KeithD
12th February 2016, 15:00
One of the highlights of our trip was visiting Jake and his lovely wife. This is mainly because most of our other plans ended up a disaster, usually due to traffic or GPS problems. Our previous journey two years ago to Liliw was a pleasant experience, so with plenty of time to spare, we decided to take the scenic route through Tagatay, rather than SLEX.
As mentioned in earlier posts, the trip to Tagatay along the road from General Trias is a pleasant and fast one. In fact, on my next visit, to relieve the stress of the traffic elsewhere, I may just spend a day driving up and down this road. From Tagatay we took the wiggly road down to the crater bottom. This road has been extensively reworked since our last visit, with a lot of signs, barriers, and concrete to prevent landslides. As I live in the Welsh mountains, this type of road is normal to me, and great fun. I know that some city folk get freaked out by winding roads with big drops on the side.
For anyone who hasn’t driven to the crater bottom, but has visited Lake Taal, then you are missing a treat. It is 2,000ft from the top to the bottom, and the straightest part of the road is 200 feet at most. There are many places to stop and enjoy the view in peace and quiet. Just keep a close eye out for the annoying wildlife that preys on tourists who stray off the road here…. The idiots selling boat trips!
Once we were driving along the crater road, it became apparent that the traffic here had significantly increased in two years. As there is little room, as usual in the Philippines, the population had spread along the road, rather than off it, something that adds to the traffic issues. This is akin to driving along the M1 with every spare space on the hard shoulder taken up by a coconut stall or small hut. Then adding to all of the lanes trikes, motorbikes and buses. So next time you are stuck in a traffic jam on a UK motorway, just think how lucky you are that the sides are clear.
It used to be a nice scenic drive along the bottom of the crater, but now it is all about watching the traffic, so it is now no different than driving in Manila. It took a lot longer than planned to get to Tanauan City. From there it was on to San Pablo, and another hour drive to get to Liliw. In all it took 3.5hrs, with no stops along the way, instead of 2hrs 15mins.
One thing that slowed us down about 20 minutes were the funerals. We got stuck behind two of them. Now for folk in the UK who have not seen a Philippine funeral possession, think of it as a discount version of the Notting Hill Carnival. They usually include a hearse, a band, 20-50 trikes, 20-50 cars, and about a 1000 people walking behind. None of them actually know the deceased, but someone did mention free food!
These processions completely block the road, and the traffic control is often organized by people with dementia and Parkinson’s.
Eventually we got to Liliw an hour later than planned. Jake had reserved a parking space for us outside his business empire, so parking was easy. We had expected that Jake would have taken over the whole town, but obviously he is a shrewd business and lets the other shoe shops in the area remain open to bring in the tourists before they buy of him.
Luckily Jake is from Edinburgh, if he was from Glasgow then I would have had to record what he said and then play it back at half speed so that I could understand him. As we have both been with Filipino’s for many years, our speech has slowed down, but not to the point of sounding like a retarded Manc!
While we waited for seats at the local restaurant, we all had a good chat. For those who haven’t visited Liliw, there are a number of places to eat, but Arabella comes highly recommended. The food is really good, with plenty of variety. They even had plenty of coffee on offer, as on my last visit the machine was broke. The cakes and deserts are a work of art in this place, and it seems a shame to eat them. It is worth visiting Liliw just to eat here, and then visit Jake’s place for a bit of shoplifting (I never said that!).
Jake and his wife are as easy going as we are, and to be honest, that is the only way to survive in the Philippines. Westerners who suffer from stress should stay at home, unless you are prepared to pay for a driver, helper, maid, etc.
We would have liked to spend more time with Jake, but by this point in the holiday I was not happy with driving at night. The dangers are much higher than the daytime, and I feel sorry for the vampires who have no choice but to drive at this time.
