I joined the balloon festival the first time in 2009. It was a lot of fun but we had to battle the crowd for the front row of the fenced area to take pictures of the hot air balloons. So we did plenty of lying on the grass and took 5 photos.

I wasn’t planning on going this year until our friend Buko invited us to join them. If the name sounded familiar, it’s because we did tandem paragliding with him. They were the flag jumpers during the national anthem ceremony and paragliding exhibitions. He was going to give us passes and let us ride in their truck into the much coveted and historical air field. We’re going in as their crew to do assistant jobs for the fantastic paragliders ;)

The flag ceremony is at 6:00 a.m. and so we were in Clark by 4:00 a.m.  We didn’t sleep actually, leaving Manila at 1:30 a.m. but worth it. So happy to cut through the long line of traffic going into the air field. As we were there before sunrise, we also get to witness the balloon pilots arriving and begin setting up their balloons. It’s quite interesting.

We all definitely appreciate the freedom of being able to roam around the airfield, having been on the other side of the fence before. I used to be able to fit all the balloons in my camera frame being so far away, haha. But wow, this time I’m able to get up close and personal with the balloons. Here are some of the more creative ones..

darth vader: definitely the most popular

elf and mushroom

flying farm house

By 9:00a.m. all the balloons have lifted and gone down. We were hauled out of the airfield to the exhibit and bazaar area. I’m sure there were very interesting displays but it was scorching hot and really hungry that we just zipped through the whole thing in 5 minutes.  I wanted one of these colorful balloons for souvenir but the lines were all the way to Manila! So I just took photo. ;-)

want your very own hot air balloon?

The increase in visitors going to the festival is definitely remarkable. It’s really good news serving well the City of Angels. Hopefully it will become an important international festival.

Do you have a Hot Air Balloon event in your city? or have you taken a ride on it? Share with me! :)

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As with most north bound trips, meet up is at our flat. We even had a movie night/sleep over to ensure that nobody will be late the next day. For the record, the 2 movies were Drag me to Hell and Temptation Island.

Technically, our first stop was at McDonalds in West Avenue. It was already 11 when we headed out and everyone was hungry. Plus some wanted to try their reintroduced twister fries. But in no time at all, we were cruising along SCTEX (the usual way). There was a bit of a déjà vu feel to this, with banggigay’s Gabriel, indayguapa driving, and sctex @160kph. ;)

Aling Lucing’s Sisig

The inevitable official first stop of our food trip: Aling Lucing’s carinderia in Angeles for the most famous sisig in the Philippines!! A chain of Aling Lucing’s Sisig has opened all over, even in Manila, but we wanted to go to where it all began. And not just anywhere in Angeles, because there are already several branches in Angeles, but at the original carienderia!

SISIG, for your info, is a popular Filipino dish and pulutan (something you eat while drinking) and legend has it that it was invented by Aling Lucing when she decided it’s too wasteful to throw away pig heads. She minced pork ears, face, skin, whatnot and cook them in oil, chilli, onion, vinegar, pepper corn, soy sauce, then serve in sizzling plate with calamansi (local lime). Yum! makes me crave for it again. Note that we had 3 orders of sisig on our table for 6 people. All you need is rice actually. The true test of good food is if you don’t have an ambiance to go with it and it’s still wicked. Look at the left end of above photo, how there was an ongoing renovation next door.

After stuffing ourselves full (fool), we decided to take a walk around the charming town. Time check: 2.30pm.

Holy Rosary Catholic Church

This beautiful Byzantine inspired church began its construction in 1877 and was finally completed in 1896. It was with the combined effort of people of Angeles, which at that time was a relatively new town, recently separated from San Fernando, Pampanga. The church did not change so much since it’s completion in 1896 even after the pull out of Spanish and World War II.

The Aetas in Angeles

Record has it that the Aetas were not so welcome in Angeles long time ago. The locals even had religious processions in the belief that it will drive the Aetas away. The recent volcanic eruption of Mt Pinatubo has displaced them from their ancestral homes and now you find them begging for survival. But we found a group a few meters from the church selling fruits who seem assimilated to the Angeles society. The playful children had a fun time posing for us.

Everybody’s Cafe

After being stuck at Nepo Mart due to sudden monsoon rain for about an hour, everybody got hungry again. And what more fitting restuarant than Everybody’s Cafe: The Home of Authentic Kapampangan Food. Find below some of the (un)usual food they serve. They also serve food we consider not so unusual.

Crispy Kamaru

Batute with Stuffing

After dinner, we decided it’s too early to head home, so how about night cap? And where would be most logical to go? Quezon City? Of course not! We headed further north — to Subic! We chilled at Pier1 with a few beers and kinilaw na tanigue. But first, we had to take picture of this. Me and Inday at least. :)

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This entry is my contribution to the 3rd Pinoy Travel Bloggers’ Blog Carnival themed: Pinoy Quirky Foods

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When I started traveling, I would find myself running into festivals by chance and they always turn out to be such indulgence of the senses with the assortment of flamboyant colors, sounds, tastes, even scents! The atmosphere were always highly charged and the energy contagious. They also provide awesome subjects for photography, my new passion.

