Thursday, May 26, 2011

My 2010 Philippine Travels and Adventures


summer is ain't yet over in the Philippines but as early as May it's already raining here (maybe this is what we called "global warming"?!). anyhow, rain should not stop me from sharing my adventures and the places i visited last year, just in case you're someone living in or outside the Philippines who's interested in visiting the places in this country. 

i do believe that in every country whether progressive or not you can always read bad or good news but whatever news you read about the Philippines, i always love this country. i know, i sound bias because i was born, grew-up and live here but there are million of ways to enjoy this country (or maybe it depends on how you enjoy yourself in wherever you are). ^_^

2010 was the year i'm blessed to travel with friends.. but if you want to join us, fasten your seatbelt and let's travel together.


Clark, Pampanga
Hot Air Balloon Festival -is an annual event held usually in February since 1994. skydiving, flag jump, ultralight/microlight aircraft formation and other aerobatics are expected in the show. you may also do a kite flying with your kids while having picnic with your whole family here.

goofing around while waiting for the show to start
filling the balloons with hot air
they said, this dance is offered for the safe flight of the balloons..

Subic
Camayan Beach Resort- after soaking ourselves under the heat of the sun from the hot air balloon festival  we went to Subic as part of our itinerary, since it is only few kilometers away from pampanga.

the beach and the mountain
the resort
white sand beach
i only captured few photos here because just like myself, the battery of my camera was totally drained. after we took this picture, i  changed my clothes and slept on the sand while all of them were enjoying the water.. i was damn tired, i didn't enjoy much this trip.. i was just sleeping until we went back to Manila.. :(




Camarines Norte 
CamSur Water Sports Complex-is a watersports park designed for wakeboarding, wakeskating and waterskiing. The place is about 8 hours bus travel or 6 hours drive by land or an hour by plane away from Manila.

one of the female elite players of wakeboarding in the Philippines who also garnered awards internationally


friends

the resort and myself
we were analyzing how to transfer to another platform without falling into the water.. it's quite difficult but fun.. you need a lot of balance, i, myself didn't succeed on this.. hahaha shame on me!





Lumban, Laguna
Caliraya Resort Club- this place is best for group activities such as team buildings or just with a group of friends, surely you'll never run-out of fun and excitements here.
Slide Pinoy
Running after the Giant Ball or the Earth Ball- we're actually playing soccer here using our whole body.. feet are not enough to roll the ball :D
Canoeing- row row row your boat!
water roller ball-once you step inside you'll feel like a rat..trapped in a rat race.. nyahaha
mud or the slip n slide-this is what i really enjoyed the most here. you'll get dirty but you'll definitely have fun!





Baguio City-is the Summer Capital of the Philippines because of its mild climate(15 to 23 degrees Celsius is the average temperature).

Mines View Park

The Mansion- is the official residence of the President of the Philippines in Baguio.

Wright Park
inside the Philippine Military Academy -jogging with the troop. :D

Lourdes Grotto-about 252 steps lead to this shrine. if you're in doubt, count your steps when you have the chance to visit this place in Baguio.

Burnham Park








Mt. Pinatubo- is an active stratovolcano located on the island of Luzon, at the intersection of the borders of the Philippine provinces of Zambales, Tarlac, and Pampanga. The volcano last erupted in June 1991. 

enjoying the 4x4 ride from jump-off back and fort
short trek going to the crater

the crater of Mt. Pinatubo
it was here where i learned light painting

usually they only allow day tour here, but we have a friend who got a permit to camp on site and arranged this trip  for us
heading to another side of the crater





Aklan Province
Boracay- is one of the major tourist destinations in the Philippines especially during summer. for me, the beach especially in the morning is magical and the sunset is perfectly exquisite. one of the things i like in boracay is that you can be who you are regardless of your style.
the beach
the grotto in Boracay
parasailing
helmet diving
zorb ball
the beautiful sunset of boracay
night life




Batangas
Planet Dive Resort-  is one of the best scuba diving spots in the Philippines. this was my first attempt in scuba diving and i find it cool. unfortunately we don't have underwater pictures but i could say that there's really a life under the sea. if you are an adventurous person, scuba diving is a must try before you die! :)


  lessons were given before our intro-dive by one of the licensed dive masters
 
bonding with my girl friends

getting ready
the dive masters

even you're just snorkeling near the shoreline you can still see different kinds of fishes and also the coral reefs, so alive!

the sunset





Northern Samar
Biri Island- is one of the best places i've ever been to. this island is known for its unusual rock formations carved by big waves in a long period of time. photo enthusiasts will surely enjoy this place because of its picturesque landscape.

arriving at Biri port
one of the beautiful rock formations in the island
 
most of the time you'll be walking in the water before you'll reach from one rock to another

this island is facing the Pacific Ocean to the East and San Bernardino Strait to the west

trying to strike a pose at the edge of the rock
 top of the rock's group picture


Davao City- is less than 2 hours away from Manila by plane. in 2008, the department of tourism awarded this city as the most livable city in the Philippines. Davao can offer you a lot of adventures from beaches to mountains. Davao is always special to me as i stayed here for 5 years and most of my closest friends are still here.. :] 

  • Baywalk
    it's more than a year i didn't meet my friends. we missed each other and celebrating our birthdays together. so when i visited them, we went to Seawall and bought burgers, soda and matches (served as our candles) just to celebrate our birthdays... sweet isn't it? :D
    the replica of Michelangelo’s Statue of David is located at Times Beach (or others prefer to call this area as Baywalk or Seawall).. don't get me wrong here.. this is just for fun ! LOL :D

  • Prayer Mountain  
    last year,  my friends surprised me... they said, they are going to bring me to somewhere i've never been to..
    ...and yes they brought me here!
    ..the place is very peaceful, beautiful and well-maintained..
they believe that this place is sacred, rules and regulations are implemented to maintain the holiness of this area.. before you can visit here you must write a letter to their administration as part of their rules.. we were just so blessed to visit the place on the day itself we decided to be there because of oneour friend who is a member of The Kingdom of Jesus Christ The Name Above Every Name.

 (click this link if you are interested to visit the place)

  •   Davao International Airport 

even on the last minute of my visit they accompanied me just like the old days.. 

even before we're already inseparable, almost everyday we see each other even on weekends. a simple get together like this is already fine for us, in our hearts we're not mere friends--we're family. we've been there for each other through thick and thin (maybe not always but most of the time we're there for each other).
 some other friends are not in the pictures.. :(

 


Batangas
Mt. Batulao- i am not a mountaineer but i have mountaineering friends who encouraged us to join this adventure.
mt.batulao

the first time climbers

with the group
the scenery from the peak of the mountain

the hardship

the pictures above can't justify enough the beauty of the Philippines. cameras can't capture everything and photos can't replace the thrills and adventures. don't limit yourself from just browsing pictures of your friends files or  the internet when you are able to travel, their experience is different from mine and yours when you are there.  i posted only few pictures here, but definitely there are a lot of fun adventures that are just waiting for you out there. So what are you waiting for- go explore!.

have fun and enjoy Philippines! ^_^

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