Subic Bay Freeport was once home to one of the largest overseas naval bases of the Americans. Since the abrogation of the bases agreement in the early 90’s, Subic has been transformed into a premiere freeport with a robust business and investment climate.

Subic attracts hundreds of thousands of local and foreign tourists who flock to the freeport for its duty free shopping, its nature and adventure activities, and its excellent convention facilities. Reports even claim that the freeport received more than two million local and foreign visitors in 2009, making it the top tourist destination for locals and foreigners.

One of Subic’s newest attractions is the Subic Tree Top Adventure in the virgin forests of Subic. Visitors can try out their Superman Ride where one is suspended horizontally along a zip line that transports one from one tree top to another hundreds of meters away in a matter of seconds. Other exhilarating activities include the canopy walk on the wooden trail on top of the forest’s 60-foot trees and rappelling down the canopy. One may also enjoy a trek through the trails of the forest. They also have their own cafe and restaurant where visitors can enjoy their meals amidst towering greens.

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Tags: North Philippines Visitors Bureau, Olongapo, Rediscover the North, Subic, Travel, Zambales

Angeles City and Clark have many establishments that cater to local and foreign visitors, from restaurants that serve local and international cuisine to budget motels to world-class hotels and leisure resorts to shopping malls.

During our stay in Clark for the Lakbay Norte 2010 caravan, we were booked at Holiday Inn. Holiday Inn Clark is the only accredited international deluxe hotel in Central Luzon.

Holiday Inn Clark occupies a building that used to be called Chambers Hall, where bachelor officers of the former American airbase and some generals were billeted while on assignment in Clark. In 1996, after renovations, it stood as one of the first landmarks in Clark right after the Mt. Pinatubo eruption. It has again just recently been renovated and refurbished in accord to the Holiday Inn chain’s global re-branding campaign. Like other international deluxe hotels, it features modern amenities and furnishings in all of its rooms and villas. Broadband internet access is also available in the rooms.

It has three restaurants (Mequeni, Rodizio Rooftop Grill, Copa’s Bar) a swimming pool, a recreation and game area, function halls, a spa and fitness area, and since it is located within the Mimosa Leisure Estate, it also has a 36-hole championship golf course.

If you choose to stay in Angeles City right outside Clark, you may stay at the Oasis Hotel, which has been in operation for more than four decades, and is one of the leading business hotels in Angeles City. Unlike the Holiday Inn, Oasis occupies a sprawling complex of 124 rooms in apartment-like single-floor structures.

On our last day in the Lakbay Norte caravan, we had lunch at Oasis Hotel’s Maranao Grill, where we were served with roast lamb and roast beef, together with pasta, baked mussels and roast duck in taco shells. Every Friday, Maranao Grill has an RST Buffet where they serve roast beef, roast lamb, sushi, sahimi and tempura all day.

We arrived in Clark Saturday night, and we had dinner right after checking in at the hotel at Red Crab Seafood and Steaks which is just walking distance from Holiday Inn Clark. We had generous servings of local staple viands and, of course, red crab.

After dinner at Red Crab, we were taken to Camalig Restaurant in downtown Angeles City where we sampled Armando’s Pizza–different kinds of “Kapampangan Pizza,” pizza with all sorts of combinations of local toppings, from salted eggs, to fried crickets. It was a sumptuous after-dinner treat.

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Tags: Angeles City, Central Luzon, Clark, Filipino food, food, Holiday Inn, Lakbay Norte, North Philippines Visitors Bureau, Oasis Hotel, Pampanga, restaurant, Travel

It was in 1903 when the American invaders established “Fort Stotsenburg.” For almost a hundred years later, the fort, which was later renamed to “Clark Air Base” became a major stronghold of the American forces in the Far East. It was considered the largest American military installation on foreign soil. With the expiration of the base agreement in 1991, the Philippines reclaimed the air base and the government sought to transform the facility into a freeport zone.

Clark has been a known as a destination for duty free shopping and leisure estate activities from swimming to golfing. The tourism offices in the area, however, have been promoting more activities for visitors to Clark.

For those who want to get to know more about the air base’s history there are tours onboard airconditioned “Jeep ni Juan” jeepneys provided by Castro Travel Solutions (+63 45 6256608) that you may avail. They also have packages for an afternoon at volcanic hot springs, a trek to Mt. Pinatubo and an even aerial tour of the infamous volcano.

