i love taal

Prior to visiting Taal in the province of Batangas I never expected so much about this place.  It is actually only 2 hours away from the bustling capital of the Philippines.  Because it is so close to Manila the range of my expectations on what this town can offer is so low.

All the while, I thought, Taal would just be another usual town that aspires to become a modernized place near Metro Manila that is vehicle-congested, mall-infested and overly-populated.  But my short one-night and one-day glimpse of Taal tutored me otherwise.

a nice sunny weather…

yey!

this is what philippines should be like… i love it!

a dungeon like stairs leading to a church belfry

This place was able to preserve the calmness of a Filipino barrio, the gentleness and courtesy of the Filipino people as well as the elegance and beauty of the 19^th century Philippines.

According to Wikipedia, Taal is classified only as a third class municipality.  Yet the feelings and thoughts I experienced during my recent visit in this bucolic Filipino town has surprisingly been first class!

I would definitely be back to further explore the culture and the beauty of this calm, naive and gentle place.

Ang gara! Ang ganda! Ang galing!