Thais in Tagaytay

Thai visitors 

On a recent assignment with Jeepney Tours, I was sent to guide a group of 14 Thai nationals visiting the country on a M.I.C.E. trip. MICE is an acronym for meetings, incentives, conventions and exhibitions... not the rodents or the cartoon character from Disney. We picked them up from Manila Hotel and were given the perfunctory Archives visit of the historic hotel prior to their nine a.m. departure. 

Museo Orlina

First stop was Orlina Museum. The swanky new gallery is  run by Ramon Orlina, multi-awarded visual artist and glass sculptor (more on that on my next post). I got in touch with him to ask if he will be in Tagaytay on the day of the visit. What do you know? He was personally there to welcome the guests! Thank God!!

They were so engrossed with our stop at the Orlina Museum and had a heyday going around the multi-storied galleries and the ampitheater cum garden that they pored over each and every artwork. Mr Orlina was the perfect host telling small anecdotes regarding some of his masterpieces and recopunting how he found a factory in Thailand for the execution of his designs. The Thais had a lot of fun taking selfies and pictures of the artworks... even hamming it up with to of the resin chairs that had male and female derrier for its backrest.

taking shots of the artwork

No one kept track of the time of our visit in the Museum since they were enjoying every bit of visual treat they laid their eyes on. Mr Orlina even welcomed the guests to his private sanctum where he spend his time creating works in his studio that had a fantastic view of the volcano. The Thai guests enjoyed Mr. Orlina's private collection in his art/studio as well as seeing the Murphy bed concealed behind the display case. We had exceeded our stay in the museum so by the time we left for lunch it was half past twelve.

near Mr Orlina's inner sanctum

Then it was lunch at Sonya's Garden. The guests had a great time over the buffet lunch that is standard Sonya's fare. fresh greens with edible flowers, their secret dressing with mango, the pastas and the dips and of course some delectable desserts. Being Thai, they hiked up the meal with some of their very own spices which they brought with them from Thailand. I personally love Thai food, having visited many years ago. I told them that, and of course they knew from my little Thai standard phrases.

This photo shows how Sonya's Garden treats guests after a hearty lunch.

Final stop would have been Taal Vista Lodge. Unfortunately, It was undergoing repairs after Glenda had destroyed parts of the roof. So that stop was definitely out of the itinerary. Quick thinking led me to bring the guests to the Picnic Grove where the guests enjoyed the view of the Taal Volcano for photo ops and of the souvenir buying. They actually enjoyed shopping amongst the stalls in the grove using up all their available Philippine currency. Before we knew it, it was already four p.m. Time to get to the airport so they don't miss their flight to Indonesia.

Taal Volcano

That was a fun trip. So we exchanged pleasantries after setting the luggage in carts and they told me to come back to Thailand. I just might take them up on their offer... I do know where to find them...

NEW ATTRACTIONS!

For any tourist attraction to survive, it has to evolve from time to time just to offer something new. Although we do not have historical castles, churches and moats that date back to the 8th-10th centuries like Italy or Spain, we do have Intramuros, which is as close as it gets to their European counterparts.

Bambike Ecotours in Intramuros

But if we want to keep our tourist sites attractive, we have to keep them relevant to the times. And this, we do so well by adding new attractions to certain areas. It slices up the income wage pie among us guides but it does offer something that may be out of the ordinary for the jaded tourists. 

Bamboo bikes

The White Knight Hotel offers guided tours in Intramuros on Segways. The vehicle looks unwieldy but it helps tourists get around. Another new addition to these supposedly novelty tours is the Bambike EcoTours which for P1200.00/pax offers a tour of 10 sites in Intramuros for two and a half hours using bikes made out of bamboo. They provide a helmet to go with it for safety precaution. The bikes are sturdy, eco-friendly and... gorgeous! And if you fall in love with your bamboo bike, you can opt to take it home for P36,000.00 on the average.

Sala Antigua

A lot of changes are happening at the San Agustin church as well. Some parts of the church and museum are under renovation and being airconditioned, therefore, closed to the public. The Sala Recibidor is undergoing some touch ups as well as the paintings lining the corridors of the convento. But the Sala Antigua has been touched up and some collections have been moved to the hall encased in glass.All in all, the collection is more cohesive.

Ivory collection at sala Anigua

The private cloisters have also undergone great changes... some of the doors have been made into niches that now contain the larger statues of the Augistian saints and the doors leading to the private balconies that overlook the garden of Father Blanco have capiz window panels that mask air conditioning units as well. This section now houses stuff of Augustinian lore. 

Private cloisters

The next section of note is the Biblioteca. The library was completely restored and the rare original books kept by the Augustinians over the centuries are prominently displayed here. A walkway is provided for tourists to see the entire library through glass walls.  I half expect to see a priest walking up and down the stairway carrying those ancient books. It's eerie but it affords one a look into a life dedicated to learning and spiritual pursuits.

Biblioteca

Aside from the Manila Cathedral, Fort Santiago's Rizal Shrine also underwent restoration/ renovation. The shrine is now fully air conditioned. And to keep things interesting, the collection has been re-styled and re-grouped to give way to some inter-active displays for the younger visitors. A short audio visual presentation may be viewed in the second floor where the personal artifacts used to be. A trial room was added called the "silid paglilitis". And the effigy in the prison cell can now be seen from two angles.  Both a blow-up of the actual photo of Rizal's execution and Carlos "Botong" Francisco's mural are dramatically placed on opposite walls to highlight the tragic death of our national hero. 

reliquary lamp at the Rizal Shrine

And to throw in a bit of fun, one may have a selfie taken amongst our national hero and his compatriots at the end of the tour of the Rizal shrine... talk about being updated!

Selfie photo op at the Rizal Shrine