Silventures: More in Tagaytay

Looking for things to do in Tagaytay as a day trip? Do you have your own ride? Then these places are perfect for you. This is me traveling to Tagaytay with little sleep. So we had lunch as Mushroom Burger!

Since I can't eat beef due to the recovery from the operation I had. I opt for the mushroom burger. This was the first time I had this and it was kinda weird but it was good. If tasted like cream of mushroom with bigger pieces and less soup. They do have regular fries now so make sure you tell them that you want mushroom fries!

Curious about the Eyes? See more at @real_eyecandy

 There is still time before afternoon snack so we when to The Gingerbread House in Alfonso. This one is pretty far from civilization. see the maps for comparison. It is a bakeshop with cute decor and it feels its Christmas all year round.

There are a lot of places where you can sit down and take cute photos for your IG account. I like the swinging bed but I was scared to try it out. There is a 50 PHP entrance and you can stay as long as you want. You can make smores for a fee. I did not try it so I don't know the price.

 It's a bit crowded when we visited as there seems to be a group tour at the time. I still did enjoy visiting the place. It will be a fun trip for your barkada if you have a van to rent.

Time to have some afternoon snacks! This is really the reason why I was in Tagaytay, Kuuma Kaakao. I saw Tara sa South's post and I wanted to try their food out. The price is alright, the service is a bit slow though. If you are in a hurry don't go there.

Yes I know this was badly photoshopped

The food was great and the view is awesome too. We did think that it would have been better if they had tea or coffee on their menu as a pallet cleanser. Having hot chocolate with something sweet was too much.

Look a giant chair! You can find this on your way to Crosswind Tagaytay. If you know someone that is an agent for this place you can event go inside for house viewing. Near the entrance, you can see Santa's treasure shop and his raindeers!

It would be best to be there early as there is a trail that you can go up to if it was still bright out. I'm not sure if it was called Alpine trail I will need to check if the one that knows. Hehe

These are things you can do within Tagaytay and Alfonso for a day, it is a good vlog topic as well. Thanks for reading!

Backride Diaries: Windmill Farm Pililla, Rizal

Do you want to see windmills with our going to Ilocos? Now you can! Located in Pililla, Rizal the Windmill Farm is the place you need! There are a total of 5 windmill farms in the country at the moment, 3 in Ilocos, 1 in Mindoro and this one.

The construction of this area started in 2013 and was complete in 2016. It has 27 windmills that can generate 54MW of wind power per year which can support 66,000 households in the Metro.

Since its opening, it has been reported that 130,000 visitors come per week. It is turning into a proper tourist destination with the Visitors' Center helping people learn more about wind-generated energy and enjoying the view of the sea and the windmills.

Here is a map from the Antipolo Cathedral to the Windmill Farm. I hope you will be able to visit sometime. Plus, it is free!

Backride Diaries: anTRIPolo

If you are looking for something to do on your 3-days off, you can always go on a road trip! Antipolo is a great place to go to during your off days! There are a lot of places you can visit so remember to have your itineraries ready.

You have to visit the Shrine of Our Lady of Peace and Good Voyage, it is a must. You can also buy your pasalubong within this area. For this trip, we went to Pinto Art Museum next.

It looks like a normal rich person's house

but inside is a portal to another place

Pinto Art Museum opened in 2010 and since then more and more people are falling in love with what it has to offer. This 1.3 hectare art museum is a great place to explore with friends.

Next stop, was not really on my list. My partner just said that we are going to another place before going back to the shrine to get pasalubongs. I was surprised to know that we have petroglyphs in the Philippines.

The Angono-Binangonan Petroglyphs is about 30 minutes from the Shrine of Our Lady of Peace and Good Voyage. It was discovered by accident by Carlos "Botong" Francisco in 1965.

I see a turtle

There isn't really much to see after taking a few photos I think you will want to leave. If you do like peace and quiet you can stay longer there are picnic tables in the are and trees give shade from the summer sun.

viewing deck

There is no entrance fee for this place, you just need to log in. Also, no vehicle is allowed to pass through the tunnel you will need to walk to the site. I just hope this place will be preserved well for future generations to see.

It was an awesome day. Had you been to these places? What do you think about it?

Back Ride Diaries: Montemaria, Batangas

Montemaria, Batangas is a pilgrimage center said to be dedicated to Mary, Mother of All Asia. The main feature of this place is the huge Mary statue. This ride was organized by the awesome people of MRO.

We left for Batangas around 7 a.m. We got to Montemaria around 11 a.m. It took longer than I expected as there were newbie riders. It was their first time to join a long ride. My partner, who was the spearhead, said that he can't go faster as they have the tendency to overshoot on curves.

This is me

What to see, when you get there. You will enter through the Gate of the Archangels then walk uphill to the Sto. Niño Chapel. After visiting the chapel, you can go up to the Mother of All Asia - Tower of Peace. If you do get hungry, there is a restaurant within the compound as well.

At the Gate of the Archangels

Inside the St. Niño Chapel

The Mother of All Asia - Tower of Peace

 You also have a great view of the sea and the surrounding island. Inside the tower is an altar as well.

Inside the Tower of Peace

Yes, here is me again

We had lunch a store near the place. Support local! We stopped a few times to wait for some rides that seemed to have gotten lost, while on our way home. Since the sun was still up we got a chance to take photos of Fantasy World. The unfinished theme park in Lemery, Batangas. 

lunch time

waiting for the other

Back Ride Diaries:Ternate-Nasugbu (Kaybiang) Tunnel

This was one of the highlights of 2015. Still a back ride but it was awesome! We started early, the group met up at Mcdonald's Pala-Pala. Then we picked up two other riders along the way, I'm not sure where it was exactly. I did not track the progress of the ride, so forget me about giving estimates.

From there, we traveled straight to Naic, Cavite, then to passed by Ternate, Cavite. Ternate is known to have beautiful beaches and there is a bridge where you will be able to see where the waters of the Maragondon River and Manila Bay meet:

Maragondon Bridge

After this, I saw the entrance to Puerto Azul. I did not think that I will see it again as it has been a long time since I was there with relatives during the 90's. The next stop was the Marine Base, we did not take photos there, though. We continued the ride up to a dead end, that seems to be one of the entrances to Caylabne Hotel. Here are some photos:

Behind us is a view of the Marine Base

The motorcycles

The motorcycles with their riders

There are monkeys in the area.

Sherome and his Baby

It was almost lunch time when we got to the Kaybiang Tunnel. It was opened to the public in 2013, at 300 meters it is the longest underground highway in the country. It connects Ternate and Batangas. It is popular to riders and cyclists. Checkout this video just excuse me for being amuse by this. XD

Here are more photos:

You will find this place on the Batangas side You can eat your packed food here for free.
They also sell drinks and snacks

The one behind the counter, she's the owner of this place.

 The next thing we did was to ride from Kaybiang to Tagaytay! There is not much to see after this. This trip just made me realize that Batangas is huge! I did not even feel like I have been to one of the roads we use for this trip and I have been to Batangas I think twice by then. There are so many roads you can take.