Huge Changes at Tagaytay Highlands: A Different Vision

Tagaytay Highlands hold a special part in my heart because of the multitude of things that I've done with family there over the years. Back then, it was quite exclusive, privately accessible, with the country's who's who owning a plot or two.

This has CHANGED over the decade, utilizing every morsel of real estate in the area means development of properties, and the magic of living in several townships this 2024. This time, they put value in transforming communities. With focus on modern community living, each residence are well planned, managed, brought to this decade by establishing mixed use properties without taking the charm and exclusivity of it.

Now it's got the Highlands, the Midlands, Midlands West, Greenlands and perhaps more soon. This place was built on a VISION, one that has been delicately designed before things move inside the estate. From usual country home residences, it now has integrated structures that can also be used for leisure, recreation, commercial use, while maintaining vibrant and sustainable in all areas.

This is one of the reasons why it's thriving, not letting new conveniences take away what's already good and existing in the property. Adding only the things that can harmoniously blend with the needs and wants of people living here. By far, it is still one of the most sought after properties in the country. It's paradise, especially for those who want to live in the high areas. It's like having a piece of a cold mountain elsewhere in the world, but living in a tropical country, and people you love.

The place still has open spaces, where a huge part gets dedicated for it. Parts of it also see the world famous Taal Lake/Volcano, while others are for the running mountains too. This spans around 1500 hectares, where you can also enjoy outdoor activities. There are tons of flora and fauna, plus see birds in a sanctuary. This is proof that it can be done, the combination of facilities you need, but with all the things you love with nature.  

This place is managed by Highlands Prime, Inc., a subsidiary of real estate giant SM Prime Holdings. It's just one of the ton of world class properties they do on a weekend (I kid). Heard they're also raring to do a few more projects in the pipeline like Highlands Residences, Trealva, Primrose Parks, Horizon Terraces Garden Villas Scottsdale, and more soon. If this looks appealing, take a bit of your time and message them at facebook.com/Tagaytayhighlands so you can stop dreaming, and start doing. Else, you may visit tagaytayhighlands.com and get the answers you need.

Your Future Beach Home: Hamilo Coast Pico Terraces

Things are certainly busy and traffic has been at an all time high especially over the holidays. Ever thought about getting your own home away from the city? I bet you would love to have sand on your feet, a huge coastline you could walk on during sunset and a few hours of listening to crashing waves, changing your mood like a vacation... but you actually live there. Well, that can happen to you at Pico Terraces, Hamilo Coast's latest development at Pico de Loro in Nasugbu, Batangas.

It's a quaint residential community, carefully planned by Costa Del Hamilo Inc. under SM Prime. They made this especially for those who think about their mental health, and overall well being because Pico Terraces can certainly do wonders for that. They've got available units at the second building, and those who currently reside there love the positive impact it has been able to give while being there. The property spans 2.3 hectares, lots of room to walk around and appreciate mountain views, outdoor spaces and nature.

Pico Terraces also has lots of amenities like pools, cabanas, clubhouse, places where kids could roam around and play, several nature trails, outdoor fitness spaces, and barbecue areas. These are all dedicated to Pico Terraces home owners, a treat for those who want to live comfortably. Their units come in 1-3 bedroom arrangements, to fit different family sizes, with large windows and ventilation to make the space brighter and fresher. If you get a unit, you also get to be a member of Pico De Loro Beach and Country Club and get the perks that go with it.

Pico Terraces certainly would be a good future beach home, if you fancy or get the urge to live here, get more information from the Hamilo Coast FB page or hamilocoast.com.

Hamilo Coast Offers Pico Terraces for Families

Everybody deserves their own home and in Hamilo Coast, they've got Pico Terraces. It's a place for those looking for a comforting refuge, amenities and the feel of an upscale estate where you and your family could relax and do things you wouldn't be able to do in the city. This new development is managed by Costa Del Hamilo, Inc. which is under SM Prime. Set in different heights, these are condo buildings with a view of lush greeneries and mountain tops, certainly different from the usual noise in Manila.

Aside from the views, there's tons of outdoor amenities that's also included in the 2.1 hectare property which mostly comprise of open spaces, pools, cascading water features especially in Pico De Loro Cove. You can always sit and sleep in the cabanas spread in the Pico Terraces property, have the kids frolic around the lawn and play area or workout in their fitness area too.

Units come in 1, 2 or 3 bedroom suites all designed with a tropical feel. It's got large windows to let natural light in, and some have balconies so you can take advantage of the lush landscapes and have coffee in the mornings. It's also very near the Hamilo Coast Beach Club, the Country Club and even the Pico Beach for those who want to put sand in their feet every now and then. A unit comes with an individual club share so you can enjoy the amenities inside the property without going out in other parts of Nasugbu, Batangas. 

 

It also sits right across Pico De Loro Cove Beach Club, to of course enjoy it even more with family, set in a prime property location in this province in South Luzon. Where else can you get a place that's got activities, fun, food, nature and a whole lot more things to do with your family, friends and yourself too. If you wish to check out the place, search HamiloCoastPH on FB or their website hamilocoast.com and see why people are moving there.

More Celebrities, Food, Destinations on the Second Year of FARM TO TABLE

Chef JR ROYOL is steadily becoming a household name in the Philippines through his show "Farm to Table". They are currently celebrating their 2nd year and yes, there are going to be a few changes especially with the way they do the show. 