Brazilian Festival in Barcelona, Spain
May, 2007

My then travel buddy, Catarina from Portugal and I went around Barcelona visiting museums (MNAC, Miro, Olympic), then to Montjuic, the hill overlooking Barcelona, and finally, the playa, their icy beach. While chilling and taking photos, we heard riotous drum beats that can only be from a street festival. We ran toward the music and joined in the high spirited parade. I didn’t understand what the celebration is, she said it’s some kind of Brazilian carnival, but some guy did let me beat on his drums.

Horse Racing Festival in Shangrila (Zhongdian), China
June, 2008

Shangrila is a remote town in Yunnan Province where you can get a taste of Tibet without going to Tibet. When I was in China, my friend Raz suggested we travel to Zhongdian (Tibet) and Deqin (Glacier). We read in the Lonely Planet (LP) that there’s an annual Horse Racing Festival in Shangrila organized by the Tibetan happens around mid-June. Sounds interesting.

But when we arrived, after 12 hours in the sleeper bus, nobody in town could tell us when exactly the festival is. There were many travelers around also hoping to catch the festival (so, everyone has LP). The Olympic torch was scheduled to pass by there, and with the recent unrest in Tibet, it’s all very hush-hush. Then we met a Tibetan family sitting in their tent while we aimlessly wandered the grass meadow. They invited us to have lunch with them, and then we got some news that the event has been moved to the following Friday. So we decided to leave for Deqin the next day, another 6 hours bus ride, and come back in time for the festival.

The key to enjoying festivals is to not expect so much and take in what is there. With all these secrecy, there really wasn’t much of a horse race than there were donkeys. But it was a colorful event with the people dressed up in their local costumes, the women, children, and the donkeys too. Some of the travelers were disappointed and bored but we were happy taking photos especially since I just got my new LC-A+ then and the Canon G9 was relatively new. It was an interesting experience and certainly more interesting than if there were no festival.

Gion Matsuri in Kyoto, Japan
July, 2008

Our whole family was in Japan for (my sister) Pincky’s wedding reception in Akita. We sisters have been to Tokyo before but it was first time for our parents. Candie and I decided to backpack in Kyoto while Girlie and Pincky remain in Tokyo.

It was a pleasant surprise that one of the most famous festivals in Japan, the Gion Matsuri was taking place when we arrived. It’s basically a religious festival and a month long thingy but we were fortunate to have come few days before the grand parade. You can feel the dynammism in the air, the temples and streets decorated with lanterns, food stalls everywhere, (local and foreign) tourists dressed up in colorful yukatas (summer kimonos). We were thinking of getting yukatas ourselves to fully immerse into the celebration but the cheapest ones were still pretty expensive (JPY_6000), if you’re only wearing it once, that’s it, so we didn’t.

We were hosted by Jerry, a Japanese CS, who’s hosting also Marie-Josie from Montréal. It was great to have Jerry around in this huge confusing festival with a billion of visitors with the one mission. He knows the schedule of events, what to expect, what time to get there, and most importantly where to place ourselves to get the best view of the grand parade!

Sinulog Festival in Cebu
January, 2009

The Sinulog, celebrated in the honor of the Sto. Niño, is one of Philippines’ grandest and most colorful festival. I’ve been to Cebu many times but never for Sinulog. This year I decided I’m going to be there and was hosted by the awesome group of CS-Cebu. This is a week long event but I only arrived in time for the grand parade and couple of parties.

The grand parade started its vigorous drum beat as early as 6 in the morning, waking the people in Mango Avenue, where this happens and hasn’t stopped when we joined the procession at 7 in the evening. The parade was as lavish and captivating as promised. We were lucky to have a base at Cebu Backpacker’s Guesthouse along the said avenue where we ate, drank (get drunk), and cheered endlessly. It also sheltered us from the 2-3 brief showers in the afternoon.

It was a feast for my camera too! I sneaked into the corded area where (supposedly) only official photographers were allowed. I dashed back and forth, from one participating group to the next, taking portrait photos of the beautiful queens, my favorite subjects there. It was sweet to be so close! I think the guards let me be thinking I’m just a crazy but harmless foreigner who probably couldn’t understand English anyway. Pit Señor!

Hot Air Balloon Festival in Clark, Pampanga
February, 2009

While I frequently run into festivals during my travels, this year, I found myself chasing after them. After experiencing the dazzling Sinulog Festival in January, February, I was in Clark watching the Hot Air Balloons lift off in the first light of the day as recounted by sole sister, banggingay. It was my first time to join this festival too. Now, with one festival per month, I’m really pressured to keep this up.

Festivals come in various forms: religious, harvests, thanksgiving, music, film, carnival, etc. You can chance upon it or plan your travel around it, either way it will give you a good opportunity to see an alternate side of a city and a sneak peak at what they value, not to mention a new experience and awesome photos. World festivals I hope to attend one day are: the Carnival in Rio de Janeiro and the Burning Man in Nevada. Who knows, it may all happen next year!

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