Ditching The City

This is me having a super late breakfast at Max's, sitting at a table overlooking the Taal lake.

So, I've had a four and a half day vacation in Tagaytay, it's about 2 hours away from (South of) Manila. It's like the most productive vacation so far because I got a 'gig' and a chance to earn a little something while actually having a vacation.

Normally, I would spend my vacations at my hometown (about 2 hours from Manila too, except that you gotta head north going there). Right after I get off the tricycle, I would just spend a few moments thinking about what needs to be cleaned at my grandparents' house and estimating how long it will take me to finish the 'general cleaning'. Sometimes I would have lunch first before starting, just so I would have enough energy to clean up 'til the end of the day. I'll have to sweep the cobwebs on the ceiling, dust off everything inside the living room and sweep the floor that normally takes forever because the dust seems like it has a life of its own.

Anyway, like I said, that was my 'normal' vacation. The first day is always exhausting. I can only get to rest and really settle down (and feel like I've been hazed) after almost everything is clean. But this time, I had a different kind of vacation. People here don't really consider Tagaytay as an awesome vacation spot since it's just a few hours from the city. But really, the atmosphere is SO different! It has an awesome weather and really polite (and kind) people!

You can actually wake up to a misty morning! Tagaytay is well known for the Taal Lake (aka Crater Lake and according to Wikipedia ~ "That crater lake is the world's largest lake on an island in a lake on an island")

So, I wasn't able to get the famous 'boat ride' at the foot of the hill. But 3 years ago, I went horseback-riding at Picnic Grove. Picnic Grove is a good place to shop for souvenirs. But I wasn't able to shop there this time. On the third day of my vacation, right after having breakfast, I put on a cardigan and I strolled around Olivarez (Olivarez is like the center of Tagaytay City) and shopped at a huge flea market (UKAY-UKAY!). I got TWO maxi dresses for P250 (about $5) And that, ladies and gentlemen was actually the highlight of my trip! Haha!

It was drizzling while I was strolling at Olivarez but I didn't mind. Got my umbrella of course...and I was just too happy that I got a chance to wander around this cool place.