Night Market at Ukay-Ukay Capital

Photo by Ace Alegre

One of the favorite spots in Baguio City (246 kms. north of Manila) these days is the “Night Market” along Harrison Road, open from 8 p.m. to 12 midnight, where all sorts of buyers flock to check out second-hand clothes and other used items sold on the sidewalk. Used items, especially those sold in the streets, used to be shunned by a big section of the buying public. But with times getting harder and harder, even those who used to snub these wares are now among those “fighting it out” for the best buys in what has come to be called the ukay-ukay (thrift shop) trade. With its several ukay-ukay stores, Baguio can be said to have acquired another feather in its cap by being the country’s “ukay-ukay capital,” aside of course from being a favorite vacation spot.