Having visited Taal numerous times before, I realized that I have barely scratched the surface to know that this heritage town is just one of the many attractions in Batangas.

But of course, one has not truly been to Batangas without a visit to Taal. My husband’s longtime college friends Benjamin Pulta and Marj de Castro of bed and breakfast Casita and Tampuhan Café would often give us a leisurely tour around Taal, makes us familiar with the house of Doña Marcela Marino Agoncillo (the maker of the Philippine flag), the Taal Basilica, the smaller Archdiocesan Shrine of Our Lady of Caysasay church and nearby Miraculous Well of Sta. Lucia.

CEILING of Minor Basilica of St. Martin of Tours.

Surprisingly, though, many Filipinos have yet to visit this beautiful town and other Batangas attractions, considering that the province is just few hours away from Manila via the 42-kilometer STAR Tollway.

“So as part of STAR Tollway’s commitment to help the province in promoting tourism and trade, we are sharing information about different destinations and attractions that people may not be familiar with, so they can visit,” says Tony Reyes, STAR Tollways business and development manager during the two-day STAR Tollway tour for media.

Near the façade of the Taal Basilica and inside the church that had a whiff of freshly-applied floor wax and musty smell usually associated with old things are images of St. Martin of Tours, the patron of the church known as the Minor Basilica of Saint Martin of Tours.

ST. Martin de Tours mounted on a horse while giving the beggar a part of his cloak.

The statue of St. Martin of Tours is mounted on a horse and giving part of his cloak to a beggar (apparently, Jesus Christ in disguise). Initially, I thought he was the patron saint of horses (later research showed it is St. Eligius), but of the “poor, soldiers, conscientious objectors, tailors and winemakers.”

I adore horses (and animals in general) and even as a child used to dream of owning one, never mind the logistics of caring for or raising one. So, seeing those majestic, four-legged creatures making their training runs at the Metro Manila Turf Club, a 45-hectare horse racing facility at Malvar town, made me instantly perk up.

These training runs, which start very early in the morning, are meant to prepare the horses for races, held twice-weekly at the venue. Apparently, operations manager Gelo Antonio says that luck plays a lot in this business. One could breed a horse with the best bloodline and give it the best of care and can still fall short of expectations during an actual race.

“People tend to forget that horseracing is a sport, and these are all athletes, the horses and jockeys. People mostly focus on the betting and if the horse loses, you hear things like its destined to fail, the jockey’s not good enough and the owner made the horse lose,” adds Antonio, who emphasizes that one can watch the horseraces at the Metro Turf and there’s even no need to bet. Metro Turf can also accommodate pre-nup pictorials, wedding receptions, and private parties at the clubhouse with the well-maintained track as the backdrop.

While holding one’s pre-nups and weddings near the race track might sound a bit unorthodox, Nayomi Sanctuary Resort, which opened in 2015, can be an option as it sets the ambience with serene and scenic views of the Taal Lake from its perch on top of a hill.

The resort located in Balete town, accessible through STAR tollway’s newly-opened exit with the same name, offers traditional hotel rooms and glamping. The lack of WiFi access is deliberate as it forces one to reconnect with self, family, loved ones and friends. It also promotes deep thinking as it detaches one from technology and life’s stressors.

But then again, the views take the cake as one can see the lake, the surrounding mountains hugging the bay, and all those greeneries. One can take leisurely walks, weather permitting, on the hilly paths, and take photos for posting later on Instagram and Facebook. On fine weather nights, groups can watch movies the old way, via an outdoor cinema.

Taal has hundreds of heritage houses, but one can imagine what might have been had Lipa remained unscathed during bombing raids of World War II.

“This is actually the one standing aside from part of the Lipa church and another one down the road after the war. If you’ve seen the photos, it looks like Marawi,” says Lileth Dimayuga-Malabanan, a great-great-granddaughter of Doña Segunda Solis Katigbak, referring to the Casa de Segunda that was declared a national heritage house by the National Historic Institute and is now a museum.

HOUSE of MARCELLA Agoncillo, principal seamstress of the Philippine flag.

By the doorway stands the portrait of Katigbak, who is known as Rizal’s first love. Rizal once visited the house and tied his horse to the Alagao tree that still stands. The future national hero came to the town to solicit funds, played chess with Segunda’s husband Manuel and lost. Rizal, according to Dimayuga-Malabanan, told Manuel that he lost to the latter in both love and chess.

Pre-war Lipa was filled with huge sprawling and furnished homes that were the fruits of prosperity from being the sole supplier of coffee beans in the world. “They were paid with sacks of gold coins for the coffee and the first they thing they did was build big houses so talagang ang mga bahay dito noon ay malalaki because they had so much money to spend,” she relates.

Lipa, named Villa de Lipa by the Spaniards because it was the most beautiful town in Batangas then, also lured the Japanese in World War II as they drove away the owners and occupied the big houses. The Japanese presence made the town vulnerable and an easy target for American bombing raids later on.

Dimayuga-Malabanan says they are lucky that the 130-year-old house was spared and still has its original furnishings, which include the machuca tiles on the first floor, various heirloom plates and silverware from Europe, narra tables and beds.

Although built just in recent years, Hotel 1925 adheres to Lipa’s past with its Spanish colonial design. According to Michelle Fabie, the premium hotel was built in memory of her father Rufino “Pinong” M. Mojares, born in 1925.

Imprenta, Hotel 1925’s restaurant, uses local Batangas favorites, such as dulong, pajo and tulingan. The food served during lunch were Cheesy Malunggay, Chicken Pate and Dulong in Olive Oil (Trio Dips), White Cheese, Tinapa and Paho Lumpia, Beef Bulalo, Boneless Crispy Pata, Fried Maya Maya, Squid in Olive Oil, Tinomok and Kamote Churros with Tablea Tsokolate. The tamarind juice was a perfect combo of sour and sweet and one couldn’t help but ask for more.

“We really wanted to come up with a restaurant that showcases great food in a great ambience, because we think the residents of Lipa deserve that,” says Fabie.

What Lipa lacked in heritage houses, it more than made up with culture and the arts. During the Imprenta lunch, the Lipa Integrated Performing Arts performed the Luwa and Subli, two religious dances indigenous to the province. The Lipa Actors Company, the sole community theater organization in Batangas, also performed an excerpt of Milagros 1948, a play based on post-war Lipa.

By comparison, the food at the Goco Ancestral House in Taal town is more traditional. Laid out buffet-style were Sinantolan, Adobong Dilaw, Taal Tapa, Sinaing na Tulingan, Taal Panutsa with Sea Salt, Sopas Ala Pobre (Bulalo Soup with Miswa and Malunggay), TAO Salad (Tomatoes, Avocados, Onions), Burong Mangga, and Taal Atsara with Pipino Pickles.

Then there’s Taal Tablea Tsokolate that you can pour over Suman to your heart’s content and paired with Kapeng Barako (without sugar or milk) in a tiny espresso cup, you have a typical Filipino upper-class meal of the day.

To complete the experience, two female kundiman singers, one being Annabel Agoncillo, serenaded the guests. It was a pleasure to hear Agoncillo perform a better rendition of “Ang Maya” than she did years ago during an Independence Day dinner at the Villa Tortuga House.

And taking a tune from Agoncillo’s performance, the whole Batangas experience makes one’s heart sing.