Kawayan Farm

July 5, 2009 - The Kawayan Farm in Pililla, Rizal is home to various species of bamboo seedlings from white, yellow, black, Chinese, Buddaha, giant and up to the expensive bamboos used by famous landscapers in their masterpieces. Behind Nikki are some of the these bamboos currently housed by the farm.

Most of the structures in the farm were made of bamboo. From the picnic tables and nipa huts and up to the dinning halls.

A hilly landscape, a refreshing sight of the untouched forest and an overlooking view of Laguna de Bay was indeed very relaxing.

The best part of the trip was the food. A must try in their menu was the Bicol Express made of labong, bulalo and the sinigang na hipon. We also ordered native tinolang manok with coconut meat. Their staff were very friendly and service was at its best. As a bonus, the meal was reasonably priced. We will surely come back to this place to dine and relax.

They also offered massage service and a children's playground where the kids enjoyed playing with the monkey bars, swing and slide.

It took us two hours to reach the place via the backdoor of the east. It was a smooth drive thru the long and winding roads of the Manila East Road via Marcos Highway. Below are pictures of the convoy and the crew.

'Till the next road trip...

Tagaytay Highlands

May 2, 2009. Tagaytay Highlands is one of the posh and exclusive country clubs in the country today. It is a membership only access country club that makes it very exclusive and private. We were fortunate enough that my mom's friend lent us her membership rights to gain access to the country club.

There are a lot of things to do when you are in Tagaytay Highlands. A ride in its famous cable car and funicular is first on our list. The kids enjoyed the ten minute cable ride from the lowlands to the highlands and the five minute ride down to the midlands via the funicular. From Wikipedia, a funicular is a type of self-contained cable railway in which a cable attached to a pair of tram-like vehicles on rails moves them up and down a very steep slope, the ascending and descending vehicles counterbalancing each other.



We stayed at one of the Cowboy Cabins at the Cottage Grove. After settling down, we had a dip into one of their swimming pools.

A golf car ride took us from the cottage grove to the main clubhouse.

It was indeed a very relaxing trip to Tagaytay.

Tour of the Fireflies

April 19, 2009, The 11th Tour of the Fireflies is a fun and happy bike ride around Metro Manila. With five thousands plus registered participants from all over, the peleton of bikers passed through 4 cities (Pasig, QC, Mandaluyong, Makati) via Metro Manila's busiest thoroughfare: EDSA !

This tour encourages riders and people from all walks of life to become more aware of the problems of global warming where one of the main cause is the pollution coming from all kinds of motor vehicles.

It's never too late to save our planet. Help save mother Earth.

Good Friday Procession

April 10, 2009, Good Friday, we joined the long procession in San Mateo, Rizal. My brother-in-law's (Eric) family owns an image of St. Nicodemus. They had started this tradition of joining the procession years back.

St. Nicodemus is a Jew who secretly listened to the teachings of Jesus during the night to better understand His teachings about the kingdom. He was the one who assisted in the burial of Jesus. Jesus was wrapped with expensive linen and sprayed with perfume.

The procession started leaving the church at around 6:00 pm. It was a four hour walk around the town of San Mateo. When we finally reached the church, it was already 10 pm. It's a walk truly worthwhile.

Lenten Visita Iglesia

April 10, 2009 - We started this family tradition of visiting 7 churches during Maundy Thursday in 2000. This practice was introduced to the Filipinos by the Spanish colonizers way back in the time of the early church where Christians would visit seven great basilicas in Rome for the adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. During these visit, we reflect on the fourteen stations of the cross. We reflect on two stations per church. As always, we visit the old churches of Rizal-Laguna route. We started with Antipolo Church since it houses the Our Lady of Peace and Good Voyage. Pilgrims from all over the Philippines visit Antipolo to seek for guidance for a safe trip ahead.

Next on the list was the parish of San Geronimo in Morong. This church was built in 1620 and was inspired by the baroque architecture of the 17th century. Mostly Mexican in origin, different decorative elements adorne the bell tower.

The parish of San Jose in Baras was the next church we had visited. The church is a typical Franciscan mission 17th century church. The altar is in the plateresco style, an architectural style used in Spain in the 16th century.

Also included in our trip was the parish of San Ildefonso in Tanay Rizal. The altar is Rococo in origin, it was characterized by the use of pastel colors, asymmetrical frames with flame and coral like decors.

A church on top of a hill was our next destination. Nuestra Señora de Candelaria Parish of Mabitac is 100 feet above the level of Laguna. To reach the church, one must climb up the 126 steps leading to the church.

The parish of San Pedro de Alcantara in Pakil, Laguna houses Nuestra Senora de los Dolores de Turumba. The lady of Turumba has more than 300 gowns given as gifts by her parishioners and devotees. She wears each gown for two weeks and after changing into a new gown, the old gown is cut into square pieces and given away as amultes. Another interesting detail to note in this church is the image of the Crucified Jesus Christ. On Good Friday, this image is brought down to be laid on a bier to serve as the Santo Enerio or the dead Christ that is used in the procession.

Lastly, we visited the parish of Santiago Apostol in Paete, Laguna. Paete is famous for its wood carvings. From the altar to the Stations of the Cross and up to the images in the church are all hand made in Paete.

Nikki and James posed with one of the participants of the Senakulo.

It was a long and tiring trip but it in the end we were thankful that our Lord God has guided us all throughout the trip.