Manila Bay, Philippines

It's a Sunday morning, and no traffic anywhere in Metro Manila. We went to Mall Of Asia (MOA) to see the beauty of Manila Bay. The month of June is supposedly a rainy season here in the Philippines, but probably due to the sudden change of weather/climate because of the global warming, it seem like a summer day. I can feel the heat of the sun and the warm heat of Manila bay as the humid wind touches my skin. I can smell the water as it splashes against the walls and the strong wind reaches us at the second floor of the bridgeway of the mall. Its a great way to spend family time here, whether to stroll inside the mall and go shopping with lots of stores to choose from. There are also open air restaurants and coffee shops a great place to hang out with friends. Family, friends and also pets like dogs can also be brought here, go strolling at the park.

Tagaytay City, Philippines

Just when the rainy season started to pour this May, we went for a drive to Tagaytay City. The cloud's a darkened grey in a 6 o'clock atmosphere. It hasn't started to rain but the looks of it, it soon will. We arrived and small drops of rain started to wet the atmosphere. Bringing a kind of dim ambience.

There are two directions to traverse going to Tagaytay, the one is using Coastal Road and the other is via C-5 SLEX (South Luzon Express Way) via Sta. Rosa/Silang Exit. Its a long straight road to Tagaytay and its easy to find.

At the roadside of Silang Cavite, the town before Tagaytay, there are lots of roadside vendors selling fruits like, senorita bananas, manggoes, langka, mangosteen, etcetera. There are also 'pasalubong stores' selling pastries, coconut (buko) pie, fresh cow's milk, fresh carabao's milk, pasteurized cow's cheese (kesong puti), banana and cassava chips etcetera. There are also picnic areas like Picnic Grove best to bring friends and family for bonding and get together. There are cottages in the slopes of the hillside of Tagaytay, with a good view of the area. There are tourist spots like Palace in the Sky where many souvenir items can be found. You can also visit Tagaytay Highlands, and a boat ride to the famous Taal Volcano, the small but active volcano located at the Taal Lake. Alongside the road of Olivares town (Tagaytay) there are many restaurants and bars to choose from to dine, there are also hotels, cheap inns for a budgeted overnight stay, and some privately owned houses offers transient rooms. For people who loves flowers and gardening, there are many different flowers for sale at the roadside of Tagaytay. Some people would go there just to buy flowers.

Tagaytay is not only for leisure but most of the seminars, conventions are being held. There are also different retreat houses to spend spiritual retreat and seminaries located at the hillside.

Like Baguio City, Tagaytay is a cool place to stay not far from the city. Its only a 2-3 hours drive from Quezon City/ Manila. Can spend breakfast and lunch at Tagaytay and be back in Manila for dinner.

Baguio City, Philippines

There are many must see tourist spots in the Philippines, in Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao. There are a wide variety of choices depending on one's preference. Like you can spend the summertime in the Northern part of the Philippines without experiencing the summer heat. Like spending your summer in BAGUIO CITY. Eversince I was a kid we would spend our summer in Baguio. We would bring food and usually have our family picnic and get together, biking, horseback riding at camp john hay, boating at the man made lake, and spend our time enjoying the mountainous region of Baguio City at Mine's View Park where the scenery's great. You can also enjoy strawberry picking and eat fresh fruits and vegetables. If you'd like to buy souvenirs there are lots of good stuff like knitted clothes, leather jackets, silver accessories, home decors, souvenir items like different wood carvings and many more. For "pasalubong" or snacks that you can bring home, there are sweets like peanut brittle, strawberry jams, tarot jam or "ube," coconut jam, choco chips or cereal, and many other things. You can find all these at Session Road, or inside the market place of the city. Its a long main road in Baguio City, downtown where you can find different establishments, stalls, boutiques, fast food chains, restaurants and bars for a night life. There are bars where acoustic singer sings or band at night while you drink and enjoy the evening with friends and family.

For overnight spending or more there are cheap hotels and nice and cozy hotels that you can spend for the night. You can spend a classy night at Camp John Hay Manor Hotel if you'd like to spend your night in a quality and convenient place to stay and at the same time enjoy the view of the tall pine trees right at your window. For a limited budget stay, there are dormitories and transient room/house all over Baguio City.