2014-01 Taal Lake Volcano, Crater Lake, and Peoples Park in the Sky

Ray went to Taal Lake on the south side of Manila in the Philippines with 3 of his co-workers (Todd, Ron and Tom) for a trip to Volcano Island and Crater Lake.  The trip includes a banca boat ride across Taal Lake to Volcano Island and then a horseback ride up to the volcano rim overlooking Crater Lake.  There is a small island in Crater Lake called Vulcan Point.  That makes it an island in a lake on an island in a lake on an island in the sea.  Taal Lake was once a bay of the ocean, but various eruptions in the 1700's closed off most of the connection to the sea, leaving just a small drainage river and raising the lake level.  Some old towns were swallowed up by the growing lake, and the lake has eventually become freshwater.  It is estimated that at one time the volcano was about 18,000' high.  The remaining rim around Taal Lake is now about 2500' high.

We arrived on the shores of Taal Lake and boarded our banca boat for a 30 minute ride across the lake.  It was a relatively windy day, so the lake was rough.  As we headed across, we were getting soaked by the waves coming over the bow.  There were a couple of pieces of tarpaulin and plastic in the boat and we tried to protect ourselves from the waves, but we ended up getting pretty wet.

After crossing the lake, we were taken to the stable to saddle up and begin the ride up the hill.  We were taking the Spanish Trail to the top.  There are two stables at the base of the Spanish Trail, and each owns about 300 horses.  The horses are relatively small, so we all looked out of proportion when we were on the horses.  The guides walk up behind the horse or in some cases jump on the back.  It is about a 35 minute trek to the top, and by the time we reach the top, the horses are pretty hot and thirsty.  

The trail is relatively flat in some areas, but pretty steep in others.  There are areas of the trail that look like they were carved out of the hills in order to reduce the grade in some areas.  Many people walk up the trail rather than ride up on the horses.  Along the trail are a couple of steam vents that are letting out a continuous cloud of steam.  Occasionally, the trail will be closed down due to high levels of seismic activity.  There are motioning stations on the island to check for activity.

We arrived at the top of the rim and were greeted by many vendors selling drinks (for us and the guides), coconut water, and various snacks.  One of the most interesting items was the opportunity to hit golf balls into the lake from the rim.  Tom and I decided to take the challenge.  We weren't sure where they would land, so tried to watch out in the general area of where the balls headed.  It ends up we were looking too far out and didn't wait long enough.  It was taking about 11 seconds for the balls to get down to the lake, and originally we had quit looking by then.  The total drop was about 700'.  We were teeing off just a couple feet from the edge, and it was hard to get comfortable making a good swing at the ball, but definitely a lot of fun.

The view from the top was spectacular, with steam vents, sharp cliffs and a good view of both lakes.  

  

 After spending about an hour at the top and having a beer with a great view, we headed back down the mountain.  The view going down was much better as you could see the trail and Lake Taal from many different angles.  It was getting a little busier, and the trail was a little more crowded.  There were a couple of large groups, so there must have been a couple of tour buses that came at that time.

We arrived at the bottom, picked up a couple of souvenir photos and got back on the banca boat.  The wind had kicked up even more, so we had a wet and bumpy ride back

 We then headed back up to the top of the Taal Lake rim and headed towards Peoples Park in the Sky.  This was originally built for a planned visit of President Reagan by Ferdinand Marcos, but was never fully finished as the trip was cancelled and Marcos was overthrown.  We took a Jeepney up the hill to the top, then wandered through the structure.  There has not been a lot a upkeep on the grounds, and it is showing a lot of signs of deterioration.


The fog rolled in just a few minutes after we arrived.  We did get a quick look at Tagaytay Highland golf course, and climbed up the shrine of Our Lady, Mother of Fair Love.  We also found a geocache in the picnic area (one of just a few dozen in the Philippines), giving Ron and Tom a quick primer on geocaching.  We then walked back down the hill and got in the van to head back to the hotel.

We covered a lot of ground in multiple modes of transportation (van, banca boat, horseback, jeepney, and foot), making for a fun and educational day.

2014-01 Shanghai Wild Animal Park

 Ray visited the Shanghai Wild Animal Park with one of his coworkers on Saturday.  It was a little rainy and cool, in the mid-40's.  The park is south of the hotel about 20 miles, in an area of Pudong that is seeing some growth and development.  A brand new subway line just opened up within the last month that has a stop about 2km from the park enterance.  The new Shanghai Disney park is going to be somewhere out in this general direction also.

There is both a walking area and a drive through area of the park.  The drive through area is limited to buses and tourist vans.  part of the admission fee is for a bus ride through the drive through area.  There is also an option for a drive through in an open air, caged bus that has feeding ports on the side to feed the animals.  We got there within an hour of the park opening, so they had many of the animals lined up along the walkway with their handlers for photos.  The handlers were all dressed in matching costumes to their animals.  Most had matching animal costumes, but the people next to the horses had uniforms on that reminded us of the red coats.

Most of the animals are in open areas with good visibility.  Usually they are separated by a small moat and wall, along with electrified wire fencing.  The red, or lesser pandas were in their own area near other animals like raccoons and flamingos.  Although there are many "Don't feed the animals signs", we saw many people feeding the animals any food they had with them, such as french fries and popcorn.

We were surprised that the kangaroo area just had about a 2' moat and and a 4' wall between the people and the kangaroos, as they could have easily jumped out of the area.  However, they have no reason to leave the enclosure area as they have plenty of food and water.

Although this is called a wild animal park, there are many circus like shows and activities.  Shortly after we got there, we attended a sea lion show, which included about 4 different sea lions doing a lot of balancing tricks and ball tossing and catching.  We also went to a show with tigers and bears doing tricks inside a round cage that could have been considered one ring of a three ring circus.  After those two shows, we decided we had seen enough of the circus performances.  Besides those acts, they had a large Ferris wheel and a ride area with a lot of kiddie rides.  Hardly anyone was there, as I think the cold weather keeps the crowds down during the winter months.

Due to the cold weather, many of the animals were in enclosed areas or not even available for viewing.  One of the orangutans was chilly and wrapping up in a burlap sack.  The other orangutan was very curious and followed us as we walked back and forth along the window of his enclosure.  The giraffes were off exhibit for the winter, so didn't get to see them, and they did not have an inside display for them

 The parrots were paired up and keeping each other company.  One of the areas I enjoyed was lemur island, where you walked through an enclosure filled with dozens of lemurs, but most of them were huddled together on an wall.


The park has a large panda area,with both an inside and outside are for the pandas.  When we walked through the outside area, we totally missed the pandas hanging out in one of the trees.  After we went through the inside area, which only had 1 panda on display, we came back to the outside area and realized the pandas were there all along.

We then took the bus tour through the drive through portion of the park, and noticed that a lot of the animals came up to the buses, waiting for food handouts.  Our bus did not have the ability to feed the animals, but since they came up to the bus, we got some good close up views.  As the bus moved from one area to the other, there was always a double gate system to keep the animals from easily moving from one area to another.

Although the weather was not the greatest, it was fun day in Shanghai to see the animals from Asia and other areas of the globe.