Our Adventures: Clearwater, Clark, Pampanga

Pink Sunset 

So, this is actually one of those blog posts where the photos really do most of the talking. I believe that a short introduction is necessary though --- 


When we went to Pampanga for the Hot Air Balloon Festival, my sisters-in-law made reservations to stay overnight at Clearwater Resort and Country club. I was really surprised because I was just expecting a hotel like place to stay over for the night but it turned out to be more than that... 

From their website: 

Clearwater Resort and Country Club pays homage to the American suburban lifestyle. An ode to Clark during the times it was considered as the largest offshore US airbase.  

Purple hues 

Clearwater Resort is actually made of many hectares that is why there is a lot of space for camping and having a picnic. There are also different amenities and sites to see such as freshwater lake, a beach and a pool, as well as gardens. You can go biking, swimming and fishing. 

You can even play volleyball, soccer, tennis and there is even a firing range. 

For more information about Clearwater and the different activities you can visit their website. 

The environment is really lush and rich with trees and the freshwater lake is relaxing and beautiful to look at. 

It really is a great escape from the busy hustle and bustle of the city. 

Paul had a great time taking photos. 

So without further adieu, here are Paul's photos! 

Our Adventures: Hot Air Balloon Festival 2013

Overcast. Dark skies did not dampen the eager crowd. 

If you were able to see my tweets you could tell that we were pretty excited to get to go the Hot Air Balloon Festival this year. Actually Paul's siblings have been planning to go last year especially since Paul's brother-in-law hails from Pampanga. 

Surprisingly it was still a last minute preparation and we made plans to go on the last day of the 4-day festival, which was on Sunday. The 18th Hot Air Balloon festival was held from February 21-24, 2013. 

We left at 4:00 AM in Antipolo and made our way to Pampanga only experiencing traffic when we got to the festival itself which was held in Clark Freeport Zone. 

There were so many people that we had to park our cars very, very far from the site of the event. We walked a long, long way, trudging along grass and gravel, while dust seemed to come from everywhere, we even went through a tunnel just to get to the festival. 

We were walking with so many people and some of them were joking that the long walk was already similar to a 'panata' or a promise/pilgrimage.  

Colorful balloons making their way up to the sky. 

Although the hot air balloons could already be seen from afar, they were not as many as I had hoped to see- (We were not able to see the Darth Vader balloon T.T )  maybe because it was too cloudy and the sun wasn't out yet or maybe we should have arrived earlier. But like as always we just made the most of what was in front of us. 

Spectators by the fence await for the amazing sights. 

Our Adventures: Coron Day 5

Day 5 of our Coron Adventure was actually our last day :( Bohooo hoo! :(

But we still wanted to make the most of our trip so while our flight was in the afternoon we walked around the town (plus we had to get souvenirs) so we set out to this stall in the market that makes keychains and can even personalize them.  

Friendly neighborhood lizard. 

This lizard was actually lounging about in our hotel. Paul was just happy as he followed the lizard around clicking away. 

Our Adventures: Coron Day 4

Part of our boat :) 

FINALLY! We were able to upload our photos from our October Coron trip in the blog. So after all those months I am now blogging about Day 4 of our Coron adventures. 

Our guides promised a more relaxing trip for our itinerary compared to Days 2 and 3. For Day 4 we were heading out to the many white beaches in Coron! 

As mentioned before there are many different islands you can go to and some of these are nice quiet, white sand beaches-without the modern comforts and offerings of Boracay. 

Setting out to white sand beaches! Just check out the blue mountains! 

First Stop is Malcapuya Island! :) 

Welcome to Malcapuya Island! 

Our Adventures: Resorts World Manila + Movie Review: The Hobbit

Lights in the sky. The signage for Resorts World shining bright against the night sky. 

Paul and I have always been making fun of the airy ad for Resorts World Manila. (Resooorts Whoorld Mhanilaaahhhh), we'd have laughs when we would imitate that catch phrase, so imagine our reactions when we found out that our company was having our Christmas Party in Republiq (a club in Resorts World Manila). We basically had more reasons to say Resooorts Whoorld Mhanilaaahhhh 


The Hotel 

When I heard that we were having our Christmas Party at Republiq, I immediately researched into having a room booked in a nearby hotel. 

I learned in my research that there are 3 hotels in Resorts World Manila: 

The Remington Hotel (affordable hotel) published rates: P3,900.00/night

Marriott Hotel Manila (5-Star business hotel AKA- expensive) published rates:P P8,500.00/night 

Maxims Hotel (All suite luxury hotel AKA - really expensive) published rates: lowest price is P15,800.00/night.  

