FEED A HORDE OF HUNGRY FISHES IN NUVALLI, STA. ROSA, LAGUNA

Here I am again on another trip of fun and adventure.  Why is this a bucket list task?  It's not everyday that one gets to feed a horde of hungry fishes.  So there it is folks, I'm here now at Nuvalli. in Sta. Rosa, Laguna.  A commercial-business complex designed to be environmentally sound as what its architects claimed  to be.  Upon arriving at Nuvalli, I was already hungry so I picked put Domo Tomo, a Japanese restaurant to feed my hungry stomach.

Of course, I ordered a round of sushi, a cup of miso soup and ice tea top it off.  The food was delicious but a little bit expensive.  There were a number of restaurants around that were a little bit cheaper but, oh well, it's worth the Japanese experience.

Nuvali Laguna was a massive sugar plantation in the 1900, this vast Laguna land was purchased by Jose Yulo in 1948. Twenty years after, the Yulos introduced an important plan reallocating the land to industrial, residential and recreational developments.

History was made when AyalaLand and the Yulo family came together to transform this 1,860 hectare land in Canlubang & Santa Rosa Laguna to a wholly sustainable community.

With the Ayala’s taste for excellence, grand master plan of a world-class dwelling blended with nature  blossomed. Nuvali is the ideal residential and commercial community that is married to nature. NUVALI  transformed this land to the most admired business & residential complex, perhaps in the whole of Asia.

So much for the ad,the place is indeed beautiful and I hope that it will be able to sustain itself indefinitely for future generations to enjoy it but somehow I feel skeptical on how large the population of the koi fishes is in the pond.  With so dense population, they will probably reach a tipping point or climax population where the population will be more than the space and food that the lake has.  Eventually we will expect to see a decline in their population in the following years if management doesn't find a way to sustainably control it.

I started feeding the fishes and to my excitement they rushed into the fallling food like hordes of piranha.  I'm pretty sure that if you place your finger in the water, that is if you have the courage to do it, you can feel the nibbling and gnawing of the hungry mouths as they try to devour your finger.  It was a very fun afternoon indeed but somehow you will feel that you are already overfeeding them and that thought probably will stop you from buying any further feeds.  Let them digest it for a while.

Next activity was the water taxi ride.  There is a fixed price in riding the boat and a maximum number of persons before casting off.  I took the special and paid for required number of people so I had the trip all by myself and  allowed me to indulge in taking videos and pictures of the place.

This 4.5-hectare artificial lake is a 4-hectare multi-functional lake, surrounded by green local plants, not only does it give an aesthetic reminder of oneness with nature, it also provides a habitat for a variety of migratory and resident bird species while serving multiple sustainable functions such as rainwater harvesting that can be used for landscaping, car washing and toilet-flushing among others.

The lake is home to the koi.  These colorful creatures are not only fun to watch, but it also helps keep the lake water clear. Koi are an omnivorous fish, and recognize the person feeding them.

Riding this water taxi or feeding the schools of fish are just some of the activities one can enjoy at NUVALI.   Other activities include biking and of course, the latest attraction which is wakeboarding.

Nuvali is also home to many call centers.  Since the country is one of the provider in the business process outsourcing industry, it is no surprise that the many companies that put up business here are call center.  And with the huge number of employees that these buildings accomodate, they are already the captured market in the commercial establishments around Nuvali.

The lake is also an integral part of Nuvali's water conservation, recycling and sustainability effort. Other components include the use of water permeable paving blocks whenever possible and the double-piping system in each household, i.e., each household will have separate water pipes for human and non-human use like watering the plants and flushing the toilet.

Nuvali is indeed a place for the family to relax and enjoy.  It has a number of diners where one can choose from variety of foods ranging from the cheap convenience store refreshments to the expensive foods of Japanese and Italian cuisine.

I ended my tour of the place with a refreshing, tall glass of Starbucks frappucino to quench my thirst and give me that kick for the drive home back to Manila. Did the trip contribute to my well-being?  Of course!  It helped me remove the stress from work especially when feeding the fishes.  Somehow interacting with animals is a good therapy for relaxing because they seemed so carefree and overjoyed by the sight of people feeding them.  Seeing them happy also made me happy and so the feeling became mutual in the end.