Today, I began my sight-seeing in Philippines. Janet, my host, suggested going to Tagaytay, largely to see Taal Lake (which is actually in Batangas).
We set off on some highway that passed by Manila BayWe passed through a few other towns along the way
The journey to Tagaytay took nearly an hour and cost ₱105 each (one way). I took out my DSLR once we reached a bus terminal at Tagaytay. From here, Janet negotiated with a tricycle taxi to take us down to the shore town of Talisay.
It was a downhill rideThe trike would stop at certain turns to give me a chance to photograph Taal lakeThese colourful birds were at every corner of this stretchThe many, many boats on Taal lake. One of which we would be taking to get to the volcano island.
Once down, the tricycle dropped us at a restaurant-slash-tourism center. There we negotiated the price for taking a boat to Taal volcano island, horse rides to the top and back. We finally settled for ₱3000 (Rs. 4300/$68/€51) for two persons.
Ladies first
It was nice to have Janet for company. A local can really help a tourist out.Fishing villages?Taken by Janet using her cameraThat’s Taal volcano. It’s still an ‘active’ volcano.We reached the islandThe sand on these shores was quite darkWe then walked to a basket ball courtBecause no matter how remote a place you are in the Philippines, chances are you will find a hoop 🙂We hopped on our respective horses and set offYou do have the option to walk, but trust me, take the horse ride if you have a heavy back pack. Oh, also bring a face mask.Riding a horse isn’t as comfortable as the movies make it lookIt was tough holding on with one hand and trying to take photographs using a heavy camera with the otherBut 15 minutes later, we were nearly thereI felt sorry for these horses as they didn’t look the strongest. Yet I was grateful for their service. I wonder how many trips they do in a day.Getting closeIt felt like an adventure ride whenever we passed through tracks like thisPhew!But the climbing wasn’t over
Once we got to the top, this is what we saw.
The lake inside the volcano that’s inside a bigger lake 🙂You can walk around the ring up to a certain pointPretty scenic spot — until it erupts 🙂Watching Korean variety shows introduced me to ahjumma fashion, but seeing it for real was just as funny!I walked to the other end
Took another panoramaThere isn’t much else to see from up here, obviouslyI took this photo from an elevated platformIt was time to leaveHere we go againTime to go back downIt was just as hard hold on when descendingJanet’s horse was way faster than mine 🙂Seriously, bring a face mask!If you don’t wish to burden yourself, because you’re too posh, you can simply hire a helicopter 🙂Once we got back to base, we asked for a photo of us just to give you an idea how not-so-big the horses were.
We tipped the guides ₱100 each and went back to our boat.
The weather was thankfully good today
Once back on shore, Janet and I washed up to get the dust off our faces (and mouth). The tricycle driver who dropped us here was still waiting to take us back. We were quite alarmed when he told us his fare was ₱400 for the whole trike ride.
For lunch, I suggested Andok’s — a chicken chain I had seen everywhere in Philippines, but never tried.I wouldn’t call this place ‘fast food’ but given how much Americana is ingrained in Philippines culture, Andok’s just turned it that wayThe chicken was really well cooked and tasted great! All what you see in this photo cost us ₱270 (Rs. 380/$6/€4)After lunch, we took a jeepney to People’s Park in the SkyJanet suggested visiting People’s Park in the Sky because it is a popular scenic spot in TagaytayThe entrance fee was ₱15 eachThe rain clouds seemed to be heading our wayYeah, looks like this place isn’t well-maintained. Hmm, I wonder where the entrance fee money goes.From here, you get a very panoramic view of Tagaytay’s hillsThis was an open air stageThe weather was very cool as wellLooks like condos will take over the greenery in a few years timeTagaytay is a popular weekend get away from ManilaTook one more panoramaPlenty of souvenir stores and other shops hereWe went upstairs to this ‘viewing deck’Clearly this structure needs some renovationLooks like there is place of worship here
The rains clouds were making their way hereJanet and I decided to leaveToday being a Saturday, we didn’t want to risk getting back to Manila very late due to trafficWe walked to the jeepney stand further down from the entrance of People’s ParkYou gotta love jeepney designs
I thanked Janet for bringing me here. Tagaytay seemed like a very nice getaway from Manila. Cool weather and lush greenery all around. For how long? We’ll see.
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Sang
07/06/2015Excellent pictures and a nice blog….
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Khasiat Cellfood
09/02/2016Thanks a lot for sharing this with all folks you actually realize what you are talking about!
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We could have a link alternate agreement among us