Our Adventures: Cafe Ilang Ilang, Manila Hotel

The extravagant lobby of the Manila Hotel

We were very fortunate to be invited by Paul's uncle for a dinner at the Manila Hotel- so with the rest of the family we headed out to Manila Hotel one Monday evening- even if some of us still had work/was in the middle of work. 

I was really excited to go to Manila Hotel- I mean we are talking about a hotel which has such great history aside from its great beauty. Just think that the Manila Hotel is the oldest premiere hotel in the Philippines and was also the residence of Gen. Douglas MacArthur from 1935-1941 and for a history buff like me that was enough to make me drool. :p 

Aside from the rich history that surrounds the Manila Hotel no one can deny its lavish architecture and extravagant fixtures it is after all a five star hotel. :)

Welcome. Dinner was at Cafe Ilang-Ilang.

We had a buffet dinner at Cafe Ilang Ilang. The buffet consisted of a wide variety of cuisines from all around the world :) They had a different station for a type of food like: Japanese, Chinese, Korean, Italian, etc. :p 

Our Adventures: Thunderbird Resorts, Binangonan

We had our first official (after the wedding) honeymoon in Thunderbird Resorts in Binangonan Rizal, it was sort of a last minute thing and we didn't really want to spend so much on the honeymoon so in a not-so well thought of plan we decided to settle on Thunderbird Resorts-which is like a stone's throw away from our house. All in all we enjoyed our stay in Thunderbird Resorts- it was more of a get away and relaxing honeymoon than any of the adventures that we've recently had. 

We wanted to bring my boss from the US to the resort since she plays the machines in the Casinos, now when Paul and I were here for our honeymoon we didn't get to play any of the Casino games. 

Our accommodations came with a complimentary P300.00/each coupon but you can only use it for the table games and when Paul and I went up the casino at around 4:00AM there were still people playing the tables and we just decided not to play since we had a feeling they were going to eat us alive :p 

So during our recent trip to Thunderbird last November 17- we really had the casinos as our agenda :) 

Resort Entrance

A room in Thunderbird would cost around P5,300.00 for the weekday and P5,600 for the weekend but they also have a day trip package, for P1,000.00/person this already includes being able to use the amenities, P900.00 consumable for food and drinks plus the P300.00 coupon for table games. :) It wasn't a bad deal at all and this is what we availed of when we went to the resort. 

Unfortunately when we got to the Casino there was a dress code for Men- they could not enter the casino wearing slippers, sleveless, sando etc. So it was just the ladies who went over to the casino to play the machines. :) 

Now I've never played in the casino and thinking that I might have beginner's luck my boss gave me P500.00 to play with in the machines. After some time--and realizing that I did not have beginner's luck I cashed out at P200.00- although I would say that I still had some kind of beginner's luck since we played with the P200.00 ticket and let's just say that it grew an amount which was enough for us to have dinner outside :)

Our Adventures: Coron: Day 3

Traveling in the early morning we were met by a breathtaking landscape. 

Day 3 of our Coron Adventures, we set out really early in the morning-as in like 4:00 AM and this was because we were going to Calauit Island which was about a 2 hour boat ride. We road on a fast boat. 

It was really dark when we set out, it was pitch black and you could not even see your hand in front of you. 

My husband asked the boatmen 'How do you navigate in the dark?' Our guide answered that the captains used the stars, landmarks and mountains. Although that was not entirely reassuring, we put our faith in our guides and the captain of the boat. 

Trying out Black and White to capture the scenery. 

The early morning air was very cold and unfortunately I did not really pack any windbreakers, jackets or sweaters. It was a good thing Dexter brought an extra windbreaker or else I would have lost my teeth chattering from the cold. 

Busy Busy Weeks!!!

Lighted Candle from Marcus' Christening 

Ever since we've gotten back from Coron (we've only been able to post until Day 2 of our Coron adventures - we were there for 5 days) our weeks have been so busy with birthdays, baptisms, weddings, dinners and events. I'm not one to complain since this just means more photos and memories to keep and of course more blog posts to write about. 

Yeah I miss the lazy weekends of falling asleep while watching TV but those days will always be just around the corner but for now Mr & Mrs. Cheng have been pretty busy and here are some of our misadventures! 

So here are some photos (in no particular order) of what we've been up to these past couple of weeks. 

October 28, 2012- Marcus' Christening 

Marcus Jacob is another godson of Paul and I, he is the son of my College friend Djerty and if you have been following our blog already you would surely know Djerty and Marcus since we shot Djerty's maternity shoot and Marcus' new born shoot. :) 

So it was just right that we also cover his Christening :) 

Entrance to Cafe Ilang Ilang in Manila Hotel

Our Adventures: Coron day 2

Day 2 of our Coron Adventure started out with waking up to a nice sunny morning. The above photo shows the view from  our room. 

