Last September 18, 2009, Ed and I went to Tagaytay for some needed relaxation. It is a third class city in the province of Cavite, Philippines. It is one of the country's most popular tourist destinations because of its cool climate due to its high altitude. It provides a beautiful view of the active Taal Lake and Taal Volcano in Batangas.


Legend has it that the word Tagaytay came from "taga" meaning to cut and "itay" which means father. A father and son were said to be on a wild boar hunt when the animal they were chasing turned and attacked them. As the boar charged towards the old man, the son cried "taga itay!". The boy's repeated shout reverberated in the alleys of the ridge. Heard by the residents, hunters and wood gatherers, the cries became subject of conversation for several days in the countryside. In time, the place where the shouts came from became known as TAGAYTAY.


Tagaytay Picnic Grove

Picnic Grove features huts line along the gentle slopes of the Tagaytay Ridge. It is a prime location, providing the finest view of the volcano far below. Some of the activities that can be enjoyed here are swimming, horse-back riding, kite flying, and riding the zipline and cable car. Entrance fee is Php50.00.




People's Park In The Sky

It was built in 1979 as Palace in the Sky to be a guesthouse for American President Ronald Reagan - who never arrives. It overlooks four bodies of water – Taal Lake, Balayan Bay, Laguna de Bay and Manila Bay. The park is blending of natural and man-made attractions, poised on the highest point of Tagaytay City. Palace in the sky is now better known as People Park in the Sky. Entrance fee is 15.00.




How to Get Here:

Tagaytay is an hour and 15 minute drive from Manila via the South Luzon Expressway or using the Coastal Road Expressway and the Aguinaldo Highway. If going through the South Luzon Expressway, take the Carmona Exit and drive down through the Governor's Drive and Silang up to the entrance of Tagaytay City. Or through South Luzon Expressway, take Sta. Rosa exit going straight to Tagaytay City. There are two possible ways to get to Tagaytay via the Coastal Road: Taking the Coastal Road to the Aguinaldo Highway and continuing south, and using the Indang and Mendez Roads in the Trece Martires City and Amadeo areas. If coming from the neighboring town of Ternate, Cavite take the Naic Road and drive straight to Indang and Trece Martires City. From Batangas, the best way to reach Tagaytay is through the new circumferential road. From Laguna, you may enter Tagaytay through the Carmona exit. There are buses that ply to Tagaytay from Manila on a daily basis. Several bus companies have their terminals in EDSA, Pasay City, and at Baclaran, below LRT, Manila.

José Protasio Rizal Mercado y Alonso Realonda (June 19, 1861 – December 30, 1896, Bagumbayan), was a Filipino polymath, nationalist and the pre-eminent advocate for reforms in the Philippines during the Spanish colonial era. Rizal's 1896 military trial and execution made him a martyr of the Philippine Revolution. He is widely considered the greatest Filipino hero and a de facto national hero. The anniversary of Rizal's death (December 30) is commemorated as a holiday.




I am a native of Calamba, Laguna so I thought of showcasing the place here in my blog. Rizal Shrine was recently renovated and painted with Green, because according to them Rizal means "rice fields". I think changing its color was an issue with the National Historic Institute (NHI), but I don't know its status at the moment. Many of the Rizal family properties are no longer in this house. Maybe they are already placed in the other museums. But I still encourage the students to come visit Rizal Shrine, there are still many things that can be learned about our history. There are memorabilias of Jose Rizal's childhood, his written works, and some pictures. The entrance is free and photography for personal use is welcome.








The name of Calamba, came from the word "kalan" that means clay stove and "banga" that means water jar. Here's the story behind the name:

"During the Spanish period, two guardia civil (soldiers) were lost. As they walked around the place, they met a young lady who was carrying a jar of water and a wooden stove. In order to conceal the fact that they were lost, the soldiers asked her the name of the place using the Spanish language . The maiden, who do not understand Spanish, thought she was being asked on what she was carrying. She answered kalan-banga. It was believed that because the Spaniards could not pronounce kalan-banga properly, the town was then called Calamba."

Few meters from Rizal Shrine is a giant claypot built in 1939 where the names of the different barangays that comprises Calamba are inscribed.

