Sunday, June 23, 2013

Nasugbu, Batangas: FREEdom

I was a bit fortunate to have been included in this trip. I haven't been to the beach for a while and yeah it was fun since we had it for FREE, hence the blog title. We we're lucky that we won a couple of pesos from the Philippine Red Cross Rizal Chapter twice a year VOLympics.

So as a price, we had our team building outing. We had it at Munting Buhangin Beach Camp in Nasugbu, Batangas. We went there with two coasters, it was a bit uncomfortable but haller we could sacrifice a little for something free right? So yeah this is how we rolled (trust me it was like a roller coaster ride since we were at the back hehehe)
The trip lasted from 3pm to 7pm. We used Daang Hari which made me sooo sleepy and so nauseous good thing I was good in controlling it. And yeah despite me being beside my buddies, we ended up sleeping because we don't know already what to talk about. 

My teammates L to R: Sir Ge, Ma'am Roxy, and Ma'am Leah
We came there when it was super dark already so we had nothing to do but prepare for dinner and prepare to introduce our team. Then there was an activity about sharing what we can improve for the organization to be stronger & better. After the activity we just went out and enjoyed the breeze and soaked our feet in the water just in the shore. Then it was nap time.It was my first time sleeping near the waves. I really enjoyed the breeze sleeping below the nipa hut of our group, luckily no one stepped on me.


The next morning I woke up beside a cute crab. Then the ocean was a bit calmer than last night so yes, we were eventually allowed to swim. So after breakfast we headed towards the shower room and changed into our swimming gear, well the other just went to the ocean directly. Just can’t wait eh… So we went in and swam for about 2-3hours. 



After having pruned hands we decided to stay in the shore and just relax. We build sand castles & even buried each other in sand. After, we decided to take a bath and fix our things. Then since we were allowed by the management to extend for a bit since we came in late. The others were still in the ocean swimming. We then decided to stroll. We brought some snacks to eat while strolling and of course our cameras. So while strolling we took pictures, and luckily we have a great photographer with us, Sir Ge. So he asked us to pose and he just shoots the cam and yeah it ended up like a photoshoot. We really did enjoyed and loved our pictures. Thanks Sir Ge.

Find ME!?!?!

The best jumpshot in the series of jumpshots we did... :D




On our way home we decided to sleep and yeah we raced into the middle seat since the seat on the far end was really like a roller coaster and hey they’re kids they still can squeeze in better than we do. We reached Alabang around 6pm, much earlier than our expected time.

It was a simple getaway from the usual and the best part, not just it was free, but we got to enjoy a weekend with the people who mean a lot to us. And these people are all geared up to save lives :)

Now the review about the place...
The value for money is okay. Thinking you could get a cheaper place to stay in with the same beach that of Punta Feugo then why not. The place was though a bit messy, but hey this is all the budget we have and we're used to cleaning for ourselves so yeah we were the ones cleaning.  The only down part of this place was the toilets & shower rooms. They seldom have staff cleaning the rooms. The huts were well mantained and very clean. The affordability is really a big thumbs up.

If you ask me will I go to this place again? If I'm with my shoestring budget pals I bet I would, but if it's with my family I'd rather ask them to get another place instead.

RATES:
from Bundles of Joy (http://joyluck614.blogspot.com)


HOW TO GET THERE:
COMMUTE
Take a bus to Nasugbu, Batangas (via Buendia or Roxas Blvd) then a tricycle to Munting Buhangin Beach Camp

PRIVATE CARS
You can follow the route to Tagaytay (which is found also in this blog)
From Tagaytay:
Follow the highway, passing by Alfonso (Cavite) and until you reach kilometer marker 93, the so called "Likuan", where you turn right (left turn leads to Balayan town).
Just go straight ahead and you'll pass-by Nasugbu town proper, Cawayan Cove, Tali Beach, Munting Buhangin and Terrazas de Punta Fuego. There are also signs but it's somewhat hard to see since it's already faded.



