Daytrip out of Manila City

8:30am start we had Fred come pick us up from the hotel

Seems no group tours so had our own driver for the day

A couple of hours away from Manila, this beautiful spot is a favourite for the locals as a weekend getaway… and I totally see why!

The drive was really comfortable and interesting just looking out the window at the scenery passing by… once we left the traffic of Manila, it became less dense and the island feel was coming through with the trees and the sporadic buildings

Tagaytay is in the Province of Cavite

As you first glimpse Taal lake, it looks so magestic! The volcano located inside the lake is the 2nd most active volcano in Philippines, it was a 2hour drive south from Manila City, located 3000m above sea level and has a much cooler climate which was nice when coming from 30 degree heat in Manila!

MARCOS MUSEUM

We passed by this derelict run down building

Ferdinand Marcos used to live here – it used tobe the ancestral home of the Marcoses

He was the 10th president of Philippines from 1965-1986 who was deposed in 1986 due to his martial laws and dictatorship, he was well known for his corruption

Ferdinand and Imelda Marcos held the Guinness World Record for the largest ever theft from a government for decades! Funny though… Guinness took the record down from their website for a few weeks before the 2022 election, guess the corruption is still there!

The People Power revolution in Feb 1986 removed him from power

they stole around $10 billion from the state over a brutal and corrupt 20 years leaving the country impoverished

Dozens of criminal and civil court cases have been launched against the Marcoses in the past 36 years, but they have beaten most of them

In a rare legal setback, Imelda was sentenced to a lengthy prison term in 2018 for funnelling roughly $200 million in embezzled funds through Swiss foundations decades ago. She is on bail

PALACE IN THE SKY

After the 2 hours driving through expressways then windy roads to the top of the Mount Sungay we came to the “Palace of the Sky” which was once the holiday residence of Fernando Marcos, man it would have had the best view!

This was the windy road we drove up to get to the Peoples Park – main building with red roof was the where the Marcos’ used to holiday at

Just a side note by the author (me) : Its just unbelieveable!… This family steal from the people and end up having houses all over the place and the country in ruins (except for the rich) they get exiled, and then years later upon their return back to the country, the family is voted back in 🤷🏻‍♀️ when will we learn??

The whole area was full of locals who have wanted a break from the city life of Manila, mostly youth all just enjoying the clear air and skies

It was 50php entrance fee ($1.50) which was nothing – we explored the old residence, couldnt see much being stuck in the middle of clouds!

The entrance to the park and where we caught our first jeepney ride!
Inside the jeepney, actually more spacious than I actually thought it would be!
Reaching the top and being met by dense moving clouds, it was actually quite beautifully eerie, enjoyed it even if we couldn’t see the view!

The place was pretty quiet, we saw no western tourists AT ALL! Mainly Filipino – the place was quiet and relaxing, we were getting some looks from the locals but generally were left alone which was nice for a change

The chapel on the property was the highest point on the mountain
After the clouds cleared we finally got to see the nice view!
Taal Lake and surrounding little towns
Jeepneys waiting to take people up to the top of the mountain
Local street wares
The view of Taal lake and the volcano
Stopped every now and again just to take some more scenic pics and to enjoy the view of the volcano
The dormant volcano on the right is the old one and on the left is the active volcano, they are keeping an eye on it as it only erupted around 4 years ago
Great way to protect from the sun when driving!

Lunch was at a resort called “island dreamer” I had vegetarian curry and rice with a great view over the lake and the volcano

View from the resort in our bamboo hut
The resort was right on the lake front and nice and quiet
Local Fishing boats docked at the lakes edge
Our lunch hut with a view!
Lunch was local vegetables and local milk fish (not for me though!) and our locally bought pineapple from the markets
Had a few beers which went down well with the hot weather and charming view

Back to fight the traffic again on the way back to Intramuros

Toll booth for the new expressway on the way back to Manila

I recommend a day trip out of Manila, this one was not too far out and a drive away, the volcano and the views were beautiful and was nice to get out of Manila traffic

Hiring a driver is expensive! So ask around and see what other options there are – we paid around $120AU each 😳

Nov 23