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

We, unfortunately, just had a day to spend in Busan. I would have really liked to just walk around the streets downtown, around markets and other places in the city, to do what I have just recently re-enjoyed doing, taking pictures. The only sight-seeing we were able to do was sight-seeing through the windows of cars, and through brief stop-overs along the road, or brief walks before and after lunch and dinner.

Our only dinner in Busan was spent at a seafood restaurant in the city’s Gwangalli district, which like Haeundae, has its own seafront lined with restaurants, cafes and bars, all with a great view of the magnificent Gwangan bridge. It was a long dinner of raw sea creatures, from freshly killed and chopped tentacles of octopus, (bits of which which still crawled and sucked on the surface of our plates) to thinly-cut slices of the the dangerously lethal fugu. I will write about our gastronomic feats in Korea in another entry. Needless to say, after all the odd dishes I tried, I gained a new appreciation for Filipino comfort foods and fast food fares.

I was able to take some nice shots of Busan from the top floor of a hotel downtown during our last lunch in the city, before we proceeded to Seoul. I noticed, and this became more apparent as we moved to Seoul, that many Korean cities are surrounded by mountains, and these are not built with concrete structures but rather, they are largely reserved with their natural foliage. These landscapes makes for picturesque views of cities like Busan.

Tags: Busan, family, food, South Korea, Travel

From Intramuros, we crossed Jones Bridge another time on foot, this time proceeding to Binondo, where pedestrians will be greeted by the Filipino-Chinese friendship arch at the starting end of Quintin Paredes St.

Upon descending form the Bridge from the Intramuros side of the Pasig, one shall be at Plaza Moraga, which according to this website, was the site of the first ice cream parlor in the Philippines (useless information, sorry). To your right, you will see Escolta, which as many of us might know, was once upon a time the premiere shopping and business center in Manila. That day, the entire place was just deserted.

We passed through the arch and walked along Quintin Paredes till we reached the end where a small plaza and a statue of Roman Ongpin can be found, and of course, where Binondo Church stands. There was a mass baptism going on at the church when we were there.

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Tags: Binondo, Chinatown, church, dumplings, food, Manila, restaurant