Wow Philippines!

So many sad things have been happening all around:
1) The security guard in our neighborhood convenience store was shot dead by a robber.
2) The motorcycle of my hairstylist’s husband was stolen by a 16-year-old neighbor.
3) The brother of my assistant was killed by for the payroll.
4) So I read KLM is pulling out flights to Manila because of high taxes slapped on the airline by the Philippine government. Not good for my Dutch family. Is it true that Philippine Airlines is not allowed to land on Schipol because it owes the Dutch airport $2 million in fees?
5) The other night I had an argument with a traffic enforcer who wanted to confiscate my driver’s license. I am still confused whether confiscating of drivers licenses are legal or not?

More than ever, I feel like this country is going to the dogs.
I’m confused because I love this country, there’s no place like home. And yet—where do we take some Dutch and Japanese to see and experience the beauty of the Philippines?
A group of us planned a day trip to Tagaytay via Black Fleet and specifically to dine at Antonio’s Garden.
We decided to meet up at The New World Hotel where our Japanese friends were staying.

Back: The Dutch contingent (my father-in-law, Joris and Jeroen)
Front: Kristine, Sayoko, Keri, Junko, Jay, Jude

To make it more fun, I hired the highly imposing Black Fleet to take us to Tagaytay.

I first saw the Black Fleet outside the hotel Justin Bieber was staying at and wondered what the hell it was. Besides Justin Bieber, The Black Fleet recently had Westlife as passengers.
The Dutch boys hung out in the back.

While the rest of us behaved like school kids in the front seats. We enjoyed the fully stocked minibar and DVD movie with Paul Rudd and Michelle Pfeiffer.

The driver and “conductor” were very courteous and professional. Though the ride was a bit too bumpy for comfort, these two plus the company of friends and family made the journey very exciting.

But first, Keri needed to find buko pie for his son along the way. We were frantically searching for Colette (not the legendary French boutique as the Japanese thought) but the legendary buko pie baker.
After passing by four Colette stores (they are everywhere but on the wrong side of the road), Keri mentioned that Rowena’s had better buko pie. Within five minutes, we were parked at Rowena’s store.
What a relief to get down for a bit. I think we all bought something. The store is nicely stocked with all kinds of interesting products, definitely worth a stopover.

Kristine and I planned the trip with Sayoko