I know, I know, it's been a while since I've posted, and I apologize. But this one will make up for it!
Concur has a couple of new ex-pats in town! Darina, from the Czech Republic, and Mikel, from the Redmond, WA office. We all decided to take advantage of the long Easter weekend (like everyone else) and head out of town. Our destination: a province called Batangas. I'm not sure where Batangas begins and ends on this map, but I believe it's all of the southern most parts. We stopped in the highlighted spots.
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| Are there open container laws here? Hmm... |
It only took us about an hour and a half to arrive at the hotel we had booked (in Batangas City) - which was pretty much the only decent place we could find that had any room left since Easter week is the most popular vacation-taking time around here. The hotel -
Pontefino Hotel - is lovely! Looks just like the photos on the web site and ran us about $100 a night which included breakfast. The pool was fantastic - the perfect temperature. Here's a few shots at the hotel.
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| Fun and comfie lounge chairs |
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| Ah yes, this is the life! |
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| Oddly tiny elevator. Just a tad claustrophobic. |
We couldn't check into the hotel yet, so we took off to find a beach. The drive to Lobo was about an hour ride on a twisty mountain road where in some spots, they were replacing the road. Unlike in the U.S. where they warn you with pylons a million feet from where it starts, you get NO warning that there's a big hole in the road until you're pretty much right on top of it. This is where I have to mention Dion, our driver. More than a driver, Dion acted as our guide and translator (and Tagalog teacher - hehe ;). Always professional, courteous, smiling and laughing - he's THE best driver EVAR.
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| Dion! |
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| Said hole in road |
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| Jeepney! |
Eventually we turned onto a dirt road that lead us to a beach resort where there were little huts and lots of trees... and a beach!
We hung out here for a little while, Darina took a swim. Then we headed back to the hotel to check in and have a meal, swim and relax. The next day we decided to head to the other side of Batangas City. Here are a few pics taken in the city.
We were basically just winging it to find a beach resort, so when we saw a sign for Paradise Resort, we turned down that road and wound up there. This place was PACKED, the beach was full and as usual, we were the spectacle - being the only white people there. We were approached by some guys about a boat ride to a beach, and since this beach was so busy (and I love a boat ride!), we opted for that. What they didn't tell us was that there wasn't sand at this "beach" - but we still enjoyed ourselves!
After all that adventure, we headed back to Batangas City, filled up on some food, took a rest and then decided to find some night life. Dion was told about a bar just around the corner from the hotel that was outdoor, in front of a Days hotel. We stuck around for the live band, had lots of drinks and a great time shaking our groove thangs! We're sexy and we know it! Wiggle wiggle wiggle wiggle :)
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| The guy was awesome, her... not so much |
A great time was had by all! This is part one of two posts for this adventure. Next up, Taal Volcano and the People's Park in the Sky!
The next day, after our fun night of drinking and dancing, we were off to Tagaytay to check out the Taal volcano. Taal Volcano was originally a huge volcano, that
towered 18,000 feet up into the sky. It has been called the smallest
active volcano, because it seems small now, but many people don't
realize that it is one of the largest volcanoes in the world. It is
located about 60-km south of Manila on "volcano island" inside a lake
called Taal Lake, or Lake Taal. The best place to view the volcano (aside from taking a boat ride and actually climbing it) is from the People's Park in the Sky. And it really is in the sky - the road went up and up and up some more. It was probably 15 degrees cooler up there! The views are stunning, I could have sat there for hours just looking out at the world, pondering my existence. 
