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Travels --> Villa Escudero Villa Escudero After visiting the Pagsanjan Waterfalls the previous day, some friends and I headed farther south on November 2nd into the province of Batangas to a place called Villa Escudero, an old coconut plantation that has been developed into a very nice tourist attraction / resort area. Some of the featured attractions there are a museum, lunch in the middle of a stream, and a cultural show, all in all a very nice place to spend a relaxing afternoon. Again, we were lucky in the fact that there wasn't much traffic on our way to our destination. But by mid-morning we started seeing what we could expect on our way back to Subic Bay, long lines of cars and truck heading toward Manila started appearing near small towns and cities. With the passing of All Saints Day the day before, everyone was done paying their respects to their dearly departed in their hometowns and most were now swarming back to the urban centers. We made it to Villa Escudero with ease but we too were waiting in long traffic lines on our return trip soon after our day's worth of fun was over. It's pretty economical to travel in the Philippines. After shooting the rapids at Pagsanjan Falls we found a place to stay near a little town called Los Banos. For around 67 U.S. dollars a night, a place called the R&R Resort offered a little cabana (hut-like house) with air-conditioning that could comfortably accomodate 6 people. If you brought sleeping bags, it'd be possible to cram in 12+ people of more. In addition, there is a little hot spring pool just in front of your front door to sit in and relax. This picture isn't too clear, but it shows the front view of the cabana we stayed in. Those headless people standing in front is our group. Coconut trees galore! This the view that firsts greets you when you pull into the lane leading to Villa Escudero. Before it started catering to tourists and sight-seers, this area originally was a coconut platation. A tour guide said that some of these trees are over 115 years old! How do you get the coconuts down from such tall trees? Here we are in front of the museum that was constructed in the likeness of a Spanish church that characterized the architecture of the area during the turn of the century. Inside is the personal lifetime collection of the late Dr. Escudero, the orginal owner of the plantation which he started in the late 1800's. Mrs. Escudaro, his wife, is now 90+ years old and still lives on the estate in a huge house next to the museum. I thought that the museum artifacts would be drab and boring but it, in fact, is a huge time capsule of sorts for the entire past century. There are church carvings and processional floats dating back to the 1700's, Ming dynasty Chinese vases, a shrunken head from a native head-hunting tribe, insect collections, an international money collection, stuff from World War II and more! Taking pictures inside the museum wasn't allowed so I can't show you the amazing collection that's inside those flamingo pink walls. Lunch in the middle of a stream? One of the unique attactions of Villa Escudero is that guests get lunch served in the middle of a stream. The estate has its own little hydroelectric power plant and just below the dam guests can enjoy a filling meal in the cool and shade of the running water and overhanging trees. It's a really nice, relaxing deal. Of course, if you rather not get your feet wet, there is a place on the bank where you can enjoy your meal of traditional Filipino food, nice and dry. Ah! A great place to fill our bellies, chat, rest . . . and soak our feet! Another great thing at Villa Escudero is that you can be a tank commander, river rafting adventurer, and navy and air-force commander all in one day! By the way, that black ball I'm sitting on is an an old water mine. To top off the day, all guests are treated to a cultural show displaying all the ethnic diversity in music, customs, dress, and dance that's present in the Philippines. When I first heard that there was a "cultural show" I thought that it would be some cheesy production where people would merely put on different clothes and say "this is so and so ethnic group, and this here is so and so ethnic group . . ." I was quite surprised at how well produced and coreographed the whole 45 minute show was. Besides a huge assortment of colorful costumes and well rehearsed dances they also had a live ensemble of 20 some people playing ethnic instruments. I was very impressed and entertained with the whole show. What was most remarkable in my mind is the fact that the whole performance was put on by the entire staff of the Villa Escudaro resort. From the maintenance staff and groundskeepers to the receptionists, everyone had a part in the show. Not all "cultural shows" are the same and that certainly is true of the one at Villa Escudaro!