Returning home today! We dared not be late to catch our flight, thanks to the previous experience. And this time, to prevent the airport officials from grinning and asking whether we like popcorn, we sealed our 12 tubs of Chef Tony's popcorn in two nondescript cardboard boxes and lugged them for checking-in.
Till our next trip again.
It was a Monday and the kids had to go back to school, so Slug and I slacked the whole day watching cable TV and catching up with his brother. We also followed him on his daily routine of picking up the kids at the Manila International School and then making them do their homework and project work at home. What a casual way of spending the day.
It was the outdoors again today! We were going to visit the Pagsanjan (pronounced as Pag-sang-han) Falls in the Laguna province, and according to Moses, it was going to be a slightly-more-than-two-hour journey there.
On the way to Laguna province
Along the way, we had toilet breaks to drink some fresh coconut juice and stretch our legs.
A roadside stall selling bags and bags of ... ...
... snails, eeek!
We stopped for lunch at Jollybee at some unknown shopping centre.
Slug playing some shooting game after lunch
We reached a spot along the river where Slug's brother rented two kayaks for Slug and I, and his two nieces. We needed not do the rowing - a guide would be rowing the kayak against the riverflow and taking us upriver to the Pagsanjan Falls.
Cruising along the river
No easy feat to go against the river flow
Some mini waterfalls cascading down the steep rocky valleys
Coming to a stretch of the river whereby the riverbed were strewn with boulders and rocks
Amazing guide had to bring the kayak up these rocks amidst the shallow waters
Guide got out of the kayak to pull it up the rocky riverbed
We arrived at the Pagsanjan Falls and the guide brought us onto a bamboo raft. I thought that the experience was to sail through the waterfall and into the dark damp cave hidden behind the waterfall. I felt nervous at the thought of the waters plunging down onto us and that slamming impact on our heads.
Pagsanjan Falls
Getting ready for the waterfall tour
The impact of the falling waters was painful but brief. We were thoroughly drenched from head to toe. Far from what I expected, we did not go through the waterfall and into the cave. We merely passed the edges of the waterflow, just enough for us to be soaked and not be hurt by the pounding waters. What a bummer.
After the experience the guide took us back to where we came from, and along the peaceful river we spotted some locals swimming, fishing and playing in the water. By the time we got back onto land, our clothes had more or less dried up. We had dinner before embarking on a two-hour journey back to Manila. The highways were more packed on a Sunday evening than yesterday as the people were returning back to town for work tomorrow.
Would be going to Taal Volcano in the Tagaytay (pronounced as Tah-gah-tai) province today! What makes it spectacular is that the Taal Volcano is actually a 'mini' (don't underestimate, it is still considered to be active) volcano within a larger volcano (but what remains of it now is just its extinct crater as it was largely blasted off during a violent eruption in the past).
Slug's brother had hired a local driver, Moses, considered to be their family 'chauffeur' for long trips, to take us there. Went to a weekend market to buy some snacks first. It sold lots of their local foodstuffs that we were unfamiliar with.
Couldn't figure what these were
Wow, large bags of candy floss
Macadamia nuts
Then we began an approximate two-hour journey to the Tagaytay province. It was uncomfortable with 5 adults and 2 kids squeezed into the car, and as the car cruised smoothly along the highways, Slug and I soon fell asleep. After travelling along the Tagaytay Ridge (the crater), we soon reached the place to take a boat ride across the Taal Lake to get to the Taal volcano itself.
The first we went to was Kaisa Angelo King Heritage Centre which showcases the historical and cultural legacy of the Chinese in the Philippines but unfortunately it was closed. We then went to the Manila Cathedral to take a look. I fancied the lighting effect of the stained glass windows - the light was just enough to illuminate the different coloured glass pieces but not too glaring to spoil the somehow gothic feel of the basilica.
Kaisa Angelo King Heritage Centre
Manila Cathedral basilica
Very pretty stained glass windows
Slug playing with a simple replica of a pipe organ
Exhibits detailing the milestones of the cathedral
A tiled mosaic depicting biblical images
We then moved on to Chinatown to have a dimsum lunch, visit a Chinese temple-cum-nunnery (the nuns there were kind to give us some bread and water, and they could speak Hokkien!) and shop for some local produce. Along the way, Slug's brother intended for us to mock at the locals by driving us to look at them praying to a cross with Chinese joss sticks.
What a bizarre integration of two religions
Chinatown in Manila
A golden praying hall in the temple
After lunch we fetched Slug's two nieces from the school and spent the rest of the day eating, slacking and watching cable TV (which was actually what we came here for).
We arrived at 11.30pm at the Budget Terminal to check in for our Cebu Pacific flight at 1.30am. A long queue was forming at the check-in counter and as time passed by we got increasingly puzzled at why the queue was not moving (even though there was staff manning the counter). Only at 1.00pm did it start to move and by the time we got onto the plane it was 1.45pm. Ironically we arrived 10 mins earlier than the arrival time estimated.
Cup noodles selling at an exhorbitant $4
Slug's brother picked us up from the airport and we spent the morning hours sleeping. I thought Slug's brother would let us sleep way till dinnertime considering that we boarded a midnight flight, but no, he woke us up very promptly to have lunch, tea and dinner.
Slug and I started wondering if we could put up with such a strict fatherly care regime for the next few days.
I hate the Hong Kong Airport. It was a pain running from Terminal 1 to Terminal 2 and then back to Terminal 1 to board our flight. Till our next trip again ... ... which was a few days later!
