Sat 24th Jan - Had planned to spend the weekend away somewhere local,
but plans had to change due to a problem Sheira had to deal with. Went
walkabout in Tagaytay instead. Had heard about the possibility of some dancing
in Tagaytay at the Filipino Casino, so picked up a Jeepney part way and walked
the rest. The casino is a little out of town on the Batangas road, and has a
hall in the Casino building. No dancing tonight, only Thursdays in the
ballroom. Tonight though has a jazz singer Nina performing. A combined 300 peso
ticket gives access to the show plus 200 pesos tokens for the casino.
Next
week is Chinese new year and so there is plenty of events going on in the area
that look interesting.
Sun 25th Jan – The weather was nice today, so decided to go out for the
day. A place that Sheira had planned to go for a while seemed a good idea and
not that far from here. The place is Calareuga
Church, in an area called Butalao near to Nasugbo. A Crow bus through
Tagaytay and then on towards Nasugbo getting off at the Evercrest hotel &
golf resort. One the way there, the scenery was beautiful. The more I get to
see of the Tagaytay area, the more I love it. It is very rural with awesome
scenery and plenty of options for walking and quality places to go. Restaurants
of every type abound in the area and it is easy access to many other places of
interest from here.
Once
at the Evercrest there were plenty of tricycles to take us the rest of the way,
which is only a few kilometers. The church is famous in these parts as the
location of choice for weddings, conventions and special occasions. The setting
is just beautiful atop a hill and overlooking the magnificent countryside
including the Taal volcano. The grounds are have been landscaped and planted with
many exotic plants and shrubs, and also include a picnic park. On the way from
the top where the church is to the lower park area they have created a lovely
elevated bridge area overlooking many ponds of large koi carp in a semi-jungle
setting. A magic place for an afternoon picnic and walk.
On
the way back we decided to walk, but ended up hitching a lift from a family who
had been picking their vegetable crop in the field and were crammed into their
own Jeepney. They were all grubby from a day’s work out in the fields and
looked tired from it, but were happy to give us the lift.
In
Tagaytay we had been offered to visit a friend of Sheira’s and her expat
Hungarian husband, so decided to take up the offer. Laszlo and Beth were
lovely; very hospitable and talkative. We were treated to a rather unusual meal
whilst chatting. Laszlo has had an amazing background including artwork and
photography throughout many countries that I had visited recently, and it was
interesting to see some works of his that I could relate to. The expat
community in the area has regular meetings and a newsletter for events, so
there is potential there to join in.
Mon 26th Jun – Was hoping today to hear from the Post Office in Manila
that my mail had arrived but nothing. It has been 2 weeks now and think that it
has got lost. Should not take that long for a simple letter from the UK. Very
frustrating indeed, but have to wait a little longer before deciding what to do
about it.
Had
been to the Balinsasayaw restaurant
before Christmas and decided to go again today. Better this time as the sun was
shining and just a gentle breeze blowing through the Nipa hut dining huts. The
standard of food is really good and, being the only restaurant in Silang, a
monopoly when it comes to eating out.
The
Silang festival is next weekend and preparations are under way for it around
the town. The main plaza has a stage that was running performances from local
groups of children, but couldn’t get close enough when I was there as it was
very busy.
