16th Annual Clark Freeport Hot Air Balloon Festival

After years of ‘JUST PLANNING’ to go to Clark Freeport in Pampanga to witness the Annual Hot Air Balloon Festival, which always end up with me staying at home and browsing my friends’ photos (with pangs of jealousy :D) over the internet for days, I was finally able to go to Clark last Saturday! Woot! Woot!

Paragliders. Cloudy, I know. On our way to Clark, I was hoping for blue skies and was already imagining balloons on a clear blue sky in my photos. But then again, I’d rather take pictures of balloons on a cloudy sky than just…blue skies. They say when it gets windy, it’s a no show.

..and besides, the ‘graduated tint’ effect in Picasa is just a few mouse clicks away, right? :D

Time to heat those balloons up! See that crowd? We got there at about 5:30am with this huge crowd and I couldn’t anymore squeeze myself into the front row.

Graduated tint effect, again.

Monochrome.

Pirate in a barrel? My daughters’ favorite.

‘Hot-Air’ Snowman Balloon. Ironic. :D





And the crowd’s favorite I think, Darth Vader. “Do not underestimate the Force.”

"Just for once, let me look at your face with my own eyes.” (Subliminal message: "Tell me, what the #@$%! is my head doing here?!")

Some more featured balloons:

Going, going…

…gone!

Here are some photos I took after the Hot Air Balloon Flight show:

My trusty (and crusty :D) 70-300mm took over during the Aerobatic Flight Display Exhibition.

Skydivers!

My daughters flying a kite with their Dad. Check out their story here.

Next time, I’ll try shooting these hot air balloons at night. :)

It's All In The Details

Sharing some of my detail shots from our Las Casas Filipinas de Acuzar trip. :)

Banga.


Silip.


Ilaw.


Pinto.


Ukit.


Tuloy.


Bintana.


Manok.


Katok.


Silaw.

Las Casas Filipinas De Acuzar

Some night shots at Las Casas Filipinas De Acuzar in Bagac, Bataan. Paki-Google na lang yung place for further details, haha! I am sobrang tamad to write about it just now. :D It's generally a nice (and new) place to visit with your camera in tow. The place is still in its soft opening as there are facilities/attractions that are still being constructed (like the spa and gym). The highlight is a "village" of heritage houses "designed to replicate Hispanic town settlements." We are talking about real old houses in the Philippines that have been restored and set up in a 19th or so century community setting.

Casa Meycauayan.

Casa Meycauayan (close-up :D).


Casa Baliuag I


Casa Binondo I


Paseo de Escolta. This is the only structure that is not authentic and is a mere replica of a typical Escolta Building in the 1900s.

I will post more photos soon, I promise! :D

Easy Summer at Palawan

Our (annual) visit to Palawan this time was kind of laid back and so I only have few photos to share.

My younger brother at VietVille Restaurant. Have you ever tried their "chao long"? Yummy


Matinlo Beach, Simpocan, Palawan. They say it's a great place for bird watching. On our first day at a private resort, we met a group of bird watchers who invited us to join them the next day at around 3 or 4 in the morning! Oh. Sige, kayo na lang! Haha! Next time, maybe. Besides, I wasn't prepared - I didn't have my telephoto lens with me.



Basking in the Sun - This is Life!


Matinlo Beach sunset in colour


Matinlo Beach sunset in black and white


By the way, meet my Mom and Dad! :)

Good Times!

Why I Keep Coming Back to Baguio

Here's the link to my Baguio Set in Fluidr (it's like Flickr in Black!). This set is a collection of photos I took from several visits we made to this place. They're just too many, I just had to post the link. :D

Zoobic Safari and Ocean Adventure

Two (2) places you should visit at Subic when you have little kids: Zoobic Safari and Ocean Adventure.

Zoobic Safari

Entrance Fees: PhP395 for adult and PhP295 for kids above 3 feet, plus [not really] optional charges as you go along the tour. Sweet! :D The Bird Thrill. This is where the tour starts. The Rodent World (eeew! :D)

First time I ever saw camels! Wee! :D Simba!
Then off to Tiger Safari, the Zoo's main attraction! You get to choose to bring your own car to get to other parts of the park or pay PhP50 per head to experience this tiger-inspired train..hehe. The weather was so hot, so thank you, but no thanks! :D This is the jeep that will take you to the tigers! For PhP200 each, you can buy chicken to get at least one tiger to come near the jeep. Don't worry, someone will do the feeding for you. :D

This one probably just had lunch... Aetas' Trail. Here you'll be treated with tribal dance performance by Aetas living in the area.
The Dragonfly DanceThe Monkey Dance (According to our guide, si Usher daw ng Zambales..hehe)Croco Loco. If I heard it right, the zoo's collection of crocodiles all came from Palawan.

Ocean Adventure

Entrance Fees: PhP500 (adult), PhP420 (kids, regardless of height..hehe), FREE (babies..hehe uli). The place is so hot and humid so I suggest you wear comfortable clothes and bring a fan..hehe. [Thanks, Mark for taking this family photo!]Ocean Discovery Aquarium (super dooper mini version of the aquarium at Manila Ocean Park) Dolphin Friends Show
Rap, Jump and Roll. We all enjoyed this show. Sea Lion Marine Patrol

You can visit Zoobic Safari and Ocean Adventure in one whole day, but if you plan to stay overnight at Subic, you can try By The Sea Resort, which is about 10 minutes drive from SBMA. The place is located, well, by the sea (hehe), has a swimming pool, a restaurant that serves good food, and is wifi-ready.