recap part 1: december 26, 2005

this post was supposed to happen first week into the new year, but an unforeseen event of significance upstaged it (refer to the previous post) -- no updates on that, and i somehow hesitate to ask.

so: the recap begins --

as i suppose is the way with trips that require more than one vehicle, an oft put-off trip to tagaytay began to take shape on december 26. of the establishments ensconced around the tagaytay ridge, the goal of the trip was josephine's, which was supposed to have an eat-all-you-can breakfast (and perhaps lunch) buffet. seeing as the assembly time was about 9-ish in the morning, breakfast was a moot point; so lunch was the target.

inevitably, the assembly process endured some kinks, so lunch was beyond reach too. so off to leslie's once more -- where it transpired that a goodly number of people also took the chance to have lunch among the clouds. so that meant that the scenic view huts were fully occupied. we then settled for a long table, and we were promptly disregarded by the harried waitering crew.

sometime after a stack of dishes met their untimely, clamorous end (a waiter slipped), we finally got our order in. sometime after that, food arrived. then the curious quiet of the really hungry descended on the table.

afterwards, the photo-op.

done.

next agenda was to make the run to the sm mall of asia (supposedly the largest in the world) -- where the world's first pyro olympics was scheduled to have it's opening evening at the bayside promenade next to the almost constructed mall.

so: from tagaytay to the roxas boulevard reclamation area in pasay city on manila bay. 3 hours. the traffic was agonizing. even as we approached the area, the fireworks from the china entry were already starting. parking, complicated by those who felt a curious need not to pay the 100 peso entry fee, was a complete mess. by dint of some luck, we managed to park all three cars, and began the long, long walk to where the firework festivities were to be viewed.

i didn't pay attention to the time spent walking, but it must have been anywhere from 10 to 20 minutes worth of a walk to get to the promenade. that's quite a ways. 2 kilometers, i'd hazard.

we got there in good time, actually, to see the australian entry light up the sky with their fireworks. on a comparative note, there wasn't the immediacy of the previous year's makati city new year celebration (the latter had more physical impact, you could feel the shockwaves from the exploding firework shells); but there was a rather nice variety to the show, not to mention the 30-minute length of the display. all in all, worth the effort.

all too soon, it was over. given that the immediate area around the mall of asia was gridlocked still, dinner was decided on. chowking, as it transpired.

thence we all went home and thereafter commenced christmas vacation (well, some of us -- i elected to go to work for the three working days that week).

i'll try to post pictures next time (with permission from the photographers, of course).