Monday, April 9, 2012

Angono Municipal Hall and Park

Angono, known as the Art Capital of the Philippines.  The hometown of two National Artists, Carlos "Botong" Francisco for arts and Lucio San Pedro for music.  The town with the most number of artist almost everywhere.

This wasn't part of our Rizal Tour plan.  We just had an extra time to take pictures with the Higantes because the van that will take us to Thunderbird will arrive at 11:00AM.  And it was just around 9:30 in the morning.

Higantes Festival, also known as the Feast of St. Clement (San Clemente) is celebrated every 23rd of November.

Art Capital of the Philippines
Higantes with Raina and Raz

How to get there:


By Private vehicle:
From EDSA, take the Ortigas Ave. Ext. road.  Pass by KayTikling and SM Taytay.  The town after Taytay is Angono.

By Public transportation:
From EDSA - Crossing, take any PUV (Public Utility Vehicle) that are bound to Angono.  Jeepneys and FX are available.  Ask the driver to drop you off at the town proper.


Read our Rizal Tour from Day 1 to Day 2.


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Church in the sky (Christ the King Parish)

To take advantage of April 9's Araw ng Kagitingan (Day of Valor) holiday, we went on with our Rizal Tour.  Our first stop is Christ the King Parish, also known as Church in the Sky.  Located at Dela Cuesta Hills, Barangay Muzon, Taytay, Rizal.

The main door.
Christ the King Parish

Christ the King Parish is the first parish created under the Diocese of Antipolo.  The feast is celebrated every 3rd Sunday of November.  The current Parish Priest is Rev. Fr. Dave Vincent F. Onilongo, which started last September 2009.

Unfortunately, it was Monday when we visited the church.  The office and the church itself is closed.  We didn't get to see the interior.  We were lucky though that it is nested on top of a hill.  We get to see the whole town of Taytay and Angono up to Laguna Lake.

Contented with the view
Overlooking view
Parish Service Schedule:


     MASS  
     Monday to Saturday      6:30 AM
     Wednesday to Friday    6:00 PM (Old Christ the King Chapel)
     Saturday (Anticipated)   6:00 PM
     Sunday                          6:00 AM, 9:00 AM
                                          5:00 PM, 7:00 PM

     Funeral Mass              Make an arrangement at the Parish Office two (2) days before interment.

     Baptism
     Sunday                         11:00 AM
     Weekday                      By appointment.

     Blessings                      Make an arrangement at the Parish Office.

     Wedding                       Make an arrangement at the Parish Office at least one (1) month before the wedding date.

     Confession
     Wednesday & Friday   7:00 AM

     Sick Call                     Anytime, depends on the Priests availability.


Parish Office Hours:
     Tuesday to Saturday       8:00 AM - 12:00 noon
                                           2:00 PM - 5:00 PM

     Sunday                           8:00 AM - 12:00 noon

     Closed on Mondays.

Telephone No:  (02) 470-0410



How to get there:


By Private vehicle:
From EDSA, take the Ortigas Ave. Ext. road going to Taytay or Angono.  Your landmark is the Muzon Elementary School.  Across the school is a small street which has a sign like in the photo below.  That street will take you up to Christ the King Parish.

By Public transportation:
From EDSA, we took a jeepney that will pass by KayTikling.  Fare is P20 per person.  Then another jeepney ride that will pass by Hi-way for P8.50.  Ask the driver to drop you off at Muzon Elementary School.  Across the school is a street and a small market which has a tricycle terminal on the side.  You should be able to see the sign like in the photo below.  Tricycle fare to the church is P35 per trip.


Christ the King Parish Church

Read our Rizal Tour from Day 1 to Day 2.

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Rizal Tour (Day 1)

Day 1:

After researching and planning for weeks, we finally pushed through with our Rizal Tour.  Our meeting place is at Melvin, Crossing at 6AM.  From there, we took a jeepney ride to KayTikling (P20).  At KayTikling, we decided to eat breakfast at a local fast food restaurant and bought some essentials at a nearby drug store.  After breakfast, we crossed the street and looked for a jeepney that will pass hi-way.  We asked the driver to drop us off at Christ the King Parish in Muzon.  (Along the hi-way, you should be able to see the old Christ the King church).  Tricycles going to the church in the sky is at the street before the old church.  It has a sign like in the photo below.  Fare is P35 per trip.  You may ask the driver to wait for you since there are no other public transportation at the church.

