Archive for Batangas Destinations
Lakeside Living Club Balai Isabel
Posted by: | CommentsONE special summer weekend worth looking back to was my visit to 10-hectare Club Balay Isabel in Barangay Banga in Talisay, Batangas. This spur-of-the-moment day trip, with events organizer Bernard Supetran, his son and his niece, again brought me face-to-face with Taal Volcano, the world’s smallest and deadliest volcano, and Club Balai Isabel, opened in 2007, was to be our jump-off point.
We left Manila early in the morning, got tied up in South Luzon Expressway (Slex) traffic. We took the Santa Rosa Exit, drove along the Santa Rosa-Tagaytay Road, turned left along Aguinaldo Highway and drove down Ligaya Drive. We still managed to get to the resort in time for a Filipino breakfast at its full-service restaurant within the clubhouse, with its magnificent view of Taal Lake and Taal Volcano. It also has a business center and a novelty shop.
We were welcomed by resort owner and Talisay native Nelson Terrible and his wife Cecille. After breakfast, I still had time to explore the resort’s accommodations and facilities, which include residential houses and two boutique-style clusters: the Sampaguita Manor, with its six hotel-type rooms with minirefs, hot and cold shower and balcony, all nestled on a garden of different trees and ornamental plants; and the Ylang-Ylang Villa, which offers six two-story, kitchen-furnished studio units, all ideal for families.
Club Balai Isabel Talisay Batangas
Since the long lake shoreline is not recommended for swimming (because of the murky and deep water), the resort has put up, aside from its free-form swimming pool, the Mobideep, an inflatable swimming pool with separate pools of different depths. Its deepest pool, measuring 21 feet, is even used for scuba-diving training. The challenging Balikatan Course, consisting of five different obstacles, is mostly used for company team-building. Apart from its swimming pools, the resort also has tennis, badminton and basketball courts, and guests can also rent a kayak to go around the lake.
Then, it was time to go. Aside from the other resort guests, we were with distinguished company, as joining our trek to the volcano were the three Filipino women who conquered Mount Everest just a year ago. This was to be my third visit to the volcano and my second to the viewpoint (the other was a trek to the crater lake itself). To get to Volcano Island, we used a number of the resort’s 32 accredited motorized bancas.
After a 30-minute trip that took us around the island, past the 311-meter high (the island’s highest point) Mount Binintiang Malaki (seemingly featured on most Taal Volcano postcards like an island but actually connected to the real Volcano Island), we arrived at the Welcome Center. From there, it was all 45 minutes of hiking, first along the beach, then into a shady forest and, on our last leg, up a steep, dusty and treeless trail up to the viewpoint. The viewpoint was a cool welcome relief for its shade and its magnificent bird’s-eye view of the beautifully azure and seemingly peaceful crater lake with its small island. The trek back to the Welcome Center and our boats was faster but very slippery.
Once back at the resort, we all proceeded to Kasay-Kasay Hall, one of the resort’s two function rooms (the other is Kasili Hall) for a buffet lunch. After lunch, a press conference was held centering on the three Pinay Mount Everest Team members—Janet Belarmino-Serdenia, Carina Dayondon and Noelle Wenceslao—who narrated their trials and tribulations before and during their conquest of Mount Everest. During the presscon, Mr. Terrible also expressed his concerns regarding the environment. To encourage environment protection and conservation from the community, the resort has started a Solid-Waste Management project wherein Talisay residents can avail themselves of support from the resort in the form of loans or financial backing for community projects on the condition that they turn in a certain amount of recyclable waste materials to the resort. According to Terrible, this concerted effort will make people realize that nature and Taal Lake should be protected to be able to retain their livelihood, especially fishing and tourism. The resort, on the other hand, also addresses the water shortage problem (one of the biggest environmental problems that the country has to face in the coming years) by using filtered lake water for the swimming pool as well as for Mobideep. They also make sure that they are using low energy-consumption equipment in the resort.
Club Balai Isabel Resort Talisay Batangas
In the near future, Club Balai Isabel will be adding more facilities, including a recreation center equipped with videoke, a movie room, billiard tables, Wi-Fi and Playstation 3 rooms, an Internet shop, a tea lounge and a library. Wi-Fi will also be made available in the public areas. The resort will also be building facilities for skim and wake boarding. A wellness center, offering medical spa and traditional medical facility as well as noninvasive therapies and executive checkups for tourists and guests, will also be opened. Terrible is particularly excited about the opening of the Spa Suites, eight roomy huts which will have a queen-sized bed, private bathroom and a private Jacuzzi in a lush garden setting. Club Balai Isabel will soon offer the Taal Lake Cruise using their 20-person Cancun that is equipped with washroom and minibar.
