Relaxation + Charity = Winner

November 2, 2008

So I went on a three-day out-of-town vacation with my mom, aunt and uncle. For me, the highlight of our trip was actually the first day, October 30. See, we were supposed to spend the night in one of the high-end resorts in the Clark area, but when we got there, rooms and villas were fully booked already because Miss Earth candidates were to be there November 1. So we just roamed the place and then scouted for other places we could spend the night in. After two more fully booked locations, the last place we inquired referred us to Paradise Ranch, which was located on the mountains in the area. My uncle called up the place first to check if there’s a vacancy. To our luck, there was - a villa with two bedrooms. Just right for the four of us.

We set out for Paradise Ranch, hoping it’d be a good place to stay. The road up to the mountains was wet and muddy because of the rains that afternoon. Before we got to the main area, we passed by a community of Aetas who were displaced by the lahar. We were a bit reluctant to spend the night there because it was far and judging from the road and the community we passed by, accommodation may not be what we were expecting, but after checking out the villa reserved for us, we found out it wasn’t bad after all. It was actually a nice place - perfect for retreats, campings or if you just want to get away from all the hustle and bustle of city life, have some peace and quiet for a few days.

Garden pathway

Inside the villa

Our room

Rear view of the villa

On a scale of 1 to 10, I’d give the staff a 10 for their hospitality and sincerity. They took care of us well, and no five-star hotel can equal their customer service. Why, you may ask? Well, chitchatting with Riz, the marketing person of the place, we found out that the place was only a year or two old (no wonder the road wasn’t that developed yet). The concept of the ranch was to have volunteers help maintain the place and employ Aetas displaced by the lahar that ravaged the area. Proceeds would benefit the Aeta community. Aetas working in the ranch have their salary split in half - half cash and half food. We thought, what a wonderful idea! You’re having some quality R&R and at the same time you’re helping a displaced community of Aetas.

Lahar remnants

View of Expo Pilipino from our balcony

View of Mt. Arayat from our balcony

The ranch has a prayer mountain where you can spend some quiet time meditating/praying or just have some alone time. There is a rock garden, a man-made lake where people can go rafting. The place also serves as a sanctuary for rescued and captured endangered animals. For an animal lover like myself, I can’t help but be moved by all this and I would certainly want to come back soon.

Prayer mountain

Rock garden

Ducks by the manmade lake

A group of geese

I am promoting Paradise Ranch because I believe in the concept of the place. I would like to thank Riz from marketing, our tour guide Joy, Tess who served us our meals, and all the staff for doing a splendid job in making our experience worthwhile.