Christ the King Parish

From the hi-way, we took another jeepney ride to Scrapyard (P8.50).  This place is where the street to Thunderbird Resort is located.  But unfortunately, someone told us that the service van for guests is at the town proper.  So we took a tricycle to Angono town for P10 each.

While waiting for the 11AM schedule of pick-up, we decided to pass by Angono Municipal Hall and Blanco Museum.  My friends and I just can't resist to take pictures with the Higantes.  Angono, aside from being the Art capital of the Philippines, it is also known for their Higantes Festival celebrated every third week of November.

Higantes with Raina and Raz

We went straight to Blanco Museum after cam whoring at the park.  Blanco Museum is just two blocks away from the Municipal Hall.  Entrance fee for adults is P70 and P50 for kids.

A family of artist
We were amazed of all the paintings made by the whole Blanco family.  Specially the huge painting that took Pitok Blanco two years to finish.

The town fiesta
At exactly 11AM, the van for Thunderbird Resort guests arrive.  Please remember that it will wait for 3-5 minutes only.  The van will leave whether it is full or not.  You will have to wait for the next schedule of pick-up if you've been left behind.  The van is a free service transportation for hotel and casino guests.

At the Fiesta Casino, we hired a tricycle to take us to Angono Petroglyphs (P30 per trip).  Angono Petroglyphs is one of the oldest work of art in the Philippines.  Human and animal figures are engraved on rock walls dating back to 3000 B.C.

Angono Petroglyphs 

It was past 1PM when we decided to take our lunch at Balaw Balaw Specialty Restaurant.  Famous for serving exotic dishes and Minaluto.  Aside from their specialty restaurant, they also have an art gallery on their Mezzanine and 2nd floor.

Balaw Balaw Restaurant
After feasting ourselves with food and art, we were hurrying ourselves to get to Daranak and Batlag Falls before dark.  We took the Morong-Tanay bound jeepneys around 2:30PM (P35).  We asked the driver to drop us at the tricycle terminal bound to Daranak Falls.  We took the special trip for P150 since it was already past 4PM.  Don't forget to ask the tricycle driver to pick you up at your preferred time.

Most of the people are on their way out when we arrive.  The officer-in-charge told us that they will close at 5PM and they won't accept visitors anymore.

We can't risk going back to Angono without nothing so we told them that we are having an ocular inspection  only of Daranak and Batlag.  We didn't pay the P25 entrance fee of Daranak.  But when we reached Batlag, we were told that we have to pay the entrance fee of P50 even for an ocular inspection, so we paid.

Daranak (left) and Batlag Falls
It was really dark when we left the falls.  From Tanay, we stopped at Scrapyard Restaurant for dinner at around 9PM.  We were suppose to go overlooking the city before going to sleep.  But then we thought that we need to rest for another adventure the next day.

For the complete story, click on the links.
Click on Day 2 of our Rizal Tour.


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Sunday, April 1, 2012

Rizal: Not the Filipino Hero


Yes, I'm talking about a province in the Philippines, although it is named after the country's national hero, Jose P. Rizal.  A part of CALABARZON (CAvite, LAguna, BAtangas, Rizal, and QueZON).

Rizal Map

After my Antipolo trip two weeks ago, my travel buddies and I thought of other tourist spots in Rizal.  So we asked our friend, Google and Raina (lives in Angono and Taytay).  And here's what we come up with:
  1. Church in the Sky
  2. Blanco Museum
  3. Angono Petroglyphs
  4. Balaw Balaw Specialty Restaurant and Art Gallery
  5. Nemiranda's Art Gallery
  6. Mystical Cave
  7. Doña Aurora Street Murals
  8. Daranak Falls
  9. Batlag Falls
  10. Antipolo Church
  11. Hinulugang Taktak
  12. Via Dolorosa
  13. Avilon Zoo
Our goal is to visit as many places as we can for two (2) days.  Have you been to the places listed above?  Are there any other tourist spots you know near the area?  Feel free to share.

