San Pablo City is known for its famous seven lakes and the volcano in the distance. We took a drive from Casa San Pablo through the main thoroughfares. We were actually pretty impressed with the city, which was clean and relatively organised.
The highlight of the day for Tia's family was a trip to Villa Escudero. This is a very well known Filipino tourist attraction that showcases traditional Filipino rural life. Although it's quite close to their home, Tia's family had never been, as the entrance fees are quite steep. This is something we found in the Philippines and other developing countries. Although many people there are quite poor and live on very little, the facilities and services that cater for the wealthier residents and international visitors are quite expensive and not of great quality for the money you pay. For example, the entrance fees for Villa Escudero are almost as steep as Disneyland, and we were quite disappointed with the paltry activities.
One thing we did enjoy was the kalabaw ride - the water buffalo.
Dada sat up front with the driver of course.
One supposed highlight we didn't really enjoy was the overcrowded lunch at the "waterfalls", which were really a manmade concrete overflow dam thing. The "feature" is that you eat with your feet in the cool water. It's a nice idea, but I think much more enjoyable when you just do it in a natural stream while you have a picnic after a long bushwalk.
The kids really enjoyed splashing in the waterfalls, as did the many many other visitors, who were mostly Filipinos.
The real highlight of the whole visit, and the thing that made the entrance fee worthwhile for us, was the great concert after lunch. This featured music and dances representing all the different regions of the Philippines.
Katy was rapt.
She was thrilled when the dancers handed out special grass animal ornaments.
We were surprised to learn at the end of the show that all of the performers are actually employees of the park and their kids. All "amateurs" with day jobs, such as gardening, housekeeping, food & beverage, admin etc
It was a hot and dusty visit, but Katy loved being reunited with her Tia and Naan again, and we enjoyed spending time to get to know Tia's other daughter Jonalyn.
We made a quick visit to the church on the way out, which was very richly and colourfully decorated. It really was beautiful.
Also beautiful and notable for the gorgeous architecture was the museum. It was pink! A pink palace for Katy!
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