What is Tagaytay without “Bulalo” (bone marrow soup)? Travelers who go on road trips to Tagaytay and have lunch there always have bulalo for their main dish. In my case I tried all sorts of the bulalo in numerous restaurants in Tagaytay like Leslie’s, Taalenia, Josephine’s among others. During our last trip in Tagaytaty we had a short visit in one of the resorts in Lemery, Batangas. On our way home, we were struck by heavy traffic so since it was almost 2:oo in the afternoon we decided to have our lunch in an eatery along the road side in Tagaytay and we also ordered bulalo.

We discovered that our bill was almost the same as those from well known restaurants in Tagaytay. So to those travelers who are allergic to expensive restaurants in Tagaytay, think again. It will be an allergy relief to learn that prices of foods are nearly the same. It’s up to you to prove this.

Time flies really fast. It has been almost nine years ago when I last searched for the best diamond engagement rings for my girlfriend. In a few months after giving it in Manila airport, we decided to get married and now we already have a six years old son, Kyle David. That happened after a year when we first saw each other in Landmark grocery that’s why that place is so memorable to my wife while I am starting to forget that place (just kidding).

It is better to remember those memorable landmarks of your life at least when you get older and able to pass by that place again. You could even tell something memorable about it to your son or daughter.

It is really my dream to stay in one of the famous hotels in Tagaytay and what else could it be than Taal Vista Hotel. We always stay overnight in Tagaytay but not yet in Taal Vist. We would only stay there to dine and stay for a moment before checking in some affordable hotels in Tagaytay. That’s why it’s a dream come true for me when we finally got to stay in Taal Vista last weekend. It’s my wife’s gift for me for Father’s day. A dream I thought will only be come true if I claimed my disability insurance or lotto winnings.

Taal Vista Hotel is the most popular place to see every time you visit Tagaytay. Your visit in Tagaytay will not be a complete if you will not see this oldest and historic hote. It was named as one of the landmarks of Tagaytay City that is overlooking the Taal lake and volcano.

Every time we are in Tagaytay I always tell my wife that someday I will really stay in this hotel. It finally came true when my wife decided to check in last weekend with me and my son.

For my wife and I, Tagaytay is really the best place to unload de-stress. After a toxic and stressful life in the city, a cold climate and dramatic scenery is all it took to get back in shape mood-wise. This is where we felt peace and we choose to have our dream retirement house here someday. Aside from being a beautiful place, it is also near or only more than an hour’s drive from the metro. This place can really prevent you from using wrinkle cream someday.

Did you know that the scarcity of clean and safe water is one of the big problems in the world? Water is a basic necessity for human life and yet it has become a basic problem of millions of people around the world. Statistics from the World Health Organization said that more than one in six people worldwide or 894 million don’t have access to this amount of safe freshwater. This problem of polluted water and lack of basic sanitation claim the lives of over 1.5 million children every year, mostly from water-borne diseases. United Nation even announced that dirty water is killing more people than wars and other violence.

Sometimes we are not even sure how safe the water that comes out from our faucets is. All the more we are not sure to those bottled and filtered water we bought. We don’t know how safe and clean it has been prepared. It is sometimes better to prepare it by yourself. There’s a lot of solutions for all of this water problem. With the help of a water filter pitcher, we can have something to drink that is scientifically superior to all other brands and best filtering system as it lasts four times longer and removes 99.999% of contaminants.

Hopefully with this we can have clean and safe water that will save millions of lives world wide.

June 15, 2010 marks the first day of classes amongst most private and public schools in the Philippines. In today’s hard times where a typical household is barely able to make ends meet, being able to send our children to school is a big privilege.

Statistics on education by the National Statistical Coordination Board (NSCB) show that among those aged 15-34, the proportion of Filipinos having completed at least primary education at 88-91% is lower than that Indonesia, Thailand and Malaysia, three ASEAN countries participating in the World Education Indicators (WEI) programme at 92-99%. This sad fact stems from many factors including poverty, low salary of teachers and the government not giving so much priority to quality education.

On the other hand, we know that education is among the very good ways to free oneself from poverty. This is why as much as possible, a child’s education should be prioritized and made accessible to everyone.

It is comforting to find that there are organizations today that are committed to act as a link that helps to bridge the gap that exists especially when it comes to the underprilvileged. One best example is the Katilingbanong Tubag Alang sa Edukasyon sa Kabataan (KATEK). KATEK is a non-profit organization for peace project in Davao City, Philippines offering free education to over 200 children aged 3 to 6 years old regardless of gender, socio-economic status and religious affiliation.

For more details about KATEK, please visit www.jitiy.org.au.

I am not taking any appetite booster vitamins anymore. That’s why I don’t know why my love for food is still there. This passion sometimes makes me want to enroll myself in a culinary school.

I know how to cook and I love cooking. I even cooked when I was still in high school. I cook not just an ordinary foods but foods people serve in a party. I owe this to our family friend Buzz Joe but sadly he already passed away. He is considered one of the best cooks together with his wife in our place. I remember I used to go to him and stay while he was cooking where he resided and had a small hut where he and his wife sold foods in front of our house. I used to observe and ask him while he was cooking and applied it later at home.

Sometimes being a graduate in a culinary school is just an added label. You can be a great cook or chef even without this. Like my uncle Herman who got it through experience and passion in cooking. A graduate of Political Science and about to pursue a degree in Law School, he now prefers to cook. He works in some restaurants to gain knowledge, techniques and skills without a degree in culinary school. I could consider him as the best cook where he knows how to cook and prepare different kinds of foods of from different nations and countries.