Map courtesy of Island Properties.




Read about our Rizal Tour:

Day 1 (with Angono Municipal Hall and Park)

Day 2


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Thursday, March 29, 2012

Tayo na sa Antipolo

Five days ago, I felt the need to travel again.  To be in a place I haven't been to.  The question is, where will my limited budget take me?

Good thing that I was asked to pay our annual real property tax in Antipolo.  As a traveler, you should always take advantage of the situation to travel and learn new things.  I have lived in Antipolo for almost two years before, but I haven't been to Via Dolorosa, also known as White Cross.  Nor Hinulugang Taktak.

I immediately texted a friend who has not been there too.  I asked if she's willing to explore Antipolo.  Good thing that she agreed even on a short notice.

We rode on a jeepney bound to Antipolo from JRU in Mandaluyong.  Fare is P33.00 per person.

After accomplishing our primary reason why we were in Antipolo.  We paid a visit to Our Lady of Peace and Good Voyage Church, or the famous Antipolo church.  We also went to the museum of the Virgin of Antipolo. We couldn't take pictures inside because camera's are not allowed.
Our Lady of Peace and Good Voyage
We just had to take pictures with the church before we leave.  On our way out, a lot of vendors are offering the  famous suman (a Filipino rice cake steamed in banana leaves).  We bought our pasalubong suman from a nice vendor who offered to give us additional suman for the same price of P100 and she also gave us a free rosary bracelet.  Look for Aruray Store along the souvenir market.

Our free rosary bracelets blessed with Holy water.
We then headed to White Cross, fare is P40 per trip.  But since there are no tricycles going out from White Cross, the driver offered to wait for us for P100. Not bad.  He even became our photographer.  But to our dismay, the gate of White Cross is closed.  And no one is there to attend to us.  We were told to come back at an earlier time.

Via Dolorosa

A peak of what's inside Via Dolorosa
And so we went to Hinulugan Taktak.  Paid an entrance fee of P8.00 per person.  The falls wasn't as nice as it was before.  It was not even pleasant to smell.  It smelled like a canal.  A canal falls.  When I asked our driver/photographer why was the falls foamy?  He said that it was foamy because of the dirt from the resident's who live on top of the mountain.

Hinulugan Taktak
The government should do something about this national park.  Maybe rerouting the resident's drainage?  Just a thought. :)



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Thursday, March 8, 2012

Forest in the City


Who would thought that no one needs to go far to spend time with nature.  In East Fairview, Quezon City, there's a place called La Mesa Ecopark.  The park's mission is to spread environmental awareness through education and advocacy.  It is a venue that provides outdoor activities and a true forest experience.

Forest Park
My husband and I wanted our children to be aware of nature.  I've heard about the place but none of us has been there.  It is located at La Mesa Dam Compound, Greater Lagro, Quezon City.  A P20 fee for passing by is paid at the guard of the subdivision.  Because the only way to get there is to pass by a residential area.  We were following the route map from La Mesa Ecopark's website.  You won't get lost upon entering the subdivision, because signs on where to go or turn are everywhere.  It was very helpful.

An entrance fee of P50 per person above 3 feet are paid before entering the park.  3 feet below and Quezon City senior citizens with valid ID are free.  Other Quezon City residents with valid proof are discounted.  All revenues generated by La Mesa Ecopark are used for the continuous preservation and protection of the La Mesa Watershed, which is the primary source of drinking water of Metro Manila.

As soon as we enter the park we were awed and amazed by the tall trees and plants.  Everywhere we look is green.  Everything is green.  It felt like we were in a province, only paved walkway.  We almost forgot that we were just in Quezon City.
Tall trees and paved walk way
Relaxing view

La Mesa Ecopark has a lot to offer (with a separate fee):

  • Horseback riding     P50 - P150 per ride
  • Biking                      P50 - P90 per hour
  • Rappelling                P50 per person
  • Wall climbing           P50 per person
  • Zipline                      P100 per person
  • Paintball                   P350 per person (50 bullets & gear); P500 per person (100 bullets & gear)
  • Swimming Pool         P80 per person's above 3 feet; P40 per person 3 feet & below
For the park's complete rates and tour packages, you may check their website or click here.