Munting Buhangin Beach Camp
Barrio Natipuan, Nasugbu, Luzon, Philippines

Offsite office:
7/F Makati Executive Center
114 L. P Leviste Street, Salcedo Village
1200 Makati City, Philippines

Telephone Number:
+63 (2) 8184798

Fax Number:
+63 (2) 8923649

24/7 Hotline:
+63 (2) 8434343 local 2006


website: http://www.muntingbuhangin.ph/






Wednesday, June 12, 2013

Subic: A Jungle Ride

Independence Day=HOLIDAY=Out of Town Trip

This Independence Day, dad decided to go on a trip to Subic since my cousins from Jakarta are also here. Though it was just a day trip so he chose to go to ZOObic Safari.

So a bit of history before I tour you with my pictures...
Old map of Subic bay (from Subic Bay website)
"Subic" was derived from the native word "hubek", which means "head of a plow". The origin of the name was a by-product of altruistic colonial enterprise.

In 1542, Juan de Salcedo, the able Spanish conquistador and dashing grandson of Miguel Lopez de Legazpi, founded Subic while collecting tributes in the area. The town's name at that time is Hubek. Salcedo mispronounced "Hubek" as "Subiq". By the time of the American occupation of Subic, the Yankees mispronounced "Subiq" into "Subig".

Later on "Subig" became "Subiq" again, but the letter q - apparently of Spanish origin - was replaced with letter c, hence the name "Subic". (from: http://www.subic.com/history.php)




Subic is known as a naval camp of the Americans until September 16, 1991 when the US had to withdraw its forces and equipment from Clark and Subic, having received the rejection of 12 senators on the earlier proposed new treaty. The lowering of the Stars and Stripes followed suit. The Navy bid farewell to America's nine decades of military presence on Philippine soil. Subic Bay was then converted into a commercial zone largely through the efforts of some 8,000 residents of nearby Olongapo City, under the leadership of their mayor, Richard Gordon, who volunteered to protect and preserve 8 billion dollars worth of facilities and property from looting and destruction. Now Subic has gained a lot of attention for weekend visitors from Metro Manila. Attractions include several beaches, an underwater aquarium, jungle survival tours, racing and duty-free shopping centers.

So having that in mind (especially the last 2 sentences) I felt excited, but bored during the looooooooong way there, especially when we reached SCTEX. Thank God I got my ipod & book to keep me company since my camera was a bit in a bad condition.Soon as we reached the Lahar site & all the mountain ranges I was so tempted to get some pictures using my tab, but it's also our GPS (using google maps) so I just took some...


So after the long ride we at last arrived at ZOObic Safari...
 Upon arrival you would see a ticketing booth just beside the mural above...
Here's the fees:
from: zoobic safari website (http://www.zoobic.com.ph/rates)
 It was a simple adventure day. I've been to Taman Safari in Indonesia that's why I kinda have an idea and yeah I kinda felt "bitin" (lacking) with the whole experience. Though it was also nice to have one here in our country. Just hope it could be, it's a wonderful place and probably because it is an old one and that it was not a usual peak season, but hey it was a Holiday so I supposed they would have something more than the usual show, but there was none. The place is probably great only if it was well maintained.

So we went in and the first thing for us to enjoy was a group picture... There were actually 2 shots but this is the fun one!!! :D


Then the orientation was done in the reception area near the tiger photo-op area. It was good that they give orientations & information for their visitors. Safety should always be a priority, not just for the visitors but also for the animals. Then short after the orientation we had a picture with the tiger cub taken.

 L to R: My aunt, Cuz Andre, Me & Cuz Eric and of course Jas the tiger
 Then we were asked to go to the stage area for the animal show...



After the show we headed towards the bird sanctuary...

Here we got a chance to have a close encounter with the birds, different kinds of them. Here's some of my faves...

And yeah this peacock is actually a female, the male is the one with  the colorful fan. Just like other animals the male is prettier than the female & this is to attract the females.





Here's another friendly little fella joining us in our trail... He really wasn't sacred of anyone.



