When I was working in Saudi Arabia in the ’80s with French company Dumez, I can still remember how my French boss, upon his return from a vacation in the Philippines, enthusiastically related to me his wonderful experience in a cool, refreshing upland place just outside Metro Manila and that given the chance, he would surely come back with his family to enjoy the place “encore” or again. He added: “I love Tagaytay, mon enfant (my child).” He called me mon enfant because I spoke a little French then.
Through the years, in the course of my on-and-off journey as an OFW, from Saudi Arabia to Oman, Libya, Qatar, and Bahrain, during my occasional friendly conversations with my colleagues from other nations who have visited the Philippines, not a few have shared their own delightful experiences in our lovely tourist destination, Tagaytay.
And for quite some time now, Tagaytay has evolved from being just a second choice to Baguio to practically becoming the go-to place for weekend getaways, like family bonding excursions, company team-building activities, rest and leisure and rejuvenating time for groups of friends or regular workers, or a plain and simple cozy private time for lovers.
The major thing going against Tagaytay, as we all know, is traffic. I believe that a cable car system would be a great help to avoid the terrible traffic to and from the Tagaytay area, and primarily for the enjoyment of tourists/travelers, both local and foreign, I propose these four directions, as follows:
1. To the east towards Laguna de Bay with a Park and Ride station along the Tagaytay-Santa Rosa Road (example: Ming’s Garden) then, later on, extended to Nuvali/Sta. Rosa, Laguna.
2. To the west towards the West Philippine Sea and a Park and Ride station at Alfonso, Cavite (example: Sonya’s Garden) then, later on, extended to the Nasugbu beach area in Batangas
3. To the north towards Manila Bay with a Park and Ride station in Silang, Cavite (example: Riviera Golf Club) then, later on, extended to Dasmariñas then to Tanza, Cavite
4. To the south towards Taal Lake with a Park and Ride station at Laurel, Batangas (example: Twin Lakes) then, later on, extended to Taal, Batangas. The recent partnership between MPIC and Malaysia’s rail services provider Hartasuma Sdn Bhd, considering that it was mentioned that their projects may include setting up cable car systems, is, I believe, a very positive development for tourists, travelers, and just plain nature lovers who, like me, have always been dreaming of a cable car system that will make the exciting trip to Tagaytay more enjoyable, more satisfying in terms of sightseeing and, of course, a more gratifying experience of avoiding the traffic along the way.
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The author, Alex G. Serrano, is an engineer who worked in Saudi, Oman, Libya, Qatar, and Bahrain. Based in Bicol, he has a passion for churning out ideas for a better Philippines.