Formerly known as Hotel Vida, the Widus Resort and Casino hotel in Clark, Pampanga was the last place we checked in during our Lakbay Norte 3 trip. This was a nice and relaxing place to cap off our eight-day adventure to different parts of North Luzon.

Widus Resort and Casino Hotel in Clark, Pampanga
January 28, 2012

Hotel Widus, Clark, Pampanga

To be honest, I didn’t expect a lot from this hotel. I was just happy to rest after a long day of pampering. But when I saw our King Bed and Single bed room, I was amazed.

our room in Hotel Widus

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The 17th Philippine International Hot Air Balloon Fiesta in Clark will be happening on February 9-12, 2012 at the Clark Freeport Zone in Pampanga.

I’ve been wanting to attend this event since last year with so many hot air balloons being showcased. It’s a photographer’s treat to witness so much color in the air. Unfortunately, I won’t be able to drop by this year due to a trip that I’ve already planned. So I gave away two of my tickets to friends who’ll be able to join this festival.

A Weekend of Everything that Flies!

photo source: Jep

This is a four day activity and below is the schedule of the balloon festival from February 9 to 12:

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Pundaquit Zambales Trip: Anawangin Cove, Nagsasa Cove and Capones Island
February 18-21, 2011

So how much did I spend in our trip to Anawangin Cove, Nagsasa Cove and Capones Island in Zambales? Around 2556.50 Php. Air Fare is NOT included though as it varies on the promo. But just to let you know, our fare only cost only 250 Pesos each... roundtrip.

The amount is composed of expenses from Cebu to Clark and going back to Cebu (including airport terminal fees).

It helped a lot that we were able to travel as a group (there were 4 of us) so we were able to divide our expenses. We made sure to stick on a budget on this trip and discussed our itinerary over a conference call in Skype to make sure that we stayed on track.

Zambales Trip: An Afternoon Nap Under Pine Trees in Anawangin Cove
Zambales Trip: Exploring Anawangin Cove

Zambales Trip: Cooking and Camping in Nagsasa Cove
Zambales Trip: Morning Jog in Nagsasa Cove

Zambales Trip: Golden Cogon Grasses in the Island of Capones
Zambales Trip: Standing on Top of the Lighthouse in Capones Island

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Despite sleeping early after our cookout and campout in Nagsasa Cove, I still woke up late. I must’ve been exhausted at the time because my mind aimlessly wandered on trivial things I could’ve just worried about later on – going back to the office in a couple of days and thinking about my pending freelance tasks that were way overdue.

My eyes were fixated on the view from inside the tent and I didn’t want to get up. But the sun motioned me to step out.

Nagsasa Cove, Zambales
February 20, 2011

who wouldn’t want a sight like this when jogging?
photo by Doi

I got out and saw my companions already taking photos of the beautiful Nagsasa scenery. Footprints were already present indicating how people have also awoken from slumber, taking advantage of the sand that was washed away by the previous night’s tide.

I used to wake up early even without an alarm to remind me. But it was too late to whine; besides, Nagsasa still holds its charm due to its stillness.

footprints

wallpaper

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I spent 36 hours travelling and waiting during our trip from Cebu to Siem Reap in Cambodia. It was the longest I spent to reach one destination. I guess that’s the challenge when you live in a region that doesn’t have a lot of options when it comes to flights to international destinations. Cebu Pacific Airlines used to have direct flights from Cebu to Bangkok but it stopped probably due to the minimal number of passengers going to that country.

In any case, we were lucky to get a discount due to promotional fares a couple of months before the schedule. Here’s a breakdown on how we got to Cambodia from Cebu.

online at Clark terminal

Cebu to Manila: We arrived 5 minutes late at the check-in counter so we had to pay the regular price and turned into chance-passengers at 5200 bucks more than the promo fare. Just mentioning it is already a pain in the buttocks since we already had a limited budget.

7000 Php (ouch) – Cebu Pacific Air Fare (original price was only 1800 Php)
200 Php – Terminal Fee

Cebu Pacific airlines

Lesson learned, arrive 2 hours earlier than the scheduled flight! I never want to be pay extra again as these are circumstances that we can control.

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