TAGAYTAY’S PICNIC GROVE

Taal Volcano
my brother's girlfriend failed to adjust the date setting of her camera - the date should be 2012/01/23

My loved ones and I went to Tagaytay City last Chinese New Year – January 23, 2012.

We have been planning to go to Tagaytay City since last year, but we kept on postponing it until it pushed through this month.  It has been ages since I visited this “Little Baguio” of Cavite. 

It’s our first time to commute going to Tagaytay City so my brother and I researched first where to get a ride to the City and how we’re going to go around the places we want to visit.

I was unsure the night before if my boyfriend will be joining us on this trip because our agreement was I was to call him at 5:00 a.m. to wake him up, but knowing how hard it is to wake him up early in the morning, I had doubts whether he can come with us.  Fortunately after more than 15 missed calls, he answered to my 6:30 a.m. call.  By 7:15 a.m. he was eating breakfast at our house already.

We started our trip with a prayer and a blessing from my father.  We never leave for any long trip without prayers after a bad incident last year.

MODE OF TRANSPORTATION:  Bus and Tricycle

We rode the San Agustin Bus with the sign board Nasugbu at the Araneta Center Cubao Bus Station at around 8:00 a.m.  The bus left Quezon City for Tagaytay City 30 minutes after.  One-way ticket to Tagaytay City is P104.00.  The bus transverse through EDSA, Coastal Road, and the long stretch of Emilio Aguinaldo High way that passed the towns of Bacoor, Imus, Dasmarinas, Silang and finally after two hours of travel at Tagaytay City. 

When in Tagaytay, you may ask the conductor to drop you by the jeepney terminal near the Rotunda if you want to ride a jeep to Tagaytay’s favorite places or ride the tricycle just like what we did which was at P20.00 per person.

TAGAYTAY PICNIC GROVE: 

The P20.00 fare per person onboard the tricycle was worth it because Picnic Grove is far from the rotunda where we alighted from the bus.  We passed through retreat houses, restaurants, the Good Shepherd Convent, and the Pink Sisters’ Convent.  I was at awe by the beautiful scenery along the road and in love with the picturesque Taal Volcano.

Entrance fee:  P50.00

We did not rent any cottage while at the Picnic Grove for we planned to just explore the surroundings; I’m sure no one among us would want to stay and be left behind as the others roam through the park.

ACTIVITIES AT THE PICNIC GROVE:

1.  Try the zip line and transverse a 250 meter long cable, suspended 300 feet off the ground at 60 km/hr.

Rate:  P200.00 per person one way and P300 per person two way on weekdays; P300 per person one way and P400.00 per person two way on holidays and weekends.  It comes with a free souvenir picture.

2.   Ride the cable car.  Same rate as the zip line.

3.   Rent a cottage and just sit down and take in the scenery.

Rate:  P100.00 to P250.00 depending on the size.

4.   Eat at the Alamat Restaurant inside the Picnic Grove.

5.   Fly a kite.

6.   Ride a horse.

Rate:  P200.00 per hour

7.   Hike around the eco trail.

8.   Take pictures. J

9.  Buy souvenirs.  There are many souvenir shops around the park.

Thank you, Maricel for posing inside the souvenir shop :)

PLACE RATING AND COMMENT:

We didn’t get to try the zip line and ride the cable car because there’s a long queue of people waiting for their turn.  We just strolled around the place, enjoyed the cool weather,

and looked at the beauty of nature.  Looking at the Taal volcano within the Taal Lake is a sight to behold.  Being in a beautiful place makes you feel grateful to God for the beauty of the surroundings you see and you feel so close to him.

I hope that the administrators of Tagaytay Picnic Grove do something to improve the place.  The cottages need repainting, the comfort rooms need some tidying up and they should do something about the horses because they looked really famished.

Overall, I’d still visit the place because it has the most amazing view of Taal volcano.

Will continue my post on Tierra de Maria here.

Driving Around The Metro

Last Sunday, my boyfriend and I went with his father, mother, sister and nephew to different places around Metro Manila.  We were at Marikina, Tondo and Las Pinas City to accompany my boyfriend's sister to her business transactions.  My boyfriend needed to be there because once her sister leave for Japan again ( she is based there with her family) he would be the one doing the business already.

His sister said to my boyfriend that if he wants to be left behind and just accompany her on some other day it would be okay.  But I insisted that we went with her because we don't have anything plan for the weekend.  And his father said that it would be nice if we could join them so that I could go and see different places.

I on my part was okay with the idea because I don't frequent those places.

Being on a long ride with them was not boring.  There were plenty of things to talk about while on the road, and we had finger foods to munch along the way too.

It was my boyfriend's father who drove, and I was amazed that he knew a lot of short cuts to the places we went through.

