Mt.Pinatubo Trekking - the cheapest way

update as of March 5, 2010:
○ my shots from my point and shoot camera got featured in http://loqal.ph under Travel and Outdoors category.
see link here.

Some months ago, a casualty occurred in Pinatubo. A Canadian group of 9 people insisted to do a tour even with the advice of locals to postpone it. Weather is not good that time. Since the foreigners insisted, the locals agreed but they asked them to sign a waiver first. The tour went okay. As they head back to Spa Town, the accident happened. 4 people died. After that, Pinatubo Crater Lake was closed for tourists. (source: our tourist guide who apparently was part of the said group)

After 3 months of closure, Pinatubo reopens! No time to waste, dapat na ma-experience to this time. And of course, mas fulfilling ang trip kung Do-It-Yourself! Research time again, favorite stress reliever ko yan.

if you're a group of 5, expenses per head is P1,500

I invited 4 of my friends and we're all set. At 3am, we took the Baguio bus dahil dadaan yan sa Capas Junction. Fare is P150. After 1.5 hours, nasa McDonald's Capas Junction na kami. We ate breakfast and bought our meal for lunch at the crater. Dito kami nagpapick-up sa 4x4 landcruiser. Contact is Wendell, president of the 4x4 drivers association. Wendell - 0919.608.4313

powerful landcruiser

Ang ginaw! Good thing Im ready. May jacket ako at muffler! After 30 minutes nasa Pinatubo Spa Town na kami. Dito magbabayad at magpaparegister. Since we arrived early, na-explore pa namin yung place.

photo op while waiting inside the spa town

the bar area

mud pool area

volcanic ash spa area

my group - pinatubo edition

Finally, the staffs from Department of Tourism arrived. Nagfill-up lang at nagbayad kami then we're good to go. Another man joined our landcruiser, kala ko nakiki-hitch lang, siya pala yung tourist guide. ^_^

The road is tough, rocky, bumpy, watery, ano pa ba? Parang CDO water rafting na din. Basta, whatta experience! Inferness, ang powerful ng 4x4 landcruiser. Na-overwhelmed ako on what this ride can do. On our way, ang ganda ng view. At mas maginaw na.

malawak na desyerto ng lahar?

bumpy skyway

There are really spots na super malalaki na yung bato. Sympre I wasnt able to take photos. Blurred na lahat. After 1.5 hours, finally we're at the trekking point. Okay, where do we belong?

Im 25y/o but I dont believe I can finish this in 20 minutes.

Eto na, this part of the adventure requires mental skills. Para siyang puzzle na iisipin ko mabuti kung sang bato ako tatapak. Pag nadapa kasi ako, surely duguan ang mukha ko after. Pero no worries, may first aid kit ang tourist guide. Yay! This is actually fun! Ü

parang rain forest

mentally challenging! Ü

It's not a race naman so we took our time taking photos along the way. First time kasi naming lahat. From time to time, your feet will get wet so extra ingat baka madulas. Dont touch the plants too, yung kasama ko kasi nasugatan siya.

It took us 25 minutes to get on top. First glimpse namin ng Crater Lake, wala kaming ibang nasabi kung hindi WOW! Tanggal lahat ng pagod namin.

Welcome to Mt. Pinatubo Crater Lake

ayl♥vet! (thanks Remay for my solo)

This was like the first time I saw Mayon Volcano and Chocolate Hills. Ibang level talaga pag nakita mo sila ng personal.

Ang ganda talaga sa Pilipinas! ♥

Majestic indeed!

Btw, kaya pala P300 na ang conservation fee (from P50) ay dahil naglagay na sila ng mga signs, resting area, stairs, photo deck, viewing den, etc. Wala pala to dati. Tara, let's go down.

renovated place

let's go down

the color's surreal!

