A most welcome interlude

Dream sequence. Every movie has this and I’m sure you have a personal favorite you’d be willing to share if need be.

Sometimes it makes no sense in the story—like when the lead stars would suddenly do a song-and-dance number while dressed in outlandish costumes—but at times a dream sequence serves as the only excuse for the director to create an alternate world for the characters or sometimes unlock the key to something the main characters have been searching for.

Now, some sort of dream sequence (sans the singing and dancing) was experienced by this writer last week while covering Isuzu Philippines’ “For the Journey that Matters Road Trip Series,” which featured the Japanese automaker’s 2011 Alterra Urban Cruiser SUV model.

For one whole day, I was able to experience a couple of wonderful “dreams,” the kind that you wish would never end.

Indeed, that day was surreal from the very start. Clad in a sweaty shirt, tattered jeans and Reebok running shoes, I was able to walk through the door of the exclusive The Palms Country Club at Filinvest Corporate City with no one opening my backpack or asking for my identification card. I felt privileged and proud. We were led to a room for the IPC briefing where the group’s itinerary was discussed and queries tackled.

Fuel station heaven

Our first stop was at the Caltex fuel station along the South Luzon Expressway. Funny, but whenever I make a stopover at this fuel station it’s usually because I had to answer the call of nature or buy a cup of coffee or bottled water. Well, it’s probably because I don’t own a gas-guzzler of a vehicle.

And in lieu of a love interest that one finds in a dream sequence showing a lanky, wide-eyed boy singing a hopeful, cheesy song to his lady love,  I was given a “partner” in the form of a Caltex StarCash prepaid card worth P1,000 that I was asked to spend at the Star Mart convenience store. A teamup you don’t get to see in any of your favorite romantic comedy movies, I bet.

Temporarily snapping out of the various dream sequences swirling in my head, I listened intently to IPC EVP Takashi Tomita—who played Santa Clause to us participants when he handed us the Caltex StarCash prepaid cards—as he reiterated that we were required to spend the full amount shown in the prepaid card during our brief stopover.

So spend the whole amount, we did, and while my seven colleagues went for chips, chocolates and canned drinks, I settled for a mountain bike magazine and a Philippine travel atlas worth P400 and P600 respectively. I guess the bike enthusiast and travel bug in me made me decide to buy these things. Besides, they would come in handy whenever the itch to take on an adventure in the Philippines’ far-flung, scenic places beckons.

Reliving the past

With the Alterra Urban Cruiser’s cavernous cargo space filled with our newly bought goodies, the group headed to the next stopover: Taal in Batangas, a heritage town famous for its Spanish-period stone houses and amazingly, the biggest Catholic church in Southeast Asia, the Basilica de San Martin de Tours.

I took the second row seat of our Alterra Urban Cruiser, excited to savor the view while traveling to Taal. But when you have the likes of motoring editors Popong Andolong and Andy Sevilla smoothly and skillfully driving for you (aside from the fact that the Alterra Urban Cruiser has a soft, pliant suspension that absorbs most of those bone-jarring vibrations on the road), dozing off would be futile to resist. Goodbye rustic scenery, I told myself.

Waking up in Taal and seeing a couple of stone houses, my mind went into movie dream sequence mode again. I envisioned Fernando Poe Jr. with his ever loyal sidekick Dencio Padilla wielding his oversized balisong (a popular fan knife one can buy in Taal) doing their action-comedy routine. Only this time, they had a third member in me!

And because I overheard IPC Sales Division head Joseph Bautista saying that Taal also boasts of its top-notch quality barong (embroidered cloth made out of natural weaves) and sought-after food treats such as the panutsa (peanut brittle candy) and suman sa lehiya (sweet sticky rice), I suddenly remembered the old movies of Sampaguita Pictures that featured Rogelio de la Rosa dapper in his barong wooing Carmen Rosales under a mango tree with their picnic basket filled with food.

Thinking about those movie icons made me yearn for the simple and uncomplicated lives of our forefathers. I would give anything to go back in time and live a life far different from the fast-paced one we have today.

But when we were brought to one of Taal’s well-known “bahay na bato” called Villa Tortuga (managed by fashion and interior designer Lito Perez) and ushered into a living room filled with vintage furniture and accent pieces, I found myself transported back in time and realized that somehow, my wish was granted.

And just like a nerdy hero’s dream sequence in the movies where he turns into someone his friends never envisioned him to be, we were requested to wear period costumes provided by Camp Suki (a store specializing in costume rentals, which is owned by Perez) where I had the chance to don the dark brown Franciscan friar’s habit. When it was time to partake of the sumptuous turn of the century dishes prepared for us by Perez, we somehow had a “taste” of history. And it was real good.

Slathered in oil

The afternoon passed quickly and it was almost evening (or was it just the rain and overcast skies?) when we arrived at our next stopover: The Farm at San Benito located in a very secluded part of Lipa City in Batangas.

We were told that a week-long stay in this exclusive and luxurious health resort would make us forego all things unhealthy—meat, fried food and fruits and vegetables that are not organically grown.

But since we only had an hour to spare at San Benito, we had to forego the chance of experiencing the resort’s lifestyle-changing offer. But a one-hour relaxation massage using virgin coconut oil made up for it. .

I enjoyed my brief stay in the place and would have stayed much longer on the massage bed (pretending that it was part of a movie’s dream sequence where the protagonist, a modern-day Robin Hood, gets to evade the police and spends part of his loot in a secluded Mexican beach) if not for the attendant who woke me up to inform me that my group was ready to leave the place.

Now, it was time to head to our final stopover, Uncle Cheffy at Solenad, Nuvali, in Sta. Rosa, Laguna, where a dinner and farewell program awaited us.

This time, motoring editor Brian Afuang volunteered to be our driver as he had to make this particular trip quick as possible because he needed to be in the Sta. Rosa area to attend a prior engagement.

With our seatbelts secured, he mashed the pedal and took off for a very fast ride. The Alterra Urban Cruiser’s responsive 3.0-liter common-rail turbo-charged (4JJ-TC) engine acceded to Afuang’s urgency and despite the occasional hard acceleration and braking, the Alterra still provided a smooth and stable ride.

Indeed, as we enjoyed our dinner, I couldn’t help but feel pensive. The whole trip was like a dream sequence in one of my favorite movies that was filled with happiness and excitement. But in a few minutes it was about to end. Everything would be back to the way it was.

I’m not worried though. Because whenever I feel like reliving this particular day, all I need is to step inside an Alterra Urban Cruiser and plan another dream sequence for the trip.