Because of this, whenever we see stuff on the internet that says "must-visit", "must-see", "must-go" places in the Philippines (near Metro Manila), we try our hardest to check it out for ourselves.
Recently, the annual Hot Air Balloon Festival had been buzzing around the internet and all sorts of media publication. And when my mom said that that festival was something worth checking out, we planned our DIY Trip to Clark, Pampanga.
Before February 11, our chosen date to check out the festival, we searched the internet on how to get there without a private car. Most of the results we obtained was 1 bus ride and dropping off at Dau Terminal then following it with 2 transfers of jeepney ride.
Because of how undecided we were, the ticket we bought was soooo last minute (we bought it online through ticketnet). Thankfully though, their online gateway was still open by then.
On February 11, 1 AM, we met up in Victory Liner Cubao Terminal because when we called their hotline, they told us that their Dau bound buses has a first trip at 2AM. PRO TIP: always, always call the bus company you plan to take whenever you're travelling. Don't just rely on information from the internet. Bad news is, they encountered some trouble that it was moved to 3AM. Additionally, most of the passengers in all of Cubao's bus terminal were heading to the Balloon Festival, so we had many competitors for the bus ride.
Fortunately, we heard a group discussing on transferring to a different terminal. We followed them (after letting them know HAHA) and waited on Solid North Bus Terminal where most of their buses travel via Dau route.
Photo grabbed from here
The travel time was at most 2 hours, so we decided to catch some Zs during it. And the fare was somewhere around 140 pesos so it was quite cheap.
When we were dropped off, we followed the general flow of the people and headed over a Jollibee branch. There were a lot of tricycle drivers offering rides to which we groggily agreed (remember, we just woke up). And this was definitely a wrong move! The ride cost us 100 pesos for a 10-15 minute travel from Dau Terminal to Clark Gate! If we just continued walking and crossed the road to catch a jeepney, we could have paid for a regular fare of 8-peso each :(
Anyway, after reaching Clark Gate, you'll be needing to ride another shuttle that will take you directly to the air field where the Hot Air Balloon Festival is being held (fare is 10 pesos).
When we finally arrived, the place was totally crowded! We arrived at somewhere between 4-4:30 AM and the line was already soooo long. We kinda felt disappointed since the on-site ticket selling had a shorter line.
After being ignored for quite some time by their marshal on the entrance and undergoing inspection, we were finally allowed to enter. We immediately looked for a great spot to set up the tent we brought.
Since the program will start at around 6:30AM, we decided to eat our breakfast and rest inside our tent.
Bread and canned goods, AGAIN!
By 6AM, the place was already crowded. One of the marshal had said that this was the most crowded day they encountered during the 4-day event.
When we heard the MC and the engines of some plane, we decided to peek out of the window of our tent to watch the start of the show :)
The program started with skydivers dropping from planes and displaying their colorful parachutes. The National Anthem was also played when two of the divers soared the skies with the National Flag attached to their parachute.
Spectacular!!!
After this, the highlight of the show begun!
Nyelfie!
This lasted for about 1-2 hours and after that the morning show was over. We decided to sleep inside our tent when the clock hit 7:30 AM and all the hot air balloons had already flown away.
We woke up at around 10 AM because of the blazing heat of the sun. Since there really wasn't anything going on around the air field, aside from the numerous children and children at heart flying their kites, we decided to head out and go to SM Clark to cool our heads and bodies off. PRO TIP: the place is very dusty so better to bring masks and if you want, some wet tissues to clean yourself off. Masks being sold in the venue is VERY pricey. Also, since it's dusty, expect that if by any chance, it rains, the place will be completely muddy.
We also ate our lunch at SM Clark since the food prices inside the venue is higher. Imagine, a Jollibee burger a la carte will cost you around 50 pesos! Anyway, since the next program will start at around 5PM, we decided to watch the Lego Batman Movie to pass the time HAHA.
We headed back to the air field at around 4PM and was glad that nothing had gone missing from our tent (except for the tiny metal hooks you use to actually hold the tent down on the ground UPDATE: I found out it was called tent pegs LOL).
Around this time, since the program has not yet resumed, we decided to do people watching and did some random photography.
We assumed that the hot air balloons were once again going to fly around so we were quite baffled when they were heated and pumped with air when it was already dark.
Anyway, during the evening, the only performance these balloons will do is a dance of lights. It was still quite a sight and the duration was really, REALLY long. I think it lasted for 6-7 songs(?) and majority of them were EDM so "party, party!" HAHA.
Pretend-snow
I'm still confused as to why kuya is topless...
#HappyKid
The festival ended at around 8 PM and we, along with many others, walked towards the exit of the air field. Since there were many people, jeepneys weren't able to accommodate all of us. Some decided to ride the 100-peso tricycle to Clark Gate. But since we didn't want to spend that much, we decided to walk all the way (it was far, I'm telling you, it was far and tiring).
We finally reached the gate after our plight and we rode a jeepney to reach Dau Terminal. You basically travel the same way you got into Clark so it really is hard to get lost.
There were numerous buses bound to Cubao at the bus terminal so we were able to ride one immediately. Unfortunately, we failed to grab some dinner before travelling so when we arrived at Cubao, we were starving! Another thing is, I lost the other lens of my glasses (I don't know where) so I was partially blind when we were travelling home :(( Anyway, that's another story to tell!
So that's how our DIY Trip to Clark's Hot Air Balloon Festival went! We're planning on checking out Lubao's Hot Air Balloon Festival this coming March so you can watch out for that and hopefully this post attracted you to go and check it out too! :D
Wow! Nice post! I'm a big fan of this event, do you visit the 22nd Philippines Hot Air Balloon Festival?
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