 They even have a feeding session. See this "love birds" yup they're there because of the bird seed on the tour guide's hands.
And yes they also allow people to feed the birds, costs 20 pesos per person
After the whole bird sanctuary trail, they asked us to ride the tram.They actually gave a couple of minutes break for those who want to bring snacks and have to do some bladder stuff. Since we're still good and had a hearty breakfast and some snacks on the way and a bladder break while my dad was buying the tckets, while waiting...


The loner guy! :)))

We rode the tram to the Forbidden cave, which was filled with creepy taxidermy animals. And yeah the smell of the cave is really kinda weird. Some of the taxidermy was a bit rotten already but still most of them are in great shape.

Then there were two more stops. Then the tiger safari ride!!! They divide the guests into groups. We were fortunate that we had fun with the group we joined in. If I'm not mistaken they named their group Team Popoy (from the movie one more chance) they're a couple of young professionals.
Inside the safari ride

The tiger, the one that went with us was the female. I think her name is Tish (or something that has -sh in the end)

Then we rode the tram on our way back. But before heading back we lurked in the souvenir shops and took some pictures & some souvenir items :D
Thanks to my faulty camera this picture became more cooler!
There were last 2 stops before we end the tour according to the tour guide. So my cousins bought more mineral water. Hehehe...
Second to the last stop, the Aetas' s trail.
 The real inhabitants of this forest, Ilanin Forest, were the Aetas as a tribute to them, the park made a simple trail to them. And not just that but they also hired them for cultural shows and even some trainers, and tour guides were from the tribe. A good way to pay back.

A picture with the dancers of the show
The trail is actually just as short walk that showcases the life of Aetas, how they live and even their daily routine of games & exercises.

The last stop of the tour was the Croco Loco.
Here we get to see the crocodiles. We actually walked above them! Hahaha...
















The tired look on their faces... Hehehe...

We enjoyed the tour, just really hoping that they could maintain & improve the place. It was quite heart breaking to see some of the facilities closed due to the death of some animals and also because of the lack of funds to maintain the place. I hope that the people would try to visit the place so that they could continue their operations.

After the safari tour we headed back to the front area and got our pictures. There was a restaurant inside and we thought of eating there snce it was already past 12nn. But then mom & dad kinda said the menu has little choices and they were mostly of friend & grilled, so we headed out to look for a place to eat and so I suggested to instead go to the nearest mall which is the Harbour Point Subic.

So again we tracked down the way to the mall with my handy dandy Google maps. On our way to the mall they saw several restaurants. They passed through one which has mostly grilled stuff, then on the second one they decided to check it our since they were really hungry. And so they decided to eat there, despite the expensive menu.

source url: http://static.panoramio.com/photos/large/9394074.jpg
from: Panoramio
The beautiful view

A panormaic view from the resto

My cousin doing some emo time....
The food was great but I think it really was a bit expensive for such serving. And since it's open air there were many, many flies & mosquitoes even the staff had a hard time getting them away from our table. We had one candle each just to prevent them from settling on top of our food. Despite this the service was good and the food was really of good quality and good taste.


That's the end of our Subic day tour adventure. I just wished we had an overnight adventure and stayed at a near by resort or something then go to Ocean adventure the next day. Hehehe...



HOW TO GET THERE:
Zoobic Safari
source url: http://www.zoobic.com.ph/sites/default/files/zoobic%20map%20d.jpg
from: zoobic safari website


Zoobic Safari
Group I Ilanin Forest
Subic Bay Freeport Zone, Philippines
Telefax: (+6347) 252-2272; (+63) 929-7072222

Makati Office:
3/F Yupangco Building
339 Sen. Gil Puyat Ave., Makati City, Philippines
Tel: (+632) 895-7142; 898-3695; 899-9824;  899-9595
Mobile: (+63) 917-8351111
Fax: (+632) 899-9829



Rali's Grill & Bar
Malawaan Park, Subic Bay Freeport Zone
Tel:(047) 252 1147
Store Hours 10:00 am – 12:00 am
Google maps link: https://plus.google.com/109195601762356696277/about?gl=ph&hl=fil
 

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