Places to go, Things to do, and Foods to eat in LAGUNA

You'll find out where this photo was taken upon reading my blog .

Aside from the infamous Pagsanjan falls, Laguna has a lot more to offer. I've been in the place four times and each visit always feels like the first time. The province never ran out of places, foods, and activities and I think my next visit will still give me the "first time vibe".

I started living in Manila in the mid of November 2016. I wasn't able to do a lot of out of towns since the months of November to April are covered by the tax and audit season which makes us really busy. Actually what I am saying is sort of irrelevant but my point is, I got my chance to escape the city at the end of April 2016 when I was invited by my friend to her birthday celebration which happened to be in Laguna - her hometown.

• Calambanga

Calambanga is found in the center plaza of Calamba, Laguna. It's a large claypot whose name is derived from kalan and banga (as per Wiki). I wasn't able to get the whole picture of the large claypot but you can google it . There's a staircase inside which will help you see the vicinity of the plaza .

• Rizal Shrine

This is the renovated abode of our National Hero - José Protacio Rizal Mercado y Alonso Realonda (simply known as Dr. Jose Rizal). The house is referred as the Bahay na Bato and having a stone-made house during the spanish era is an indication of an upper class living. You should not miss this place in your checklist because this house offers a lot of historical ambiance. Most of the artifacts related to the Rizal family are well preserved (the clothes, the eating utensils, the matress, etc.). We're able to watch a short film about Lolo Pepe (yup, they call him Lolo Pepe) and his family. You should visit this house turned into museum because who wouldn't want to visit the National hero's house? It's a privilige. There's no entrance fee by the way, but you can donate a sum of money out of your willing heart.

• St. John the Baptist Parish Church

My apology, I haven't taken any picture. Try to imagine an old sacred gray church in your mind. It is where Dr. Jose Rizal was baptized. It's a step away from the Rizal Shrine so might as well drop into the place and whisper your prayer. You should try visiting churches whenever you travel. You'll feel a lot safer and you'll feel a lot of inward peace.

• Food hubs

There's a food hub in Calamba which I visited twice. There are plenty of food parks by the way, it's just that this food hub is the nearest from the Rizal Shrine plus it's kinda famous . For my 2 visits, I tried eating at Burger Mania, Milkshake Lab, and Onyang's Chicken Wings, If you want to eat burgers with a twist, you should try Burger Mania. They got weird looking burgers with weird names and with a satisfying taste for a budget of P150 and above . If you're a foodstagrammer, you shuld try the Milkshake Lab. As you can see in the pictures, the milkshakes were nicely presented and loaded with cuteness. If you have a sweet tooth, you'll definitely like it, too bad I'm not a fan of sweets I only consumed P70 out of the P150 that I paid for the drink. The chicken wings at Onyang are also famous, however don't heighten your expectation. This is a personal opinion and each of us perceives differently, we differ in taste so I hope you'l still visit the place notwithstanding the fact that I am giving a rating of 3 over 5 as to their garlic chicken wings. Onyang's Chicken Wings is affordable so it's not a win-lose situation if you'll give it a try. You shoul also eat the native foods of Calamba. They have the best puto bumbong, their okoy is filled with ingredients and the tokneneng is made up of penoy.

• Pansol

This picture was taken last September 2018 when I attended a birthday party. I've been to Pansol twice and it's all because of birthday parties. The first one was celebrated overnight and the second one was celebrated during day time.

Pansol is a barangay loaded with public and private resorts. You are very lucky if you're just around the area, because you can jump from one resort to another resort at any time. The resorts are actually neighbors. Pansol is perfect for any celebration or even for random getaways. My first time visit was at Jaycee Resort which is a really good place and my second visit was at Solemar del Pansol which is represented by the the photo above. I do not promote travelling at 4pm onwards because the traffic is unbearable. We spent a couple of hours going to Jaycee Resort when the travel time is supposed to be an hour or less, ceteris paribus.

• Isdaan Floating Restaurant

Isdaan Floating Restaurant is located at Calauan, Laguna and I was choquet because the place is owned by the Ongpaucos and was even more choquet with the price in the menu. The place will give you a Thai culture vibe yet the foods are absolute Filipino delicacies. There are groups that serenade selected people in different cottages, there are disney mascots roaming around and there are giants which you can actually take a picture with (you have to give them a tip though). The place is wide and very instagrammable, sort of romantic, child friendly , and very suitable for friends and family. I strongly recommend that you should go in a group if you're in a tight budget, and they don't accept cards so you better bring plenty of cash .

• San Agustin Parish Church

This church is considered as the oldest Roman Catholic church in Laguna and is located at Bae. If you're from Isdaan Floating Restaurant, you just have to ride a tryc for P10 and you'll gonna be there in few minutes. That's what we actually did. We took a tryc after leaving Isdaan and then we visited this place.

• Enchanted Kingdom

One of my favorite places on Earth! I fell inlove with E.K because I tried most of the extreme rides, I forgot all of my inhibitions and I just lived my life without any fear of falling.

Enchanted Kingdom is the most famous and the best amusement park in the Philippines (no echos). It is located at Sta. Rosa, Laguna which is an hour or less away from Manila. I remembered the day we went to E.K. , we're uncertain if we should go or not because the weather is not so friendly that time, yet we managed to take a bus from Gil Puyat. The bus is heading to Sta. Rosa and is dropping off at Waltermart. We left Manila at 1:30pm (I guess), then we arrived in EK at around 2:30-3:00PM. We tried a lot of rides particularly the extreme ones. You'll be given a map upon entering the area because it's is too big and it's obviously your guide in locating the rides and the theaters that you'd like to go. We enjoyed the Realto theater which has a 4D effect (I bet every kid and kid at heart's gonna enjoy it). We tried the Xtreme and damn I thought my soul got seperated from my body. If you're falling in line, waiting for your turn to ride, you'll definitely get entertained by the participant's reaction (some are screaming, some are cursing, some unveils their true color - you know what I mean). We tried the roller coaster, the logjam (which kinda scared me because there's no safety gear, the least that you can do is hold tight and sit in the right position so that you'll not fall in the slopy watery ride), the anchors away flipped my stomach upside down, and the space shuttle took all my doubts away because I simply loosened up and enjoyed the whole ride. We're so impressed by the Agila Flying theater . It will show you places and will make you feel like you're in the actual spot . The ticket in the flying theater is separate though. I suggest that you should look for discounted tickets in Metrodeal.

Laguna did not only shared the beauty of the places, the flavor of the dishes, and the thrill of the activities . The place also gave me people with beautiful hearts and lessons to ponder in my own lifetime.

Enjoy every inch of the moment. Do the things that will make you happy, because and the end of the day, you'll either stand safely in the corner with your head full of what ifs, or you'll be smiling on the edge with your head full of memories which you thought you could never have. Live boldly. Be fearless. But above all, be kind.

Hi, I'm April. Won't you travel with me?

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