We ate lunch first then enjoyed the view. Kahit 10 na, ang ginaw pa din. The tourist guide keeps on remindung us na 7,000 feet deep ang water sa lake and it's still immeasurable sa deepest part nya. Oh ok. Ayoko na maligo. Naglusong lang kami sa mababaw na part. Delikado kasi biglang lalim ang tubig. Ayoko pa mamamatay, madami pa ko travels next year! Joke!

Water is tempting but Im scared to swim

Among the many signs scattered around the place, this one is my favorite:

No shouting please.

Noise can cause soil erosion.

Thank You Lord God for the good weather and for always keeping me safe in all my travels. Ü

Howkey, tama na ang lakwatsa! Next year naman ulit! (--,)

*all shots from my point and shoot camera only

Update as of Feb 2011:
After seeing the most raved about Angkor Wat in Cambodia, the glorious Grand Temple and Palaces in Thailand, the very sparkling Petronas Towers in Malaysia, and the brilliantly-designed Cu Chi Tunnel in Vietnam - my heart remains faithful in this one unique spot in the Philippines. The most stunning spot I've seen is still Mount Pinatubo.

What's the factor why Pinatubo is the best spot?

It's just very hard to imagine that something this majestic can be destructive at the same time. That makes this spot very unique and remarkable. It's really something every Pinoy can be proud of. ♥

Favorite 3's

I started traveling when I was in college. I remember my first ever trip is in Baguio. Well, I considered this a travel because I organized it, I dont have any other purpose there, and that's the first time I was away from home. Second travel was Puerto Galera. Inexpensive travel it was. I think that was my first ever boat ride too. When I started earning money, my first plane ride was with SEAIR and it was bound to Boracay. I still remember that SEAIR promo for December, it only costs P5,000 inclusive of roundtrip tickets and 3D2N hotel accomodation. Later on I found out this is not so cheap after all! *winks*

Since then I've always love making my own itinerary for every travel. I like to study the maps and route and other attractions aside from the usual standard tourists spots..

Kumareng Grace has a contest/raffle as a bday treat. The instruction is to list your top 3 most favorite destination that you've been to. And your top 3 dream destinations. Im not really not fond of writing an entry just for some contests, but hey, for the FOSSIL WATCH and a J.LO perfume that I could win, here goes my entry then!

Top 3 Favorite Places That I've Been To

Disneyland

train - castle - fairy tales

Ever since I was young, I'm really a big fan of Disney movies and characters. When I first saw the Disney train I knew it would be the start of a day full of magic. As I walked thru the theme park, I had goosebumps when I heard the classical theme songs of the fairy tales I used to watch. Another worth mentioning is the amusement in every child's eyes when they saw the characters came to life. Priceless. Indeed the happiest place on earth!

Bohol

BeeFarm, Panglao Island, Chocolate Hills,

ManMade Forest, Tarsier, Mag-Aso Falls, Loboc River

It took me 2 months to study my DIY itinerary for Bohol. And I guess it really pays to reserach. Bohol is really a place to relax. Truly a vacation spot. Aside from Bohol is very beautiful, I can say it's the only place I've been to that offers an almost complete attraction for tourists and travelers.

Anawangin, Nagsasa, Capones

Anawangin's pine trees, Nagsasa's clear water, Capones waves

I've always define travel as a time to relax. I hate hassles and inconvenience. But last month I decided I should go out of my comfort zone and try to experience the beauty of the places that has not been touched. Anawangin, Nagsasa, and Capones are secluded areas with no electricity, accomodation, and signal for cellphones. Surprisingly, these places exceeded my expectations. Relaxing and affordable pa!

Top 3 Places That I Dream Of Going To

I cant hardly define my dream destinations because I never run out of places that I want to visit after the other. Haha But for quick answers, I would love to visit Japan. Too bad mahirap ang ma-approve ang tourist Visa nila. And surely, kulang ang savings ko for a leisure trip there. Also I like Beijing, kaso wala pa yung kasama ko for this trip.

