Villa Escudero – San Pablo City, Laguna
Carabao Ride
“May pumukol sa pipit sa sanga ng isang kahoy
At nahagip ng bato ang pakpak ng munting ibon
Dahil sa sakit di na makaya pang lumipad
At ang nangyari ay nahulog nguni’t parang taong bumigkas
Mamang kay lupit
Ang puso mo’y di na nahabag
Pag pumanaw ang buhay ko
May isang pipit na iiyak”
The moment reminded me when as a kid I would belch out “may pulis sa ilalim ng tulay,” “ako ay may lobo,” and “tong tong pakitong-kitong” from my booklet of Tagalog nursery rhymes. I just loved Villa E for pulling me back into that cove of childhood memories.
The Musuem Tour
Visiting Villa E’s museum is another valuable experience. Cameras aren’t allowed inside the museum so am recounting these all from memory. By the way, Lorna Tolentino and Rudy Fernandez were wed in that church-museum and the day we went there, Rudy died.
I got high on the tour especially upon seeing their collection of miniatures. Absolutely cute and precious! There were about hundred different figures including chairs, spoon and bed some as small as your pinky nails. I wanted to break the glass and touch them and squeeze them till they get broken. There’s also a human head the size of a coffee mug depicting the ancient Native American practice of head binding. Yes, if the Chinese have feet binding, the Native Americans did it on their skulls.
The first floor of the museum might displease some non-Catholic visitors because there were many statues of saints and images of Christ. I loved their collection of rosaries some very plain looking like the ones you buy for P10. Villa E’s museum has a big rosary made out of glass beads. Inside the glass beads are the rose petals with images of Christ and Mother Mary. Remember the shower of rose petals in 1991 at the Carmelite convent in Lipa, Batangas? Click here.
Which tree is taller? You'll see those two near the museum.
There was a pitiable diorama of preserved animals. Our group was moving along when we saw this diorama of a lion (or was it a tiger) saying the animal was part of a circus, then it attacked its female handler during a show so they killed the lion immediately. After reading the label, we looked at the preserved lion in amazement and one of my colleagues punches “dapat yung babae na lang ang pri-neserve nila”.
On the second floor, they have a collection of traditional and era dresses, coins, jars, swords, daggers and other ancient war weapons. There was also an ancient suit used by jet pilots during the war that looked so bulky and probably as heavy as the jet they flew. Sa bigat pa lang ng suot nila, babagsak na airplane, talo na.
You will travel back in time when you see their display of typical interior of old Filipino houses complete with the sala, kitchen, bedroom and bathroom. Try to read the love letter of one of the Escudero men. Felt good to read a love letter again in romantic Filipino words and notice too how deep the emotions are unleashed and notice the spelling too. I think I read there ‘ikaw’ spelled as ‘ykaw‘.
And the good things end here. The end. Hehe
Lunch by the Waterfalls
Wish the food is as good as the ambience they've created.
At 11:00, we were among the first to line up for lunch by the man-made waterfalls called Labasin Falls. We removed our footwear because the rocks are slippery. I was very excited to finally eat! We were served sinugbang tilapia, ginataang kalabasa, fried chicken and er, beef something, then nata de coco and banana-Q for dessert.
I am hugely disappointed with the food. They should replace their cook. I can come up with yummier versions of those and am not even a good cook. I want to say totally thumbs down for the food if it weren’t for the sinugbang tilapia I dipped in toyo with calamansi, yummy. I dirtied my hand with the beef’s sauce and my colleague said to wash my hand on the flowing water by my feet. I reluctantly did so and saw other people doing it and I secretly cringed a little.
Path leading to Lawa ng Labasin is near the kiddie pool.
After lunch, we proceeded to the pool for a dip. No, you won’t get away with your “kunyari” swimsuit. The lifeguards are strict and you have to wear proper swimming attire, applies to the kids as well. There’s nothing grand about the pools, three pools period.
Landscaping isn’t even good as there aren’t enough lounge chairs, poolside tables and shades. Not every one gets to swim because of their strict swimming attire policy so the poolside tends to get crowded with people looking at the swimmers with envy while they fan themselves to death because there ain’t enough chairs and shades. Yadayada…
The shower areas are clean and well-maintained too, but I kept on tugging at the curtain they used as a shower door because it kept flying wildly exposing my near nakedness to others waiting in line.
Good thing they have delicious iced coffee and fruit shakes, yummy!
Row your raft at Lake Labasin
So was Villa Escudero an experience worth having again? If they have a museum-only tour, then I’ll take it. But talk about the waterfalls lunch and swimming, nah thanks.
On your way home, you might want to try La Pizzeria pizza located beside Total Gas station which you won’t miss.
Freshly baked pizza (pugon style)
You will find more info about Villa Escudero here.
2 Comments
August 5, 2008 at 12:19 am
Riza, I’ve been waiting for this post.
Villa E is one of the Viaje del Sol destinations we wanted to visit soon. Thanks for giving the idea of what to expect.
January 9, 2009 at 4:03 pm
How much did the trip cost you?