The first climb for the year! It feels good to be able to hike again after so long. I wish I could say I did good but 15 minutes into the climb I wanted to puke and my lower abdomen paralyzed me.  Ugh.  Although, after resting for a bit, I was able to recover from the hellish pain and continue.



We started our hike around 7:30 am and arrived at Rockies around 9:30 am. I thought that was pretty good but our guide said otherwise. He said it usually takes an hour and a half. Well, maybe if my organs weren't trying to kill me, we would've arrived earlier.

Our guide in orange

Our guide noticed how bad I was doing so he cut me a walking stick from the branches. I felt bad for the trees but I did a little better with the walking stick. Also, I feel like Gandalf and I wanted to yell "you shall not pass" at anyone we'd meet by the path but there was no one. :))

The view from one of the rest stops

EDSA ain't the only place with traffic jams

Finally!!

The friend and I had brunch at the Rockies and enjoyed a candy bar I bought from a recent travel to the US

We didn't stay too long this time because, besides the number of people, the wind was insanely strong! Not the kind that makes you want to stay and chat.



We also wanted to go before the large group so that our descent won't be slowed down.

Down we go!

We arrived around 12nn. We rested for a bit then took a bath. 

The water was freezing. Brrrr

Bye puppies!

1. Ride Bus to Tambo Exit at South Station, Alabang (php94.00/pax)
2. Get down at Tambo Exit. Ride jeep to Lemery. Tell driver to drop you off at Cuenca. (Php22.00/pax). Once you arrive, you can opt to buy food or water at the cafeterias or convenience stores around. 
3. Ride tricycle (Php40.00/trike)
4. The tricycle will stop by the registration booth. Write your names at the log book, pay the registration fee (20php/pax), and leave a valid ID. Due to the victor incident, taking a guide with you is now mandatory. A guide costs php400 for a group of four. Each additional head will cost php50. If you have a large group, you may be required to take more than 1 guide with you.
5. Before starting the hike, you can take a bathroom break for Php5-Php10.

A friend of mine invited us to have lunch on a Saturday afternoon at the Bag of Beans, Tagaytay. We ended up having a quick Day Tour over the place.

Bag of Beans

The lunch buffet cost php595 and is open from 11am to 3pm.

The girls and I ready for a buffet

Look at all that filipino food!

Pastries

Salads and some fruits

Don't forget the desserts!

Ready, fight!

The food is so-so. Save for the fruit jelly, none has excited my taste buds. The place is beautiful though.

Puzzle Mansion

So after filling our bellies to the nth power and taking pictures in the vicinity, we decided to visit the Puzzle Mansion, which was a 10-minute drive away from Bag of Beans.

A ticket costs php100

Failed attempt at trying to capture the whole first floor

These are my favourite

Some of the jigsaw puzzle pieces are not the usual kind

There is quite a number of people.

3D puzzles

The biggest jigsaw puzzle in the world

There are tons of jigsaw puzzle sets you can purchase from their souvenir shop

And t-shirts too

The Puzzle Mansion is an interesting place to go to. There is a guide who describes most of the pieces in the museum but I didn't care much for his explanations. My friends and I were satisfied taking a bajillion photos in the area.

Mushroom Burger

After the mansion, while driving back, Mushroom burger caught our attention and we entered the premises for a delicious burger of mushroom goodness. Their mushroom fries are good too. Too oily, though.

To-go because none of us have recovered from the buffet

Mushrooms. Mushrooms, everywhere.

The last time I was here was when I was in grade school and everything looks exactly the same. How is that possible?

Amira's Tart House

Finally, our last stop was Amira's Tart House. Man, I love their tarts!

Too bad, only the cheesecake tarts were left.

Its good but I want their regular tarts too. I bought three boxes of cheesecake tarts

Bought some cream puffs too because it's so cute

They have other products too.

And that concludes our day trip to Tagaytay. Having a friend who has a car is sooo convenient. Haha! Maybe it's time I get myself one too for more road trips like this. ;)