Dissapointed. One thing I'd described our trip to Tagaytay. I always imagine Tagaytay as one of my must visit places since most Filipino artists usually go here to unwind and relax. My expectations were not met but not really worst in everything. We had some spots where I considered as worth it and some were not. Let me tell you my story.
October 17, 2015 at around 5 AM, we departed from Cebu going to Manila. Night before our scheduled flight, I received an SMS from Cebu Pacific that our returned flight was cancelled. I was furious. Good thing I was able to negotiate an earlier flight for us. Nothing new because they always cancel flights due to plane maintenance. Well, there's nothing we can do about that because it's our fault. Patronizing their low fares. Who wouldn't want cheap flights, right? Anyway, let's move forward with the cancellation of our flight. Not worth remembering. We arrived in NAIA terminal 3 and dropped by to our personal doctor located at Binondo, specifically in China Town. We had our lunch there too. After lunch, we rode a van off to Tagaytay. We had to haggle the driver because their rates were a bit too much. I think we paid 2,300 PHP. We traveled
for almost 2 hours. We stayed at 5R INN Hotel. I believed it was featured by Drew Arellano so we took the opportunity to try it out. It was located far away from the center of Tagaytay. It costs 500 each per night. The place was actually a good catch. I booked 3 rooms for 8 persons. They had two buildings, spacious parking lot, mini swimming pool and dining area. We had a great time with our stay there. It was actually convenient. Unfortunately, I do have some minor negative stuff to tell later.
 |
| We ate our lunch here. Binondo |
Day One:
It was raining hard and very foggy. We arrived at our place around 12 noon. Had our breakfast at China Town Binondo. We were all full so we didn't bother to eat for our lunch. Due to the bad weather, we had to cancel our plans. Luckily, the rain stopped around 4PM so we pushed through our plans for Sky Ranch. The place was beautiful with all the lights. I advised you go there during evening so you would appreciate the beauty of Tagaytay when you ride the Sky Eye. We paid 80 pesos for the entrance. Though the place was nice, we didn't enjoy much because of the on and off rain plus the strong winds. The staff had to temporarily close some of the rides due to the bad weather. We were able to ride the Sky Eye though. We went home around 9 PM. Before we went to Sky ranch, we dropped by at their Ayala Mall. It was smaller compared to Ayala Malls in the city. There were a lot of restaurants you can choose from. We ate our Dinner at Pamana. Their foods were delicious and the place had a beautiful ambiance.
 |
| Foggy morning at Tagaytay. |
 |
| Sorry our faces were so haggard. :) |
 |
| Ate dinner here. Paman restaurant. Just across Ayala. |
 |
| Dinner at Pamana. |
Day Two:
We woke up very early because our plan was to visit Taal Volcano. It's the most anticipated spot in Tagaytay. Again, unfortunately, typhoon Lando was getting stronger. We were not allowed to go to Taal because it's no longer safe. We had to wait for a couple of hours for the rain to stopped. At around 10 AM, the rain started to slow down. We rode a Tricycle going to People's Park. Sadly, our expectations were not met. The place was more like Mountain View here in Cebu but much more simpler. There's nothing much to do there except watching the entire city of Tagaytay. The entrance fee was 30 pesos. You had to walk a bit to reach the peak. When we reached the peak, we didn't find anything except for the two floor rusted building, an old well and some vendors. After taking pictures and videos, we rode a jeepney going to Picnic Groove. Another spot in Tagaytay. We had our lunch there. Their foods were delicious. Prices were quite okay except for the hidden service charge which we were not informed. The place was nice. If not for the thick fog, we would be able to see the view of Taal Volcano from there. There were a lot of Nipa Hut where you can have picnic with friends and families. Unwind and Relax. Entrance fee is 50 pesos. We didn't stay there that much because of time constraint. Good thing, we found a a van for rent at a reasonable price to tour us on the other side of the Tagaytay. After almost an hour of travel, we reached Sonya's Garden. Most of the stuff you can see there are plants and garden. It's not that big but they have a big hall for events. No entrance fee. Next spot was Puzzle Mansion. This place was awesome! After a long winding road, we reached the place. It has a big name outside and a big pool too. We paid 100 pesos each for the entrance fee. When we went inside, we were all amazed. The owner was part of the Guinness Book of Record for more than 1000 puzzles. I can;t believe she did all of that because by the looks of everything, it would really require patience, time and money. After taking pictures, we headed home.
 |
| Sonya's Garden |
 |
| Sonya's Garden Event Hall |
 |
| Outside of Puzzle Mansion. |
 |
| Puzzle Mansion Guinness Book of Record :) |
 |
| The biggest puzzle |
 |
| Second largest Puzzle in the world. |
Day three:
Prepared ourselves and ate our breakfast. Rode the same van going back to Manila. The travel was short. I think 1 hour and half. We stayed at Mall of Asia and had our lunch there. Four of us stayed there while my aunt, boyfriend, cousin and his girlfriend headed to airport. They had different flight schedule. Around 5 PM, my friends and I who were left behind went to City of Dreams. They had a free bus from MOA but you need to have an ID. The place was nice. More like the same with Macau hotels but a bit smaller though. We just enjoyed taking pictures of the surrounding. After 1 hour, we went back to MOA to get our stuff and had dinner. We went to the airport around 9PM. Unfortunately, our flight was delayed for 4 hours. Imagine that? Cebu Pacific never fails to disappoint me. Well, I don't want to dwell on it much because I was really pissed off with how they handled the situations. Our situation was not really the worst. The other flight from Butuan was also delayed. Their flight was 6PM but it's already 2AM and they were still there. No actions done. Just sorry and that's it. People were already wild and cranky. Some of them were shouting to the attendants. The place was so dirty too. Around 3AM, we were able to ride our plane. I arrived at our place 5AM.
Let me enumerate the pros and cons of everything:
PROS:
- Our hotel (5R INN) was okay. Not the best but gave us a cozy place to stay.
- Foods in Tagaytay were actually delicious.
- Very nice weather.
CONS:
- Overpriced transportation.
- Spots were overrated. We were only impressed with Sky Ranch and Puzzle Mansion. The rest were so so.
- For the hotel, hot and cold shower was not working. Leaking of the water.
Hmm. I don't want to be too negative about Tagaytay but if you just want to see the beauty of nature, you can visit the place. Just chill out and spend more time talking to your families and friends. If you are more of an adventurous type, then maybe you can skip this out.
Comments
Post a Comment