Life in Nuvali Philippines

Weekend market to start in Nuvali

Life in Nuvali Philippines,

I love markets and have always wished for authentic flea markets in the Philippines — those that offered real bargains and rare finds (as opposed to tiangge staples or imported goods at inflated prices). At one point I even considered setting up a car boot in the Ortigas area, just to organize the community and get into the recycle/reuse habit.

Got this announcement about a new weekend market to start in Nuvali, and was admittedly hopeful when I read the product line up:

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Join us every weekend at the NUVALI Transport Terminal and enjoy a variety of products offered by our merchants at our Weekend Fiesta Market!

Specialty Food
Dielle\’s Honey – locally produced honey and honey wine
Bigasan – brown and organic rice
Regional Products – souvenir products from Baguio, Bicol, Pampanga, Laguna, Cebu, and Bulacan

Fresh Produce/Vegetables
Healthy Flocks – native chicken and brown eggs
Kitchen Herbs – salad greens and gourmet vegetables
Robinson\’s – all season fruits and health and wellness products

Plants
Marise Joyce Garden – landscaping services and fruit trees
Cynpol Garden – orchids
Sardo\’s Garden – ornamental plants
Satara – native products
Fiameta\’s Plants – garden accessories
Yam Halamanan – aquatic plants and fish

Dry/Crafts
Hotel Line – world class discounted cutlery
Banig – buli, buri, and banig novelties
Habi – hand-woven products

 

It\’s still not the ideal market I had in mind, but looks promising that they\’re offering regional products.  What got me most excited, though, was the list of plant merchants.  I\’ve been scouring the web and local garden shops for nice planters and have yet to find anything I liked… fingers-crossed the Nuvali market is successful and attracts a good mix of sellers to come in later on!

Won\’t be able to check it out this weekend, but please share pics and comments if you get to go. 🙂

Rain cloud!

Life in Nuvali Philippines

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Can you see it?

So lovely.

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Taken along the Sta. Rosa-Tagaytay road.  That\’s Mt. Makiling towering above the AUP fields on the right.

Free shuttle around Nuvali

Life in Nuvali Philippines,

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Spotted in Nuvali: the \”free ride\” shuttle!

According to the driver, there are three shuttles like this that go around Nuvali. They do the rounds of the different villages (pick up point is by the gate), even all the way to Montecito, and back to the Solenad area three times everyday:

  • 6:30 am
  • 11:00 am
  • 7:00 pm

He said pick up schedule from Solenad is the same– can anyone help confirm this, as well as exact pick up points there?

🙂

Shell Nuvali is now open

Life in Nuvali Philippines

Was happy to see this on the way back from Tagaytay last Monday– the Nuvali gas station finally open!

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I took a quick shot and the Shell Nuvali gas boys were happy to oblige, complete with welcome waves and big, warm smiles!

Just a tip: We went back there today and were told they\’re still operating on a cash basis (i.e. no credit cards accepted for now).

The Zombie outbreak aftermath

Life in Nuvali Philippines

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Was very excited for the first ever Zombie fun run in the Philippines, held in Nuvali last April 14, 2012, and although I couldn\’t join the race itself,  really made it a point to just drive by last Saturday and see how things were!

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We saw runners casually walking the last few meters, some even posing for pictures, so we initially thought the fear factor was a sham and that the zombies were actually friendly.

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But on our drive back we saw what the race was really about: Zombie patintero!
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The Zombie outbreak aftermathRead More »

Zombies in Nuvali! RUN for your lives!

Life in Nuvali Philippines

Thought it was a fantastic idea the first time I heard about it– a fun run with zombies.

The most spectacular part?  The first outbreak is happening in Nuvali.

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I\’ve never been a fan of running per se, but this would make for a great first run, don\’t you think?

 Since 2008, fun runs and marathons have increased greatly in popularity. Despite this growing figure, running has yet to meet its full potential.

Inspired by Run For Your Lives, Outbreak Manila adds a whole new twist to the typical 5km run. Our goal is to come up with a race that stands out from all the rest by giving people a cause that they would really run for. And what better cause can there be than to run as if your life depended on it?

This time you aren\’t just running against time or obstacles. But you\’ll also be running from FLESH EATING ZOMBIES.

Brace yourselves. The Outbreak is upon us.

    GENERAL MECHANICS

  • Before the race, you will be given a belt with 3 flags attached to it. These flags represent your health.
  • During the race, zombies will be scattered across the course to eat your brains… err get those flags. One zombie can only get one flag from you.
  • Any physical contact (punching, kicking, scratching, tackling, spitting, hadukens, flash kicks, etc ) between zombies and runners will strictly not be permitted.
  • Throwing objects of any kind are also not permitted. May it be rocks, branches, sand or even dirt.
  • Violators of these rules will be escorted out of the premises with no refunds
  • There will be obstacles in the course where you can choose to go through to attain additional health flags.
  • There will be instances where you have to choose either the easy way, or the horde way
    Easy way – less zombies but longer
    Horde way – more zombies but shorter
  • Upon crossing the finish line, you need at least one health flag intact in order to be eligible for prizes. Should you lose all your health flags, you are still allowed to finish the race and your time will be recorded but you shall be considered \”dead\” and no longer be eligible for prizes.
  • If you find yourself out of health flags, you are not considered a zombie and are not allowed to start pulling at other runner’s flags.

I tried flag football for one season, and it\’s no joke having to dodge fast runners trying to unflag you.   This time you\’ll have a horde of zombies grrr-ing and shouting for your brains, in costume at that–  even just to stand by the sidelines and watch the mayhem would be well worth the effort!

