I’m really running out of luck. I have to spend a little more money last Saturday. Our team has to threat our Belgian boss to tourist spots as part of his visit in the Philippines. Tagaytay is one of the more accessible places we could bring him. Of course, we want him to remember his visit in the Philippines as one of his most memorable and heart-warming experience.
Canyon Woods is an excellent choice because it is in touch with the nature and has complete amenities for group activities such as bowling, badminton, mini golf, basketball, swimming, etc. Our team leader is so resourceful that even if we did not have membership, we still got a decent package for the trip.
Our group has to split into several smaller groups. Five (5) people drove their car and carried passengers. I’m just a passenger and I was assigned to ride inside my boss’ car. She drives a Honda Civic 2004 model. There were three (3) Civics altogether and 2 other cars. The plan was to meet at 6750 Ayala Bldg between 8:00 to 8:30 AM but most people arrive between 8:30 to 9:15 AM. I really thought that most of them would be punctual. Apparently, they were not. I arrived 3rd out of 25 people!
So now that the attendees were complete, we rode inside our respective cars assignments and headed to Tagaytay immediately. I’m not sure how the organizers delegated the car assignments I wasn’t sure enough why I was riding the car of my boss — and with the Belgian guy as well. It was pretty challenging to keep up with the conversation. There were two more passengers at the back seat. During the entire trip going to Tagaytay, the conversation centered around music and iPod because my boss have this kind of iPod transmitter accessory that creates local radio frequency so that you can tune in to your own custom radio station. You won’t plug in your iPod to the car stereo; the music is played back as if you are listening to normal radio station. It’s quite cool and my boss has a wide variety of songs from that everyone can listen to. She let us play with her iPod so that everyone gets to play his or her own type of music while we were on the road.
And so we arrive at Canyon Woods. We were not the last group to arrive, but we were second to the last. We arrive there at around 11:30 so the day snacks and lunch were prepared at the table at the same time. I did not appreciate the day snack and practically everyone did not eat it. What a waste.
The first activity was “Nature’s Trail”. I thought we were going to ride an elephant or something along that line but I was greatly mistaken. We were supposed to walk on the rocky trail. So we took the nature’s trail around Canyon Woods. It was quite exhausting since the tracks were quite steep and hard to hike. There were also hanging bridges to add adventure. We walked more than 30 minutes and at the end of the trail, everyone was sweating and panting like dogs. It was really exhilarating. We ended up at the other side of Canyon Woods and we did not want to walk back at where we started so we called the bus service to fetch us from our location. Very convenient indeed.
We had our delicious lunch and within minutes, people started to do their own stuffs. I chose to play Bowling with the majority of the group. I must admit I suck at playing bowling now since I didn’t have any practice for the last 3 years! All along I was really eager to play bowling but I did not have chance. I like bowling and I really hate it when I couldn’t get a strike.
After bowling, I decided to be alone for a while and paddle the boat at the pond. The boat should be run by two people but since I do not have a partner with me, I paddled the boat all alone. It was fun hanging around with the solitary duck in the pond. That duck became the center of my frustrations. Like me, the duck does not have a companion. How I wish my girlfriend was paddling the boat with me. How sweet. But it’s not. I tried to catch the duck and even though I paddled the boat as hard as I could, I could not catch up with the duck! How pathetic. My muscles were already aching due to excessive paddling so I stopped.
The afternoon snack was served by 4:00 pm. Together with our boss and some of my colleagues, we played Taboo at the lobby. It was exciting because it was my first time playing the word guessing game. Later on, the group decided to play badminton so borrowed rackets so I could play doubles with them. The more interesting part is when my boss participated the match and she was a complete beginner.
While we where enjoying our own stuffs, some guys played basketball and billiards. I could not track what the rest of the people did but I’m sure we were all having fun. We had to leave Canyon Woods already and we were way late to our schedule time of departure. Some people went to massage parlor while the majority waits. For the record, we are not yet done even though we were all exhausted already.
To call it a “day” we have to eat our dinner outside. All of us dined in together just like one big happy family. It was like a festive season. We ordered a set of meals that was good enough for 25 people. We ended the night with picture taking and farewell to our Belgian boss. It was a day full of sporty activities, team building and bonding.
Links:
Canyon Woods: www.canyonwoods.com
I normally do not eat in a fine dining restaurant but my preference on dining changed a bit when I started earning money out of my own effort. Before I got a job I won’t even dare entering these kind of restaurants. Now, I could occasionally eat good food since I could afford my own expenses. Of course, I do not go to these restaurants too often. Going once or twice a week is enough. Sometimes, I even think that going to expensive restaurant twice a week is a little bit excessive and impractical since a decent meal from a fast food restaurant would suffice. However, it has become part of my routine already. During Fridays, my officemates would eat outside; within the vicinity of Makati CBD. I like their company so I go with them. Our lunch would take longer than usual. It’s a common practice ever since.
My only complain is the slow service of CPK. They took more than 25 minutes to prepare our pasta and it’s not even a “full” dish. I only ordered two (2) “half” dish. I think that the high-grade pasta took the longest time to prepare because it was so firm yet it has the right tenderness. I’m beginning to think that it’s normal to wait if you are going to eat in fine dining restaurant.
I was really embarrassed yesterday because my colleagues plotted a fake birthday celebration at Pizza Hut Bistro. It was already 1:00 PM and most of us were already hungry. We lined up at the 2nd floor of Insular Life building watching out for the next group of diners to come out. We only wished that more diners finish up their meals as soon as possible because it was getting late.
It was a great experience eating with 16 of my officemates. Yesterday, our team went out to Greenbelt to have our lunch at Kitchen. It was my first time eating there so I was a complete n00b at choosing what to eat. Someone suggested that the “recommended” dishes were marked with the red “inverted K”, the logo of Kitchen. I ordered On Barbie’s Cue. I forgot the description but it’s like a mix between kebab and sea food cuisine. It looks creative and delicious. Then I ordered the bottomless pandan drink which tasted like sago and gulaman without the pearls. The minted water looks cool but I didn’t try it. Actually it was my first time seeing a bottle of water with “mint”. Someone joked that inside the bottle was oregano. I was not sure if it was true since most of those guys are a bunch of jokers. I refused to try it! LOL.
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