BENGUET: Bell Church

I'd been to Baguio City before but its just now that I've known about this place. I thought its just me but everyone else with me in the trip didn't know about this, good thing our rented van driver took us here.

It was another cold early morning about 6:30 AM at 11 degrees Celsius. No one's here. At first we hesitated to go inside as we thought it was close but when we get up the stairs it was open and we're the only visitor at that time.

The place was so peaceful. First thing I noticed was the concrete stairs with Chinese inscriptions. I don't really know what's written there, maybe the donors just like other parks and churches. As most Taoist temples, you'll see dragon highlights and most of the structures around were colored red.

 

How to get there:

If you're going by car, coming from Baguio City, take the Magsaysay Road, the bell church is located a few steps from the boundary welcome arch of La Trinidad, Benguet.

If you're commuting, the easiest is to ride a taxi specially if you are in a group of 3 t¥ 4 person, besides taxi fare in Baguio is cheaper than everywhere else in the Philippines. from Baguio City, ride a jeepney going to La Trinidad then tell the driver to drop you off in Bell Church. Fare is Php 8.50.

If you opt to go to strawberry farm first, you can ride a jeepney going to Baguio City and tell the driver to stop in Bell Church. Same jeepney fare at Php 8.50.

This might be one of the boring places to visit in Baguio. But for me, its a must see.

  

Bell Church | Baguio Taoist Temple

Address: Magsaysay Ave., Baguio

Entrance Fee: Free

Open Hours: 6:00AM – 5:00PM

Indonesia: More like the Philippines

Batam, Indonesia, a small island located near Singapore which can be reached through ferry ride. Me and my best friend booked a half day tour to Batam together with our Singapore tour.

 We woke up early in the morning and went straight to the Ferry terminal. We exchange currency to rupiah [Rp] which is the official currency of Indonesia while waiting for the departure time. We got excited as we just instantly turned millionaires.

Upon arrival in Batam, the immigration officers at the Ferry Terminal are strict and they expect visitors to be silent while waiting in line to get our passports stamped. They said that there are  instances where visitors were sent back to Singapore for not adhering to the rules and regulations.

When we got out of the Ferry terminal, we were surprised that the place looked just like the Philippines, specially the locals. You will not be able to know until they talk on their language which is also similar to tagalog. In fact, they have some words the same as ours but only have different meanings.

Time to start the tour.....

What's a trip tp Batam without having some Kueh Lapis? We were brought to a place where I had a zip of a very delicious tea, I really liked it, I wish I was able to bring home some. Also tried sample cakes which you have an option to buy a whole piece. We opted not to buy since we will be staying some more days in Singapore and might not be fresh enough when we consume it back home.

After trying out some cakes we went ahead to Mama Vihara Duta Maitreya Buddhist Temple which I heard from our tour guide that it was the biggest temple in Batam. At first we were hesitant to go inside as I was wearing shorts and a mini dress for my best friend but we found out that they allow it inside so we entered and just removed our sandals.

Outside, there is a row of Laughing Buddhas with the 12 zodiac signs!

I was born on the year of snake

It was almost lunch when we left the temple and we went straight to Golden Prawn 555 Seafood Kelong Restaurant. I heared that this is where they usually bring tourists to eat.

The place is similar to the native restaurants here in the Philippines and lunch was a seafood affair where we were served with fish, prawn, clams and crabs. However, taste was really nothing to rave about. 

Lunch done! Moving on to our next destination, Golden Go Cart circuit as well as a Taman Mini Indonesia Indah featuring miniature houses from the various Indonesian provinces.

Batam Miniature Park showcases 33 types of miniature houses originated from different provinces in Indonesia. Here are some of our favorites:

Our next and last destination is BCS Mall where we have an option to go for massage (own expense at $20/pax for 1 hour) or go shopping. We chose to just look around, find something to buy and have some snacks.

That wraps up our Batam Indonesia tour, the guide sent us back to the ferry terminal and went back to Singapore.