in baguio, in october

google's aerial view of baguio

view of the cathedral surrounded by structures along session road

view of burnham park

university of the cordilleras and the huge bowl behind it

session road

as i post this entry...

these days, there aren't too many pine trees in baguio. still, i decided to go up to finish a couple of manuscripts. baguio has always been good to me. i completed many poems here. i used to take long trips in college from manila to this city as a tutor-volunteer to underprivileged students. i spent many summers with writer-friends during the annual u.p. national writers' workshops. most importantly, i could not finish anything solid in manila. i need this short break very badly.

here, i've been walking to my favorite coffee shop daily. tantalized by the aroma of benguet coffee, i write religiously from noon to dusk. then i take a long walk back to my hotel room to work till dawn.

i'm back to my australia schedule. stay tuned.

p.s. occasionally, i bump into old friends and former students. while walking, a handful of local residents would stop and ask me if i am THAT person from the TV commercial. local and national newspapers are still running advertorials about me and the milk campaign. magaling talaga mag-promote ang nestle at ang chris cahilig consultancy inc. because of these guys, i am not totally isolated from the rest of the world.