselves and so my take away is we have to be Larger than our Fear. 

Fr. Randy even shared two abbreviations od FEAR. 

Forget Everything And Run.
Face Everything And Rice. 

I would go with the latter. How about you??

Xoxo

Happy Friday: Everybody Wins! 3 points how I did it!

Before we ended FY16, our team had our annual year-end activity and it was none other than a sport called "Bowling".  If you are aware, it's Sweets who loved this sport and I am a mere cheerleader -- had some problems at my back and thus was not able to even play.

Anyways, I think it's a great game choice because we all do not want to get sweaty under the heat of the sun -- Bowling Alley are air conditioned :)


We all can play but we were not experts and thus everything that happened was all about having fun, building relationship and TRYING (yes trying!) to even hit one PIN.


Lucky for me -- we were all normal  (mediocre) players -- not being able to hit a single PIN was like a norm -- haha! 





Come awarding day -- I was surprised that I was one of the top scorers! I
 even had an award for the "MOST NUMBER OF STRIKES" --- yes MOST NUMBER na ako ha :) If you would ask how many? I had two strikes!!

When I was telling Sweets -- i think what's going on at the back of his mind was:
"2 LANG?" --- "Well Sweets, hindi ako expert na kagaya mo!"


Learn more here --> Sweets Played Bowling!







ANYWAYS -- this is just my introductory story for the main story!
My realization is that -- in everything that we do, if we put our hearts in it, it will result to good things!


Like for this particular event that I was not even competitive because I really do not know how to play but only to find out that I indeed played well! ^_^


Simple things that I would like to share so that "WE ALL WIN".


1. Do not expect -- Do your best but do not expect for something in return.  Then if you will be rewarded because of what you did -- it will feel GREAT!


2. Communicate -- Tell something! Tell the people around you what you want.  How you want things to go and you will definitely get what you want -- Side note: you have to be patient of course!


3. Do not compare -- This is the greatest mistake one can make!  You will never be happy if you will compare yourself to others! Look at what you have achieved, what you have and BE HAPPY!  Remember, whatever it is that you have now that you are taking for granted, someone is praying for it!


Xoxo

Happy Friday: A Reminder!

One time my husband and I was on our way home while discussing some stuff that matters to our lives and then suddenly this.


I zoomed my eyes and took my camera to immediately make this shot.

It was in my phone that I read the entire message at the back of this tricycle and I was in awe.  I totally agree with this message and why do we have to see this message at the back of a tricycle while we were driving a car?


Have we (Sweets and I) thought of this? Us who is capable of buying the things that we want in life?  Have we thought that happiness is inward and not outward??


My point is: In life - we will always want something! Something that we feel will make us invincible or will make us famous.  But have we thought, even for a moment, that the simplest things are those that should always matter and should make us happy? 


What are those simple things that money cannot buy? Here are my thoughts:


1. Your relationship with your family - the memories you've shared together.
    May it be a simple meal together at home, jamming and singing time.
    Simply listening to your mom or dad as they share their stories.
    Helping your siblings with their school or life problems.


2. Doing what you really like to do - your passions! If you want to do journals!
    If you like to be healthy then run, if you like to sing then do so!
    It's a bonus if you love what you do at work! <I AM!>


3. Removing the negativities in your life - no explanation needed!
    We are all old enough to know. *Wink*




Quoting the small text above:


" Beware! Don't always be wishing for what you don't have.  For REAL LIFE and REAL LIVING is NOT RELATED to how RICH you are".


This is an eye opener that I would like to share to everyone.
Happiness is within us an what other people tells us! :)


Xoxo