Too bad I did not bring my camera with me.  I was unaware that we will be passing by so many historical and beautiful places.

We passed by Binondo Church or the Minor Basilica of St. Lorenzo Ruiz, Jones Bridge, Intramuros, the National Art Gallery,Rizal Park,Quirino Grandstand, Manila Bay and so many monuments.:(

I could have a new set of pictures for these places if I brought my camera.

Rizal monument in Rizal Park

the tamaraw statue in front of the Quirino Grandstand

National Museum - Museum of the Filipino People

National Museum - National Art Gallery

It was tiring to be on the road for five hours but it was still a happy day for me because I got to spend some time with them.

The Second Sunday Of The New Year

The second Sunday of the New Year proved to be a happy day!

The joy started when my brother and I attended mass and worship service at the Quezon City Feast.  It was a heartwarming and  glorious celebration of thanking the Lord for all the blessings in 2011 and praying for abundance in 2012.

My boyfriend had lunch with my family and then we went out to watch "Sherlock Holmes" at Blue Wave.

photo was taken from imdb.com

"Sherlock Holmes," starring Robert Downey Jr in the lead and Jude Law as Dr. Watson. It was a fun movie.  A lot of lines by Holmes were hilarious.  It was a good, entertaining movie.  The loose ends at the end of the movie signals that there will be a third installment of "Sherlock Holmes."

After watching the movie, we went to SM City Marikina to buy a new cellphone. It's actually a late Christmas gift and an early birthday gift for me from my boyfriend.  My phone needs replacement because I accidentally spilled betadine solution on it and because of that the words on the screen on the phone are barely readable.

Okay, I am not really into expensive mobile phone because I am stingy by nature. :)  So even if it's a gift, I've requested that it should not go over the set price. hehehe  Besides, I am not really comfortable with pricey phones because I just commute to work everyday.  Carrying a less priced phone will not attract so much attention from snatchers.  For me the brand does not matter as long as I can text and call. Plus, it should be dual sim because I don't want to bring two phones for my Smart and Globe sim.  I have found a perfect phone for me and it's an Alcatel unit.  My boyfriend was pleased with the purchase and I am grateful that he bought me a new phone.

Now, you might be asking why I have two sims if I am kuripot (stingy).  Well, it's because I used to reload cellphone loads; I can't give up my Globe sim because it got 12,000 free texts that accumulated because of my being a load seller before, and I can't give up my Smart sim because my parents and siblings are on Smart and most of them would asked load from me.

After watching the movie and buying a cellphone, my boyfriend and I had an early dinner at KFC.

It was a happy second Sunday of the year!

Make A Gold Investment Now

It is the start of another year.  One of the resolutions we should all make for this New Year is to take care of our finances.  I know it is hard to save and invest especially now that we are on a financial crisis, but it is important that we make small sacrifices now in order that we will become financially stable in the future.

According to most financial coaches, we should allot at least 10 % of our income for savings and 10 % of our income for investment.  We could invest in business, mutual funds and even in gold.

Gold in the form of gold coins, nuggets or gold paper investment are solid investment because it is not affected by financial crisis.  Over the years, despite wars, stock market crash, inflation, bleak political situations; the price of gold continues to increase.  One can make investment in gold by buying gold through brokers and some even have converted their pension plan or 401k plan to Gold 401k

Like in any other investments, if you want to have a GoldIRA transfer or buy gold coins, you have to be sure that you have made a thorough research and understanding of this investment.  You have to study the pros and cons because it is our hard earned money that we will be investing.

If you want to have a prosperous future, make the necessary financial changes now.  Plan your investment now.

Blessed? Or Stressed?

We are only on the second week of the New Year, but I feel that the year is so old already.  Things have been hectic at work and their were some challenges I need to face personally. I am tempted to complain how this year is turning to be very stressful.  

But I need to stop myself because even if there were many stressful situations at work and at home, I am amazed by God's guidance. His providence is always there to meet my need whether financially or emotionally. So I now wonder were those situations really that stressful or were those circumstances necessary for me to see how God has been faithful to me and for that I am very blessed! :)

Excited For My Class Tomorrow

After my three week break from school, I will attend class again tomorrow.  So I have to bid my lazy weekends good bye again.

But I am not complaining.  I am excited for class tomorrow.  It would be nice to see my teachers and classmates again.  I miss the audio recordings I need to transcribe. :)

Hopefully, I still remember the basic rules in medical transcription and improved on my accuracy and speed.

Looking Forward to 2012!

The New Year brings with it new hope, new beginnings and new opportunities.

I want 2012 to be my year.  I wish that at the end of this year I will be a lot wiser and better in all areas of my life.