To also get to the resort from the Slex, you can also take the Greenfield/Asia Brewery exit and head toward Tagaytay City. Turn left at Calamba Road, then turn right at Ligaya Drive and head toward Talisay. Turn left at the junction of Talisay National Road and look for the entrance of Club Balai Isabel, which will be at the right side of the road.
Club Balai Isabel – Along an Ecological Wonder
Posted by: | CommentsThe 3.5-hectare property, along the shores of fabled Lake Taal in Talisay, Batangas, near the Tagaytay ridge, had changed hands several times, was finally foreclosed by the bank and had become a wilderness in recent years.
The path traversing the area had coconut palm trees planted over a hundred years ago. Wild grass had grown; there were plants and vegetation all over, and monitor lizards (bayawak) and snakes slithered around.
It was this unprepossessing property that a big-time real-estate developer from Talisay with an unlikely name, Nelson M. Terrible, and his wife Cecille Arenas, purchased in 2005 and turned into a high-end resort.
They named it Club Balai Isabel, after their daughter Kristine Isabel.
It was a fortunate move. The area, facing the ecological wonder that is Taal Volcano, was fast becoming an eco-tourist zone. The resort is also near the poblacion of Talisay, known for its fruit-bearing trees and a major supplier of ornamental plants to Luzon and even to the Visayas.
Getting to Talisay is no problem. Through Santa Rosa, Laguna and Carmona, Cavite, the trip takes only an hour and 15 minutes if traffic is light.
At the Tagaytay Rotonda, you turn left and then (after 6 km) turn right to Ligaya Drive, a well-paved zigzag with subdivisions and communities along the way, but still laden with trees and vegetation.
The 9-km road leads right to the town proper and the lakeshore.
Club Balai Isabel Resort Talisay Batangas
Indigenous and Modern
The architecture at Club Balai Isabel is both indigenous and modern. Air-conditioned rooms can accommodate 143 persons (250 by year’s end). Amenities include clubhouse and infinity pool, sports and leisure club, convention and training center, and commercial shops.
Since “team building” is now a buzzword among corporations, the resort has a group dynamics outdoor facility that includes mazes and obstacles, hurdles, tunnels and wall climbs, and a rope-swing challenge.
The resort has accredited boatmen who will take you on a cruise around the lake, whose waters are silvery from a distance (when you are looking down from Tagaytay ridge), but aquamarine up close.
There are also tour packages for trekking to the volcano, the world’s smallest but, like Mayon, active and dangerous, throwing tantrums from time to time through the centuries.
Fishes like tawilis and maliputo still abound in the lake, whose waters are good for swimming although there are weeds during the rainy season. Fishing, kayaking, snorkeling, cruising, windsurfing and even water-skiing are some of the activities offered by resorts around the area.
Fish pens and siltation are a problem in Lake Taal. “We have to do something about that,” says Terrible. A Bantay Dagat (Baywatch) team has been formed with the Knights of Columbus, local government of Talisay, and barangay officials. A zero-waste program is being implemented.
Superb View
The resort’s clubhouse and infinity pool face the lake, with the volcano in the background. It is a superb view in the mornings, as the sun shines brightly, with pennants waving along the shore, mountains and islets in the background and outrigger boats gliding by.
During our visit, we watched in the afternoon the rainshowers, a light-gray mass, falling over certain portions of the lake, gaining momentum until the contours of far-off mountains of Batangas disappeared, and only Taal Volcano and nearby peaks were visible.
The wind grew stronger, but the rains did not reach the resort. In contrast to the coolness of Tagaytay, it is normally warm and humid along the shore.
Club Balai Isabel Resort Talisay Batangas
In the evenings, you hear the chirping of birds and the croaking of frogs. It was an overcast sky the night we were there, and there were only a few stars visible. The low drone of a lone airplane pierced the stillness.
As the plane headed for Manila, its lights reminded me of a shooting star. “Go and catch a falling star/Get with child a mandrake root,: as the English poet put it, suggesting we attempt the impossible.
