Dinosaur's Island

Our tour to Clark Pampanga for the 19th Philippine International Hot Airballoon Festival also included a side trip to Dinosaur's Island. The entrance fee to Dinosaur's Island is sold for P20. Of course, you need to pay additional charges to see the other sights. 

But since the door going to the park was literally open (As in walang nagbabantay sa entrance door compared sa jungle safari and 7D), we assumed it's free for everyone (Mahirap talagang maging assuming). Anyway, we explored the whole park and I suddenly recalled my favorite childhood movie "Jurassic Park." Humongous dinousaur replicas were all over the area. The sound of a real dinosaur was mimicked for a more realistic Jurrasic experience (In fairness natuwa naman ako). 

When we were about to leave the premises, someone approached us asking for our entrance tickets. I told her no one's assigned in the entrance door when we got in so we assumed that it's free of charge. Her rude attitude really got me teed off. It's hard to keep my cool when I'm enraged (As in!). If we only knew that we've had to pay P350/ea for the entrance tickets, we certainly won't go. But I've had fun. Everything was A-OK except for that rude staff who made me downright mad. 

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19th Hot Air Balloon Festival Clark Pampanga

Another item checked off of my bucketlist: Attending the Philippines International Hot Air Balloon festival in Clark Pampanga. We checked in 1 day before the main event in a hotel just across SM Clark. The hotel (Tune Hotel) we stayed in was really nice and neat. The room size was pretty small but I didn't mind at all. I am 101% happy and satisfied with the neatness and fresh smelling scent of our hotel room. The a/c was a downside though but good thing there's a ceiling fan to help with the ventilation. 

Baby brought some baon for our late lunch, a delicious Pinoy food (Bagoong with calamansi and sili and Daing na bangus), that I can eat every single day of my life. Haha!  We went out to take a short tour to Clark Airbase for some photo ops right after opening our Valentines gift for each other (Naks, haha!) Then for dinner, we've had steak with rice at Meats and Match. We came back to our hotel room around 9 in the evening, just in time for our favorite teleserye on ABS-CBN. Haha! 

We slept kind of late but I managed to wake up around 2 in the morning. Actually, I woke up with an upset stomach. I thought I won't make it to the festival but the power of prayers helped me get through it. We freshened up a bit, put our clothes on then left. We stopped by at 7-11 for some cup noodles and coffee to keep us going. We arrived in the area (Air Force City) 3:30 A.M.

Tickets were sold for P300. I was supposed to buy the tickets online but my Paypal account doesn't have sufficient funds. Anyway, the organizers started to sell tickets around 4:15. I can barely remember the exact time the program has started but the first activity was the RC UFO Flying. Then it was followed by Skydiving Philippine Flag Jump and the Hare and Hound Hot Air Balloon flights. The Hare and Hound Hot Air Balloon flights was definitely my most favorite part of the program. If my memory serves me right, there were 36 participants (30 international hot air balloons and 6 local hot air balloons). 

The red octopus from Japan was a love at first sight. The color's fun and eye-catching. Also, the face and shoe-shaped balloon (not on the photo). Unfortunately, the sunflower didn't make it. I don't know exactly what happened but I saw some black smoke coming from it. Glad to know, no one's hurt from the incident. Anyway, right after the Hare and Hound Hot Air Balloon flights, we headed to the aviation area where we saw some legit private planes ready for picture-taking purposes. 

I was already feeling tired and sluggish due to lack of sleep so baby and I have decided to take a break and recharge ourselves with food and cold refreshments. We went home around 9:30 A.M so we could still have an hour to prepare for our next adventure. I really had a great time at the 19th Hot Air Balloon Festival in Clark Pampanga. It warrants another visit from me next year! 

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Poracay Resort

Poracay Resort is where we went to for my baby's 34th birthday. Since baby can't take a leave off work, we just went to a resort near her place. Porac is just an hour away from the City of San Fernando. We took the Gapan-Olangapo route going to Porac interchange and it was no surprise when we approached the road going to Poracay Resort became extremely rough. As you may already know, Porac was one of the many municipalities in Pampanga greatly devastated by ashfall and lahar from Mt. Pinatubo eruption. The Mt. Pinatubo eruption left tons of sand deposits. The sand deposits became the boundless natural resource of the people of Porac and the symbol to the town's resiliency toward tragedy. Actually, Filipinos are known for being resilient individuals. (Marunong tayong bumangon sa kahit anong trahedya, with a smile pa yan ha!)

Anyway, we got there around 4:00 in the afternoon. As expected, the resort wasn't jam-packed since it was weekday. Before plunging into the pool, we roamed around to check the entire resort. They have kayak and fishing, zipline ride and other fun and exciting activities that you can do with your family and friends. Swimming pools are everywhere. Just make sure to always keep an eye on your little ones though there are lifeguards on duty in the area. It's always better to be safe than sorry! Overall, I liked the place except from the bumpy road we have had to take going there. 

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Baguio's Puto Bungbong

Puto Bungbong... I guess everyone loves this delicacy! I've got to taste Baguio's puto bungbong the last time I went there and I absolutely loved it! It's the best puto bungbong I've ever had so far. 

Puto Bungbong sells like hotcakes during Christmas season. It has become a tradition for the Filipinos to grab some puto bungbong and bibingka after attending the Simbang Gabi. I did enjoy my puto bungbong food trip with my baby. It was even better when we had some authentic Batirol hot choco too. 

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Tulong Na Tabang Na Tayo Na Shirt

A little help goes a long, long way. Yes, indeed it's true! By acquiring this Tulong Na Tabang Na Tayo Na shirt of ABSCBN, you'd be able to help many lives in the affected areas of Typhoon Yolanda. 

It's available in Ayala Malls! I've got mine at Alabang Town Center. You have to come as early as possible because the line gets crazy as soon as the mall opens. 

The shirt costs PHP 250 and all proceeds will go to Typhoon Yolanda victims. Let's help our kababayans who are in dire need of our love and support! 

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Island Cove Kawit Cavite

Island Cove in Kawit Cavite is one of my family's favorite tourist destinations. It is only an hour away from home and we usually go there once or twice a year. It is a resort that provides fun-filled activities such as swimming, fishing, biking and visiting the mini zoo among others. They offer delicious Filipino dishes at affordable prices. If you want to spend some quality time with your family and friends then consider going to Island Cove Resort. 

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Lakbayan Grade

My Lakbayan grade is D!

How much of the Philippines have you visited? Find out at Lakbayan!

Created by Eugene Villar.


Thanks dez for this tag!

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Manila Ocean Park

Last saturday, my family and I went to Manila Ocean Park. Manila Ocean Park is the Philippines' first modern oceanarium. Inside you'll find open water marine habitat, souvenir shops and restaurants. My trip began with a trail through a jungle. I took lots of pictures with my family while trekking through the man-made jungle. After a short jungle trip we went straight to Bahura(Coral Reef) which is known as the "center of the center of marine biodiversity". I was captivated with the beauty of Coral Reef. I didn't expect that we have mesmerizing coral reef inhabitants here in the Philippines. Laot(Fishing Ground) was our next stop. I saw the fishes that are normally consumed as food. Buhay na ka Karagatan(The Living Ocean), is my most favorite part! The 25 meter walk allowed me to witness how different marine species interrelate with each other. Ang Kalaliman (The Deep), not so interesting but nice to look at. Pating(Sharks) and Pagi( Stingrays) were the last two aquariums I saw before leaving the Oceanarium. Our Oceanarium journey was short yet worthwhile. We had our dinner at Makansutra. It is where you will find the best cuisines in Asia! The food was superb!

ENTRANCE FEE:

ADULTS: PHP 400.00

KIDS (4.5 FT AND BELOW) : PHP 350.00

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Perfect Summer Getaway

My Perfect Summer Getaway

I always dream of visiting Batanes someday. It is located in the Northern part of Luzon which is 190 kilometers away from Taiwan. Since it is situated closely at Pacific Ocean, it is most likely affected by typhoons. Good thing, Ivatans’ houses are strong enough to endure strong tropical storms. There are a lot to see in Batanes and one of them is The Lighthouse. I’ve never seen a lighthouse before and I couldn't help but  get excited every time I look at it. I would also love to see cows freely roaming in the green pastures and the rocky shore in Valuga beach. Philippines is indeed blessed with beautiful tourist spots. 

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