May 28-30, 2009 - AAM Enterprises' Outing - Puerto Galera, Mindoro

The original plan for our summer outing is to make an overnight stay at Rockpoint Hotel, but due to sudden changes, we decided to go to Puerto Galera instead! Yay! For most of us employees, this will be our first time. We are kind of anxious at first because the week before our schedule a ferry (from or to Galera, I can't remember) sank, which caused the lives of many. Since there is only a short period for planning, I had to contact almost each and every hotel, lodge, or beach resort to book for a great and cheap place to stay in.






We spend our 3 days and two nights in Big La Laguna in Sabang, specifically at the Cataquis Lodge. It's like a compound whose owner is offering the houses for rent. We took 1 small house for the girls and 1 bigger house for the boys. The house has air-conditioning system, tv, kitchen, refrigerator, and toilet&bath. The house owner is kind enough to lend us some of their kitchen utensils so we can just buy raw meat/fish in the market and then cook for ourselves. We grilled chicken and pork liempo for the first night and grilled tilapia for the second night. What makes it more enjoyable is that we ate them on banana leaves, yeah! We really bonded there.







The water and the shore... It's high tide at day, and low tide at night, so the sea shore is shorter during the day. There are grass underwater near the shore during the day, which you will see at night time not being covered with water anymore. The beach is also rocky (and those rocks are sharp). Although we did enjoy swimming, snorkeling, and kayaking, this place is very ideal for scuba diving.










There are souvenirs items like t-shirts, bracelets, etc. that you can buy almost everywhere especially in Sabang beach. Us girls, had our home service full-body massage on the 2nd night. As for the BOYS, they went to the cheekee bar somewhere, with no entrance fee ;-)




I've observed some foreigners in the beach. There are european, american, but most are asian.

I know the White Beach in Puerto Galera is a better place to go to if you're looking for parties, etc. But Big La Laguna is a better place if you just want some peaceful time, relaxing.. And believe me, the time seems so slowwwwwww here unlike in the city...

June 5-6, 2009 - AAM Enterprises' Outing, Rockpoint Pansol

March 14, 2009 - AAM Enterprises' trip to Enchanted Kingdom, Sta. Rosa, Laguna

Due to some reasons, only 8 were able to make it: Me, Lea, Rem, Neren, Reysan, Choy, Mike, and Ferdz. Meeting time is 11am at Jollibee Olivarez Binan. Some were late, but that's okay (that's why it's called Filipino time :-) peace!) We went to Waltermart Sta. Rosa to meet Ferdz, who by the way came from Calamba. We ate lunch at Jollibee before heading to EK, because food and beverages inside EK are quite expensive. The theme park is not that far from Jollibee so we just walked our way there. Our company provided us with Fun & Magic Family Package so instead of paying Php4,000 for the Regular Pass (Php500 x 8) we just paid Php1,500. Thanks sir!

We took most of the rides like Roller Skater, Dodgem, Wheel of Fate, Flying Fiesta, Swan Lake, Jungle Log Jam, Rio Grande Rapids,and Anchor's Away, which by the way is our favorite (we rode 3x!!!), where we screamed at the top our lungs and where Reysan experienced a state of shock!!! Space Shuttle is unexpectedly closed (sigh!). And guess what... yeah we expected to get wet in a Rio Grande Rapids BUT we didn't not expect that we will be totally get wet like you can already squeeze your denim pants! So Lea and I decided to buy those expensive shorts, as if we have a choice!

We also met some of celebrities here. There's Yeng Constantino who sang and then did some story telling for the special children at the BandStand. There's Jorros Gamboa who's with a girl, we met him at the BandStand and at Anchor's Away. We didn't approach him or something like that, just to give respect, those busy people also need some time where they could act like normal people. There's Mr. Tirso Cruz III and Ms. Ivy Violan who sang (individually) for a show at Eldar's Tent. Bravo!

The fireworks were displayed earlier than expected. We're able to see it before riding Anchor's Away for the 3rd time. We're not in the right place/angle for viewing but it's okay. I hope they have a place for fireworks viewing like in Disneyland. And I also hope that they have parades, some building re-painting, and 6 days a week operation. :-D

Well, we really enjoyed the whole experience! Below are some of our photos ;-)