Flashback: Coron turned Tagaytay and Laguna (102009)

About 3 years ago was my supposedly first airplane ride.I have ridden one when I was four except that it didn't actually fly. It was during a field trip with my mom's kids (she is a teacher) and we were allowed to have photos inside the craft. 

I was with my then boyfriend (now hubby) and our college friends. It was the time when a storm just passed Manila and we were actually thankful that the sun was shining the day we were about to go to Coron. We were a total of 17 and were excitedly waiting at the terminal when we were told twice that our flight will be delayed. 30 minutes or so has passed when they broke my heart saying our flight has been cancelled because a small aircraft like the one we were about to board couldn't pass through rainy clouds in our destination. Still we hoped to continue the trip but having waited in the airport for almost a day, we gave up. The plane tickets were refunded but the hotel we reserved chuck off  P1000 each and returned the rest of the payment after 2 weeks. Some already went home but others, including us, stayed and decided to sleep over at Bai's house which was near the airport. We had late dinner at KKK (Kainan sa Kalye Kanluran) 

Top: Sisig
Bottom: Caldereta

Top: Adobo ni Jake
Bottom: Gising Gising

Top: Bistek Flakes
Bottom: Sinigang na Lechon

Food at KKK were (if not all) Filipino. They were great and I especially liked they're Bistek Flakes and Sinigang na Lechon. 

Trying not to waste the vacation leaves filed, we decided to go somewhere hopefully just by land. Since we were ready to go to the beach, we agreed to go to Batangas. We called a van rental service and waited but it seems that luck was still avoiding us because after waiting for an hour, the service called us telling us that there were no drivers available. *sigh* Not giving up, we headed out of the house prepared for an overnight stay somewhere even if it meant that we needed to commute dragging along our heavy bags. Good thing a Batangas bound van said yes to our pleading of renting the van for the whole day. We planned on passing and seeing Tagaytay then stay at any resort in Batangas. 

First stop was Palace in the sky where leg strength was vital for climbing. 

Next was Caleruega, where you can get lost in their beautiful garden decorated with several koi ponds. At the highest point of the place stood a small church which is often chosen for weddings. 

After, we went to  Sonia's Garden not to eat or stay but to just take pictures haha! 

We then decided to find a place in Batangas to swim and stay.  It was already drizzling when we left the diner and pouring when we were on the road. Since rain and beach was not a good combination, we headed  back to Tagaytay and had our late lunch (this was about 4pm) at Leslie's Bulalohan. I was not able to get shots of the food tho. 

It was back to drizzling again when we finished lunch and Kuya Louie, the van driver, was already talking about going home. We pursuaded him to let us find a place to stay first and so for almost an hour, we stopped at every inn and resort to ask if they can accomodate a crowd like us and more importantly if we can afford their rates. We found a pool resort in Laguna (I don't remember the name) around 7pm and stayed the night there. 

The trip was not as planned but I still had fun because it was the first time I went out with our college friends. My parents were very old fashioned and didn't allow me doing sleep overs so this was actually my first :) (and I was already 26!)