We would have liked to have visited Steve.r, but getting through the whole of Manila and back in one day would have been bordering on a miracle. Hopefully the Skyway extension will make that trip a lot easier and quicker. It is about time the government put a toll road which runs straight through Manila, as at the moment the city really blocks north<>south commerce and tourism. http://funwithgovernment.blogspot.co.uk/2014/02/big-infrastructure-projects-metro.html
It was good to see the old Scottish lad again, and I really enjoyed the hotel coffee. :wink:
As mentioned in earlier posts, the trip to Tagatay along the road from General Trias is a pleasant and fast one. In fact, on my next visit, to relieve the stress of the traffic elsewhere, I may just spend a day driving up and down this road. From Tagatay we took the wiggly road down to the crater bottom. This road has been extensively reworked since our last visit, with a lot of signs, barriers, and concrete to prevent landslides. As I live in the Welsh mountains, this type of road is normal to me, and great fun. I know that some city folk get freaked out by winding roads with big drops on the side.
For anyone who hasn’t driven to the crater bottom, but has visited Lake Taal, then you are missing a treat. It is 2,000ft from the top to the bottom, and the straightest part of the road is 200 feet at most. There are many places to stop and enjoy the view in peace and quiet. Just keep a close eye out for the annoying wildlife that preys on tourists who stray off the road here…. The idiots selling boat trips!
Once we were driving along the crater road, it became apparent that the traffic here had significantly increased in two years. As there is little room, as usual in the Philippines, the population had spread along the road, rather than off it, something that adds to the traffic issues. This is akin to driving along the M1 with every spare space on the hard shoulder taken up by a coconut stall or small hut. Then adding to all of the lanes trikes, motorbikes and buses. So next time you are stuck in a traffic jam on a UK motorway, just think how lucky you are that the sides are clear.
It used to be a nice scenic drive along the bottom of the crater, but now it is all about watching the traffic, so it is now no different than driving in Manila. It took a lot longer than planned to get to Tanauan City. From there it was on to San Pablo, and another hour drive to get to Liliw. In all it took 3.5hrs, with no stops along the way, instead of 2hrs 15mins.
One thing that slowed us down about 20 minutes were the funerals. We got stuck behind two of them. Now for folk in the UK who have not seen a Philippine funeral possession, think of it as a discount version of the Notting Hill Carnival. They usually include a hearse, a band, 20-50 trikes, 20-50 cars, and about a 1000 people walking behind. None of them actually know the deceased, but someone did mention free food!
These processions completely block the road, and the traffic control is often organized by people with dementia and Parkinson’s.
Eventually we got to Liliw an hour later than planned. Jake had reserved a parking space for us outside his business empire, so parking was easy. We had expected that Jake would have taken over the whole town, but obviously he is a shrewd business and lets the other shoe shops in the area remain open to bring in the tourists before they buy of him.
Luckily Jake is from Edinburgh, if he was from Glasgow then I would have had to record what he said and then play it back at half speed so that I could understand him. As we have both been with Filipino’s for many years, our speech has slowed down, but not to the point of sounding like a retarded Manc!
While we waited for seats at the local restaurant, we all had a good chat. For those who haven’t visited Liliw, there are a number of places to eat, but Arabella comes highly recommended. The food is really good, with plenty of variety. They even had plenty of coffee on offer, as on my last visit the machine was broke. The cakes and deserts are a work of art in this place, and it seems a shame to eat them. It is worth visiting Liliw just to eat here, and then visit Jake’s place for a bit of shoplifting (I never said that!).
Jake and his wife are as easy going as we are, and to be honest, that is the only way to survive in the Philippines. Westerners who suffer from stress should stay at home, unless you are prepared to pay for a driver, helper, maid, etc.
We would have liked to spend more time with Jake, but by this point in the holiday I was not happy with driving at night. The dangers are much higher than the daytime, and I feel sorry for the vampires who have no choice but to drive at this time.
We would have liked to have visited Steve.r, but getting through the whole of Manila and back in one day would have been bordering on a miracle. Hopefully the Skyway extension will make that trip a lot easier and quicker. It is about time the government put a toll road which runs straight through Manila, as at the moment the city really blocks north<>south commerce and tourism. http://funwithgovernment.blogspot.co.uk/2014/02/big-infrastructure-projects-metro.html
It was good to see the old Scottish lad again, and I really enjoyed the hotel coffee. :wink: