After our Lenten ride to an orphanage in Silang, Cavite, we took a short side-trip to motorcycle museum Casa Corazon in Lemery, Batangas.
Casa Corazon Resort is the only motorcycle museum in Asia. This unique resort is supposedly only a 25-30 minute drive from Tagaytay. Factoring in the light drizzle, slow uphill ascent through the winding mountainous roads, and traffic in some areas, it actually felt more like an hour. The ride going there was pretty smooth and scenic. I wanted to stop several times to soak in the view of Taal Lake and the deep ravines on either side of the narrow roads.
This one-of-a-kind museum displays more than 160 units of vintage and classic motorcycles, cars and bikes. According to museum staff, it took more than 20 years to gather the collection of mostly original and faithfully restored motorbikes.
The museum houses a really amazing collection of vintage motorcycles. I was really surprised to see so many cool motorcycles in one place. I also thought the mini-cruisers and monkey bikes were perfect for my size than any regular motorcycles I’ve come across.
One wing of the museum is devoted to vintage BMWs, including the oldest and the rarest models in the country. There’s even one motorcycle with a sidecar and machine gun, like those used during World War II.
Another wing houses vintage American and European sports cars, including a tiny Mr. Bean-like black car where the door is in front. NOTE: According to Silverbackpacker, this type of car is called a Bubble Car, which is a small, economical, microcar, popular in the 50’s and 60’s in the UK. (Thanks for the info!)
On the way back, our group made a quick stopover at Fantasy World castle, a castle in the sky along the Diokno Highway in Lemery, Batangas.
This surreal looking Medieval castle is a landmark of sorts and a lot of people stop to take photos here. There’s an entrance fee of P1,000 pesos (flat rate) for those who want to enter (whether its one person or a group of 10 people). We contented ourselves with just taking photos from the distance while being by surrounded by espasol vendors who wouldn’t let us leave without buying a few packs of their treats (I recommend the ube and macapuno candies).
The ride back to Manila was brutally cold throughout Batangas and Tagaytay and we had to stop frequently at gas stations to warm up and take restroom breaks. The traffic once we got to the Las Pinas-Paranaque area was also pretty bad and really tiring to go through. But all in all, it was a really exciting and worthwhile ride.
Casa Corazon Resort is located at #77 Lemery, Batangas near the Calaca-Lemery border. Facebook page, Website: www.casacorazon.ph. Museum viewing hours are from 9AM to 5PM. Entrance Fees: Adult: P250.00, Child: P150.00. For inquiries call telephone number (02) 527-1347 and mobile numbers 0910-2422038, 0927-4443344 and 0928-6592579.