And so I choose to share these interesting places which I can visit very soon.. Remember the piso fare last November? I was able to book tickets bound to:

Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand

Dai Nam, Angkor Wat, Buddhist Purity

I would love to see Vietnam's Dai Nam, Notre Dame Cathedral, Cu Chi Tunnels etc. For Cambodia, what else but the Angkor Wat and Killing Fileds. I plan to spend more time in Thailand to see the temples, palaces, waterways, museums, and beaches! The best part is the possibility of traveling to these countries in a span of 8 days! I need extensive reasearching on this. Favorite past time ko pa naman ngayon ang mag-aral ng mapa and routes. *winks*

Kumareng Grace, I plan to keep this Saigon-PhnomPenh-SiemReap-Bangkok trip a secret muna sana pero dahil sa contest mo, na-broadcast ko na tuloy agad!

Dear readers of my blog, Im also interested in your top3 most favorite destinations you've been to and your top3 dream destinations. Come, share them! (--,)

MoMo! Food + Drink

Could have been a complete family day for us but life goes on kahit magcancel ka Mark Aldrin! Haha Remay and I still pursued our MoMolicious family day at Robinson's Place.

MoMo stands for More Food More Drink!

Lucky for us we arrived before lunch time so the place is still not jampacked. Interiors are detailed and very photogenic. Ambience is light, parang ansarap kumain dito. Our order didn't take long to arrive. Complimentary bread and spread are first served. Remay liked it!

complimentary bread and spread

the drinking glass is as tall as the champagne bottle!

Staffs are very very attentive. Pag tumingin kami sa staff kahit di sinasadya, allapit na sila. Haha Here comes our meal. Inferness, ganda ng presentation.

Pan Roasted Shiitake Mushroom Crusted Norwegian Salmon

hmm, generous serving for the price of P385. Served with i dont know what kind of rice + veggies + corn cob.

Sweet & Smoky "Hickory" BBQ" Rib-LETS

Served like the salmon dish. Andaming slabs, pero kinda dry ang ribs. Keri lang for the price of P345.

Satisfying ang meal. Each meal is good for two, I think. We have to stop and make harutan once in a while para maubos pa yung meal. For dessert, we chose the Chocochip Dough Cheesecake.

Chocochip Dough Cheesecake

Ok naman pero di ko masyadong bet. This is expensive ha. P265. Buti nagshare nalang kami.

Cheers to More Food and More Drinks!

MoMo! Food + Drink
Robinson's Place Ermita

Dancing Sea Fairies

To start with, you're on the right blog and URL. I finally changed my layout. Ayos ba? Naisip ko kasi Jurassic Era pa yung template ko. Pero para you still know it's me, I retained my signature sunset shot sa upper left. I have a super long weekend kasi (pero wala akong out of town trip, loser no?), so I decided to include this blog make over in my to-do-list.

Moving on, here's my activity on the first day of my 5-day vacation: Jellyfishing! Parang si Spongebob lang!

The dancing jellyfish never fails to amaze and impress me. I first saw this attraction at HK OceanPark. The different lights and music match their "dance". Ganda! Some time this year, nagkaron na din ng Jellyfish ang Manila OceanPark. Entrance is P150, iba sa entrance sa Big Aquariums.

See the Dancing Sea Fairies in RAINBOW colors! Ineffortan ko sila picturan. I just hope next time di sila gumalaw-galaw..

red

orange

yellow

green

blue

indigo

violet

A jellyfish in its natural color.

Simply a lovely creature, agree?

After the visit, I learned that: FISH ARE FRIENDS, NOT FOOD.
Oh well, I dont eat them so friends ko talaga sila.

Here's our meal after our Manila Ocean Park experience.

Crispy Pata (drooling)

Fish are friends, right? *winks*

Manila Ocean Park
Behind the Quirino Grandstand Luneta, Manila
http://www.manilaoceanpark.com/