Kundiman Cooking in Talisay Batangas
Posted by: | CommentsThe long drive from Metro Manila to Club Balai Isabel in the lakeshore of Talisay, Batangas, offers quite a few surprises, the most delightful of which is the number of never-before-seen views of Taal Volcano. At certain spots of this route can be found clusters of bangkeros offering boat services to the volcano island. The asphalt-paved road is also sometimes blanketed by fallen orange-red petals of fire tree flowers. The unexpected color provides a bright spot amid an otherwise monotony of green.
An alternative way to Club Balai Isabel is through Tanauan along the way of which the Virgin of Manaoag Church awaits devotees.
Most travelers usually glimpse the Taal Volcano from the Tagaytay Ridge, so the Talisay route provides altogether different perspectives going down the mountain slope on the way to the lakeshore. As our Speedwagon made its fast descent, I got panoramic glimpses of the world’s smallest volcano. It was not, however, that minute and, for once, I noticed the cluster of smaller eruptors around it. But a big surprise hit me upon reaching the resort’s country club: I saw Taal Volcano at eye level and it lost its distinction from other seashore mountains.
Club Balai Isabel Resort Balisay Batangas
This ordinariness and the exception of Balai Isabel is a perfect combination. This provides its magic. The sulphur-rich environment charges the body’s energy. Endemic fishes like tawilis, biya and maliputo are abundant in the freshwater lake, delivered by local fishermen to the resort before the sun rises. It used to be a salt water formation where sharks used to roam freely hundreds of years ago. But when the volcano had a major eruption, it turned into fresh water, losing the sharks forever. Other fishes adapted. Its proximity allows one to reach the volcano island in less than an hour by mechanized boats from the resort. And there’s a secret way to the volcano’s crater that cuts the three-hour walk or horse ride to less than one hour.
Kundiman Cooking
Stomachs grumbling from the early morning trip without a stop at an SLEX food-and-comfort stopovers, we were served breakfast at Café Balai Isabel, the Club Balai Isabel. This hub point offers a panoramic view of the volcano island, an eternity pool and a fenced off area of the lake where the more adventurous types can go kayaking and pedal boating. We were served fried tawilis and fried daing na biya with achara, corned beef and longanisa with freshly brewed barako coffee.
The uniqueness of Café Balai Isabel is the absence of Continental or other ethnic cuisine. Although it gets its fair share of visitors of other nationalities, only the food prepared by the Café’s kitchen is served. The Pampangan chef has concocted a unique fusion of south-of-the-metro dishes, giving extraordinary character based on traditional food, with a few concessions. There are American all-time favorites like French toast, corned beef, sandwiches, soups, spaghetti, chicken wings and ice cream. For pizza or taco, resort-goers will either have to bring it or get them somewhere else.
We had a feast at lunch. ensaladang Manga is coarsely chopped raw mango that tastes tangy without the sourness. Binagoongang rice with topping is a finer version of the Thai specialty. Sizzling bangus is sisig made of freshly caught milkfish. pinalipad na tilapia is the fish with the meat sliced until the head, dipped in batter and deep-fried so that the slices curl up resembling wings. Bulalo, Tagaytay City’s much-loved bone marrow soup, has been turned into kalderetang bulalo. Pinakbet with lechon kawali is the boiled veggie galore flavored by bagoong topped by chunks of deep-fried porkloin. And for drink, there’s santol juice, which is an excellent thirst quencher without a hint of asim.
These are what I call kundiman dishes and drinks.
Kundiman cooking is the imaginative combination of two or more native dishes, a folk variation of fusion cooking. Kundiman, as you know, comes from the old Tagalog song form of the same name, which usually starts with “‘Kung di man…” For me kundiman cooking is made up of dishes without a real identity. As in the case of kalderetang bulalo, it’s neither kaldereta nor bulalo, but a combination of both. Just imagine the taste and flavor prospects. It’s not exactly limitless, but great enough to offer new possibilities.
Serene surroundings
Club Balai Isabel (named after the Malayan word for “house” and combined with the name of the owners’ only daughter) is a 7,000-square-meter residential resort by the Lake Taal with a 400-meter shoreline. It was developed by Techno-Asia Construction and Development, Inc. The simple, laidback life in Club Balai Isabel is reflected in the structures around the resort lighted by Mediterranean-style lamps. The indoors and outdoors blend into each other, creating a feeling of being close to nature even while inside the buildings.
