Philippine International Balloon Festival Highlights

Wow beautiful Philippines! Can you put on a big and beautiful show or what?

If you did not visit the Philippine International Balloon Festival on Clark Field, Pampanga, then you missed possibly the most colorful display of beauty and grace in the the Philippines this year.



We left Parañaque at 3.30am and arrived on Clark Field at around 5.00am to find the especially created balloon festival car park already partially full with at least a thousand cars, neatly marshaled by attendants on foot and on horseback. Spectators were already arriving on foot, on bicycles and motor bikes through Friendship Gate. Scores more were disgorging from Jeepneys and by 5.30am the whole area around the Philippine Air Force hangers was abuzz with a festive atmosphere on a scale quite unlike anything I have seen at the balloon festival in previous years.



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Tagaytay is a nice trip for anyone wanting to get out of Metro Manila for a day.

Being stressed and knowing that the school year is about to start i decided to take my family away during the week.

We headed off on a Tuesday morning about 9:30-10:00.

Picking up two other people for the trip we headed off down, to Tagaytay.

To get there is a real easy drive. It is from Metro Manila onto the South Super Highway down to the Santa Rosa exit.

Once you are there just turn off and after passing Coca Cola on the right next to the Toll gate turn Right.

Now just drive...

It will take a while to get there, so take some snacks for the kids and some drinks.

If you forget you can pull off the highway and get some at the service stations.

You will arrive in Tagaytay at a T intersection. To get to the town turn right or if you want the Picnic area turn left.

At the Picnic area there are lots of tables and places where you can set up a little barbque. They have a really nice walk where you can...

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Eco Park, is located on the wall of La Mesa Dam, Quezon City, Metro Manila.

It is in Fairview, Quezon City. Which is a bit of a drive if you are going to take a taxi, But I would say it is worth the time and money.

We used the Van, It was looking a pretty sad day, Rain clouds in the sky so we threw in umbrellas and off we went to have even a wet day out.

Once we arrived it was nice and sunny, and and getting hot.

We drove in and parked in the parking area, there is enough space and not far from the real entrance of the park.

Next to the car park was the paint ball, (I cant wait for the daughter to get a little older.. BANG BANG.)

We fed the ducks, at the car park just where you an get a boat to row for a few hours. They charge by the 30 Minutes but it looks like it would be really relaxing. (Dont forget food, there are some food stands)

We headed down the long path - road into the park proper and as you walk down you can feel all the stresses...

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So You travel to the philippines and need ideas of things to do in Metro Manila.

There are some very large shopping centers, which can take a while to walk around, Perfect to waste some time.

There are some trips around China Town which i have not done, Remember don't look too much like a tourist.

If you want you can head over to the American Cemetery in Fort Bonifacio that is a sight in it self.

They keep it up and it really is worth a walk around. If you cannot walk that far or getting a little old like my parents they have a shuttle to take you from the car park to memorial.

What else? There is the Manila Zoo, they have made some improvements but it is not up Australian Standards. You will get to see some of their animals which is nice.

There is Intramuros, this is the old City, they have some horse rides, it is a good day out walking about and there is an area setup which changes every month or earlier to show off different provinces and their products.

I will update this with...

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Sat in Howzat Sports Bar in Makati City the other day, my good friend John Smart asked if I would like to take a day trip to Subic Bay. The following morning, at 6.30am (still sleepy), we left Makati City and proceeded to almost zoom along EDSA (this is really the only time of day that it is enjoyable to travel EDSA - before 7.00am) - first objective: reach North Luzon Expressway before 'colour coding' (= crazy traffic reduction scheme designed to sell more cars, where you can't drive your car one day a week, depending on the last digit of your car number plate) starts at 7.00am; we make it to the expressway with time to spare.

The North Luzon Expressway (“NLEx”) is experiencing light traffic going North at this time of the morning and we glide effortlessly out of Metro Manila, towards the strung-out Angeles City / Dau / Clark Field interchange with the Subic Clark Tarlac Expressway (“SCTEx”). I find the relatively slow moving vista, of suburbia giving way to rurality, mixed with the mel...

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