Tagaytay has always been a go-to place for me and was next on my nieces' list of places to visit after our beach-bumming Boracay adventure. Its proximity to my place in Manila is a big plus and it's where I usually take my visiting family, so we planned a day trip, but fate had other plans.
The original plan was our good friend Ate Alma was supposed to meet us at Gil Puyat (aka Buendia) LRT station and drive us to Tagaytay but some clueless guy at a Petron gas station pumped the wrong fuel into her car so it would not start anymore. Bummer.
Anyway, we were already there so decided to just commute to Tagaytay from Gil Puyat and since my numerous visits to the place have all been via private car, I was absolutely clueless. We saw a JAM Transit bus station, asked the dispatcher if it will get us to Tagaytay and hopped onto the first bus that was ready to leave.
Big mistake. The bus was bound for Batangas and just let us off at Balibago bus station in Sta. Rosa, Laguna so we had to take a jeepney ride to Tagaytay. But it was all good. People were nice enough to give us directions and reassure us that the jeep will surely drop us off to where we should be.
Long story short, we alighted at the city terminal and took a tricycle to the Picnic Grove. Whew! It was 5:30pm so I decided to do the horseback riding because having a picnic in the grass and kite flying like what I did with my sister's family the week before, was not an option anymore.
We were quickly losing daylight so we hurriedly paid off the ₱50/person entrance fee and walked to the riding trail on the left side of the picnic grounds and haggled with the touts for the horse rental.
A ₱200/horse fee was agreed upon for an hour of galloping around the trail. Girlie was apprehensive at first, but rapidly gained confidence once her horse started cantering around.
Cousin Dit got a smaller horse more suited for a kid and we laughed at the size difference. Horseback riding is my favorite thing to do in Tagaytay so it was a nice feeling to share the fun with my nieces, nephews and siblings.
The view at the ridge atop the horse was breathtaking and the fact that it was sunset and we were the only ones left riding, made it seem more special somehow.
The guides took us way down the rocky hill and back to the main horseback riding trail. It was quite exhilarating (though a bit scary) riding a horse down a hilly slope! It was worth the 2-hour commute from Manila just for that.
Everyone had fun and swiftly gained a lot of confidence on horseback, that at the end of the hour-long ride, nobody needed the guides anymore. Alyssa, Girlie and Dit were riding and guiding their horses themselves! My sis-in-law Manay Ella wasn't as daring, though.
It was a thrilling few hours of commuting and riding... but as we got off our horses we realized we had nowhere to stay in for the night and no change of clothes!
We looked around the souvenir shops and found matching shirts for the next day. Walking down Aguinaldo Highway, we found an Andok's Lechon Manok restaurant and had dinner there. After which we proceeded to look for a hostel where we can rest for the full sightseeing day ahead. What fun!
Tagaytay Picnic Grove
Brgy. Sungay East, Tagaytay City
Entrance fee: ₱50/head for 4 years old and above
Parking fee: car: ₱35
van/coaster/jeep: ₱50
bus: ₱100
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