Another new activity for visitors to Clark is horseback riding at El Kabayo Riding Stables (+63 09178122106). You can ride the horses around the compound or you can request for a ride around Clark. If you’re up for it, you can even take the horse for a ride along the Sacobia River to see the lahar canyons created by the Mt. Pinatubo eruption.

Across the Sacobia River from Clark is a nature and conservation park called Paradise Ranch which features gardens and zoo animals. The park features one of the largest butterfly gardens in the country and a “millio-dollar” view of the entire Clark Freeport Zone. The place is more suited for kids and educational field trips. Adults, on the other hand, can hold team building seminars, retreats, camping and weddings in the garden.

With the development and expansion of the Diosdado Macapagal International Airport, Clark is now poised to become one of the country’s major gateways. The master development plan of the freeport zone seeks to transform the former US air base into an airport city and as a globally competitive international service and logistics center in the Asia-Pacific Region.

While that has not fully happened, Clark Airport does serve inbound and outbound flights to and from many local and international destinations. It has flights to and from Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Hong Kong, Macau, South Korea, and even the Middle East.

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Tags: Central Luzon, Clark, garden park, horseback, jeepney tour, Lakbay Norte, North Philippines Visitors Bureau, Pampanga, Rediscover the North, Travel

1,798 kilometers, 26 people, 8 provinces, 7 days, 1 bus.

Over the past week, I went with a group of print and online media representatives in a caravan around northern and central Luzon organized by the North Philippines Visitors Bureau (NPVB), a not for profit organization whose aim is to promote domestic and foreign travel in the region.

Onboard a special bus provided by Victory Liner, we visited the provinces of Cagayan, Ilocos Norte, La Union, Benguet, Pangasinan, Zambales, Tarlac and Pampanga. (We also passed through, though without stopping over, Bulacan, Nueva Ecija, Nueva Vizcaya, Isabela and Ilocos Sur). Our accommodations, meals and activities were sponsored and hosted by local Convention and Visitors Bureaus and other local tourism stakeholders.

The tour aimed to introduce northern Luzon as a re-emerging destination for tourism and trade. With growing infrastructure in the region and with the improvement of the North Luzon Expressway, travel to the north has been easier over the years and the tour aimed to encourage more people to “Rediscover the North”.

Indeed, it was a rediscovery of the places I’ve been to in northern and central Luzon, and a pleasant revelation of the places I’ve never been to–northern Cagayan, Ilocos Norte, La Union and western Pangasinan.

If there was one word I could summon to give North Philippines, it is “potential”. The trip revealed how much is in store for the provinces of North and Central Luzon in terms of tourism and trade. The richness in he region’s natural wonders, in its culture and heritage, in its people make the north a viable destination for a robust and sustainable tourism industry. Having a rich potential also means that there is a lot that can be done in terms of infrastructure and training in order to fully harness the possibilities and so that the people of the region and the entire country may benefit from the potentials north and central Luzon has to offer.

Over the next few weeks I shall be writing a chronicle of the places we visited and the organizations and establishments that have helped us “Rediscover the North”. I hope one day, you also make the same discovery and rediscovery of northern Philippines, and encourage others to continue and explore the vast potentials of this region north of Manila.

Tags: Luzon, North Philippines Visitors Bureau, Rediscover the North, Travel, Victory Liner

Held annually on January in Cebu City, the Sinulog Festival is one of Cebu’s claim-to-fame fiestas, which attracts tens of thousands of tourists from across the country and overseas.

Sinulog is traditionally Cebu’s version of the national day of celebration for pilgrims and devotees of the child Jesus or the Santo Nino which is on the third Sunday of January. As they do in many other parts of the Philippines that celebrate the fiesta, devotees hold religious processions to the church and hold feasts in households and various establishments. In Cebu, they do the “sinulog” dance, characterized by a two-step forward one-step backward dance, that is said to originate from some historical event. In 1980 the city government of Cebu initiated the now famous street dancing parade that attracts participants and tourists from all over.

