The final trips of MVP'S summer program were a visit to the exclusive Tagaytay Highlands on 26 July, and an tour of Kaisa Heritage Center in Intramuros followed by the Kim Luan Temple in Malate for an overview of the history of the Chinese in the Philippines on 5 August.
On 26 July Pandy
organized the fourth summer program trip for us to the very
exclusive Tagaytay
Highlands Golf and Country Club Resort. We (21 persons) left Manila at 7:30am in two vans
and a car. After a pick-up and a coffee at the South Super
Highway Petron Station we headed for Tagaytay.
The resort is situated at the east side of the Tagaytay ridge. It contains 450 hectare of land and was developed on several levels. A funicular and cable cars take you to the different levels, with a total difference in altitude of 1000 meters. After our arrival at the main entry gate a guide took us on a tour to demonstrate how well organized and beautiful this resort (exclusively for members) is. We saw the sports and recreational facilities. There are two 18 hole golf courses, tennis courts, table tennis and squash courts, indoor and outdoor swimming pools, basketball courts, a bowling center and an aerobic and fitness center. If you want to work, a business center and several conference rooms, a library and a cinema/auditorium is at your disposal.
Several
restaurants, bars and a nightclub offer facilities for relaxed
lunches, dinner and ballroom dancing or disco. After which you
can enjoy the spa and massage center. There is even a restaurant,
which serves special food from its own biological gardens. There
are shops, a medical center and for kids it is a paradise as well.
They can enjoy their stay indoors and outdoors by swimming,
biking, billiard, video, mini-golf, fishing, horseback riding,
and go-carte and whatever. Time will be too short during a
weekend stay!
There are several residential facilities. A condominium unit (2 bdr), which I liked the most has a view at the lake. There are also villas and Woodlands units (sometimes referred to as log cabins).
We enjoyed the beautiful view of Taal lake and the Volcanoes and a lunch with Thai, Japanese, Italian and Filipino food.
On 5 August China organized a very interesting tour to Kaisa Heritage Center in Intramuros. About 20 people gathered at 9am at the "Bahay Tsinoy", a museum of the Chinese in the Philippine life. Because it was on Saturday some husbands could also join the trip. The Kaisa Para Sa Kaunlaran, Inc. is an NGO established on 28 August 1987 aimed at promoting the integration of the Tsinoys (Chinese-Filipinos) into the mainstream Philippine Society. It acts as a bridge of understanding between the two cultures.
The
museum has been given the building of the Angelo King
Foundation at Anda cor Cabildo Sts in Intramuros since
1997. It houses two floors of displays on Chinese-Filipino
history and one floor with offices and the Chinben See Memorial
Library (8,000 publications),
Research Center, and Data Bank.
On display are the earliest fact-findings of Chinese influences in the Philippines. These date back to more than a thousand years ago. The mode of exchange was barter (pottery, silk, tame buffalo, hardware and farm implements against pearls, shells and bee wax). Already in 1417 the Sultan of Sulu Paduka Batara visited Beijing to pay tribute to the Imperial Court of Emperor Yung Lo.
The Chinese were the backbone of
the Spanish colonial economy. They were feared and distrusted by
the Spanish, put into Parians (ghettos) and several times
massacred and burned out. The artifacts in the 
museum show the
Chinese influence in all parts of the Filipino culture: in art (painting,
sculpture, ceramics, book printing), in religion (religious
syncretism between catholic and Buddhist intermarriage), in
economy (wholesale trade, retailing, banking) and other
institutions of social life. In 1790 the Chinese living in the
parians were allowed to join the baptized ones and to live in
Binondo and Santa Cruz.
Chinese mestizos led the revolutionary movements with Emilio Aguinaldo's army. Jose Rizal was from (half) Chinese ancestors.
The displays are very nicely done and thanks to the very clear and vivid guiding of Meah, we got a very good impression of the history of the Chinese roots in the Filipino culture.
After the museum we headed for the Chinese Kim Luan Temple along Adriatico St in Malate. We got an
interesting explanation of the recent history of the Taoist
religion and admired the 5-year-old temple.
We completed our "Chinese" tour with a delicious lunch at the Sky-High Seafood restaurant along Remedios St (in front of Malate Church). We enjoyed the very fresh and well-prepared seafood like shrimps, big crabs, fish (lips) and sea cucumbers.
This was the last tour in the MVP Summer program. Thanks a lot to the members who prepared and guided the tours. They were all very well prepared and for us very worth wile to join.
Now "normal life" will restart with the MVP tea on 6 September. Everybody is encouraged to join!