Last weekend was spent in Clark. It was my first time to explore this side of Pampanga. The hubby wanted to check out the 22nd International Hot Air Balloon Fest at Omni Aviation and since I haven’t been to such an event, I gave it a go. (Actually, I just wanted to be a supportive wife, hahaha.) Aside from joining a huge crowd eager to see hot air balloons in action, we also indulged in an overnight stay at one of the local hotels in Clark to better appreciate the place. This meant checking out Clark Museum, going to SM Clark to eat at the food court there and buy more food at the hypermarket, trying out this family resto called House of Chops for dinner, hearing the morning mass at St. Joseph the Worker Chapel, buying some stuff at Puregold Duty Free, and just lazing around our hotel room.
Below are some snapshots from our fun weekend in chronological order:
waiting for the hot air balloons
preparing for takeoff
sleeping spectator 😛
us
at Clark Museum
checking out the famous Pampanga lanterns
feeling-erang local tourist
too sweet for my liking
our room at Eurotel Clark
glowing in the dark
with the giant Jollibee inflatable
dinner at House of Chops
3-cheese and bacon-stuffed double pork chop FTW!
at St. Joseph the Worker Chapel 2
my P199.75 sandals from Puregold Duty Free
our his and her shirts from the Giordano outlet at Shell of Asia, NLEX
Our take on the hot air balloon festival: overhyped. Sorry, but the hubby and I just didn’t expect to see only a handful of hot air balloons flying above the sky. We left Manila early morning of Saturday and we just thought it would be breathtaking or something. Ibang-iba kasi sa mga pictures na nakita namin dati online. Is it because we went on the third day already? We actually visited again at night to catch the night glow activity but it got windy so the hot air balloons weren’t able to light up continuously and fly. I think the highlight pa of our experience was when we bumped into the hubby’s college batchmate (hello Vangie and family!) in the morning as they were able to catch up on each other’s life while waiting for the hot air balloons to show up.
As for Eurotel (the hotel we checked into), contrary to the mostly negative reviews I read from Trip Advisor, our stay was okay. Our room was decent and even had a split type aircon (instead of the window one) and a bathroom with heater and solid square rain head shower. The room may be small and looked old but it was clean and smelled good. Plus, the hotel had a basement parking and the service was warm and friendly. We also got a enjoy a simple buffet breakfast for two which came with our booking.
Enjoy the rest of the week, friends! 🙂
May you choose happiness always,
Hindi pa kami mag-asawa ni Boyet, plan na namin pumunta sa Hot Air Balloon Festival kaso laging sawi. Pero yeah, based sa mga friends na nakausap ko, mas ok daw talaga yung first few years. May friend ako na nagpunta last year na disappointed din. She also discouraged me to go with Zayne kasi crowded daw.
P.S. Badtrip din ako sa Pad Thai na matamis! :p
Waaaah, kaya mukhang first and last na namin yung sa Clark. Sayang, di na-maintain. Oo nga, kaya naghahanap pa rin ako ng masarap na pad thai na hindi galing hotel. 🙂
Gusto ko rin mag-hot air balloon pero laging nawawala sa isip ko at nagugulat na lang ako na eto na pala uli this year hahaha! But sad to know na ang kokonti na lang ngayon. Parang ang dami kasi sa mga nakikita kong pictures the previous years. Pero kasama pa rin sa list ko para ma-experience ko man lang hehehe.
Kaya nga, iba yung sa pictures sa totoong buhay, hehe. Pero yes, try mo rin for the sake of experience. 🙂
Nasa Clark din kami nung time na yan. Pero nasa hotel lang kami. Tamad lang lumabas. hehe
Oo nga sis, parang nakita ko sa IG na nasa Clark din kayo that time. 🙂