Batangas: Taal heritage town walking tour

Taal, Batangas is one of the best-preserved Spanish colonial towns of the country. And it's home to a good number of heroes of the Philippine Revolution including the principal seamstress of the Philippine flag, Marcela Mariño Agoncillo.


At the heart of Taal is the Taal Basilica, dedicated to St. Martin of Tours and said to be the biggest Catholic church in Asia. In front of it is the Taal Municipal Hall which was built during the Spanish colonial period. Scattered around town are dozens of ancestral homes, old school buildings and other heritage structures. Which is why the town is perfect for a walking tour.


Last Sunday, we got to visit three heritage houses during our walking tour including the Villavicencio House and the adjacent Villavicencio "Wedding Gift" House, as well as the Marcela Agoncillo House which is a National Historical Landmark. In fact, Taal has at least seven National Historical Landmarks including the Taal Basilica, Taal Municipal Hall, and Escuela Pia.

Entrance fees to the houses are Php50 per head which is usually included in the walking tour fee. And take note that many of the houses are only accessible through the these walking tours.

From the Villavicencio Houses, you can walk down to the Caysasay Shrine through the centuries-old San Lorenzo Ruiz Steps. Also in Taal are the homes of Gregorio Agoncillo and Leon Apacible also National Historical Landmarks.


And don't forget to pass by the Taal Market to check out the piña (pineapple) fabric and barong embroidery. I always buy my embroidered jusi and piña cloth from there since it's almost half the price than if you buy your barong in Manila. Taal is also home to balisong-making, panutsa (peanut brittle) and produces a really tasty derecado longganisa.

Heritage Tours and Travel
heritours@yahoo.com
Bennet (0918) 3155634
Mayette (0918)3644549
Jaren (0910) 8110350

There are half and whole day packages with meals (see their site at heritours.multiply.com)

Where to stay in Taal
Baby Joven-Quiblat and Benny Quiblat have rooms available for visitors. You can reach Baby at (0917) 8970363 for rates and avalability.

Robert Arambulo, a balikbayan architect from Sta. Rosa, Laguna, also has rooms available in his restored Taal house called Casa Severina. Contact him at (0917) 5018060.

Casa Cecilia has eight bedrooms and a restaurant that serves great tasting Taal cuisine. Specialties are bulalo (with a twist) and their maliputo. Contact numbers are (043) 4080048 or (0906) 2225339.

Subic: Tree Top Adventure is Subic Bay's adventure attraction

If there's one thing good about Subic Bay being a former American military base, the rain forests are very much intact. Subic Tree Top Adventure is one way you can appreciate the forests of Subic Bay.

This attraction is a series of suspended trails, bridges and motorized cable rides built high up the rain forest of Subic.

We visited Tree Top Adventure in the evening. I was a bit skeptical since it would have been really dark unless they installed ample lighting. But it turns out, doing it in the evening can be fun too. And no need to worry about the heat of the sun.


We got to try their zip-line called the Superman Ride since you are suspended face down and feet up. That was fun!

There are a lot of activities there including the Tree Top Adventure (Canopy Walk and Canopy Ride) which I already mentioned (Php350), Ultimate Adventure or Superman Ride (Php200), Trekking Adventure (Php100) which is simply a walking trail around the rain forest, and the Tree-Drop Adventure (Php150) which is rappelling down the side of a 60-foot tree (try the daring Australian style which is face first). They have various packages. But if you want to try everything, take Package F (Php720).

Tree Top Adventure Subic
JEST Area, Upper Mau
Cubi Point, Subic Bay
(047) 2529425 / 27

Pangasinan: Hundred Islands boat tour in Alaminos, Pangasinan

Hundred Islands in Alaminos, Pangasinan is for me, Pangasinan's best beach attraction. While other beaches such as Patar Beach in Bolinao and Tondol Beach in Anda are equally great, there's more to do at the Hundred Islands than simply frolicking under the summer sun.

For one, there are a lot of islands to explore, over a hundred of them in fact. The two most visited islands would be Governor's Island (which has a view deck with a great view of the Hundred Islands and the Big Brother House) and Quezon Island (with its many water activities and rental facilities).



During our boat tour around the Hundred Islands, we got to see some unique islands including Bat Island, host to a population of nocturnal fruit bats, and Cathedral Island, with its large cave. We also saw several islands with secluded beaches which you could have all to yourselves, such as Lopez Island, where one could stay for the day without much fuss from other visitors who usually troop to Quezon Island. On weekends, you might have to choose some of the lesser known islands for your own private beach.



Quezon Island is where most of the facilities are including picnic pavilions, huts and kayak and snorkel rentals. There's good snorkeling around the island. Notice the giant clams around the area which are a result of the giant clam seeding project at the Hundred Islands.

We had a wonderful lunch at Quezon Island hosted by Dir. Martin Valera of the Department of Tourism. If you want to have a picnic lunch as well, our caterer was Gemma (0919) 6520570. She prepared a sumptuous spread of seafood, grilled pork, vegetables and seaweed, and fresh fruits for dessert.

Hundred Islands Visitors Center
Rey Livara (0917) 6104144