A lot of open cabana's are scattered near the pool and fishing pond area.  Cottage or cabana rental is P500 a day.  Table and chairs (1 table & 4 chairs/set) rental is P120 a day.  We chose to rent a tree house cottage because it was strikingly hot when we were there, and the kids are with us.

The whole day was spent by eating, fishing, and swimming.  By the end of the day, the children were very tired.  They were all sleeping on our way home.

La Mesa Ecopark is a nice place to bond with family, friends, and nature.  And besides, when you visit the park, you also help La Mesa Watershed.



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Tuesday, January 24, 2012

The Unusual Pagsanjan Falls Tour (via Cavinti)


My friends and I just wanted to take advantage of another holiday.  But our challenge is, we had to look for a place to go to, wherein we can have fun and adventure on a One Thousand Peso budget.

Unknown to many, there is another way, a new way to get to Magdapio or Pagsanjan falls.  Magdapio is the original name of the falls, but since it's known to many that the way to go there is through the town of Pagsanjan, it became Pagsanjan falls.  The waterfalls is actually located at the town of Cavinti, Laguna.

If you like adventure, then this is your way.  Please take note that I'm discouraging person's with high blood pressure, asthma, and the like to take this route.  This route requires a lot of stamina.  But there's always the usual route to go to the falls, and that is via Pagsanjan by a river trip on dugout canoe.

There's an HM bus liner that travels in ESDA from Cubao to Sta. Cruz, Laguna that leaves every hour.  We boarded at Crossing, asked the conductor of the bus to drop us at Pagsawitan.  Fare from Crossing to Pagsawitan is P140.25.  Travel takes 2 1/2 to 3 hours.

At Pagsawitan, there are a lot of jeepney's that travels through Sta. Cruz, Laguna.  We had to go to Sta. Cruz to meet our friend at the Cavinti terminal.  You'll know that you are at the Cavinti terminal because it's a street across Mercury Drug Store at the town proper of Sta. Cruz.

When we arrive at the terminal, we agreed to take our lunch at a local restaurant before boarding the jeep, since it's already past lunch time.  Jeepney's bound to Cavinti do not leave until it's full.  And most of the locals are with baggage.  Just ask the driver to drop you off at the tricycle terminal of Juction to Pueblo El Salvador.  Last trip from Cavinti to Sta. Cruz is at 5PM.

Upon arrival at Pueblo El Salvador.  You will be asked to register and pay the tour fee of P150.  That includes your entrance fee, a tour guide and all the things that you need for rappelling.  Here, we left our bags and just brought important things with us, including water.

With Raz at Pueblo El Salvador
The trek to the falls takes an hour or two.  Depends on your speed.  When we reached the statue of El Salvador Del Mundo and after walking for more than 30 minutes, I thought we were half of the trek, but I was wrong.  This statue is just a mark of the beginning of a hundred more steps down.

El Salvador Del Mundo
Longest stairs I've seen

I must admit, my knees and legs were shaking when we reached the falls.  But everything paid off when we were there, specially when were in the cave.  We had to stay there for a while to enjoy the cold and relaxing water.  We even asked the raftsmen to led us back right under the falls.  It was really fun.  But it was short.
On our way to the cave under the falls.

Helping the raftsmen pull us back.
We were wet, refreshed, and relaxed.  And then I remembered that our adventure has just begun.  We had to climb back to Pueblo El Salvador.  I even asked one of the boats men how much will they charge me if I ride on their boat to Pagsanjan.  But then I realized the essence of this trek.  So there's no way for me but UP.
Us playing around.
 There's actually another falls that you can pass by before going to Magdapio.  It's called Nakulo Falls.  Unfortunately for us, we need to come back for that.

Total expenses for this trip:




















Note:  Tips & pasalubong are not included.




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