Our adventure started here! - 19th Philippine-International Hot Air Balloon Festival

Hey guys! I’m doing another blog series here in Azrael’s Merryland, and for this month of February, I’m hyper posting my 7 part blog series about our adventure and also coverage of the 19th Philippine Hot Air Balloon Festival 2015 that is happening today in Clark Freeport in Angeles City, Pampanga. I’m so glad that our coverage for day 1 is successful and got home safe and still in hyper mode to blog about it.

After we learned that we have media passes to cover the event, we decided to plan ahead and prepare our trip to Clark. Eli told me that its KKB or kanya kanyang punta to the event because there’s no media junket available, but I told him that I will still go there because we have media pass.

The media pass is very important, it’s the only ticket to enter the festival and also get close to the hot air balloon. During the one week planning, we got Ted Claudio to go with us and then last minute, Myrna Roman joined with us. I mentioned to the rest of the PBNET about our trip and seems that everyone got their plans already. I heard that Ron will be there with his family this Saturday.

Our meet up in Starbucks, Araneta Center
Eli Villagonzalo – www.elifestylemanila.com
Ted Claudio – www.wazzup.ph
Myrna Roman – www.myrnaroman.com / https://atmmagazine.wordpress.com/

During the planning stage, I created an awesome itinerary for all of us, and since that me, Eli and Myrna are veteran visitors of the festival, Ted is confident to join with us and use his Hyundai car to transport us there in Pampanga because the three of us knows the loop holes of this festivals.

here’s the itinerary that I created

Feb 11, 2015
7:30pm - start of assembly in Robinsons Galeria
8:00pm - meet Ted and prepare for departure
8:15pm - travel to Angeles City, Pampanga ---SCTEX-Dau-Clark
9:30pm - arrival in Pampanga
10:00pm - late dinner -- search for aling lucing sisig / Burp! flamed burger
11:00pm - stroll around clark freeport zone

Feb 12, 2015
12:00am - look for a place to park car and rest
- Buy supplies - water and packed breakfast in 7 Eleven
12:30am - sleep and rest
4:00am - go to hot air balloon site in Clark Freeport zone
5:00am - get media ID and start to line up in event entrance
5:30am - program ---- RC UFO Flying
6:20-6:35am - PCG Skydiving Ph flag jump
6:40am -7:40am - Here and Hound Hot Air Balloon Flights
7:30am-8:15am - Motorized Paragliding exhibition
8:30am -9:30am - Drift car stunt with flour bombing
9:15am-9:30am - Stearman flyby acrobatic manuever
10:00am - Toti Alberto RC Turbine jet show
10:30am - go to SM Clark or Marque mall-- freshen up and eat early lunch
12:00nn - go back to Manila
1:30pm - Arrival in Manila

Hotel check for rates and availability
1. Bliss Hotel - located in hills st. near Sogo and Dau-Mabalacat bus terminal
2. Sogo Hotel in Dau
3. Other mot mot

Here’s our night drive travel to Pampanga.
Ted is on the wheels
Eli is the navigator
Myrna is the tollgate collector
Me as the making sure that we are on the right way according to my itinerary.

The good news comes when our friend Raffy Pekson referred to us to his friend Marcia, who owns Adventure Magazine and also the owner of POTS restaurant in Northwalk Clark, then we learned that we are welcomed to visit and eat our lunch there the next day, I added that to our itinerary.

But we missed the Burp! burger food trip that night because we arrived past 10pm and the burger joint in Angeles City, Pampanga closes at 10pm. A friend reco us to try the burgers because there’s something special about it.

After we arrived in Angeles City, we searched the location of “Aling Lucing’s Sisig” Via Foursquare and then Ted pop up his Waze app and then it led us straight to Aling Lucing’s restaurant in a smooth way.

Btw, you can check my Foursquare TO DO LIST
https://foursquare.com/popazrael/list/hot-air-balloon-fest-to-do-list

Aling Lucing - https://foursquare.com/v/aling-lucings-sisig/4c94b00c533aa0933267c145

Clark Freeport Zone - https://foursquare.com/v/clark-freeport-zone/4b7310cdf964a5202a992de3

SM Clark - https://foursquare.com/v/sm-city-clark/4b8ca362f964a5200ed932e3

Marquee Mall - https://foursquare.com/v/marquee-mall/4b8c8e8ef964a5206ed632e3

Friendship Korean Town - https://foursquare.com/v/friendship-korean-town/51dd8690498e93e304ac2f32

Burp! Flamed-Grilled Burger - https://foursquare.com/v/burp-flamegrilled-burger/54bca2ad498e4cbc40766234

Bliss Hotel – https://foursquare.com/v/bliss-hotel/4e2447b5ae6015b212c1ae5e

POTS – Asian Fusion Restaurant - https://foursquare.com/v/pots-asian-fusion-restaurant/53b69bea498e69be2ee73de8

just view the map via Foursquare for the directions, OR use WAZE for precise direction to the venue.

After eating in Aling Lucing, we went to 7 Eleven to buy some water and snacks. Then we went to the hot air balloon festival site and we arrived here at around 1am.

Ahahaha..yes! we are the early birds, we asked the guard for the location of the press and media parking, but the guard didn’t have any clue. We also spotted GMA crew van and Inquirer pick up truck. We parked near the Inquirer truck but later on a Philippine army solider told us to park at the main parking lot.

Our plan is to stay in a cheap motel, we saw one near a 7 Eleven store and it’s a PHP 800 overnight, but as we arrived here in the event site, we decided to sleep in Ted’s car because we’re just to wait for 4 hours for the opening of the gate.

We call our stay as “Hyundai hotel” hahahahaha.

It was cold at around 1am, and then I realized that you can sleep at the parking lot, then I got the idea that I will bring a tent and sleeping mat in our next visit next year.

Our trip is less-expensive, because we skipped on sleeping in a motel. We used the 7 eleven GC and Petron GC to pay for what we need. At the first day of our trip, we paid the toll gate fee and our dinner in Aling Lucing.

After 4 hours, gates were opened and we met Ms. Millet for our media ID and th en we proceeded to the ramp area field of the hot air balloons.

Our coverage went smooth as usual..and we’re here to cover and post photos and stories about the festival.

I’m happy that we have lots of hot air balloon participant for this year, unlike in the previous years, we only got a handful of flyers.

I really love the new designs that they featured for this year, I was hoping to see the Darth Vader balloon and also the Sunshine balloon, but they didn’t joined for this year. But its okay, we saw the cute octopus balloon and the puppy balloon

Octopus balloon of Japan and that head balloon – a character from a real painting

A girl and boy balloon…..the guy balloon flew first

Funny devil hot air balloon , I was laughing when I saw this… hahaha pang asar kasi yung dating

Thanks to Ms. Millet for arranging our media ID. you are the best!!!
sana next year uli

It’s a wrapped!!! We decided to go out for lunch and head back home.
Eli is not on pic because he took a micro nap in Land Rover’s tent, thanks to Ms. Ana Zamudio for adopting us there!!

On our way home…whew!!! success trip and coverage!

Check out my next blog post about the balloon and other activities of the 19th Philippine-International Hot Air Balloon Festival