budget friendly – Agriwanderist PH

Do you have thrift/ukay-ukay shopping plans? Why not try the Ukay-Ukay Hub in Tagaytay? Here’s a quick guide:

HOW TO GET THERE?
If you have a car, going to Tagaytay will be very easy. Just locate Fora Mall, park and you are ready to go.

img-4520-01_orig — photo not mine. ctto.

For commuters coming from places near Los Baños, Laguna, here’s what we did: At Crossing, Calamba Public Market you can ride a van going directly to Tagaytay City Market. However, our visit was during a holiday and there were fewer vans going to Tagaytay so we opted to cut trips. First, we rode a jeepney bound to Balibago Complex, Sta. Rosa. At the back of Target Mall in Balibago, we rode a jeepney bound to Tagaytay. We dropped off at the terminal in Tagaytay City Fruit/Flower Market and wait for a jeepney with ‘Olivarez’ signboard (or if you are a group of 3-5, you can ride an e-trike). You can walk going to Ukay-Ukay Hub from Olivarez Plaza. The Ukay-Ukay Hub is just across Fora Mall.

For those coming from the city, as a promdi, I am not well versed on commuting from Metro Manila/Quezon City. Check this link (http://www.thejunction-tagaytay.com/how-to-get-to-tagaytay-by-commuting/) on how to go to Tagaytay and then once you are at Olivarez Plaza or Fora Mall, you are just a few meters away (or a less than 5-minute walk). Use your google map to easily locate the place.

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WHAT TO PREPARE?

Do not underestimate the small signage of the Ukay-Ukay Hub. This thrift shop is so massive you’ll probably be overwhelmed. Don’t panic. Here are some preparations you can do:

Wear appropriate clothes. Wear the most comfortable shirt, pants and footwear. Remember, you will be searching from several racks and will be standing for too long so better gear up. It’s also better if you bring and wear a face mask (because as in every ukay-ukay, you can’t avoid dust which can trigger sneezing).

Note: The shop is not air-conditioned but it has a commendable ventilation.

Bring some extras. Extra clothes so that you can change when you got sweaty and kinda dusty after shopping. Extra water and snack for that hydration and energy you need while finding thrifted treasures. Extra ecobag because who knows how many pieces you’ll get, right? And extra patience since you will face a wide array of options.

WHAT TO EXPECT?

Upon entry you’ll find sea of clothes hanging on the racks. At first glance it looks small, but as you walk inside you’ll see how big this Ukay-Ukay store is. Relative to those individual Ukay-Ukay shops I tried in Baguio, Anonas, Laguna, and LRT stations this one is the biggest I’ve seen. And, I am guessing, 4 hours is not enough to browse everything in this shop if you are considering checking each piece in every rack.

Ukay-Ukay Hub basically sells preloved shirts, polos, pants, tokongs and shorts for men, women and kids (dominated by clothes for women). Aside from clothes, you can also spot areas for bags and shoes.

Clothing racks near the entrance are the priciest while lowest ones are at the back. Front line clothes are new arrivals with FIXED price ranging from 100-500 pesos. There are several brands to expect like Uniqlo, Zara, G2000, Levi’s, Cotton On, and H&M (these are brands I personally spotted).

TIPS: Branded piece at low price is a good steal IF AND ONLY IF it fits your size, the style suits your liking, and it still has good quality (check for any damage or stain). Stop yourself from getting ukay-ukay clothes that do not fit you or have damage or permanent stains just because they are cheap and/or branded. Also, do not settle for those pricey branded pieces because you are defeating your purpose of Ukay-Ukay shopping. There are a lot other unbranded and good quality clothes, shoes and bags on sale which can still ‘spark joy’. JUST KEEP LOOKING.

As you dig deep in, you will find racks on sale. These racks are labeled with less PhP 20, 30% off, PhP 10 – 60 each and 4 – 5 pieces for PhP 100.

