Whenever there is a visitor from Thailand, I will take the visitor to Tagaytay because it is not far from where I live, it has a remarkable landscape, it's got good food, and it is something new to us Thais... We do not have volcanoes in Thailand...
If you are visiting Manila for business, Tagaytay is a nice one-day trip destination to visit. The climate is almost all-year cool. The land is higher. And the city is located on the curved ridge overlooking Taal lake with the volcano in it.
Only one and a half hour ride from the busy Manila, Tagaytay manages to keep its peace and nature the same way. Of course, there are hotels, resorts and vacation homes to replace the pineapple fields. But you can still see the sceneries, the fruits and the flowers everywhere... The view of the Taal lake and volcano is misty almost all the time. I will try to publish our pictures in our blog as soon as I can find the way to protect it from being re-used.
There is this place called the "Palace in the Sky", which is the unfinished vacation house of the late (exiled) President Marcos (read the story -- our EDSA Day Article ). There is a small zoo and a pony riding ranch for kids, a picnic grove you could go picnic and play kites. I suggest you do not bring kids to the picnic grove because I always see couples cuddling and kissing (and more) everywhere. You also have to pay to enter the place. If you would like to sit on the ridge to enjoy the scenery, you could just rent a picnic table from one of the houses or restaurants on the same ridge. There are hotels, inns and resorts too. Tagaytay boasts about the variety of the food and restaurants they have... Whether you want native cuisine, seafood, Chinese food, Japanese food, Korean food, steak, Italian, etc., they have it all. Oh well... they don't have Thai food. I guess we are not that popular.
Aside from this, you could visit Tagaytay's historical places such as the Lourdes Church (the city's oldest public building), the Franciscan Sisters' gray chapel, and the St. Anne Shrine with a life-size statue of St. Anne and the child Mary. Another interesting spot is the 11th Airborne Monument on the Silang rotonda-site of the first parachute landing in the Philippines, where the 8th Army, USA arrived before the liberation of Manila.
At night (or day... if you want to), you can visit the casino and have some fun. Do not expect much. The place is not very big and it's always packed on the weekends.
If you want to be closer to the lake, you could also go down to the lake side and enjoy the water sports. You could even take a guided trip to the volcano's rumbling crater... where you will also see the mysterious Crater Lake with its famous "island in a lake on an island in a lake on an island."
The Mysteries of Taal a Phillipine Volcano and Lake Her Sea Life and Lost Towns
On the southeast side of Taal Lake is the historic Taal town, founded by the Augustinians in 1572. This place, once to be the center of the coffee and sugar industries, has several Spanish colonial houses to see. One of them belongs to Gliceria Villavicencio, where members of the Katipunan met and mapped out their plans for the uprising against the authorities. You will also see here the house of Marcela Agoncillo, the woman responsible for the sewing of the first Philippine flag.
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How to get there... Several world's large airlines including Lufthansa, Thai Airways and Singapore Airlines fly to Manila International airport on a daily basis. From Manila, you could rent a car (drive south to South Express Way and take Santa Rosa or Greenfield exit and follow the signs) or take an air-conditioned bus (catch the one marked Nasugbu or Balayan at the BLTB station on EDSA in Pasay, Manila).
3br - TAGAYTAY HOUSE FOR RENT
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