What I love about traveling, aside from seeing new places and experiencing new cultures, are the opportunities that I get to meet new people. It's also a great way for me to promote my country to other people.
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| One Fine Day in Tagaytay |
Last September 2019, I was lucky enough to be sent to Singapore for the five-day Google Innovator Program. I met tons of amazing people in the said event and got quite close to some of them. One of them was Sophie Tai who is an awesome Googler based in Taiwan.
Since she frequently hangs out with us team QSR guys, she kinda became our adopted member and a part of our "gang". During one of our chats, we happened to talk about the beauty of the Philippines. She opened up that she's actually planning to visit this 2019 or early next year. I told her to send me a message if her plan would push through and I'd be glad to show her around.
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| Looking for the least crowded area of the restaurant |
Fast forward a month later, Sophie indeed made true her plans and came to visit the country with her cool Taiwanese friend Sophia Wu. When I heard that they'd be staying in the Metro for only a few days, I proposed the idea of going on a road trip to the scenic city of Tagaytay to which they happily agreed. Sophie set our road trip on October 26 which was a Saturday. Aside from me and Sophia, she also invited Paola of team QSR to complete the gang.
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| Yummy! |
That Saturday, I picked them up early in their Air BnB residence in Bonifacio Global City. We then proceeded to Tagaytay via Skyway then South Luzon Expressway. We reached Tagaytay at around 9AM just in time for a late breakfast and early lunch.
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| The Backpack Adventures with friends |
Our first destination was Bag of Beans along Aguinaldo Highway. Originally, we were planning for a relatively light brunch, however, upon learning that the price of an ala carte dish was almost the same as that of the buffet, then it's a no-brainer... we went for the buffet. In my opinion, the buffet was a great idea as we had plenty of food to munch while we were catching up because despite being only a month after the Singapore event, it seems like we had tons of stories to tell most of which were password worthy.
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| Welcome People... |
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| Riding the jeep to our second destination |
After the hearty meal, I wanted to show my friends a better view of the picturesque Taal Lake and Taal Volcano since the view from Bag of Beans seems to not have that wow factor I want. I then drove my friends to People's Park in the Sky where they got to ride a jeepney for the first time and also got to see that majestic view of the lake and volcano. Sadly, the place was in a sad pathetic state that made me wonder where all those P30 pax entrance fees go. Thank God, my friends were cool with it.
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| An amazing view of Taal Lake and the only road to People's Park in the Sky |
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| Time to go! |
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| No jeepneys this time. Walking back to the parking area |
We then drove to the Starbucks at Calamba Road in Barangay San Jose to have some noon-time coffee. It too has an awesome view of the lake. While sipping coffee and chilling, the rain suddenly poured (it will continue raining till night) which made up cut short our tour of Tagaytay. Just in time, Sophia shared that she wanted to see the walled city of Intramuros in Manila. I proposed that we drive back there since we have about 3 hours left before it closes.
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| The final stop in Tagaytay: Starbucks (Calamba Rd) |
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| Enjoying the coffee on a cold day |
Sadly, our drive back to Manila was a pain in the ass as traffic was so bad that it took us almost an hour to reach Coastal Road.
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| Perfect place to end a fine day in the Philippines |
Since logically, we won't make it, I drove them to MOA by the Bay instead so that they could see the famed sunset of Manila Bay. It was a perfect way to end our road trip. From there, I drove them back to BGC to officially wrap up our road trip. Overall, I could safely say that it was a one fine day with friends... something worth doing again.
Nice trip idol!
ReplyDeleteThank you!
DeleteIt's really fun having friends from other countries.
ReplyDeleteThat's right! These guys are really awesome.
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