Taal Volcano- The Third Time

The third time I went to the Taal Volcano crater was when we accompanied a Thai friend, Sudthida and her mother.  She was on a short visit for a meeting and one of those in her “must-see-must do” list is the Taal Volcano crater. 

There are many individuals or businesses  offering a tour or a boat ride to the crater.  We opted for Taal Yacht Club as we have already tried them when we did our 2013 team building for around 40 persons, which they handled very well.   They are organized, easy to deal, they provide good customer service and most of all, they have fixed rates so there are no surprise charges.

We reserved a tour with Sonya, the caretaker of Taal Yacht Club who manages the bookings , the same person we talked to in 2013. You may reach TYC at +6343 7730192.  Alternatively, they have an office in Makati City which may be reached at +6328113283 or +632 8113183.

There are two options for the tour.  The first one is the  Regular Tourist Trail which leads to the crater view point or the rim of the volcano. It takes 20 minute boat ride to reach the dock in the volcano, and the entire tour will take around 3 hours. The second option is called the Secret Trail, the more difficult one leading to the lake crater itself, which was what me and I friends did way back in year 2000 or so, the first time I went there.  It takes 40 minutes to reach the dock by boat, and the entire tour will take around 5 hours. Considering that we have an elderly with us, we opted for the regular trail.

The view from the view point of the Regular Tourist trail

We paid the tour in advance (through bank deposit) and we were given a discount.  We paid Php2,400 instead of Php3,300.  The price includes 1 boat good for 5 persons, fees for the boatman and the  fee tour guide, entrance and parking fee to the yacht club, use of hut for 2 hours upon return from the tour, and shower!.  We also opted to rent horses at Php600 per horse.  Other expenses at the volcano itself is the municipal tourism tax of Php100 per person and the Php50 landing fee per boat. 

It was raining very hard when we left Manila and we were not very optimistic that the crater visit will push through.  But lo, the sun shone on us when we reached Talisay, Batangas, the jump off point for the  boat ride to the crater.   Everything was ready when we reached the Taal Yacht Club.  Our guide and the boatman were waiting for us.  

All throughout the 20 minute ride to the volcano, the water was very calm.  Upon landing at the volcano, our guide gave us a short overview of the tour before we headed for the horseback ride.  Each horse is accompanied by their caretaker, which they also refer to as guide.  I was assigned “Trisha”, a 2 year old beautiful, playful horse who stops every now and then to eat some grass- which I didn’t mind at all.  (I am however a bit disturbed that a young horse had to carry me on her back- it felt cruel that I vowed never to ride a horse again!).

We reached the rim where one can look down into the crater.  The view of the “island within a lake within an island within a lake within an island”, is beautiful as ever- and it was a good idea to opt for the trail to the view point, rather than the secret trail or the trail leading to the crater. I love the view of the green crater, superimposed in the view of the mountains and the bigger lake. At the view point, we spent a long time just marveling at the view, enjoying the cold wind, and of course, taking a lot of pictures- selfies or otherwise.

After the crater, the next stop was of course the Bag of Beans in Tagaytay, where we enjoyed a really good lunch.  We also dropped by the Puzzle Mansion, before heading home.

Our guests were very happy with the visit - it was their first time to ride a horse, and was their first time to be in a volcano.  Our guests were very amazed that they vowed to return to the Philippines to see the other places!  

Other information:

About the tour:

Bring some bottled water.At the view point, you will be offered to buy “Gatorade for your horse driv er/guide” at Php100 ($2 dollars) which is 60% more than the original price.  I handed my guide a bottled water which I brought with me, instead. 

About the horses:

According to the caretaker of the horse, there are around 200 horses in the island, and these are not owned by the residents.  The households are assigned a horse to take care of, and they are also provided with feeds and vitamins by the owner.  The horses work around 3 times a week, and for only one trip each time. (I still feel bad for the horses though!).

Nepal and the Himalayas

Facebook's "On This Day" feature showed my posts about Nepal in my newsfeed yesterday. I can't believe it has been 3 years ago!  

To this day, my visit in Nepal remains my favorite, among all my travels around Asia.   I was there to participate in a management training in September 2012.  One of the activities was the interaction with the community members in villages we work with.  For that, we had to travel to Makwanpur, the closest of all the Nepal field offices.

Among the places I have been to, Makwanpur is one of those with the most beautiful landscape. The travel was difficult- many of my companions felt nauseated and had breathing difficulty because of the 3 hours travel along a (very) winding road, and because of the altitude.  We were travelling up the highest mountains I have ever seen or been to.  From the window, I was looking down the gorge, which seemed never ending- I could not see the bottom. I remember myself wondering how many hours it would take for us to hit the bottom if we fall into it- I shuddered at the thought.

Up, up.....

 

..and away!

Nevertheless, the road to Makwanpur is one of the beautiful roads I have travelled (if you don't look at the gorge). The scenery is just too beautiful.  I am glad I have mastered the art of taking pictures on board a speeding vehicle, using my mobile phone (it is one useful skill!).

