#family-bonding: Tagaytay 2016

January 3, 2016

This glorious view of Taal Vocano from our cottage at Picnic Grove

Starting the year right. Me and the fambam (which consists of me, my siblings, my parents, grandmother, my uncle and his family) finally went to Tagaytay. I think that this trip has long been overdue. Let me tell you why. When my Dad was admitted in the hospital a year ago, he wrote that he doesn't want to die and told us (in writing) that once he has been discharge from the hospital we would go to Surigao, Antipolo and Tagaytay. We've been to Surigao last March-April and I remember that we also went to attend mass at Antipolo Church. However, my Dad chose to delay going to Tagaytay as he seem to think that once this wish has been granted, he would, likewise, be dying soon. Something like fulfilled requests of the dying. I think we had been watching too many dramas and movies about this situation for him to be thinking that way. So imagine my surprise when my Mom told me just yesterday that it is confirmed, we are finally going to Tagaytay. Although a bit reluctant, what the heck, it's still Tagaytay!

There wasn't much of a preparation really. Since my uncle is a very good cook, he was in charge of our lunch today and my mom for the breakfast. We were scheduled to depart at 5:oo am to avoid traffic. We figured that there's going to be a lot of people visiting Tagaytay since (1) it's the last day of vacation and (2) it is Sunday.

However, due to habitual delays (i.e. waking up late), our scheduled departure has been push backed to 7:00 am. Haha. I guess being late really runs in the family. Anyway, we left for the bus terminal as soon as my uncle arrived at our place. We hired three tricycles to drop us off at the bus terminal at Coastal Mall. Regular fare is Php 8.00 and you get discounts if you're a student or a senior citizen. Since the normal route for the tricycle doesn't include our drop off point, we paid extra for the service. I think each tricycle got around Php 70.00 as payment. That is twice what we normally should pay. I don't encourage this but given that my dad and my lola are still patients, and because we have too much luggage, we had no choice but to adhere to the drivers' request. 

It took us about ten minutes to decide which bus to ride. I would have loved to ride on an air-con bus but the cold atmosphere is not suitable for both my dad and lola. They both cannot handle the cold and I know how cold a provincial bus can get. So we decided to ride the ordinary bus instead. The pros of this buses is that they are extremely fast and they are cheaper. The con would have to be the "mahangin ba sa labas" look you'll get after. I suggest to tie your hair in a ponytail or wear a cap if you don't want people staring at your lion-like mane once you get off the bus. I forgot how much the fare cost but I think that it is between Php 80 - 90 each.

After a good hour and a half (yes that's the normal travel time), we finally arrived at Tagaytay. The bus dropped us off at the jeepney terminal which will take us to Picnic Grove. Fare costs Php 10-12 each. 

It's been years since my last visit at Picnic Grove. I remember the last time I was here was back in 2009 with Tey and Julie. So much has changed since then. It' been more, how should I put it? "commercialized" now. Before, there's so much space for you to fly a kite or sit on the grass or put up a tent. Now, there's still a place to do such but it's much narrower/smaller now. I think they also changed the venue of the zipline. I remember looking down and seeing a cliff with loads of trees underneath me. Now, you get to see people or spectators looking at you, wondering if they too would go for a ride. The thrill of possibly falling off the cliff is gone. Hahaha. 

mi familia

Anyway, we settled near the foot of the hill. where the last cottages are located. The view of Taal Volcano still amazes me. And I promise myself that next time, I will definitely visit the volcano itself. After we all settled, we finally got to eat breakfast. And our family's idea of breakfast is to eat the viand for lunch. LOL. I really thought that it's going to be a little cold but the scorching heat of the sun is mocking me and my choice of wardrobe.

not the most fashionable, but i live for comfort.

me and my sisters

After taking a short break, we headed off to People's Park in the Sky. My mom, dad and lola chose to be left behind because there's too much walking to be done. So we were accompanied by my aunt and uncle instead. The jeepney fare to People's Park was around Php 10-15 each (I forgot!). After a few minutes of travel, the driver told us that he could only go as far and we were then obliged to get off and walk towards our destination. I thought it's going to be a short distance, but lo and behold, I was already out of breath before we arrived at our destination. And before I could object, the rest of them decided to walk the way up at the Palace. Entrance fee is at Php 30. We made occasional stops for me to rest a bit and for the others to enjoy the view. 

the uphill climb

the fambam ahead of me

Once we were at the palace, I remember that it wasn't as rusty looking as it was before. I was actually a bit disappointed that the maintenance of this place was obviously lacking. There's thousands upon thousands of people who visit this place each year and with the money derived from the entrance fees, I expect that they will be able to make improvements on it. Nonetheless, we do what we do best and still took some pictures.

me & my sibs

view of the park

To keep myself from thinking of all the things that could have been done in this place, I focus on the view ahead of me. Down below, we see the infamous Tagaytay Highlands. A housing that only the EXTREMELY rich can afford. I once asked my brother's friend whose a real estate agent about the requirements in order to own a place there and he said that  aside from the money, you also need to own a significant amount of shares/stocks. Poof! there goes my dream.

view of the highlands

We made our way down the palace and walk another great length to catch a jeepney ride back to Picnic Grove. On our way, we saw expensive cars going in and out of the gate towards Tagaytay Highlands. Should I aim to be extremely rich so as to fulfill a promise I made to my late grandfather that I will buy him a rest-house at Tagaytay? Or should I just take an empty can of Highlands corned beef, fill it up with soil from Tagaytay and build a house made of matchstick in there, presto! house and lot in the "HIGHLANDS".

Anyway, once we got back at Picnic Grove, I, of course, decided to buy coconut shake to quench my thirst in this unbelievably HOT weather. When we arrived back in our cottage,  we had our lunch and took another round of pictures. 

We decided to leave at 4pm. It has been extended to 5pm  because my dad was still sleeping and we decided to give him that much needed rest since he's been having trouble sleeping lately. So at around 5pm, we packed our belongings and made a visit to the restroom before embarking on our journey home. The long queue in the girl's restroom made me want to skip it but knowing that it'll be an almost two-hour drive home and there are no rest stops, I had no choice but to wait my turn. Turns out that the reason for the long line is that among the three stalls, only one is working. And the place seriously needs to be cleaned and good lighting should be provided. Another dismay.

When we finally left Picnic Grove, I noticed that even though it's already 5pm, there are still a lot of vehicles and people entering the venue. They must be there either for the night view or as a last stop to their Tagaytay trip. Anyway, it took as a good 20 mins before my dad decided to just take a tricycle towards the bus terminal because there aren't that many jeepneys around and those that passes are already full. 

i promise to come back

On a side note, I spotted a cutie at the bus stop. Haha. Me and my wandering eyes. I thought the adventure was over since I already got to fall asleep in the bus, but halfway to our destination, our bus broke down and we spent around 20 mins waiting for it to get fixed. We couldn't leave the bus because we already paid for our fare and it will be quite a hassle to ride another bus again. After 30 mins., we arrived at the terminal and after walking to the tricycle terminal, we're finally home and ready to call it a night.

XOXO