Tags: Cebu, Cebu City, family, festival, fiesta, Travel

November 09, 2009. Before we headed off to the airport for our flight that evening back to Manila, the family decided to go shopping in some of Seoul’s shopping districts. We went to two, Dongdaemun and Itaewon.

Dongdaemun Market is near its namesake ancient landmark, Dongdaemun, or the Great East Gate. It is apparently the largest shopping district in Seoul with over 26 shopping malls and tens of thousands of stores that sell everything you can think of. Unfortunately, the shopping malls were closed when we were there (not that we would be able to get around much, given that we only had an hour or so to stay). We ended up in Pyounghwa Clothing Market since we were looking for things we could conveniently bring home to the Philippines for ourselves, and for friends and relatives as pasalubong.

The place sold, obviously, things one can wear, from socks to undergarments to coats and ties to hats and caps. Since it was nearing the winter season, most of the clothes available at that time were coats and other clothes appropriate for cold weather, ergo, clothes not appropriate in the Philippines.

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Tags: Dongdaemun, family, Itaewon, market, Seoul, shopping, South Korea, Travel

November 08, 2009. After having lunch at Itaewon, Seoul, our tour guide brought us to a “Korean Folk Village” theme park forty minutes away in the city of Yongin in Gyeonggi, South Korea. The folk village is actually an artificial recreation of Korean folk villages that showcase traditional Korean life and culture. It was apparently built partly as a way of preserving, albeit artificially, the traditional way of life in Korea in the midst of its rapid economic growth and modernization. The park is divided into different areas featuring different types of Korean homes and communities, from farm villages, to landlord’s courtyards to traditional marketplaces. The park also features live “actors” playing the role of traditional Korean folk villagers going about “normal” everyday routines, from cooking to farming. To be fair enough, the entire recreation of the folk village was highly realistic.

Some areas also feature shows that showcase traditional Korean ceremonies from weddings to dances. Since it was drizzling that afternoon, the traditional wedding reenactment show was canceled. We were able to witness, on the other hand, a show featuring horsemen doing acrobatics with their horses. It was pretty cool.

Tags: family, South Korea, theme park, Travel

November 8, 2009. We were booked on a half-day city tour of Seoul. I used to say I’m not a fan of packaged group tour itineraries. I still do. I dislike the feeling of being limited by a schedule or a route prepared by some other person. To make things a little more unpleasant, it was raining the entire morning in Seoul.

Our first destination was a Buddhist temple in the center of Seoul called Chogyesa. The temple, although relatively new compared to other temples having been built only in 1910, plays a major role in Korean Buddhism. It was the headquarters of Korean Buddhism during the Japanese occupation. Because it is within the city center of Seoul, the temple is more accessible to tourists and devotees than other temples in Korea, although that would also mean it doesn’t offer as serene an atmosphere for genuine meditation perhaps.

Geongbokgung is like the Forbidden City of Beijing, only smaller, but large nonetheless. It’s the grandest among the “five palaces” complex built by Korea’s Joseon Dynasty. It used to house the royal family of Korea. One of Seoul’s most famous tourist destinations, hordes of tourists were still present despite the rain. Visitors are supposed to witness an hourly changing-of-the-guards ceremony but since it was drizzling, the show was canceled. Our trip to Geongbokgung was capped by a visit to the National Folk Museum within the same complex.

One of the things I really dislike about packaged tour itineraries is that they always include a trip to a commercial tourist trap. In places my family has visited like Hong Kong, Beijing and Singapore and I’m sure in many other East Asian cities, these commercial tourist traps are either jewelry stores or herbal medicine shops (which includes tea stores). In Seoul, we were herded to a ginseng complex. And like all other tourist traps like it, the trip was complete with sales people talking you into buying expensive “exclusive” merchandise.

The group tour incuded lunch at a restaurant in Itaewon, still in Seoul. After having another Korean meal, we broke off from the group tour and went to another tour, this time to a Korean folk village theme park around an hour away from the city.

Tags: family, Seoul, South Korea, temples, Travel

November 07, 2009. Our first night in Seoul was spent walking around Namdaemun Market and Myeongdong. I had wanted to look around the rows of camera shops in Namdaemun, hoping to buy new lens for my camera, so I suggested a trip to Namdaemun Market that night. We couldn’t locate the shops, however, and we eventually ended up in Seoul’s Myeongdong district.

