Holiday in the north — Baguio, La Trinidad

I DECIDED not to defer my long-planned trip to Baguio for the weekend of August 23, despite the sudden announcement of the four-holiday economics, which made August 23, 24, 25 and 26 one long contiguous holiday. It brought into question how the expressways would handle it because they have failed many times, and how traffic would be in Baguio.

As it was, two friends scheduled to join me chickened out, correctly foretelling heavy traffic. The expressways on August 24 were OK (couldn't leave August 23 due to a commitment but heard they were slow, being the first day, with the electronic pass system failing in some places). We reached the foot of Kennon Road in good time. The road is open with much road work going on, including the building of a tunnel in a prone-to-erosion spot. But we made it in an hour and 15 minutes to Baguio on Kennon. Traffic coming down the road was unusually heavy. My guess was Baguio residents making their own getaway from the city, which was bound to be crowded.