It was my sister’s twentieth birthday. Two decades of living life on earth. I laugh at how mom would rant about her not doing the household chores sometimes when she calls and that she just wants her out of the house. But you can’t blame how time spoiled kids these days, how social media had so much influence in our characters and being. Still, it’s a matter of good discipline that we should always have.
But whatever it is that you'd like to do on your birthday, like visit a place you've never been to which I was constantly doing since I turned 20 or just being with your family if your work is away from home is perfectly fine.
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| When your sister's bod is Victoria Secret bod ready and yours like, **crickets** 😂 |
So I filed a leave on a Thursday and Friday, got approved as my sister’s birthday fell on a Saturday. It’s actually a fun fact that me and my two sisters’ birthdays fall all on a Saturday this year! I was about to go home in Ilocos but later on, I found out that she already booked for an out of town staycation in Tagaytay. Jeeezzz. I went with them instead. It was in Club Balai Isabel in Talisay Batangas. I researched the place soon as I heard the plan. And decided it’s not bad to do another trip. It was June 15, two weeks after my Coron Palawan getaway. Yayks!
I was the one who researched the guide to the place. At 9:00am, we hopped on a bus at Jam Liner terminal with ‘Tanauan/Lipa Batangas’ signage. Fare is Php70.00-80.00 We got off at the dropping point in Tanauan then rode a tricycle to Talisay jeep teminal near Mcdonald’s for Php10.00 each. The jeepney will have the signboard ‘Talisay’ and ask the driver to drop you off at Talisay church for Php25.00 each, he’ll stop near the church and you can either ride another tricycle or walk from there to Club Balai Isabel. The place is just near a gasoline station and Bulalo house that had a very good menu.
THE COMMERCIAL BUILDING NEAR CLUB BALAI ISABEL
The drinks were named after hollywood stars like Taylor Swift, Katy Perry, Selena Gomez, Justin Bieber and many more!
Their Bulalo is the best so far. It was just called the Bulalo house. And there was even a convenience store around and atm machines. So you won’t be running out of options here. When we entered the gates, they asked for the reservation details like the name of the person who reserved for that day. Then we entered the place, saw these e-jeeps inside and started taking photos with them.
ROAMING AROUND THE CLUB BEFORE CHECK IN
It’s best that while you wait for your room to be fixed after you provide check in details at the concierge, you roam around with one of the ready drivers at the reception area to drive you using the E-jeep. You can even leave your bags at the counter and they’ll give you claim cards for free!
What added with the fun was that there were only three of us in the jeepney. It’s an open one like the one they use in country clubs, and eveything is seen! Lucky us that we had a talkative guide, Gio.
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| The Church Inside Not allowed for wedsings though. |
It was like 30 minutes going around the place as it was a vast area, much more than I imagined.
We were ready to rest for a while before soaking in the pool areas. The room was okay. Not really that impressive and they also warned us that wifi in the rooms were designed to be slow and almost not letting you connect, which was a fact, because they want to let people connect more to each other rather than to social media. Moreover, it was like you’re in a luxurious place inside a mini jungle, it was full of trees and the theme was beige and brown.
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| The Waterpark (php500.00 each) |
LOOKING FOR A PASTRY SHOP
Since it was a birthday night for my sissy, we opted to do the grocery first before finally starting our Club Balai Isabel experience. There was no legit pastry shop like Red Ribbon or Cookie House in the area. So we had to look for an ordinary bakery as our tricycle helped us get around. We found this yema cake, chose the flowers to put as its design and candles. It was a simple one.
THE E-JEEP and CLUB TOUR EXPERIENCE
There was a water park in the area, a place where you can play billiards and darts. A badminton and basketball court. A pavillion. A botanical garden. There were even mansions inside where a family can stay there for Php10, 000 a night if I remember it right.
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| The reception area |
If you want to use their facilities for free, you can just drop by at the reception area, leave a valid ID and get the equipment for whatever you want to play and return if for an hour. There’s one for badminton, basketball, volleyball, billiards, and darts. Any succeeding fees will be charged after an hour. After an hour of rest, we changed to comfortable clothes and played billiards til 6pm.
It was a bit rainy, lucky we are that it jut rained in the afternoon then solemn at night.
There were three pools in the area. The main pool was the one near the restaurant. Locals also offer a trip to taal volcano (php1200.00 per boat which can accommodate up to 4 persons).
We had free music at night. There was a wepdding and they had reggae music around. There are assigned smoking areas by the way. There’s one near the deck where while you enjoy the scenery, you can smoke and have a short talk with whoever you’re with. We spent the dinner night by the main pool area where the bar and restaurant was. Overlooking the shore and a glimpse of the stars. It’s a cold night and there was this singer who they always hire for night jams and she plays the piano well and makes the mainstream songs sound lilke ballad or bossa nova.
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| Twinning! Same dress I wore when I slept with my gin. |
I came from a night shift this day, no sleep yet since 6pm yesterday and it’s already around 12midnight of Saturday when we slept. Instead of finishing the lime juice mixed with gin and my favorite Nova junk food as ‘pulutan’, I slept unconsciously and woke up to my pink dress with my boho earring on, feeling cold, wearing still the make up I put on the night before. Haha
It was a rainy day that surprised our morning. Thankfully, when we checked out, the rain already stopped yet still cloudy. I still had time for a shoot at the main pool before finally packing up. The route going back to Manila is just a reverse cycle of the route I gave you earlier. ;)
If you’re looking for tips or if you have questions, drop your comments below!
Other places at the Club:
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| Kape Kumintang |
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| They also offer some juice and cocktails, aside from coffee. |
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| The buffet area on breakfast (all are availabe to all breakfast preferences) Whether you're a Filipino, American, Aussie, you can find your preferred breakfast menu here. |
Thanks for reading! Until next time!
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