Three of Baguio City's Most Popular Ukay-ukay Hotspots

Shelves full of pre-loved (and some brand new) sneakers and boots from an ukay-ukay in Bayanihan, Baguio City.

Before the year 2017 ends, by God's will, I might be traveling to somewhere with negative temperatures.

While I'm all consumed with the excitement of flying off to my third G7 country after Canada and Japan, 'til a few weeks ago I was plastered with worry about what I should wear to keep my fingers and toes attached to my hands and feet and where I could shop for them. Just as I resigned myself to making orders for winter boots and ski apparel from online shops, my mom presented her brilliant idea of staying for a few nights in Baguio to scout all the ukay-ukay establishments within the city.

And if there's any place in the Philippines where ukay-ukay shopping is a pleasant experience because of the constantly cool climate and the wide variety of items for sale, it's gotta be the Summer Capital, Baguio City.

A photo of the Harrison Night Market by Dino Roya, Flickr.

The word "ukay-ukay" is a play on the aphaeresis of the Filipino word "halukay" which literally means to "dig sloppily", because digging sloppily is what is best implied to be done to the mountain-like piles of pre-owned clothes, toys, bags, and shoes being sold for dirt-cheap that make up the exciting experience that ukay-ukay is known for. The Filipino adaptation of a thrift store, ukay-ukay shops in the past have delightfully evolved from being dingy stores whose floors were covered with boxes of unorganized pre-loved stuff to well-lit and roomy spaces with racks upon racks of well-arranged articles in hangers, shelves, and mannequins, with decent-looking shop fronts. Since my college days up to present, the popular presence of ukay-ukay shops in my area has influenced my decision of whether or not to get something brand new from a department store for Php 1,000.00 or to risk blood and sweat rummaging through the racks to find a rare gem in mint condition and in the right size for Php 20.00 apiece. #FrugalLiving

And so without further ado, let me show you the top three most popular ukay-ukay establishments in Baguio City where I used to frequent as a student and where we found elusive winter clothes for the price of a stretched buck:

1. BAYANIHAN LODGE COMMERCIAL CENTER

PRICE RANGE: CLOTHES (Php 10.00- 300.00), SHOES (Php 75.00- 3,000.00), BAGS (Php 200.00- 2,000.00)

LOCATION: #51 Otek Street, Baguio City, directly adjacent to Burnham Park, Veniz Hotel, and the Maharlika Center

BUSINESS HOURS: Indefinite; Some stalls open as early as 8:00 AM and close at 10:00 PM

What was once one of Baguio City's most flourishing budget accommodations, the non-operational Bayanihan Lodge is now home to rows and rows of some brand new and secondhand goods shops. It consists of four floors. What I noticed was that the higher the floor where the shop is located, the lower the prices of the goods are. The prices of the goods in the shops on the fourth and third floors are significantly lower as compared to the shops on the second and, most especially, the ground floor.

It was in a shop on the farthest corner of the third floor of this lodge where I found two pairs of winter boots in mint condition for myself that the owner sold for Php 150.00 and Php 450.00. It was such a good deal that we didn't push it when the lady shopkeeper declined our advances to haggle. In return, she gave my three-year old princess a small animal toy for free!

Bayanihan Lodge is a few steps away from Burnham Park and the Veniz Hotel.

Secondhand toys, figurines, and purses for sale.

A shoe store in the second floor of the Bayanihan Lodge. Depending on the brand and condition, a pair of sneaks can go from Php 600.00 to Php 3,000.00!

Pumps, sandals, wedges, heels-- you name it, it's for Php 165.00!

(Related post:Want to know the easiest way to enter Japan as a tourist? Find out in my guide!)

An assortment of shoes for Php 800.00 per pair! Whatta deal!

Dresses, jackets, and blouses!

2. SKYWORLD COMMERCIAL CENTER
PRICE RANGE: CLOTHES (Php 50.00- 500.00), SHOES (Php 1,200.00- 5,000.00), BAGS (Php 350.00- 10,000.00)
LOCATION: Lower Session Road, Baguio City, fronting Prime Hotel and City Center Hotel
BUSINESS HOURS: 8:00 AM- 8:00 PM daily

Perhaps the ukay-ukay center with the priciest products in average among the items in this list, the Skyworld Commercial Center has three floors of secondhand goodness, but most of the goods being sold in the second floor are brand-new.

Skyworld Commercial Center is the go-to place for those looking for blouses and dresses of a higher quality than their Bayanihan counterparts, and branded secondhand jeans and sneakers. In one of the stalls here, I once spotted an original Louis Vuitton backpack handbag with bamboo straps with a Php 15,000.00 price tag! In most stalls selling shoes, it's not uncommon to spot an original Adidas pair or a Nike Air in mint condition. Other times, collectors' items like original anime figurines and Hello Kitty original merchandise can be spotted if you look in the right stall at the right time.

The Skyworld Commercial Center is Baguio City's fan-favorite ukay-ukay center because it is the most visible and accessible.

The ground level of Skyworld is accessible from F. Calderon Street.

An array of clothes in the ground level of Skyworld.

Photo from Starting My Own Think Tank.

Heaps and loads of pre-loved items!

Photo from Starting My Own Think Tank.

Shoes and bags galore in a stall on the ground level of Skyworld.

Photo from Starting My Own Think Tank.