Myeongdong is one of Seoul’s shopping districts featuring brand name shops in the mid to high-level prices. As we were looking for bargains, we didn’t go shopping. We just had dinner at a popular pizza restaurant chain in Korea. Myeongdong also seems to be where students and yuppies hang out, as most of the people who swarmed the streets were young people in trendy clothes. It feels like one large high-end open-air mall with a vibrant night life.

Not surprisingly, Myeongdong, Seoul also claims to be the ninth most expensive shopping street in the world in terms of floorspace rents.

Tags: family, South Korea, Travel

November 07, 2009. After just a day in Busan, we proceeded to Seoul via the Korea Train Express or KTX. The high-speed train, running as fast as 300 kph took us to Seoul, almost 550 kilometers away (more or less the distance between Manila and Cebu or Manila and Ilocos), in less than three hours. The train was apparently only inaugurated in 2004.

Speaking of trains, apparently, all Korean cities and many towns have well developed public transit systems. In fact, the Seoul-Incheon subway system is one of the largest in the world, with over 300 stations. It’s something that we weren’t able to try out, riding the subway. Nonetheless, such an extensive subway system must make commuting to any point of destination in the metropolis a convenience. It’s something I wish we could have in Manila, but with the billions of dollars that it might cost, it may just be wishful thinking. For now, we have to make do with streets congested with public and private vehicles.

Upon arriving in Seoul and while trying to figure out how we can get to our hotel, I took some pictures around the vicinity of the big train station. There was a small rally being held nearby, calling for the unification of North and South Korea, in favor of the dominance of South Korean democracy, of course. All the other people were going by their own ways, most of them in a rush.

Tags: family, Seoul, South Korea, subway, train, train station, Travel

November 06, 2009. The Seokguram Grotto in Gyeongju is a stone temple built and completed more than 1,200 years ago. It has been regarded by UNESCO as a world cultural heritage site.

The carved stones that make up the grotto were stacked up into a dome-shaped cave bonded together by soil and clay. The grotto houses the Bonjonbul, a 3.5 meter-high statue of the Buddha, considered one of the most outstanding masterpieces in the history of the world’s religious art. There are other sculptures surrounding the giant Buddha, though I don’t recall what they represent or what story they tell. Photos aren’t allowed to be taken inside the temple, so I can’t show you anything. Some pictures are available over the internet.

A few minutes from the Seokguram Grotto is Bulguksa Temple. Bulguksa is another Buddhist temple complex that houses structures and sculptures dating to more than a thousand years ago. Like Seokguram, it is also considered as a UNESCO world heritage site.

Since it was the beginning of autumn, the trees were in their colorful orange, red and yellow hues which made the landscape look more impressive.

Tags: Buddha, family, Gyeongju, South Korea, temples, Travel

November 06, 2009. A few hours drive north of Busan is the city of Gyeongju, once the capital of Silla, one of Korea’s ancient three-kingdoms. With a long and rich history spanning over a thousand years and more than a handful of impressive structures dating back hundreds of years, it has been designated by UNESCO as a world cultural heritage city.

Leaving Busan at past 10 in the morning, we arrived in Gyeongju right in time for lunch at a traditional Korean restaurant. It was my formal introduction to Korean food and eating practices. We had a room in a courtyard style home with warm elevated flooring. We were served the entries in batches, every quarter of an hour or so. I don’t remember everything that was served, as most of them were terribly unfamiliar. It might take a longer stay in Korea for one to truly appreciate the food. Many of them were pickled, spicy vegetables, cold cuts of raw fish and other sea creatures, and some beef soup. The servings aren’t big, but since there were a lot of dishes, it was more than enough to fill us up. Formal lunches like this are meant for long afternoons with conversations among friends and colleagues.

Silla Millenium Park in Gyeongju is a modern theme park that seeks to recreate an ancient Silla city. Since we only had an hour or so to spend in the park, we were not able to go around much. We were only able to see a show in the park’s Jang Bo-Go Performance Stage, depicting a battle between Koreans and Chinese invaders trying to occupy a Silla city. The Koreans win and thwart the invasion, of course.

Tags: family, Gyeongju, South Korea, temples, theme park, Travel