A selection of property investments or room accommodations awaits: elegant hotel units, functional and cozy studio units with kitchen nooks, or spacious one-bedroom units with lofts. The open-plan reception area houses the resort’s office, business center, two meeting rooms, a lounge and the front desk. The clubhouse’s ground floor consists of a café, a gift shop and the function rooms Kasay-Kasay and Kasili Halls. The Batangueno Hall can accommodate 100 people and another 100 on its sprawling garden. Each function room is fitted with a white board and state-of-the-art communication system such as LCD projectors, 32-inch plasma television and wireless sound system. It has an obstacle course for team-building exercises and a chapel for the resort goers’ spiritual needs.
Club Balai Isabel Resort Talisay Batangas
Its Mobideep, being used as a diving and training facility in countries like Thailand and Singapore, is the country’s first floating swimming facility features five safe and secure swimming pool options. It allows one to swim in the Lake without being in the it’s water, making one feel like being in a yacht.
Future developments are a helipad, which will facilitate chartered helicopters from any destination in the country to Club Balai Isabel. A medi-spa complex will also be installed to develop the resort for medical tourism. A fishing area is currently under construction. As development continues, Club Balai Isabel will remain environment-friendly through the use of “green” Genset system, waste segregation and recycling, and the use of windmills and solar cells.
The High on Club Balai Isabel
Posted by: | CommentsWithin every adult is a child who cherishes precocious memories that are relived upon visiting familiar places. For the young once and the young ones, it is time to hone your wanderlust because exploration is the key to rediscovery.
When I was a child, I remember waking up to Sunday mornings as our home was reverberating with the thunderous pounding of piano keys as if announcing a foreboding omen of a fortuitous eruption. The sound would ascend with even more fortitude followed by a deafening silence. After a few more seconds, the “tremors” would begin slowly yet powerfully, this time accompanied by a resounding applause. I raced down the stairs in my pajamas to our lanai to find out it was my mother, Mama Mila, and her very best friend my Ninang Norma Francia playing the piano. They were rehearsing for their concert and their piece was about an erupting volcano.
I have always been fascinated by volcanoes, the nearest one to home being Taal Volcano, one of the smallest and bewitching in the world. Many of us have viewed its alluring beauty. Between 1572 and the present, more than 41 eruptions have been recorded with the great eruption of 1754 lasting close to six months. Just like Mt. Pinatubo, it darkened the skies over Manila for days that people during that time literally walked around the city carrying lanterns even at 10 in the morning. It is most probable that this eruption finally closed the open channel to the sea.
It is precisely this unpredictability that makes it an enigma, a phenomenon, an attraction worth visiting, appreciating and immortalizing. Last weekend, my family and close friends rediscovered this exquisite volcano within a lake. What better vantage point to be at where one can appreciate the volcano in style and luxury than at the Club Balai Isabel, located in Talisay, Batangas. The resort is just a 20-minute drive from the scenic Tagaytay ridge. From the ridge, just before the Picnic Grove, we took a right on Ligaya Road, drove down the winding yet picturesque way where we captured million-dollar views of Taal Volcano and Taal Lake before finally retreating to the lovely Mediterranean-themed Club Balai Isabel.
Gracious couple Nelson and Cecille Terrible, who own this cozy sanctuary, warmly welcomed us to this charming property. It was a memorable weekend as all my siblings replete with nieces and nephews and my best friend and two-time CMMA awardee Bum Tenorio, good friends Ana and Will Antonio who gamely posed for photos by the romantic volcano. Their adorable kids Raine and Cyrus were also ecstatic as they played by the beachside with their favorite uncle Mukesh Advani. Our friends Carol and Cris Parker were determined to catch some exotic fish in the lake.
Club Balai Isabel Hotel
Our rambunctious group hied off to the floating pools, which are actually suspended pools of filtered water from the lake. Utilizing state-of-the art technology, this is an ingenious way to fully use God-given resources. This particular spot is a well-appointed section of the resort with wooden bridges. It also has huge inflatable and movable trampolines which we used like boats where we all gravitated, bonded and synergized with nature’s bounty.
