Baguio-riffic

Let's see. Both Baguio and Hong Kong are cities on top of barren rocks. Definitely the weather in Baguio is better than in Hong Kong. And pollution wise, I would wager that the latter has a worse record than the former.

Let's take a look at the land area of the two. Hong Kong is as big as 88.3 sq km (or 34.5 sq. mi.), which includes Kowloon. Baguio, on the other hand is 57.5 sq km (or 22.2 sq mi.) .Wikipedia is the source folks. However for the Baguio wikiticle (My coined word for a wikipedia article), it is noted that the author for the Baguio piece did not cite any sources. Maybe this is oral history? Hehe.

In any case, why do I like to compare the two? I've said that already, because they are both cities on a pile of rocks. Probably one of the reason why Hong Kong progressed faster is because it has access to high seas. Historically, it has been observed that civilizations that live near bodies of water flourish more than those who live far away from one.

If you ask me, I like Camp John Hay better than even the best hotels of Hong Kong (although I've only been to one, so statistically speaking, my statement could be construed as pure gibberish hehe). Not only that, in terms of customer friendliness, the people of Baguio ranks up there while the people of Hong Kong could care less for you if you were not buying his/her goods.

It still boils down to government support and the influx of investments.

The grounds of said "Camp" has poorly lighted streets, something of an eyesore anywhere you go in the country. And that's one of the problems I have with the places you go to domestically. Then again, I guess Php 224,000 per lamppost is a bit overpriced, and would be an expensive capital expenditure.

The local businesses there have not progressed from being an ukay-ukay hunter's paradise or kulangot, Good Shepherd products, peanut brittle, ube jams, etc etc. I am not belittling these enterprises, but in terms of income and jobs creation, they do not have such a big impact.

Hong Kong was once like that, but they have made bigger strides in terms of economic progress. Baguio, already one of the premier local destinations, has only native food products as its main source of tourist income (for the average person). This is the same sad reality I have seen when I went to other provinces. I hope, as the call center industry expands into areas outside of Metro Manila, this will spur the growth of budding entrepreneurs.

Of course, these small businesses, although usually not registered, form what is termed as the Philippione underground economy. The Philippines has a big one, if I am not mistaken. This has caused inspiration for me to plan (focus on the word, planning) out a schedule to read a book entitled "The Mystery of Capital", an interesting book, and a very worthy and proud successor to one of my favorites, Banker to the Poor.