How's this for a playground?

Meadows...

...mountains...

..just like a painting. 

Lovely day.

It was cold in Makwanpur- and I think that was one time when I have consumed that much hot milk tea!  Our colleagues in Makwanpur welcomed us at a tea shop, had a brief introduction about the programs we were implementing in the area and then in groups, we met with different groups of people in different communities.  

At the town entrance...

Typical house in the town center..and those are corn and chilis, being dried...

Dried chili is a staple in Nepali cuisine...

Ladies..carrying loads of wood

It was already dark when we finished the meetings, and we headed to the Everest Panorama Resort in Daman where we spent the night.  We had dinner and had a bonfire where a fire-eater performed about a local folklore.  Then it was time to call it a day.  We were booked in separate cabanas- and my cabana happened to be the farthest.  It was very dark, very cold, very quiet and very scary. At midnight, somebody was roaming around the place and I could see his shadow from my window.  Possibly it was the security guard- but still I could not sleep. 

It was finally morning, and despite the fact that I hardly slept, the cold shower kept me awake all day (the hot shower was not working- lucky me!)

But- the moment I stepped out of my cabana, my jaw dropped.  I was greeted by the most beautiful sight ever: the long stretch of the Himalayan mountain range. Layers and layers of mountains, with the farthest mountains capped with snow.  It was so beautiful, and so beyond words.

We spent around 2 hours taking pictures.  Then, with regret, we had to leave to do more community interaction, and on to another arduous travel  back to Kathmandu.

Myself with colleagues from India, Cambodia and Laos

What made Nepal special?  

The beautiful mountains.... 

waking up to cold weather and beautiful sunrise....  

and the beautiful people who lovingly welcomed us to their villages. 

And of course, the yummiest warm milk tea I have ever had. 

USA Day 7: Napa Valley High

I have always loved vineyards, country home on a rolling hill, gourmet cheese and wine. That's why I got such a high when we went to  Napa Valley.  It is everything I wanted a place to be. 

At the "Welcome to Napa Valley" sign...I was there! :)

Napa valley is a famous wine-producing region and we drove through vast vineyards. They have just planted grapes when we visited- which was too bad because I would have loved to see grapes hanging down from the vines.

Despite the grape vines not having grown yet, they still make for a very scenic landscape. Plus,  the wine train with vineyards on the background looked very romantic- just like the windmills. 

We went to the V. Sattui winery, which has been around for 125 years and whose wines are only available in their winery and not anywhere else. They have rustic Italian buildings and a beautiful, grassy picnic ground. It was busy during the time of our visit, with groups of people coming for wine tasting.  
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The store is more crowded - there were many of us looking for, not just wines and grape juice, but also delis, gourmet cheese, crackers, and salad dressings. Gina got me a raspberry flavored cheese and Mary also got me a bottle of Chardonnay (thanks , girls!). 

After a quick picnic at the garden, we headed to Castello di Amorosa, another winery owned by Sattui. The Italian castle on top of a hill would make you feel like you are in the medieval time. 

What can I say but..I love you Napa Valley!! 

USA Day6- Beautiful Yosemite

Alluring, dazzling, delightful, exquisite, fascinating, gorgeous, grand, magnificent, marvelous, splendid, stunning, sublime. Words are not enough to describe the beauty of Yosemite.  I have always thought of Yosemite as a river- I did not know it is a beautiful valley of granite domes, wilderness and waterfalls.

Hayward to Yosemite was a 3 hour drive- a task which Kate happily took. I enjoyed the view of the big farms and the buildings and houses in small towns, which I see in cowboy movies.  

Off to Yosemite

Big bears manning the small gas store

After 3 hours of singing and eating and catching up and napping in between, we finally arrived at the entrance of the park. There is a nice river by the entrance. We went down to the big boulders on the river - where we put our selfie stick to good use. 

The deeper we go deeper into the Yosemite valley, the better it got  as we got closer to the rock formations. 

I was stunned by the glistening granite formation of the El Capitan. I was looking up at the "largest monolith of granite in the world", towering over us at more than 3,000 feet above the floor. In one short profound moment, it made me realize how small I am in the grander scheme of things. Humbling. 

The "Chief"

We parked at the Village Store, had our lunch and  took the bus to explore the other parts of Yosemite valley.

We got off the bus at the stop near the Bridalveil Falls and hiked the easy trail through the trees, by the stream and through a bridge.  The waterfalls was named so because of its flow resembling a bride's veil swaying in the wind. There was not as much water though, because there was drought in California when we visited.  

We hiked back and spent more time exploring and taking pictures of the Half Dome and the other magnificent rock formations. It is simply lovely, everywhere I looked. 

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We went back to the Village Store, where we had lunch earlier and where we were parked, grabbed some souvenirs and prepared to head to Sacramento, where we will spend the night.

On our way, we stopped by the tunnel view to marvel at the panoramic view of Yosemite. Not for the last time because I will make sure to be back, next time on a winter, to see the glacier.

Hasta la vista Yosemite!