TIP: Start your search from the back.

I hope this post will lead you to a sulit, comfortable and fun Ukay-Ukay Hub shopping experience. If you have extra time and budget you can shop for fruits and flowers at Tagaytay City Fruit/Flower Market or view the Taal volcano while dining or sipping coffee. Besides, you need to relax after hours of standing and looking for budget-friendly pieces to add to your wardrobe.

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If you are a nature lover and into trekking then this post is for you.

My starting point was at Los Banos, Laguna so if you’re coming from Cubao area, add 2 hours of travel time. From Cubao you need to ride a bus bound to Sta. Cruz, Laguna (Worthy Transport/HM or DLTB). I have no idea on bus fare from Cubao going straight to Sta. Cruz but Cubao to Los Banos is PhP 99.00 then Los Banos to Sta. Cruz is PhP 39.00 (with this I am assuming that bus fare from Cubao to Sta. Cruz will be less than PhP 150.00). Your drop off point is Pagsawitan. Most bus operators will shout that you are at Pagsawitan or you can tell them to drop you there. If you happen to rode the DLTB bus, you can drop off to their terminal. From the DLTB terminal, you need to cross the road and wait for a jeepney with ‘Majayjay’ signage (usually, these jeepneys are already full when they get to DLTB terminal so you can opt to go to the jeep terminal – to go there, do not cross the road yet from the terminal and wait for a jeep with ‘Sta.Cruz’ signage and tell the driver to drop you off to Majayjay jeep terminal, fare is PhP 10.00). Going to Majayjay will cost you PhP 32.00 and you need to tell the driver to drop you off to the tricycle terminal going to Bukal falls. Ride a tricycle that will bring you to the Barangay hall (Tricycle fare is PhP 15.00). Someone in the Barangay will orient you to the things you need to prepare on your trek – environmental fee of PhP 20.00 and tour fee of PhP 300.00 should be settled before you proceed. Get ready for your 30-45 minutes walk going to Bukal falls because it will be a pretty rough and steep trail. There are no restrooms at the falls so better do your things in the restrooms provided by the Barangay.

The tour guides are friendly, nice and funny and the one assigned to us was Kuya Ariel. We rented a life vest since we do not know how to swim and the well is 16-ft deep (Life vest rental: PhP 50.00). Kuya Ariel was kind enough to bring our life vests during the climb.

The trek started with cemented road and eventually became steep. There are usually handrail to help you survive the walk. You can rest any time you like just tell your guide. We had one stop over after 10-min walk where you can buy food, drinks and fresh buko. Along the way, there will be witty reminders. LOL.

…and again. Make sure to hold on the handrails to prevent accident.

IMG_6315-EFFECTS

IMG_6322-EFFECTS — Bucal falls + swimming time!

It was raining during our trip and the water was amazingly not murky (at least the way I expected), it was green but magically clear. According to our tour guide Kuya Ariel, during summer or when the sky is clear the water is turqoise in color. You can enjoy swimming all day. It is best to go there during hot summer days because of the cold water. We swam for an hour and decided to go back. You will walk back going to the Barangay hall through the same trail which is pretty challenging because of the steep slopes. You can also camp at Bukal falls but you will be accompanied by your tour guide. We finished our Bukal falls adventure at 12:00noon. Kuya Ariel is kind enough to fetch a tricycle we rented for PhP 300.00 going to Majayjay/Taytay falls (but if you are on a budget, you can ride a jeepney going to Majayjay (PhP 40.00) and then tricycle heading Taytay-Majayjay multipurpose hall (PhP 20.00). It took us 20 minutes to reach the location. If you are going for a day tour you only have to pay an entrance fee of PhP 20.00 but if you decided to go camping, you need to give PhP 30.00. You can either bring a tent or rent one. There are also rooms for rent near the vicinity. You need to have a 5-minute walk through an easy trail going to the falls. The water was freezing cold during our trip (colder than water in Bukal falls) which I think will be best during summer. The place is quiet (except the noise of some tourists) and the water is bluish and clear. You can swim without a life vest because there is a large shallow swimming area. There are comfort rooms and change area. Expect good mobile phone signal but not power supply.

