Lakbay Norte 3: Rediscover the North

I was hoping to publish a couple of entries while travelling to different places in the North. But every time I checked in the hotels we were assigned to, I was more excited to hit the sack to get some much-needed rest. The Lakbay Norte 3 trip has ended but I’m still getting a hangover from all the activities we did.

Lakbay Norte is a media tour set up by the North Philippines Visitors Bureau (NPVB) to introduce different media groups about travelling and the places to visit in North Luzon. With the banner “Rediscover the North”, NPVB and its partners (Manila North Tollways Corporation, Mcdonalds, Robinsons, Smart Communications, and Victory Liner) helped each other in showcasing that there’s still a lot of places that are undiscovered in the North.

Lakbay Norte Bus
Let me just say that the bus was really attractive!

Travelling on a Victory Liner bus for 8 days in North Luzon (Bulacan, Nueva Ecija, Cagayan, Kalinga, Ilocos Norte, La Union, Baguio, Pangasinan, Tarlac Subic Bay, Clark, Pampanga).

Adventures

I’m so glad that the theme for this year was “Outdoor Adventures in North Philippines” which mean that I had time to try out different physical activities. Spelunking, sport fishing, white water rafting, surfing, paddle boarding, airsoft, kart racing, offroad adventure, jungle survival; not to mention the karaoke night and a day of pampering.

 
jam-packed adventures during the trip!

Spelunking at Pinagrealan Cave, Bass Fishing at Cabanatuan, White Water Rafting in Kalinga, Surfing in Pagudpud, Paddleboarding in Paoay, Trekking & Tree Planting in Holcim Ecotrail, Airsoft in Baguio, Dawell Reivercruise in Dagupan, Go Karting at Kart City in Tarlac, Jungle Survival at Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority, Spa and Massage at Ritz Spa, Offroad Adventure at Puning Hot Springs in Greater Clark

Hotels and Resorts

This time, I get to live like a king and be pampered with great hotel and resort amenities knowing that all of these were already cared for. I felt the luxury and comfort of staying in these places and was really happy that we all received great treatment from the staff.

hotel lakbay norte
no backpacker’s lodge for 8 days

Las Palmas Resort, Rosewell Hotel, Ilocos Norte Hotel & Convention Center, Kahuna Beach Resort, The Manor, Microtel Luisita, La Maja Rica Hotel, Hotel Vida

Lakbay Kain!

We were advised by previous Lakbay Norte participants (Nina and Ferdz) to prepare for a weeklong feast of food but I didn’t realize that they were dead-serious about the warning. Food trips were abound and as soon as the trip was over, I noticed a few inches added on my waist. I’ve now a lot of cardio exercises to catch up if I want to get back in shape. But I’m not complaining. ;p

lakbay norte food
Endless food choices to stuff the stomach. Hello double chin!

Liquid Restaurant, Lakeview Resort, Las Palmas Resort, Kapuluan Vista Resort Hotel & Restaurant, Johnny Moon Cafe, Thunderbird Resort, Kahuna Beach Resort, Te Quiero Cafe, The Manor, Matutina Restaurant, Kart City, Pamulaklakin, Verandah Mimosah, Camalig Restaurant, Prado Farm, Robinsons

Newfound Friends

But aside from the physical activities which got me all hyped-up, the memories experienced between people who love to travel and have the aim to share these experiences with other people is what made this trip awesome. The transition between strangers to friends was really priceless; something which I wished we could’ve done a lot sooner.

lakbay norte 3
in Pagudupud

In no order: Glaiza, Dandi, Kara, Jerricho, Edsel, Hannah, Kristine, Darren, Sam, Angel, Christian, Gael, James, Marcos, Crismel, Ivan dela Rosa, Joy, Dickie, Rodel, Ivan H., Karlo, Jesame, Nap, Allen, Eirish, Grace, Frances, Carlo C., Ivan B.

I miss the people I was with for the whole 8 days. A bittersweet end to a whirlwind of destinations that I wouldn’t think twice of doing again.