As the sun was beginning to set, the skyline was bathed in golden pink light against the summer tropical sky. The mountainous terrain beckoned like a mecca as wild sculptured landforms heralded a geologist’s dream. From the floating pools, some peaks jutted out from the lake like a giant moth’s wings, the natural scenery created by volcanic basalt pressing down on sandstone. The dramatic caldera of Taal Volcano is often compared to a woman — hauntingly beautiful, alluring, captivating, dangerous but never dull or boring … neither were our spirits.
With the setting sun as the backdrop, a wine bar was set up by my youngest sister Yvonne with the assistance of the Club Balai bartenders and staff.
We had an abundance of brews and spirits, even a specially concocted limoncello that my brother-in-law Benny Soliven brought from Chateau Herencia in Tagaytay. The cuisine was as delightful as the company. Nelson spoiled us with this very special organic cuchinillo; the skin was succulently crispy and the tender meat was perfect with the sweet and spicy lechon sauce. The lechon manok was so juicy and tender; the tawilis caught from the lake were fried to crispness. There were also pancit canton and beef and chicken sate with gooey peanut butter sauce, as well as the crispy banana turon in a creamy langka sauce.
My brother-in-law Boom Boncan and sister Jaqui brought out their disco music from the ‘80s to complement the party mood. It began to gently drizzle as Cecille nostalgically narrated how Nelson reacquired this fabulous property.
“The property used to be owned by his family during the ‘50s and ‘60s. It has changed hands many times until in 2005 it was offered to us by the bank, which had foreclosed on it from the owner. Nelson wanted to develop it as a residential community and initially did not plan to make it a resort. But after building a few houses, weekenders came knocking at the door wanting to spend holidays and weekends. They are amazed to see Taal Volcano up close from the lakeshore.
Initially the few houses built that are owned by overseas Filipinos served as lodging for guests. The owners leased the houses to us. The demand for rooms grew even more when we built the clubhouse and swimming pool. To satisfy the demand, we built two more buildings with rooms for rent. And the demands grew even bigger, so now we have over 100 rooms and it’s still growing. Last year, we acquired the adjacent property, which used to be used by Meralco Foundation. This year, we are acquiring another adjacent property which has the (circa 1700) church ruins,” Cecille said.
Club Balai Isabel Batangas
The couple enthused that Club Balai Isabel is committed to helping conserve the environment, especially the area around Taal Lake. In developing the resort, the team at Club Balai Isabel minimized cutting down trees wherever possible. The resort also has its own sewage treatment system that is effective enough to produce irrigation-grade water.
“The scope of our definition of ‘our environment’ is not limited to the confines of the resort. The town of Talisay is Club Balai Isabel’s home, and we’re prepared to do our part as a member of the community. One of our projects for 2008 is a solid waste management program that consists of creating awareness among the citizens of Talisay. The idea is to help them realize that keeping both town and lake clean is beneficial to everyone, since their main sources of income are tourism and fishing,” said Nelson.
We retreated to our well-appointed bedrooms in the lakeshore villas with an awesome view of the dramatic Taal Lake and volcano. Everything at Club Balai Isabel was comfortable, convenient and elegant. All villas are decorated with cotton chintzes, the sitting rooms are paneled and cozy, while sunny yellow colors add a cheery mood. The stylish rustic setting reminds one of the recent film Vicky Cristina Barcelona. The lakeshore villas with the loft, being the biggest two-floored bedroom with kitchen, have bright white bedspreads and, looking out the bay windows, one could stay put and paint a thousand photos of the rowing boats crossing the majestic lake. One can actually set foot on the volcano island, trek or even ride a horse to reach the rim of the main crater and wonder in awe at the view of a small island and the serene lake that formed in the gaping mouth created by the 1911 eruption of the volcano.
Club Balai Isabel offers an array of activities that can be enjoyed on the island. When the conditions are right, wakeboards and catamarans add splashes of color to the lake as they race around it. The resort offers a unique twist to the usual island experience. It is home to many species of birds and fish including the rare maliputo, which is a kind of mackerel that can be found in the waters around the volcano island. The resort is also the perfect place to hold gatherings, workshops company outings or special celebrations for over 100 people.
Club Balai Isabel
Luckily Club Balai Isabel is a haven from the city without being too far away. More than a lakeside residential resort, it is also a community where you can relax, connect, be with nature, and have an active lifestyle with all the comforts of city living. In this resort, waves whisper and the Mediterranean elegance roars.
It’s going to be a sizzling summer; enjoy the tropical fervor and get high on Club Balai Isabel.