The past few days have been almost surreal to me.
Saturday morning, Margie and Gerald Lu picked us up for a rendezvous with Ramon and Juvy Gabaldon at the Mall of Asia. The Lu’s were my wife’s college buddies from way back and happened to get to be good friends with them as they come to visit Gerald’s brother in the States every now and then. Ramon and I happened to be high school classmates since 1st year high school and has been good friends ever since. Juvy is also my wife’s high school buddy and has been a very close friend. Melita, my wife, was instrumental in getting Ramon and Juvy together as partners in life. Juvy and Ramon is also my Sasha’s godparents.
We went to Mall of Asia, a huge mall in a massive 410,000 sq. m located in Pasay City in Manila and is owned by the SM Holdings. The last time that I was in the Philippines, they were just prepping up the development and reclaiming some lands.
We had breakfast with the Lu’s and Juvy until Ramon finally caught up with us after a morning meeting. It’s been a while back since I had seen the Gabaldons and quite refreshing to had the chance to catch up and just plain talk about good times and what’s been happening with friends in Manila.
Afternoon, Ate Ruby had Mama and my three nieces picked up from our place in Paco to join us for a trip to Tagaytay.
For those who are not familiar with Tagaytay City in the Philippines, Tagaytay City is around 35 miles away from Manila with a temperate climate because of its high elevation and provides a good vantage view of Taal Volcano, one of Philippines dormant volcanoes. Taal Volcano is actually surrounded by a picturesque lake and has been quite a popular tourist destination because of the popular claims of the lake’s healing power.
We went to Canyon Woods, a residential resort in Tagaytay. It is a resort subdivision with amenities that one normally gets with typical resort membership club or country clubs. It incorporates lodging facilities in what they call casitas. It also includes a 9 hole golf course.
After dinner, my wife and the kids went to play bowling while I called it a night.