In Two Magical Places

Last weekend’s getaway actually gave me a cold and a fever. Apparently, the magic didn’t stay with me. But it’s okay, I had so much fun during that short but sweet and extra-cold vacation.

Saturday was Enchanted Kingdom day. It was my first time in EK and even before we got there, I warned my companions that I might freak out while riding some of the park’s rides, because…Final Destination. I really got an extraordinary imagination, and I can’t help it. Before the end of the day, I discovered that other people in the group are more scaredy cats and were just acting tough, hehe.

Meeting place was the Jam Terminal in Pasay, at 10am. We arrived in San Pablo, Laguna at around lunch time so we decided to have lunch first before heading to EK. The noon sun was scorching but we wanted to make the most out of our time since we couldn’t stay in the park late.

We went for snacks first before going to Enchanted Kingdom. Once we're there, we rode the Flying Fiesta to start things up. It’s not that much enjoyable and I felt a little dizzy afterwards.

We went for the Space Shuttle Max next. I admit I was really scared. My eyes were closed all the while and I never even screamed because of fear. Despite this, I managed to snapped some photos from the top, before the carts were sent into the twirling bars. My friends wanted to go for another ride in Space Shuttle once Karen arrives, but in my mind, I was all set to not go for a second time.

Anchor’s Away was next. Compared to Space Shuttle, Anchor’s Away was peanuts. Funny thing is, this was where Wik felt more scared. Well, kanya-kanyang trip.  While waiting for the Rio Grande Rapids to open, we toned down at the Wheel of Fate (Ferris Wheel), where Mara confessed his fear of heights. The line for Rio Grande was already long when we got down from the wheel. The thing with Enchanted Kingdom is you spend waste a deal of time queuing for a certain ride because there are too many people.

We were told that we were most probably get wet in Rio Grande, but I wasn’t prepared for the level of bathing I received during the ride! Nonetheless, this was the most enjoyable ride for me. And oh, I just don’t get the logic of selling swimwear at the exit.

Because our clothes are all wet and nobody wanted to go and change, we just waited for ourselves to dry up by staying under the sun. Then we went to look for the food court to claim our free food from Dumplings which we acquired from purchasing group package but we couldn’t find the restaurant, so we went strolling again.

EKstreme looked fun but we didn’t try it since there’s a separate fee for the ride. Ayaw gumastos! We just went to its neighboring ride instead, the Dodgem a.k.a. Bump Cars where we showcased our zero abilities in driving. Then Karen finally arrived.

Our next destination was Jungle Log Jam. It was my second favorite ride and it was where I discovered that looking up while the ride’s going down is how to combat your fear of falling, thanks Dona. After this ride, we went back to the food court and finally located Dumplings! After eating, we wanted to try the Kart Trak but it was too expensive we ended up just taking photos. :D

Earlier, my companions planned to ride the Space Shuttle again but the queue’s too long. We strolled around instead, stalked a random good-looking guy. When he went out of the away, we moved on too, and went to the Grand Carousel and Up, Up and Away. Those were the last rides for us since we had to be in Tagaytay before 9pm because Mara got some free tickets for a Pilita Corales and Elizabeth Ramsey show in Casino Filipino.

Tagaytay is almost two hours away from San Pablo via jeepney. I didn’t know why I did not bring a jacket, and pants. All I brought was shorts because I thought living in Baguio for 4 years has prepared me for the Tagaytay cold. Apparently, I lived out of Baguio long enough for my body to be accustomed in warm weather once again. I had to borrow clothes from Mara since they don’t allow slippers and shorts inside the casino. They sure had a lot of fun dressing me up.

We first watch the fireworks display at the oval. We didn’t find it amusing maybe we got used to the grand fireworks display at the malls, the one in Tagaytay was a real simple. Although they definitely still spent a huge deal of money on those. Unfortunately, when we got to the Casino, the show’s already over. We headed off to Magallanes and hang-out for a while in Kon-Tiki Bar. It was our kind of bonding but we couldn’t stay long because we had to wake up early the next morning for the fun run. Mara got us all into joining the Tagaytay Family Fun Run for saying that Derek Ramsay’s gonna be there. We were to represent Kiwanis Club, Mara’s aunt’s organization. Mara was asked bribed to join the run for them. We were all registered but it was only me and Dona who’s up for the run.

We did wake up at 4am. Call time is 4am because the run starts at 5am… at someplace far. Because we’re way too late, we just went runnin’ to the nearest McDonald’s for breakfast instead. And agreed to just go straight to the finish line to take photos with the Kiwanis banner, and of course, to see Derek. :D

We were somehow comforted when we learned that Derek didn’t really participate in the run. He was also late, and just went straight to the after-run event. After letting our eyes feast on Derek, we bailed out  for lunch. Everyone was sleepy but just couldn’t ignore our craving for bulalo. As expected, we slept off most of the afternoon. It felt so nice to sleep in a cold place again. :)

Once we got our energies back, we went to Trinity General Merchandise, an ukay-ukay shop owned by Mara’s family. This is why she currently resides in Tagaytay. It wasn’t in my plan to spend for ukay-ukay but darn, how I love thrift shopping and I’ve always dreaded to go to Mara’s shop! It came to a point when my friends were already stopping me from impulse buying everything I liked. Haha! Babalik pa naman daw kami. Karen left that afternoon and the rest of us stayed for one more night. The next day, we all traveled back to Manila, together with Mara who’s headed for Baguio.

And finally, I go to taste that buko tart from Loumar’s again. Heavenly!

Come Monday, I had cold. The next day, I had a slight fever. My body’s way of reminding me that it’s no longer used to cold weather. But I was so happy I found a little Baguio in Tagaytay. We’ll definitely be back, for thrift shopping and whatnots! :D


*Some of the photos I used are taken by Wik.