Paul, taking advantage of the sun's rays and capturing its glare on the photo. 

A nice and quiet morning at Sunz en Coron. 

Another Busy Weekend

Yummy Red Velvet brownies from my sister's bridal shower.

We had another busy weekend last October 20-21, 2012. Saturday was my sister's bridal shower at Astoria Plaza in Ortigas. Paul took some great photos of the sunset across the Ortigas city view. He really loves those kinds of views. Watch out for those photos! :) 

The photo above is a shot of the red velvet brownies I ordered from my friend Barbie. You can check out more of her amazing baked creations here. 

I have a thing with cupcakes during celebrations and I really love how they are set up in a tier. :) 

Beautiful cake toppers from Val and Chad's wedding. 

Right after checking out of Astoria the next day- I had my nails done and had my hair curled since we were going to attend the wedding of our good friend Vhal to Chad :) 

We shot their zombie prenup which you can check out here. 

Although Paul wasn't able to take much photos since we were enjoying catching up with friends from our College Publication :) 

It really was another busy weekend but it was a weekend of celebrations and another opportunity for great photos! :) 

Our Adventures: Coron: Day 1

View from up the air. (L) is the ever busy Manila and (R) is getting a glimpse of paradise-Palawan. 

I booked our flight to Coron last February during a Cebu Pacific Seat Sale- I was able to get our tickets for only P1,800! That's already round trip for the both of us! :) 

I always love taking photos of what I am leaving behind (Manila) and where I am headed (in this case, Palawan).

Well Traveled Book- this book has already been to Cebu and now Coron. 

Book 4 - A Feast of Crows of a Song of Fire and Ice (Game of Thrones) was my companion during times of waiting in the airport or any where else. This was taken on the bus going on the plane at NAIA Terminal 3. You can see the other passengers in the background. 

The planes that traveled to Coron were smaller than the usual domestic airplanes- they only had two rows for seats and smaller propellers. When we got on board the plane I couldn't help but smile since 'Blurry' by Puddle of Mud was playing in the plane --I don't think that would be the appropriate song on any plane-- the song was eventually changed to a Korean all-boy pop song about a lipstick, which probably suited the other Korean passengers on board. 

Just a note that there will be more mention of Koreans in our Coron trip. 

We're back!

Arriving at the Island.

We're back! We haven't been able to post for the last couple of days since we went on a 5 day vacation to Coron in Palawan. 

It was great to be able to get away and have -what really felt like a honeymoon. Our 'honeymoon' after the wedding was a quick stay in Thunderbird Resorts in Rizal- which is like 20-30 minutes from where we live. 

I was really able to feel what it was like to get away from the hustle and bustle that is our daily lives in Manila and just get away to paradise! 

You guys can expect posts of our trip to Palawan -soon and since we stayed in Coron for 5 days there are lots of things to blog about and of course lots of great photos! :) 

The photo above is just a preview of more photos! The picture is when we arrived on Coron Island. 

During our trip I would take notes and save them into my iPhone- there is just so much to see, to do and to discover in Coron. ^_^

So check up on our blog every once in a while since there will definitely be lots of blog posts! I'm so excited to start sharing our vacation with you - even if we also have work (ugh!) waiting for us and thankfully some shoots and projects to do but I do love being busy and getting creative with my husband-that's just how we roll! 

Our Adventures: Day 2 in Cebu

Paul enjoying his coffee with a daytime view of the city.

Sunday was our 'tour the city day' since we were already heading back to Manila on Monday morning. So we got up early since we knew we had a long day ahead of us.   

Our room during the day.

Our room during the night. 

In case I haven't mentioned it yet - we stayed in the Crown Regency Towers in Cebu. Since there was a great deal I found online. 

Our room on the 30th floor. For some reason they gave us two Queen sized beds- this is the one we didn't use except for the pillows.

Paul taking some photos while waiting for our friend Charen who will be taking us around. 

Our Adventures: Manila to Cebu, Day 1

We were VERY  early for our flight so Paul had time to go around and take photos of NAIA Terminal 3. Can you see me (Ica) in the picture? 

When we got married last December 2011 we really didn't get to plan our honeymoon and we ended up having our honeymoon a stone throws away in Thunderbird Resorts Rizal. 

So I really wanted to get to plan some sort of getaway and of course travel with my husband; especially now that everyone seems to be getting to travel all over the Philippines what with the Piso Fares and great travel deals. Taking my cue from budget travelers I was able to book a flight to and from Cebu last February for only around P2,100.00 and that is already round trip for the two of us. 

Since I booked this in February and the flight was still in September (in time to celebrate our 7th anniversary) I still had time to find a place for us to stay and so began my search for a deal on group online buying websites. 

Cebu City Lights. The view from our room on the 30th floor.