Tagaytay

It is almost 4 AM on a Friday in Tagaytay. I am in the city for a five-day work travel with Mel, a workmate. On Monday, we traveled an hour and a half from NAIA to the Development Academy of the Philippines Training Center, the venue. I thought it was the rainy weather that caused easy traffic. But it is, in fact, accessible, one of the closest access to cooler weather from Manila.

I first visited Tagaytay in 2016 after a university organization in college sent a few students, including me, to a national conference in Makati. After the event, we rode a bus for some rides at Sky Ranch. What I remember from that day seven years later is the remarkable view of the iconic Taal Lake and its unbothered volcano in the middle. Sky Ranch is a popular choice for mid to extreme rides, which we revisited on Monday for our first zip line experience.

But yesterday, after the assessment wrapped up around 3 PM, we walked to the People’s Park, also called Picnic Grove, which is only a few minutes away from DAP. It offers a slightly closer observation of the lake than Sky Ranch. There, we hiked as we roamed the contours of the mountain. The view was spectacular throughout, and we documented almost every stop.

After the tour, I enjoyed a cup of taho (soybean pudding), which I am not the fondest, but it says with strawberry, so I took delight. Before I finished the drink, Mel captured a photo of me sitting on the cemented bench facing the joyous people in the grass. Like them, I was happy to be there.

Before exiting, we stopped by a souvenir shop. We ended up meeting a fellow Bisaya who was tending another stall because the owner was somewhere else. Upon learning she is from Davao and has a separate shop, we visited hers and bought a few ref magnets, a pair of anklets (one for the dearest), and a purse for my mother.

I live for this almost provincial side of Tagaytay. I get that first-step, just-dropped-off feeling that is warm and hugging because of the scenery, the greens, and the trees all over. Day first to last, the sensation lives up.

DAP, the training center that hosts us, is also a combination of modernity and traditional design and landscape with amenities for escapism best with coffee. I will miss walking along the halls of this center that is the closest I could get to living that movie scene of uni students transferring from the lecture room to the cafeteria. I made sure to make the best of my remaining hours here to reflect.

I set personal travels and jump along work travels for fresh perspectives. There is so much to know about a new place and don’t-care, won’t-tell people. Importantly, there is that warm rush inside of you that may come from the idea of commuting to the next bus stop or hopping on connected flights. Or the comforting smell of instant noodles and the vacant seats on a ferry.

Sometimes, I forget to live a young-minded life, less obsessed with responsibilities. But when I travel, I do feel freest. I am getting older, but time can never take away the idea that I can be anywhere I want, unreachable on Messenger, and gut-reliant.

Tagaytay slapped that realization to my face. I felt my feet magnetized away from home, and I tolerated it.