3. HARRISON NIGHT MARKET

PRICE RANGE: CLOTHES (Php 5.00- 100.00), SHOES (Php 600.00- 2,000.00), BAGS (Php 30.00- 200.00)

LOCATION: Harrison Road, Baguio City, in between the Melvin Jones Grandstand in Burnham Park and Tiongsan Department Store

BUSINESS HOURS: 9:00 PM- 2:00 AM daily, rain or shine

Any ultimate ukay-ukay pilgrimage made in Baguio City should always end with the Harrison Night Market. Every evening at 8:30 PM, one section of Harrison Street will start to be closed off to motorists so that vendors can start displaying their ware for hundreds upon thousands of potential customers to see. The strip is around 600 meters long and a wide range of brand new and secondhand products can be found here-- just be very patient with searching the racks and you'll be sure to find your new favorite apparel!

It was here in this market where my mom found and bought oversized t-shirts for upcycling and to be repurposed as sleepwear for just Php 10.00 apiece, warm and toasty winter jackets at Php 50.00 each, blouses priced at 4 for Php 50.00, long-sleeved shirts at 3 for Php 100.00, little stuffed toys at 3 for Php 100.00, Baguio City souvenir key chains at Php 20.00 per piece, and unbranded sneakers at Php 600.00 per pair. If your jaw dropped at these awesomely low prices, it'll probably hit the floor when I tell you that these prices are still negotiable.

Harrison Night Market -- the penultimate paradise for bargain hunters!

Shoes laid out in the sidewalk for sale.

Blouses and shirts at Php 30.00 each (2 pieces for Php 50.00-- how cool is that?).

Should customers get hungry from all that haggling and rummaging, there are food carts at one end of the night market under the overpass. Filipino all-time favorite street food like balut, penoy, steamed sweet corn, burgers, siomai, siopao, kwek-kwek, goto, and even full meals on styrofoam can be bought here!

Time for a quick snack of tokneneng and C2!

That dinakdakan looks good!

PRO-TIPS ABOUT UKAY-UKAY SHOPPING IN BAGUIO CITY:

1. UKAY-UKAY SHOPPING IS NOT FOR EVERYONE. It is true that some of the clothes and shoes that are on sale have questionable stains or gunk, and you will probably never know of the articles' origin. That said, if the idea of wearing pre-owned clothes or shoes makes you queasy, just buy brand new.

2. WEAR A SHIRT WITH LONG SLEEVES AND SOCKS. Like I said in the item listed above, some of the articles on sale may be dirty. Should you want to try on clothes or shoes, keep your long-sleeved shirt or your socks on to protect yourself and your skin from harm.

3. SCRUTINIZE. When buying clothes, always check the seams, sleeves, and underarms for stains, rips and holes. Check that all buttons are still hanging and the zippers are working. When buying bags, always check the zippers and the inside for any holes or hidden compartments. For shoes, always check for the presence of the insoles, the condition of the sole (for rubber shoes) or the heels (for high heels), evidence of the soles or heels being re-glued, ripped seams, and peeling. Learn to discern the difference between an authentic and a fake product if you're planning on buying branded ones. Take a flashlight to the Harrison Night Market to better inspect the goods you wish to buy.

4. HAGGLE APPROPRIATELY. Haggling with vendors is a skill that needs to be practiced. My sister's technique is to ask the vendor to immediately cut the price in half-- a risky move, but may work in stalls that are not so popular with tourists such as the stalls on the fourth and third levels of Bayanihan. With this technique, vendors may not actually cut the price in half but will offer a significantly lower price as compensation.

The technique that I mastered is quite simple and plays more on the emotional side of humans. After failing to haggle an item down to the price that I want, I simply walk away with my head hung down while saying that I only have the exact amount of money that I was asking for the item, and that it was such a shame because I really liked it. Add a really sad face to the equation and it's guaranteed to work 50% of the time. After walking a few steps away from the stall, the vendor usually relents. Keep in mind that this technique will most likely not work if the item or the stall is popular, or if you're haggling with an overly unreasonable price in mind, or if you look like you're really loaded, or when you've forgotten to smile and are very rude to the vendors.

5. DON'T BE SHY! ASK FOR GIVEAWAYS. My mom's technique is to ask for giveaways, and I saw how effective this was to vendors whose stalls we bought a lot from. In Bayanihan, our sweet little girl scored a tiny giraffe toy while in the night market, my mom was allowed to take one extra shirt for free from three different stalls!

6. BEWARE OF PICKPOCKETS AND ALWAYS ACCOUNT FOR ALL YOUR PURCHASES. I could not keep track anymore of how many shoppers I've passed along Harrison Night Market squeezing their temples in agony as they tried and failed to remember where they must have left their shopping bag. That's not the worst that could happen. You could get robbed.

One way to avoid this is to always clutch your bags in front of you where you can always see it. Always be alert and exude confidence. If worse comes to worst, scream.

7. THE GOODS IN HARRISON NIGHT MARKET COST LESS WHEN IT'S RAINING. Probably as an effort to attract more customers and thereby maximize their earnings, vendors in the night market drop their prices on rainy nights.

8. BRING YOUR OWN SHOPPING BAG. Not only would this be good for the environment, it would also be more convenient to place all of your purchases in one bag than have to carry multiple plastic bags at the same time.

And so they say, "One man's trash is another man's treasure". Isn't it great how little things such as pre-loved items can be the source of such great joy and excitement?