Leisure Days Part 2

While the first half of the trip was more bonding with the whole team, the second was more about seeing the Philippines. I found the country was full of beautiful places to see, whether it be mountains or the beach. We had the opportunity to visit Tagaytay Highlands, overlooking the Taal Lake, and see it from birds eye view by cable car. We also drove up even higher to People's Park in the Sky which is the house (but actually palace) the Philippines president built to house President Reagan for his proposed visit. They stopped building when the trip was canceled. Since then, it is just a rubble ruins that tourists come to take pictures in.

artsy fartsy at people's park 

no filter view from highlands

We also drove up a couple of hours to punta fuegos, a beautiful beach that was incredibly quiet and empty. We played Frisbee in the waters and I tried skim boarding on moving waters for the first time since elementary school. I didn't actually succeed in staying on the board and have a huge ass bruise to prove my failure but it was good to be back in my element. 

punta fuegos from where we were 

from the balcony!

Aside from our touring of the scenery, we took the time to see some historical sites-- primarily Intramuros. We got a history breakdown from our hosts at fort santiago hearing about the various invasions Philippines went through before it became an independent country. But places like fort santiago are reminders of what those times: rizal, who is a national hero designated by the US, primarily because he was a novelist and more importantly a pacifist. With the uprising against the spanish, it was important to instate values of nonviolent protest. It was also incredibly sad to see the tragedies of WWII, primarily the devastation of soldiers and civilians caused by the japanese occupation. I try my best to be neutral when it comes to what they did, but just before they lost they had the american soldiers and filipinos go on a death march that killed thousands. it's similarity to the holocaust was uncanny and sent shivers down my spine. but what i can truly complement the philippines on is the country's ability to push back memories like those as history and not dwell on it. it's something that i feel korea can work on. 

artsy pic in front at casa blanca

fort santiago 

I actually just got back to the US yesterday night so i'll be finishing The Name of the Rose by Umberto Echo, which is a philosophy/ literature book my librarian from high school recommended me a couple of months ago. I'll have a short post about my the final deliverables and what I learned through the process coming up as well!

Until then,