Trace your way out through the canals with crystal clear water

Bring some pasalubong going home with this souvenir shop

At 3pm, we prepared ourselves going home. We rode a tricycle going to the main road (PhP 20.00) then a jeepney bound to Majayjay (PhP 12.00) and dropped off at the terminal where we rode a jeep going to Sta. Cruz bus terminal(PhP 38.00). You can either drop off at DLTB or Worthy transport since both of them offer trip bound to Alabang or Cubao.

Reminders:

Transportation

expect additional waiting hours when riding jeepneys in the terminal as they wait for other passengers or until it is full
you can try riding a horse for P100 but for a short distance since the trail is steep and rough
there are few jeepneys passing by on the main road so expect an almost fully-booked ride
last trip of buses bound to Cubao/Alabang is 10-11pm and first trip is 3am

Trek and other activities

bring enough food and water along the way
do not carry heavy items if not necessary
rest if you get tired
if you don’t know how to swim rent a vest
water is freezing cold

Near the falls

there is no convenient/sari-sari store
mobile phone signal is there but not electric current
comfort rooms in Taytay falls is not so comfy to use; in Bukal falls, rest room is in Barangay hall

Schedule and fare

5:30 – 8:00 – Cubao to Sta.Cruz (bus) ~ P150

7:00 – 8:00 – Los Banos to Sta. Cruz (bus) P39

8:01 – 8:15 – Sta. Cruz bus terminal to Sta. Cruz town proper Majayjay terminal (jeep) P9

8:16 – 9:00 – Sta. Cruz to Tricycle terminal (Barangay Bucal)(jeep) P32

9:01 – 9:05 – Tricycle terminal to Barangay hall (tricycle) P15

9:06 – 9:15 – Brief orientation in the Barangay hall and other trekking preparation

9:16 – 10:00 – Trekking to Bukal falls

10:01 – 11:30 – Swimming and other activities (you can bring your lunch and eat here)

11:31 – 12:15 – Trek back to Barangay hall (food stalls and carendirias are available)

12:16 – 12:40 – Barangay Bucal hall to Barangay Taytay-Majayjay hall (rented tricycle)P300

12:41 – 12:50 – Brgy. hall to Taytay-Majayjay falls walk

1:00 – 3:00 – Swimming and other activities; setting up of tent (for those overnighters)

3:01 – 3:30 – Prep going home

3:31 – 3:40 – Brgy. hall to main road (where you will ride a Majayjay jeep) (tricycle)P20

3:41 – 4:00 – Main road to Majayjay terminal (jeep) P12

4:01 – 4:45 – Majayjay terminal to Sta. Cruz bus terminal (jeep) P38

5:00 – 6:00 – Sta. Cruz to Los Banos, Laguna P39

5:00 – 8:00 – Sta. Cruz to Cubao ~P150

Summary of expenses

Fare: P 354 + P 111.00(if you are coming from Cubao) + 150 (if traveling solo and renting tricycle from Bucal to Majayjay falls)

Food: P 89 (bfast:rice meal) + 25 (am snack:spaghetti) + 44 (lunch:rice and pork sinigang) + 30 (pm snack:pansit habhab)

Fees and other misc: Environmental fee + tour guide (Bukal falls): 300 + 20; Life vest rental: 50; Environmental/Entrance fee (Taytay-Majayjay falls): 20(if overnight – 30)

Total: P932.00 (exclusion: fare from Cubao and tricycle rental)

Tag: budget friendly

A Quick Guide To Ukay-Ukay Hub in Tagaytay

A day tour guide to Bukal and Taytay/Majayjay falls (less than PhP 1,000.00).

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