With a very short notice that Saida would be visiting
Manila, we were not able to file a vacation leave to go out of town for a
couple of days. So we decided to just spend a night in Tagaytay City since we haven’t been there.
Tagaytay is the alternate place to Baguio when Manileños want to escape the heat of the metro without
the need to travel for 7 hours. For commuters, it can be reached by bus or vans
within an hour or two of travel. There is a van terminal in Star Mall in
Mandaluyong. Take the route going to Lemery.
We left Mandaluyong by van at around 1pm and reached
Tagaytay by 2:30pm. We immediately looked for a place to stay at night. We got
a room for Php 1,500.00. It was not the best room – just had 1 queen sized bed,
an air conditioning unit and a bathroom - but good enough for us to rest at
night.
Welcome to the
People’s Park in the Sky!
After checking in, we explored the city right away. Our
first stop was the People’s Park in the
Sky. It would give you a view of the city and the Taal Lake - the smallest volcano in the country. It has an old structure
made of stone, some picnic tables, and the other regular things you would see
in a park. Although I was not so impressed as it was an ordinary view for me
who came from a rural area – except of course for the Taal Lake.
The view of the
Taal Lake from the
park.
We then went to another park (forgive me for forgetting the
name). I would say this one was better than the park in the sky. It was more
taken care of and organized. It also had some picnic tables, a wide ground for
children, campers and activities, souvenir shops and a zip line. Our stay here
was very relaxing. Ahhh… the taste of the Tagaytay air.
The wide ground for outdoor activities.
Since it’s already around 6pm, we headed to their Mahogany market to
get a taste of their famous Bulalo.
Hmmm… the hot soup of the Bulalo perfectly complements the cool weather of the
city. Bottoms up to our bowl of hot Bulalo. We would surely remember Tagaytay
every time we think of Bulalo.
And it’s time to experience the city’s night life - we sang
our hearts out thru a videoke room. Trying to stay awake, we had a cup of
Starbucks coffee and their oreo cheesecake. Yum! Our minds were willing but our
flesh was weak. We ended the night with a sound sleep back at the inn.
Since Saida’s flight to Davao was around 1pm, we woke up
early in the morning and went to the Good
Shepherd house to buy some pasalubong.
We then had our breakfast at Cecille’s restaurant and had some pictures taken
with the Taal Lake as the background
before heading back to Makati.
Bulalo again for breakfast!
Our
Tagaytay experience
was short, but fun!
