Villa Escudero 2006
An interesting two-hour drive South from Metro Manila brought us to one of the Philippines' most popular get-aways, Villa Escudero, where Philippine culture and history comes to life. Villa Escudero is a working coconut plantation founded in 1872 and opened as a resort in 1980. After a welcome drink of fresh young coconut, we were taken around the plantation cum resort onboard carabao-drawn carts while being serenaded by the local folks at the same time. We stayed in two riverside cottages and one apartment-type suite. We feasted on a Filipino buffet lunch, set in a flowing stream amidst lush tropical vegetation, and buffet dinner and breakfast the next day at the huge pavillion. Lunch on the second day was highlighted with a cultural show. To cap the two-day trip, we visited the Escudero family's vast collection of religious art and artifacts housed in a nearby private museum.