Quickie facts:

  • Run date is on April 14, 2012, Saturday,  5:30 am onwards.
  • Registration fee is P700 for runners.
  • Zombie sign-up is an altogether different process, with a video audition required.
  • Limited slots; registration opened last Friday, March 2, at the following selected stores:

TOBY\’S SPORTS
Megamall
Mall of Asia
The Block

RUNNR
Alabang Town Center
Bonifacio High Street
Trinoma

 More info on the Outbreak Manila Website and Facebook page.

Republic Wakepark Nuvali coming real soon! March 2012

Life in Nuvali Philippines,

Happy to share the following photo updates from a Republic Wakepark album aptly entitled \”Ok. So you wanted proof\”:

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The official website and facebook page of Republic Wakepark have been idle for a while, what with continued delays in the opening of what\’s been dubbed as \”the newest and most innovative wakepark in the world\”, but the BIG BUT is that they\’re idle no more!

From their latest blog post:

In the next few weeks, you will witness the first pull of the cable carrying its first rider, gliding on water amidst the backdrop of blue skies, surrounded by lush greens and beautiful architecture.

As of presstime, the red rental vests and helmets have arrived, cables are properly working and water is scheduled to fill up the oval.

To add, the latest Liquid Force boards are being shipped and new Republ1c wakevests are going to be placed on the clothesrack.

You can feel the excitement flowing in our veins, and there are surely no signs of us stopping.

Fingers-crossed they hit the target this time!

Exciting infrastructure developments in the South

Life in Nuvali Philippines,

A quick look at three planned infrastructure projects South of Manila– LRT 1 expansion,  the Daang Hari-South Luzon Expressway link road, CALA Expressway – Cavite side — as read in the Inquirer:

The LRT 1 expansion project aims to stretch the existing 15-kilometer line that ends in Baclaran by an additional 11.7 km to reach Bacoor, Cavite.

From the LRT.gov.ph website:

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Start of Construction (Phase 1) August 2012 – August 2014
Start of Construction (Phase 2) September 2014 – March 2016
Commissioning Phase 1 September 2014
Commissioning Phase 2 April 2016

More from the Inquirer article:

Fresh from its victory in the bidding for the Daang Hari-South Luzon Expressway link road, which was the Aquino administration’s first PPP project, Ayala is preparing to bid for the Cala Expressway project, whose likely route would likely be within a “striking distance” from the group’s vast mixed-use estate Nuvali in Sta. Rosa, Francia said.

…

The 27.5-km Cala Expressway ranks higher on Ayala’s priority list…

From another Inquirer article:

Daang Hari is a major arterial road connecting rapidly growing towns of Imus, Dasmariñas and Bacoor in Cavite to Metro Manila via the SLEx. It will be a new road that will exit South Luzon Expressway near the Susana Heights Interchange and pass through government properties in Muntinlupa, ending at Daang Hari near Verdana Homes in Imus, Cavite. This road provides strategic access to Cavite, much-needed relief to traffic in the congested Alabang-Zapote Road and Commerce Avenue.
Singson said the Daang Hari-SLEx Link Road Project was a “strategic component” of the Metro Manila Urban Expressway Network Master Plan, which intends to provide a high-standard highway within a 200-kilometer radius of Metro Manila. He expected the Daang Hari construction to start by February 2012 for segment 1 and September 2012 for segment 2. The project will be implemented following the Build-Transfer-Operate (BTO) arrangement for a period of 30 years.

CALA Expressway – Cavite side section (27.5 km) from DPWH website:
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Project Objective :
To ease traffic congestion and support economic development of the Cavite-Laguna (CALA) region

Project Description :
Construction of a 27.5 km, 4-lane highway from the terminus of the R-1 Expressway in Kawit, Cavite to Aguinaldo Highway at Silang, Cavite and Laguna

Project Cost : P 11.79 Billion (US$ 262 Million)

Construction/Opening: April 2014 – Nov. 2016

Exciting developments indeed, targeted for completion four years from now.

By then I\’d hope that the Nuvali business and residential communities–which have much to benefit from and contribute in terms of traffic and actual use to these three projects–will have grown by the hundredfold!  😉

 

Thanks again to gerard505 of Skyscrapercity-Nuvali for the link to the news article.

Enjoying the Nuvali lakeside

Life in Nuvali Philippines,

One of the major come-ons of Nuvali for me has always been the man-made lake.

When I first heard about it in 2007, I immediately had a vision of our very own lakeside/ mini-waterfront promenade in the Philippines, similar to Singapore\’s Harbour Front/Vivo City.

Forward to 2012, less than 5 years hence, and the lake is still the first thing that catches my eye every time I enter Nuvali.

It now occupies 4 hectares, which is admittedly smaller than what I had hoped for (original plan set it at 8 hectares), but the view, especially when taken in with Mt. Makiling in the background, is stilling.

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Even without thinking about it, I always slow down whenever I drive along this area.

It\’s not surprising that others have discovered this quieting spot as well, making weekend picnickers a regular sight around the lake.

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I got to really walk around the Nuvali lake for the first time during the Venare Section J launch last Sunday, and was happy to take in the fresh air (fresh talaga! It was cold and thin, almost wispy–as opposed to being thick and heavy).

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The tented area shows where the Shalani-Roman wedding reception was held earlier this year.

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Think five, ten, twenty years from now, what do you see surrounding this lake?
 

Video tour of Nuvali as of Jan 2012

Life in Nuvali Philippines

Here\’s a new video showing exciting Nuvali developments!

Good updated overview in 5 minutes.

Wonder why Miriam College wasn\’t included, also didn\’t notice Avida Village in the round up of residential communities.   Was nice to see perspectives of the upcoming Kukun Hotel and Monochrome events place, though.

More videos from the nuvali.ph website.

Thanks to gerard505 of Skyscrapercity-Nuvali for the heads up.