Baguio City, Philippines– The quiet and vibrant city of Baguio may be old but never has it failed to offer the best of sceneries. In 2018, with its new status as a UNESCO Creative City, three existing heritage destinations were revamped to bring something new to the City of Pines.
One such old landmark of Baguio is the Dominican Hill and Retreat House. Regulars to the City of Pines better know this as the Diplomat Hotel. The hotel has become a widely-renowned destination not entirely because of its picturesque landscape but because of its disconcerting history. For one, its establishment to become a vacation house for Dominican friars over a century ago is enough to stir whispers but the story does not end there.
It also became a seminary for a time, Colegio del Santissimo Rosario, before becoming a prison camp during the Japanese occupation in 1945. Hence began the grim tales of headless nuns, sobbing children and ghosts of tortured and raped women. The original structure was damaged during the World War II bombing but was also rehabilitated to become the Diplomat Hotel.
This new purpose only lasted until 1986 when the manager of the hotel died. Since then, the site became the subject of urban stories and gruesome tales but horror aside, the establishment is reclaiming its place as a destination for artists. It was spruced up to celebrate the Opening Ceremony of the ENTACool; a giant mandala made by Maela Jose hung from the ceiling of the lobby and art installation exhibits.
Apart from the renewal of the Diplomat Hotel as an art house, Baguio is also inaugurating the Bell House in Camp John Hay as a photo and visual arts gallery. The place once served the US Army as a residence site and has long functioned as a museum. During the Creative Week, painters and photographer including National Artis Benedict Cabrera collaborated to mount “Baguio: Our City, Our Home,” a flashback of what the city used to look like.
In the same vicinity is the country’s first Forest Bathing trail. The trail is a part of Venus Tan’s Rev-Bloom campaign, an homage to the old Baguio she loved as a child. Simply put, it is “re-greening, re-blooming, reviving the colors of the city, colonial colors, green and white, and so certainly reviving arts.” Forest bathing has nothing to do with nakedness and drawing a bath in the forest; it is a figurative bath but likewise cleanses the soul by seeping in the energy of the forest. The practice has existed for many decades in Japan where it originated.
“When forest bathing came to my mind, it was not a new idea,” Tan said during her introduction in the Grand Launch of the trail. “It has become a lifestyle for the Japanese because it is proven that when one walks in canopies of forests, you actually lower your heart rate, it de-stresses,” she explained.
Basking in the lush forest and taking in the smell of the grass has calming and healing effects on trekkers. Forest Bathing discourages use of gadgets and talking; one must mindfully walk, be one with the Earth, listen to the chirping of the birds and crickets. Meditation and yoga were also offered during the launch.
“Heart of the revival is not hospitals. It’s about healing,” added Tan.
