altum viditur

For a garden that’s been listed in travel menu of Travel Café Phillipines (TCP), which is a marketing initiative of the Department of Tourism, this place may not be a real secret anymore, though it’s location is still far from the hustle of the city.

Sonya’s Secret Garden is located at Barangay Buck Estate, Alfonso, Cavite, about 2KM from the main road, taking the way to Nasugbu from the Tagaytay Junction. The place is well kept with lots of plants and small areas for relaxation. There’s also a spa at the end of the trail.

The food is mainly served at The Sunflower, one of the many dining areas of Sonya’s Garden. I did not try their eat-all-you-can set menu. It costs Php 610 (USD 14) for  green salad, bread, pasta, dessert and drink. Since the Sonya’s Garden is one of the recommended places of TCP, I feel a little disappointed having to be on a tourist destination with very limited food choices. Paying quite an amount for food is no problem if you feel that it’s going to be worth it, right? I was also expecting an elaborate gourmet menu, which they don’t have. I was hoping to taste some gourmet Filipino favorites, or exotic garden foods, but my expectations were let down. But I am sure that the food will be very filling and worth it, only that I was looking for something else to eat. So if you plan to go to Sonya’s Secret Garden, don’t expect for a gourmet eating experience, but enjoy the garden experience that it has to offer, especially with the delightful ambiance.

Here’s the map to the place (taken from Sonya’s Garden website).

Sonya’s Garden also offers bed and breakfast services for those who wish to have a relaxing time.

Fortunately for us, on our way back to the junction, we decided to go to the Taj of Tagaytay, which, from my www-reading, is a fusion restaurant of Indian and Persian cuisine. The photos of the place looks interesting too. To my delight, the place really cool and artsy.

Related Posts:

My Tagaytay City Story
Ming’s Garden
Andanita Taj of Tagaytay
Souk Kafe
REHM Apartelle

From our REHM Apartelle where we stayed for the night, instead of turning right back to the Tagaytay Rotonda / Tagaytay Junction, we went left to check out Ming’s Garden. It’s around 10-15 minute drive from REHM Apartelle, you will not miss it because of the large signage at the gate.

We entered and it’s a normal garden at first glance. But then I noticed its red soil, and a really big tree by the drive way.

I walked around and discovered these: A place that seems to be a lounging area where you can have coffee, there’s a little coffee shop inside. I ordered for choco-mocha frappe and downed it in front of the garden showroom beside the coffee shop.

At first, I ordered coffee because I did not plan to buy plants, I just want to enjoy the beautiful sight of plants but Amrei and I ended up buying these plants to take home to Manila:

We were assisted by Ate Vicky, she gave us tips on what plants are best for our requirements. And Alex helped us get the plants and load them in the car. Alex has a cute Labrador dog named Redski, that’s 6 months old. Amrei played with her the whole time as I was enjoying my coffee from afar.

Check out Ming’s Garden next time you go to Tagaytay, you will never know that you’ll end up liking plants and buying them. Prices start at Php 10 (USD + 0.20.

Update: My plants are all still alive today :)

Related Posts:

REHM Apartelle
My Tagaytay City Story
Souk Kafe
Andanita Taj of Tagaytay
Sonya’s Secret Garden

Last Saturday was my friend Ktin’s bday celebration (today is her birthday, Happy Birthday, Ktin!) in her house in Cavite. We drove for about two hours to get to Dasmariñas. After the party, we visited Souk Kafe in Robinson’s Dasmariñas and met with the very bubbly owner of the restaurant. We were there until 12 midnight.

We already had a plan to go to Tagaytay after the meeting. I searched for lodgings that are economical since we’re only going to sleep the night away until we go sight seeing in the morning. Too bad it was hard to find these places in the internet. Only the more famous, and of course more expensive accommodations were at the first few pages in the searches. I even searched for resorts, so just to be prepared, I brought a set of swimwear.

Since we finished late, we still tried to call up Microtel, which was said to be 10 minutes away from Souk Kafe, but it was fully booked, and so was Days Hotel. I was ready for an adventure, anyway, so me and my travel buddy decided to go up to Tagaytay and canvass for accommodations when we get there.

It was a really dark drive from Dasmariñas to Tagaytay, and there were a few forking roads, but stay on the right side until your gut feel says you’re almost there! Well, our gut feel would know because our way started to get foggy with a really fine drizzle. We rolled down the windows a bit and… brrr! The second sign of getting near the Tagaytay Junction is the “hotels / room for rent” signage in every couple of meters. Then the famous rotonda (junction) with 7-11 on the right.

