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Classic Old Town Taal
7:07 PM
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7:07 PM
I'm a full-blooded Batangueno but never get the chance to roam around the old town of Taal. All I know is, it is known for balisong and makers of the handmade high quality barongs.
When the couple (Karen & Ferdie, yihhee ) invited me to join them, I was ecstatic because of the reasons that 1) A budget friendly trip 2) It's been 6 months since I had a major trip 3) they're the company of my favorite friends! hehe.
Almost 2 hours of a ride from Manila with a car and a bus from Buendia, our first stop was the 'largest Catholic Church in Asia' Basilica de San Martin de Tours and the town plaza .
We paid an amount of 50 pesos going up the Church. I won't be posting pictures of it there's nothing much to see but an experience of claustrophobic 2 minute going on top and down. It's creepy and dark...
What I appreciated the most was the old houses' sturdiness throughout the years. It is made of hard wood and not susceptible to earthquakes. The furniture was well-preserved too.
The signages before was in deep "Tagalog" and no longer used nowadays. I can understand a few of it, such as "Sa luraan lumura (Sa lupa o estero dumura) In English, spit on the road. hehe.
We went to the house of Gliceria Marella de Villacencio, a gift from the husband. She was also named as the forgotten heroine of the Philippine Revolution because as she helped the Katipuneros by lending her house as a secret meeting place and donating a substantial amount of money to Dr. Jose Rizal to finance the publication of Noli Me Tangere, El Filibusterismo, etc.
Her house though, just like the old times and other homes at Taal, was very particular with the social statuses. Social status was rampant and each room was designed for each social classes. "Namamahay" or "Sagiguilid" cannot be seen by the visitors and literally they need to be at the "gilid" or side or corners of the house most of the time. Slaves or the lower class cannot go upstairs, middle class has its own special room while VIPs are welcomed at the largest part of the house.
Our very nice and effective tour guide explained the use of each room and here he demonstrated how 'hi-tech' this is. From the balcony, when they see their visitors coming, they pull the rope to unlock the door.
This replica is painted by Juan Luna and a gift to the Villavicencio. The painting now is at the National Museum.
Since Villavicencio's house was the meeting place of the most prominent people of the revolutionary era, they also built an escape route in case something goes wrong or raided by the enemies. Fortunately, according to our guide, they never used this and the house was not suspected by the Spaniards. This secret route is also less than kilometer long going to the Basilica of San Martin.
I call this as uga-uga chair when I was young. This actual ''uga-uga'' sit was also seated on by significant heroes such as Andres Bonifacio, Miguel Malvar, etc. I'm surprised that it is not encased in glass or forbidden to be seated on. I happily pretended that I was too a symbolical figure knowing that our heroes made use of this sala set too.
Karen and Ferdie Villavicencios - ala Chinese style! :))
Rein and Anne - prenup style! :))
I think this is the place we were the most excited about since most of us are photography enthusiasts. A collection of vintage camera museum showcasing Manny Barrion Inumerable's rare cameras from the late 1800's - 1900's. According to their pamphlet, it is also a gallery of Philippine antiquarian photographs of the 1800's, American occupation, 2nd world war and the Liberation period.
The camera below we tested has a viewfinder of a size of an ipad mini but inverted but 100% still working. Amazinggg!
We were directed at the Miraculous well of Sta. Lucia by the Taal kids as it grants wishes. Everytime a wish was granted, people come back again to offer flowers. I threw my three 5 peso coins in hopes of my wishes being granted too. :P
Every house may require an entrance fee of 50 - 100 pesos and open during weekends. A suggestive tour would be, visit three old houses , two churches, Galleria Taal and Taal Bistro to include to your tour. We spent a little over a thousand for the tour as the Taal town is just small and can be roamed around for a day.
Because of the little budget that we spent, make your way too to Tagaytay to relax and enjoy the view of the Taal volcano and the company of good friends. :)
When the couple (Karen & Ferdie, yihhee ) invited me to join them, I was ecstatic because of the reasons that 1) A budget friendly trip 2) It's been 6 months since I had a major trip 3) they're the company of my favorite friends! hehe.
Almost 2 hours of a ride from Manila with a car and a bus from Buendia, our first stop was the 'largest Catholic Church in Asia' Basilica de San Martin de Tours and the town plaza .
We paid an amount of 50 pesos going up the Church. I won't be posting pictures of it there's nothing much to see but an experience of claustrophobic 2 minute going on top and down. It's creepy and dark...
What I appreciated the most was the old houses' sturdiness throughout the years. It is made of hard wood and not susceptible to earthquakes. The furniture was well-preserved too.
The signages before was in deep "Tagalog" and no longer used nowadays. I can understand a few of it, such as "Sa luraan lumura (Sa lupa o estero dumura) In English, spit on the road. hehe.
We went to the house of Gliceria Marella de Villacencio, a gift from the husband. She was also named as the forgotten heroine of the Philippine Revolution because as she helped the Katipuneros by lending her house as a secret meeting place and donating a substantial amount of money to Dr. Jose Rizal to finance the publication of Noli Me Tangere, El Filibusterismo, etc.
Her house though, just like the old times and other homes at Taal, was very particular with the social statuses. Social status was rampant and each room was designed for each social classes. "Namamahay" or "Sagiguilid" cannot be seen by the visitors and literally they need to be at the "gilid" or side or corners of the house most of the time. Slaves or the lower class cannot go upstairs, middle class has its own special room while VIPs are welcomed at the largest part of the house.
Our very nice and effective tour guide explained the use of each room and here he demonstrated how 'hi-tech' this is. From the balcony, when they see their visitors coming, they pull the rope to unlock the door.
This replica is painted by Juan Luna and a gift to the Villavicencio. The painting now is at the National Museum.
Since Villavicencio's house was the meeting place of the most prominent people of the revolutionary era, they also built an escape route in case something goes wrong or raided by the enemies. Fortunately, according to our guide, they never used this and the house was not suspected by the Spaniards. This secret route is also less than kilometer long going to the Basilica of San Martin.
I call this as uga-uga chair when I was young. This actual ''uga-uga'' sit was also seated on by significant heroes such as Andres Bonifacio, Miguel Malvar, etc. I'm surprised that it is not encased in glass or forbidden to be seated on. I happily pretended that I was too a symbolical figure knowing that our heroes made use of this sala set too.
Karen and Ferdie Villavicencios - ala Chinese style! :))
Rein and Anne - prenup style! :))
I think this is the place we were the most excited about since most of us are photography enthusiasts. A collection of vintage camera museum showcasing Manny Barrion Inumerable's rare cameras from the late 1800's - 1900's. According to their pamphlet, it is also a gallery of Philippine antiquarian photographs of the 1800's, American occupation, 2nd world war and the Liberation period.
The camera below we tested has a viewfinder of a size of an ipad mini but inverted but 100% still working. Amazinggg!
We were directed at the Miraculous well of Sta. Lucia by the Taal kids as it grants wishes. Everytime a wish was granted, people come back again to offer flowers. I threw my three 5 peso coins in hopes of my wishes being granted too. :P
Every house may require an entrance fee of 50 - 100 pesos and open during weekends. A suggestive tour would be, visit three old houses , two churches, Galleria Taal and Taal Bistro to include to your tour. We spent a little over a thousand for the tour as the Taal town is just small and can be roamed around for a day.
Because of the little budget that we spent, make your way too to Tagaytay to relax and enjoy the view of the Taal volcano and the company of good friends. :)
