elle's tinker toes ♥♥♥

I first learned about Glamping from a blogger who has tried this in Sumilon Island, Cebu. I thought it is so cool to be having all the luxury inside a tent. I myself slept in a tent a few times but less the luxurious stuff. Those were when we went ovenight camping in Dampalitan Island in Quezon , in Palaui Island in Cagayan Valley , and in Bantayan Island in Cebu . It's always  fun sleeping close to nature. But while that is fun, it can also be a hassle. Carrying around a tent plus a sleeping bag can be a hassle. Or bags used as a pillow is not very comfortable to sleep in at all and can be a hassle.

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.

I  started this tradition two years ago that every christmas eve we will spend it outside of our home. You see, we have a small family and the past years we always end up sleeping before midnight because of exhaustion preparing for Noche Buena. It was not  an ideal christmas feel that I want.  On our first year, 2013, we spent it in Intramuros. Then last year, 2014, we spent Christmas eve in Clark where we stayed at Grandview Tower Hotel.  This is one of the cheapest hotels near Clark. It is a pretty new condo-hotel building located at Don Juico Avenue, Angeles. It is just outside Clark FreePort Zone, very near SM Clark. 

Hailed as the Culinary Capital of the Philippines, I can't think of any other reason more enticing enough to drag ourselves to Pampanga. Finding these talked about restaurants are just so easy. Thanks to some blogs for their recommendations and Waze for directions. Lol Now, this is not a one day tour. This is a compilation of the restaurants we've been to every time we were in Pampanga. Aling Lucy Sisig. Coming from Bulacan, we always take the fastest route, the NLEX. We followed where Waze directed us and after some series of stops and turns, we finally made it to Aling Lucing's.

January 11, 2014 Day 4 We checked out from Revlun Pensionne at 6AM and walked towards the market. We need to go to Hayanggabon Port where our boatman waits for us. There are vans/multicabs/bus going that way but don't know what time they'd pass. Since tricycle is always available, we hired one and paid 30 pesos each. The same fare had we chose to ride in multicab/van's.  Hayanggabon Port.

January 9, 2014 - Day 2 Woke up at 4AM inside our room in La Entrada resort. Last night went by quickly as we all slept early because of fatigue. We arranged a pick up from the tricycle driver who brought us to the resort yesterday. He picked us up at 5:30 and arrived at the highway 10 min before 6 am. Lucky for us, a bus bound for Butuan passed by. After paying 40 pesos and 30 minutes of travel, we arrived at Barobo terminal. Here in the terminal, we had a quick breakfast - coffee, bread, noodles, eggs bought from food stalls. We checked in our bags at The Point Inn located just across the terminal. This is so our only hand carry are the clothes we will use during the tour and leave important stuff in the Inn. For 300 pesos, we rented a room for 2 with electric fan and shared bathroom. Perfect! We left Barobo terminal at 7:15AM bound for Mangagoy via van. Fare is 90 pesos and travel took 2 hours. Upon alighting at Mangagoy, our contact person/tourguide we f...

January 8, 2014 Day 1 A reservation was made for island hopping from La Entrada Resort prior to coming. We started at 4pm. It was already late but had to push this through, after all this island hopping is the only purpose why we visited this place.  We were led to the drop off. Britania consists of 24 islets, five of which have white powdery sands. Among the five islets, one is privately owned. And so only four islets can be visited without a fee. Overnight staying is not allowed, the guide said.  I tell you, these islets are worth seeing. We were only able to see three islands. I was surprised and thrilled by their powdery white sand and pristine water. islets Hagonoy Island Boslon Island Hiyor-Hiyoran There is another one called Naked Island. This is their own version of a sandbar.We didn't visit this one because the tides were strong on this part.  After seeing several islands in this country, I thought I've already se...