Baguio City is hailed as the Summer Capital of the Philippines because of its cool weather all year round. It is so because it is in a mountainous region with elevation of around 2250 meters above sea level.
If you visit the city, one of the attractions not to miss, where you can also do shopping, is the night market.
Aside from Session Road that the city closes from vehicular traffic and converts it to pedestrian mall every Sunday, Harrison Road is also being converted to pedestrian mall. The difference is that only one side of the latter, the side to Burnham Park, is closed at night and every night. The night market is from 9:00 pm to 1:00 am the following day.
These are how Harrison Road looks like before the market rises.
Click for image full view
I was a bit early during my latest exploration of the market. It was about quarter to nine and bulks of merchandises were already unloaded along the side of the road. The vendors seem anxious while waiting.
I stayed in one of the waiting sheds and played Sudoku on my phone. It wasn't long when I heard commotions. I raised my head to see what was going on and was awed with what I witnessed. The stalls were already up and the vendors were busy displaying their merchandises. I checked the time. Two minutes before nine. Amazing! It did not seem a minute and all tents were up. I didn't realize it was that easy.
The market starts in front of Igorot Garden. It is across the intersection of Harrison Road and Shanum Street. It stretches along Harrison Road until the intersection with F. Calderon Street in front of Baguio Patriotic School. According to Google Earth, that is a stretch of 335 meters.
The start of the market has overpass that is almost a square which make it a perfect spot of taking photos from above.
Let's go down and tour the market stretch...
The moment this side of the road was closed and stalls were up, shoppers, and maybe just onlookers, started filling the area. I thought the people standing by were the vendors but then I realized, yes, there can only be few vendors. Most of those on standby were shoppers waiting.
At the start of the market were entrance and exit areas. There were ushers at the exit who stop people from taking the short cut of entering through it. They were in civilian clothes so I am not sure if they were assigned by the city government or by the vendors' association (which I wondered if they have one).
Near the entrance was a SWAT truck which felt pleasing and appeasing. Apparently, the city government has mobilized security forces to watch the market.
I was missing the street food carts in the market. Years ago when my friends and I visited it, there were stalls of street foods in front of where the SWAT truck was parked. Back then, I was a bit hesitant with the garbages and food residues that may get into the other products because people buy their food and take them along while strolling the market. Now there is not a trace of those food carts. I supposed the city government limited the market for non-food products only due to hygiene.
From the entrance, one can already notice the apparels as the dominant product on display. Most of these are pre-loved clothes which I heard were imported. I heard someone commenting to his companion.
"Kung matiyaga ka lang maghanap, makakatiyempo ka rito ng maganda talaga ang quality at mura pa."
"If you are diligent in searching here, you can find products that are really good at a low price."
I agree, I thought. Almost all my clothes while still studying came from ukay-ukay. That is the lingo for pre-loved items on sale.
Wonder how affordable the prices are? That is up to 90% off from the regular price. Let's have samples...
The apparels come in huge bales from overseas. There is a high chance that a buyer can find high quality items when the bales are newly opened because it hasn't been chosen from yet. This is the reason why vendors would use that as marketing technique to attract buyers. They would tag their display as "newly opened" or "new arrival."
The price for Baguio T-shirts was about 20% off. It is not as huge discount as the others because the shirts are brand new.
Aside from apparels, there were footwears. Some were new and many were also pre-loved. Few stalls that sell pre-loved shoes just dump their merchandise into a pile. Surprisingly, shoppers would crowd in and scavenge for their perfect pair.
The apparels and footwears were the top ones in drawing shoppers at the night market. I guess it is unspoken but known that the reason for such is the very low price. Again, for as long as you are diligent in hunting, you can find a very good catch.
Along the stretch of the market were policemen roaming along with their K9s. Like the SWAT truck, it was appeasing to see these authorities around and ensuring safety of the market.
The night market is considered a tourism promotion so it is not a surprise to see souvenir items on display. These can range from keychains, purse and wood crafts that carry the Baguio feel.
There were few stores that sell variety items like face masks, electronic accessories and blings.
The market was livelier with other products on display. Bags, toys, perfumes, leather goods, and more...
What amused me were the dream catchers. One or just few pieces did not seem appealing to me. This time, they looked lovely in a row and at night. I wonder, do they really catch dreams? I may get one for my bedroom someday.
In the middle of the crowd inching his way in was a taho vendor. Taho is a sweet snack made of soft tufo added with tapioca pearls and mixed with caramel syrup. Now this was the only food vendor I saw in the market. I wondered how he got in because I had the impression that food were restricted inside the market.
The stretch of the night market may seem just a short distance to stroll but if you really want to find good products, you may not notice the time that passes so fast and you may get hungry. So be sure to have you dinner before going there. And you may still want midnight snack after shopping. Worry not! That is because I found the food stalls nearby. They were transferred to the parking lot beside the road towards Burnham Park.
What I missed in this night market as compared to a regular market are foods. Now that the stalls for street foods were separated in another slot, I have to admit that the night market was much cleaner and more hygienic.
Overall, the night market is a really cool place to hang and stroll along while in Baguio City. Truth to be told, not everyone who goes there do so to shop. Many would go there just to kill time while enjoying the cool mountain breeze. Just like what I just did! 馃槃