For the sake of some mother-daughter bonding (of which I've been horribly undersupplied lately), I, along with my older brother Ron, tagged along with mama yesterday morning as she gave her clients a tour of Sun Valley in Antipolo City. For some years now, she has been bragging about this exquisite place touted to rival the beauty and amenities you’ll find in Tagaytay and Batangas. The wanderlust in me, of course, did not pass up the opportunity to go sight-seeing and get closer to my mom. What better way to relax than go nature-tripping with your loved ones, right?
I didn't expect to see what I saw. Sure, I know Antipolo for being a mountainous area and yes, the smell of air in that part of Rizal is truly refreshing to the lungs, but to find a place like this? I had to ask our driver thrice if indeed our house was just around thirty minutes away from this paradise. No wonder, Gary V. himself built his own home in this city, and thousands of Pinoys troop to this place every once in a while to do some soul-searching and yes, replenish their oxygen stock. Antipolo, after all, is home to a host of resorts and big venues and everything else that we basically hate about living in the Metro (think being stuck in hour-long traffic jams + breathing emphysema-inducing smog + hearing all the karaoke noise coming from your neighbors, and you get the picture).
The place was incredibly beautiful it almost made me wonder how the Garden of Eden looked like. It was nothing like I’ve ever seen. The whole place was almost landscaped, yet the developer preserved the mountain and the farm areas. The 300-hectare subdivision has three lagoons, a waterfall, a fishpond, and yes, hectares upon hectares of golf courses! It also has three pavilions with swimming pools and airconditioned, events halls. It’s literally living beside or at the foot of the mountains and seeing the sun kiss the mountain peaks every morning! And you don’t have to travel for two hours south of the Metro and pay all those skyrocketing toll fees to enjoy this view!
After touring the place, I almost felt like I never want to go back to Pasig anymore. Green Park had been such a wonderful home to me for the past three decades, but I could trade it anytime for a wonderland like this! Hehehe
But in all seriousness, my mind thought of a thousand things I could do in Antipolo: enjoying my breakfast and coffee while seeing the sun rise from my porch, painting and drawing on my balcony, walking with my little niece in one of the paved jogging paths, enjoying a fun-filled afternoon swimming with my nephews in one of the pavilions, preparing some grilled dishes for my folks in my kitchen, or just doing my quiet time and soul-searching somewhere in the lagoons. Ah, I spent the day imagining a thousand and one things I would want to do as a (future) resident of Sun Valley.
Well, who knows? I just might use my Pag-ibig benefit one of these days :-)
I didn't expect to see what I saw. Sure, I know Antipolo for being a mountainous area and yes, the smell of air in that part of Rizal is truly refreshing to the lungs, but to find a place like this? I had to ask our driver thrice if indeed our house was just around thirty minutes away from this paradise. No wonder, Gary V. himself built his own home in this city, and thousands of Pinoys troop to this place every once in a while to do some soul-searching and yes, replenish their oxygen stock. Antipolo, after all, is home to a host of resorts and big venues and everything else that we basically hate about living in the Metro (think being stuck in hour-long traffic jams + breathing emphysema-inducing smog + hearing all the karaoke noise coming from your neighbors, and you get the picture).
The place was incredibly beautiful it almost made me wonder how the Garden of Eden looked like. It was nothing like I’ve ever seen. The whole place was almost landscaped, yet the developer preserved the mountain and the farm areas. The 300-hectare subdivision has three lagoons, a waterfall, a fishpond, and yes, hectares upon hectares of golf courses! It also has three pavilions with swimming pools and airconditioned, events halls. It’s literally living beside or at the foot of the mountains and seeing the sun kiss the mountain peaks every morning! And you don’t have to travel for two hours south of the Metro and pay all those skyrocketing toll fees to enjoy this view!
After touring the place, I almost felt like I never want to go back to Pasig anymore. Green Park had been such a wonderful home to me for the past three decades, but I could trade it anytime for a wonderland like this! Hehehe
But in all seriousness, my mind thought of a thousand things I could do in Antipolo: enjoying my breakfast and coffee while seeing the sun rise from my porch, painting and drawing on my balcony, walking with my little niece in one of the paved jogging paths, enjoying a fun-filled afternoon swimming with my nephews in one of the pavilions, preparing some grilled dishes for my folks in my kitchen, or just doing my quiet time and soul-searching somewhere in the lagoons. Ah, I spent the day imagining a thousand and one things I would want to do as a (future) resident of Sun Valley.
Well, who knows? I just might use my Pag-ibig benefit one of these days :-)
This is just one of the three swimming pools in this subdivision. With all the trees and flowers surrounding the poolside, it'll really feel like you're swimming in the middle of a forest!
Will my own house look like this? Not too simple or flamboyant. This one is a Victorian-inspired, three-bedroom residence with a view of the mountains both in front and at the back of the house (too bad the air was so foggy that my camera didn't capture the mountains at the back). Check out the balcony at the master's bedroom (left side). I'm already thinking of all the possible things I could do in that terrace...
Wise choice. The owner of the Zen-inspired, white, three-storey house at the topmost left side of this picture made the right choice to buy that piece of property over there. His house has a very good view of this waterfalls (see bottom right side of the picture) and the adjoining golf course (right at the edge of the falls). What an exotic view to see every morning, noon or night time!
I would love to hold hands and walk with our baby niece, Monique, or my mom in this pathway beside one of the lagoons. Too bad I can not jog anymore. But anyway, since walking is therapy for me...
This house is literally ten feet away from one of the lagoons. Nice location with an instant garden to boot!
This paved walkway leads to one of my favorite spots in this humongous subdivision... 
.....A beautiful gazebo right in the middle of a placid lagoon! I can just imagine myself doing my quiet time here. Or a little bit of entertaining. Or having a small picnic with my nephews and niece. Ooh, there are thousands of activities to think of!
This place is literally a Green Park (pardon the pun on the name of our village). The landscaped areas are truly soothing to the eyes.
Just swing it: Sun Valley is a golfer's haven too. Did you know that Arnold Palmer designed the golf courses? Yes, there are at least 3 of them inside this paradise.
Mother Dear and me posing for a pic after her client call.
Would you believe that the lots to the left and right side of this road are no longer up for sale? The owners must have wanted this lush view of the mountains so badly that within weeks, the entire block on both sides here were sold out!
Will the lady smiling here eventually take up residence in this place? Who knows?!?
You can tell by the pic that I was really fascinated by the place. I could even picture myself reading a book here. Yahoo!
This huge, airconditioned hall has been the venue of some parties, team-building activities and even weddings. Spacious and with a great view of the mountains, this hall can accomodate as much as 250-300 people. The ambiance is actually pretty amazing, cozy and romantic to say the least. Below this airconditioned hall is a covered outdoor area that can also be a venue for almost any type of event, rain or shine.
This is the huge covered area overlooking the lagoon, just below the airconditioned hall I mentioned earlier. This area has a really nice view of the mountains as well. Pretty soon, the surrounding areas will be landscaped too. A great place to get married, eh? Why not? After all, hundreds of couples do that in Tagaytay, so why not here where the air is also fresh and cool, where the streams are quiet and placid, where the sun kisses the mountaintops, and where the stars can witness you saying your wedding vows?
This is a closer shot of the lagoon which you can see from the outdoor event area. This seems shallow but be careful. It's over 20 feet deep. The developer is building several cabanas somewhere near the red soil beyond the trees. Yes, it'll be a superb future picnic site!
Isa: "Mama, can I just live here?"Mama: "Sure, as long as you take me with you. Hehehe!!!!"
Til the next wanderlust chronicles... :0)
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