Hot Air Balloon Festival 2015

We left the house in Marilao, Bulacan at 3:30 AM. It was already 5:30AM and we were still in the car rolling at Clark Free Port zone searching for the exact place of the event. Good thing it was still dark. The program hasn't started yet. There should be a skydiver with a Philippine flag signaling the start of the program.

We were told the main gate is across Flying V gas station. We finally reached the gas station where we found at our right side. Now, we had to take a left turn to get to the event's entrance. Unfortunately, there was no Left turning. All cars need to take a U-turn at the farthest end.



The traffic was freaking heavy that we didn't make it to the the location on time. But we were still able to view the balloons flying from where we were at.













We finally reached the area and paid P300 entrance tree. We pitched our tent and prepared our food. This place was packed of visitors.

There are food stalls at the side so no need to worry about getting hungry. There is also free water.

My two comments. One is the heat. I hope they could arrange this festival every January when it is still not that hot. Second are the portalets. Due to the limitation of facilities, this place only has few of them. The lines are long both for male and females and it is not really hygeinic. But because you have to pee, you'll pee anyway. 

Second. For the show, I was expecting a simultaneous criss-crossing, crazy swirling kind of exhibition. Unfortunately for me, most of the planes simply flew. There was one though that did some somersault and it was a heart-stopping sight! That one I really enjoyed. 

We decided to leave at 1PM because, well, there was not much to do for us. And besides it was starting to rain.

I didn't feel accomplished for this trip. For one, I wasn't able to see all the balloons, more so get enough nice photos. Second, we could have just parked beside Flying V or anywhere along that road. If we did this, we wouldn't have to take the U-turn and waste time. Third, we could have brought a frame tent.

I noticed that after the hot air balloon flights, people started to leave. Some were there just to see the balloons. We'll probably do just the same the next time we visit.