Mines View Park, Baguio (Leonard Wood Area)

     Our first stop was the Mines View Park. From the downtown area, we went to an informal terminal and rode a jeepney with the Plaza-Mines View route and paid around 10 pesos each.  

    Shown below is the map for better navigation towards said terminal. If you're really interested in feeling the culture and the people of a place, riding jeepneys and other public transpo will greatly help your cause. It's like looking at the place from the viewpoint of the locals. You get to observe them in their "natural" behavior, how they go about their everyday living, talking to each other using their own dialect, how they react to certain stimuli, and the way they interact with strangers and tourists either by answering your queries or conversing with you on certain topics. :)
   
     Especially if you're with a large group, hiring your own private van would be more convenient but the downside is, you'll just be hopping from one tourist spot to another and most of the time, you'll only be mingling with fellow tourists aside from your own groupmates.  

                                    Kindly click on the photo to view its enlarged version :)

   We ate our breakfast @ McDo which is just adjacent to the jeepney terminal and proceeded from there.

   Welcome to Mines View Park! The first thing that'll welcome your senses would be the flourishing ministores selling anything under the sun from plants, to souvenirs, to food, and even the privilege of taking photos on whatever it is they're offering. :p

    This one cost 10 pesos per shot so might as well settle for this one "good" shot. :) You can also take a pic with a big St. Bernard dog wearing shades. We were just contented on looking at him though, and he was really friendly and used to people petting and touching him.

      The reason why the place is called by its name is literally because it offers a view of Benguet's mines as well as the Cordillera Mountains. There are also binoculars available for a fee (10 pesos) if you want to have a clearer look. 

      Here's a photo of the two of us donning a sample of the Cordillera natives' wardrobe. You can mix and match together with  the props for only 10 pesos for as many shots as you want, and for as long as you feel like wearing it.

     Apparently, the peak is already the highlight itself and the rest would just be strolling around the stores filling out the place. We were expecting more considering the fact that the place was called a "park" but labelling it as a "peak" is rather more suitable as the rest of the place is already a marketplace and nothing resembling a typical park. Oh well, as they say, your Baguio trip won't be complete without visiting the Mines View "Park" so might as well come here for the heck of it. Aja! :D