I pray that I will be able to have a successful and more stable career.  I have been working in the same company for the last ten years, and I feel that this year is the year to pursue better working options. But I'm still thinking really hard if I am going to embark on a teaching profession ( I'm a licensed teacher), remain as a medical technologist ( and just transfer to another health facility) or start my home-based medical transcription career (I'm enrolled in a medical transcription class right now). 

I am enrolled in a medical transcription class but I have attended only a few classes because I only attend class every Saturday.  But definitely I will be able to finish it in five months time including the on the job training, and that is something I am looking forward too.

It was not a productive blogging year for me in 2011, so I hope that I will be able to post more here in my blog and reconnect with my blogger friends.  There were many good things in 2011 that I regret not to be able to document here.  I will try to share here in my blog all the wonderful stories I have at least within three days after it happened.

This year I plan to be more healthier.  Now that I have gone organic with regards to my beauty and bath products, I hope that I will be more conscious with my diet.  I must have put on some weight during the past holiday season. I wish I can let go of my junk food addiction.  I know that all the salts and preservatives in it are bad to our health but its the ultimate comfort food for me.  I can finish a whole salty bag of any chips all by myself. I have to kick this bad habit good bye.  I hope I will turn my junk food craze into a vegetable and fruit craze. :)

Well, I hope that my siblings and I will get to visit many different places in 2012.  Not really far places because I need to save but just places that we have never been to or it has been ages since we have been there.  We are planning to go to Tagaytay, Nuvali in Laguna,  Angono Petroglyps,  the MV Logos, Daranak and Bislig Falls, the Mind Museum and so much more. And if we have more money, I really want to go either in Bohol or Palawan.   Just listing the sites makes me giddy with excitement.

I want to be more adventurous this year.  I am the type of person who is always on the safe side of things.   I miss a lot of crazy, happy, spontaneous stuffs like trying out the zip line,  or riding the intimidating too many loop roller coaster ride or joining a Cosplay.

Yes, cosplay as in costume play.  I was at gamersbin.com's cosplay forum a while ago and reading the threads there make me want to dress up to.  Wouldn't  it be fun to pretend to be your favorite anime character? I would love to be Kaoru of Samurai X.  Cosplay is big here in Manila.  Cosplayers would meet up with one another in different malls and there were several cosplay events last year.

I'm really looking forward to 2012.  There are some challenges I need to face right now but that do not hamper my enthusiasm for the year because I believe that my greatest burden will turn out to be my greatest blessing!

Have a wonderful New Year everyone!

Goodbye 2011, Hello 2012!

And just like that 2011 had ended.  It's the start of another great new year!

But before I bid 2011 goodbye, I want to look back and give thanks to all the wonderful things I've received in the past year.

2010 was a very challenging year to me and I felt that things will get only worse with 2011. I was in much physical, emotional and spiritual pain back then.

The greatest blessing for 2011 was to be given the grace of discovering a wonderful Catholic community in the Light of Jesus.  Our Feast Builder Brother Eng Si was instrumental in my spiritual healing.  The mass, preaching and worship session did wonders to my spiritual health.  I feel God's love so much.  I am happy that I was able to bring my brother to the Feast and experience the same joy I feel every time I go there. Attending the Feast also made him grow in his faith.

I am blessed with so much online work, not really with paid posts but more on data entry and posting of articles in wordpress from various contractors.  I was able to secure four contracts from Odesk during the second half of the year. It was a productive online work for me this year.

Last year I also started going organic with regards to the beauty products that I use.  It was a good change to use only products that are of natural ingredients.  It is my wish that this year I can go organic too with the food that I eat.

There were no long trips for me and my siblings but still we were able to visit The La Mesa Ecopark, Paco Park, The National Museum, Fort Santiago, San Agustin Museum and The Manila Ocean Park

La Mesa Ecopark

Paco Park

The National Museum

Fort Santiago

San Agustin Museum

Manila Ocean Park

Another thing that I am grateful for last year was that I was able to reconnect with two of my closest friends in high school and before the year end I was able to bond with my Tita, Tito and my cousin in Pampanga.

There were also some sweet surprises for me towards the end of the year - like winning in an ice cream contest and winning an electric fan in a raffle.

the two 1.5 L of free ice cream from Selecta

But it wasn't all good in 2011.  There were many challenges too last year, but I believe those trials were essential for me to grow as a person.

I pray that this new year will bring more abundance, joy and love for me and my loved ones.  I hope that my faith will continue to grow.  I hope that my relationships will continue to be blessed and that I'll be showered with more online projects this year.

I hope that all of us will have a good year and allow ourselves to be guided by God every step of the way.  Happy New Year everyone! God bless us all!