I already have so many posts I need to start writing about but I’ll take this as a challenge. I’ll write more about them in succeeding articles.

 
bare head on concrete – this was really painful! lol
photo by Gael

Thank you Lakbay Norte 3 for the trips and mostly for the newfound friends! Now let’s minimize the backlogs!

——————–

***Lakbay Norte 3 is an eight-day Media familiarization bus tour organized by the North Philippine Visitors Bureau to Rediscover the North of Luzon, Philippines.lakbay norte

Check out my other Lakbay Norte 3 adventures here:

Food & Accommodation:


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soloflightEd.com is a travel blog by Edcel Suyo. He enjoys performing headstands and crazy stunts during his trips in the Philippines, Southeast Asia, and the Middle East. Now based in Dubai, United Arab Emirates and working to earn a living, he takes time to enjoy the city and travel during weekends.
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For questions, advertising, and other concerns, shoot an email to ed@soloflighted.com.


21 thoughts on “Lakbay Norte 3: Rediscover the North”

  1. @lawstude: haha, napressure na akong mag update! hehe. kelangan banatan ko toh ng mga entries if i want to keep up with Christian and Angel. hahaha! Sayang yung Pinatubo madami din kayo eh. baka next time. 😀

    @mervz: dami nga mervz, iniisip ko pa paano ko ipopost yung mga articles! penge ng mga tips kasi parang ikaw ang hari ng mga walang backlogs! hehe

    Reply
  2. @jerome: yeah kahit ng oatmeal diet pa ako ng one week before. di pa rin ako nakalusot! hehe

    @Kara: still segregating your solo pics din! will email too! grabe nga, andaming food pics! ayos ang Lamon Norte ah! heheh

    Reply
  3. Andaming food shots! haha. The last days of Lakbay Norte was so funny because all of us had noticeably bigger bellies … I'm still shaking the excess baggage off.
    do follow na ah! hehe 😀 

    Reply
  4. @mervz: ahh. marami rami na nga! lol. ok lang. good luck satin mervz! 😀

    @marcos: hahaha. daming food talaga di ba? naka 4 months na ako sabi ni Jesame. hehe. dofollow basta after Read more. hehehe

    @joey: thanks joey! soon ikaw rin! 😀

    Reply
  5. That`s really great. I mean travelling for 8 days with all these free stuffs is really awesomeness in every sense of the word. I always wanted to check-in The Manor since, like, forever but never had the chance to when we went to Baguio years ago. Pero I promise to go (& spend at least a night) there in the near future.
    I also want to commend the efforts of the NPVB for coming up with events like this. It`s a testament that the DOT is really serious in its tourism campaign. Thumbs up!
    #ItsMoreFunInThePhilippines

    Reply
  6. @hoobert the awesome: Really glad to have dropped by The Manor – still have to write a separate entry for that. 😀 I could really sense the NPVB's drive to push tourism forward so it's nice to see these types of activities for everyone to see so many things to do in the country! 😀

    @lakwatserong tatay: next year, meron na naman silang bago! 😀

    @micamyx: dapat lang. haha. babalik ako, ikaw na naman magtotour. kelangan ko lang ng pangkabuhayan kaya baka magiging mangigisda na ako. hehe 😀

    Reply
  7. "transition between strangers to friends was really priceless" couldn't agree more. Iba talaga pag nag ttravel at  nakakakilala ng mga tao with the same passion as yours. prang may lukso lang ng dugo sabi nila. hahaha!

    Kamusta naman.. ang tagal kong di nabasa mga entries mo. at ang tagal kong di nag-blog. whew! opo hindi na ganung kalalimang words gagamitin ko next time. para makarelate ka naman. hahah! joke! apir.

    Reply
  8. @killerfillers: ikaw naman sunod! 😀

    @Ryan Mach: trademark na po. haha

    @Robbie: good luck talaga! Balik na ako payat. hehe

    @dong ho: indeed. congrats on China!

    @kura: ok lang yan. medyo busybusyhan din tayo. hehehe thanks kura!

    Reply

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