The confident man who hails from Mountain Province talked to us more about what's going to happen in the next few weeks as they come out with more content from different locations. Farm to Table will visit his Mom's hometown of Barlig in this week's episode. This will start on Sunday at 6:50PM. 

 

He says "Thank you for celebrating our 2nd Farmniversary with us, we are excited to share with you good news about the show. Definitely it's going to be a consistent cooking element, we are going to expand our reach, the places that we plan to go to will have us explore and discover more people week after week. I would hope we can do that in the next few episodes, so we can tell more stories and food adventures too. It's totally a collaborative effort to focus on food we do. We don't limit ourselves with a particular cuisine and always integrate local ingredients that we have in the country and tell the stories about them. We want to start this year with a bang, so this weekend we will have BEA ALONZO as our guest. We will also be having TikTok personalities and other chefs that will also be in the show. As far as guests, we have a lot of stars coming in the next food adventures!"

He is so thankful about the show and adds "The show was able to make me work with very dynamic people, we are not boxed up and the different locations gives us a chance to work with a lot of talented individuals. We also get to create different dishes with not so common produce, we usually encounter them in the local markets and the locals tell us how to cook it."

He wants to introduce a dish internationally and says "Pinikpikan is the number one dish that should be introduced to the world. It's easy, the method can be taught, and I could eat it everyday. If there's anything, it's number one for me because there's nothing like it. You could also see it in other cultures but the process is innately ours alone."

He remarks "I wish the show would last for years, this show could be done til we're sixty, but more than that, to our viewers I hope you watch it every week. We do it purely that this comes from our heart, and I hope our viewers appreciate how we do Farm to Table."

There's certainly more to look forward to in the next few episodes, so if you are into food adventures, get Chef JR ROYOL to take you along different places in the Philippines and see how colorful our food culture is. This show airs Sundays on GTV and their other online channels.

Places to go after Baguio: Mount Kalugong Eco Park in Benguet

I've been blessed last December and part of that is the trip to Baguio with some blogger friends of mine. We were able to cover quite a lot in Baguio, but in some whiff of a wind we thought about what other things to do aside from the city landmarks. I'm no nature loving kinda guy but don't get me wrong, I like the adventure of going where nobody's gone. Good thing our blogger cum photographer friend Dean Cuanso (of http://watwatworld.com/) invited us to see Mount Kalugong. At first, I thought we were just going to a hill right beside the Strawberry Fields in Benguet. I was wrong. This was a full pledged elementary rock climbing trail which was just a few minutes away from Baguio City. You'll see a full view of the valley known as the salad bowl of the Philippines. Make sure though that you have appropriate climbing shoes. I went there with a pair of casual Boxfresh shoes from the UK, which was not a good thing haha.

If you plan to go here please contact them through their Facebook page or call 09196728888/09498980328 because it is not easy going up. You'll need a 4x4 perhaps or just do it on foot if you are up to it. 

To get a feel of what Mount Kalugong has to offer, here's a video I made of the short side trip :)

And that's how good it feels from up there! =) This is only my second time to go to Baguio, it's a renewed romance with the city. Benguet was definitely a perk!

For more information about the tour:

Mt Kalugong Eco Park

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Visit their official website

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Mt-Kalugong-Eco-Park/172690992820188

I Love Camping!

Camping and mountain climbing has been a hobby for me since high school (which would translate into junior high in the US) and it has been a very good recreational activity for me and my friends. I never hesitate to go out and hike a bit because of the things you can get from the camaraderie and lessons when you go through this arduous task. Imagine going through the trail for hours before you get to a certain camp site and take your well deserved rest. I don't know if this is what you call torture in some cases but it seems effective. Getting some parts of it to be a chance to help each other builds strategy and rapport. I don't know if that is rocket science but if you ask where we are now, I think we have used that kind of service to better prepare ourselves in the corporate world. I know it looks odd but I felt it had a good overall effect to what we are doing in planning and execution. This is definitely a good exercise! I would have opted to have travel trailers so we would all have the most comfortable place to sleep and eat but at that time we settled for the harsh weather, a couple of tents and a fire pit to cook our barbecue. It was still nice and scrumptious!

The view from the mountain top was extremely beautiful! Just take a look at this photo that I took using a non commissioned GSM phone. It made all of us feel that the 6 hour ordeal to the summit well worth it. I screamed my lungs out when we got here and I was proud to have even achieved the feat. I was not that healthy looking when we did this so imagine the weight I was carrying around while doing this. The reason for mentioning this trip is because we plan to go back to this place on April. I would never be surprised if it is going to take a couple of hours less since we already have done it. I love camping and being with the best team of people to work with. It makes life easier bar none!

Going Up!

How I wish I could go back to ANAWANGIN again so I could enjoy the breath taking view of the mountains and the cove again. I am probably going to ask some of my photography buddies to plan out this location so we can take landscape shots like the professionals. There is no way I could ever forget the trip we had a few years ago. It is a good thing we enjoy outdoor adventure gear, tent poles, replacement tent poles, char cloth, fire piston, trekking poles, camping tarp, camping, backpacking, hiking to name a few. I guess it is because some mountaineers who are part of the team influenced us in enjoying this fun climb that turned out to be horrific in some parts. Everyone still enjoyed the conversations in between, the food and the camaraderie we developed along the way. It was really fun even if we were often grimacing in pain. It was more than everyone had ever dreamed of when we got there. I'm sure with the new people I'm with now, they will also enjoy the things we did on the cove. Not to mention the white sand and the pristine beach we swam in when we stayed there.







I want to go back there!