From the rotonda, to the right (side of 7-11) is the way to Nasugbu, Batangas and to the left is to Sta. Rosa, Laguna. And somewhere there is the famous Taal Lake that we were not able to see because of the darkness.

I dropped by at 7-11 to pick up some snacks (that amounted to Php 485) and from there, I could see Overlook Inn so we checked it out. They have a room for two at Php 1350 with a small bed and Php 1670 with a bigger bed. Both have a T&B, TV and free breakfast (hotdog, egg, rice). Since the rooms were a bit small, we tried to look for other places further down the street to Nasugbu. We found Tirona and Eufel. We did not ask for the rates of Eufel because we did not quite like the look from the outside (like a real house, so there’s probably some common areas with the other guests) and Tirona seemed fully booked with all the cars parked around it. Then a man, from nowhere, came y my window holding what seemed to be two coupons. I opened my window and in his hands he held two business cards for Jessar Inn and REHM Rooms for Rent, their rates and amenities. He talked to us saying that Jessar is his Aunt’s place and he’s on his way home and he could guide us there with his tricycle, which was four minutes away, en route to Sta. Rosa, the opposite side of where we’re at. He even wanted to show us his ID. He does not look shabby so I said there’s no need for identification. What got us interested was that there’s free wi-fi connection on both places. And so we followed him. It was around 10 minutes away at 40 KPH.

There’s a hundred peso difference between the rates of the two Inns, the cheaper one, REHM, has two available rooms while Jessar was fully booked.

We checked out the next day at around 2PM, went to Ming’s Garden and Sonya’s Secret Garden. Had super-late-lunch/early-dinner at Taj of Tagaytay and passed by Olivarez Complex (where there’s Mercury Drug and Mc Donalds) and left at exactly 9:20 PM. We were in Kamuning at 11 PM with no stop-overs but with a bit of wrong turns and getting lost, when already in Manila! All in all, it was a fun time though I was not able to use my swimwear.

I’ll be posting separate articles about the places I’ve mentioned, but for now, I shall hit the sack.

Related Posts:

Souk Kafe
REHM Apartelle, Tagaytay City
Ming’s Garden
Sonya’s Secret Garden
Taj of Tagaytay

Finding ourselves without a plan for the long weekend of the Holy Week, we instead made an impromptu trip for some rest and relaxation to Tagaytay on Thursday morning. Ignoring all the traveling tips we’ve heard about making a trip on a Maundy Thursday, we so bravely went full speed ahead southward. This proved to be an error in judgment, since there were many pilgrims taking the same trip (perhaps their trips were better planned) and the usually 2-3 hour trip from Quezon City to Tagaytay took us almost 6 hours to complete. Buildup started even before the Santa Rosa toll gate.

Our goal was to get to Sonya’s Garden. While we are not fans of organic food, we were nonetheless hooked by the spa services they offered. They seemed so heavenly and blissful. While the traffic was really something, we were consoled by the beauty that greets us whenever we go to Tagaytay. We took this alternate route as the main road were lined up with churches, and therefore, heavily crowded. It was tree-lined and rolling, and while we have taken this road before, we appreciated it more this time.

Good thing we decided to have lunch before getting to the main road that leads to the heart of Tagaytay. We had lunch at Kanin Club, a very nice Filipino restaurant. There were a lot of people lining up to eat, perhaps because of the comforting feel the resto’s ambience afforded its diners.

The road to Sonya’s Garden is long but it was worth it. Upon arriving, we were immediately enveloped by the serenity the place seemed to exude and immediately we were able to unwind. Everyone seemed to feel the same, and you can see this by the way they talked in hushed tones. I even put my cellphone on silent mode, fearing that I will break the spell. It was indeed a very warm, cozy place. garden. Even the parking slots were lined up by plants!

The place did not disappoint. While I have had better spa services before, I have never had the same feeling of serenity as the one I had at Sonya’s Spa. Perhaps it was the furniture, or the flowers that adorned every nook and cranny of the place, but the overall effect was just, well, blissful.

Recommended travel time: year-round
Approximate Budget: USD 163 (includes spa packages) for two persons

Related Posts:

My Tagaytay City Story
Ming’s Garden
Andanita Taj of Tagaytay
Souk Kafe
REHM Apartelle
Sonya’s Secret Garden