17th Philippine International Hot Air Balloon Fiesta : where everything flies

As we all know February is month of love where people become romantic and spend some extra sweet quality time with their special someone or loved ones. Couple, family and friends hunt for some things to do, places to see or events to witness and festivals are some of the ideal hang-out. Some of these festivals include Pamulinawen in Laoag, Suman festival in Baler Aurora, Candle festival in Jaro Ilo-ilo, Panagbenga in Baguio, and a lot more.  But here is an extraordinary outdoor experience that surely you will loved. It is The Philippine International Hot Air Balloon Fiesta where “Everything flies”. It is an annual tournament of balloonist from various countries and it features aero sport shows, kite flying, games, exhibitions and many more. It’s a four days event happens every February at Clark Field Angeles Pampanga. 

As our group wanted to celebrate Hearts Month, we decided to have a pre-Valentines date witnessing big balloons soar thousands of feet high. We were able to attend the 3^rd day which is Saturday, February 11. My friends decided to stay at our home a night before and without sleep we left Manila 2 in the morning. (Just a tip, if you wanted to have a convenient parking slot near the entrance and good viewing spot you should be at the venue 4 in the morning and also to avoid long lines in entrance and ticketing booths. But for us, we booked our tickets 1 week ahead in SM TicketNet outlets: Mall of Asia, SM Makati, SM Bicutan, SM Southmall, etc. for only 200 + 20 pesos for the handling fee) We arrived at Clark 4 in the morning and the queue to the parking area, as well as the main entrance of the show area was very long but you’ll feel that everyone’s excited for the show. Around 5:30 in the morning remote controlled AeroLED aircrafts started to fly in the sky, a go signal that the show will start in a few minutes. 

remote-controlled AeroLED

When the clock ticked at exactly 6 in the morning, a sky jumper was seen in the sky carrying a Philippine flag while Philippine National Anthem played in the airways. It was an extraordinary feeling of proudness; and yes this is our homeland! 

Moments later participants started to set-up their balloons on the open ground, and we we’re so amazed on how hot air balloons were unloaded from the trucks, unfolded to the ground, get inflated, burst with fire and finally bloom in the sky. After a few minutes, the beautiful blue sky was filled with multicolor of varied sizes & designs flying big balloons. It was a wonderful and very child-like feeling like we’re back on our childhood days playing and capturing these gigantic balloons. Some of our favorites are the Daisy, Ice cream, Cake and Panda. 

The festival also features a number of events in skydiving, flag jumps, micro light and rocketry demonstrations, helicopter flying exhibitions, freestyle aerobatics, precision maneuvers, light airplane balloon bursting, ultra-light flying formation and bomb dropping, kite-making and choreographed Kite-Flying. After enjoying the balloons, we roam around the field to capture photos of AFP’s armored & military vehicles, weapons, assault rifles, gigantic air/warcrafts, and skydiving outfits.

Sky Diver formation

Since we finished early at the show, we decided to have a side trip at Nayong Pilipino Clark and took our lunch at the famous Aling Lucing’s Sisig and Susie’s pasalubong; tibok-tibok as their specialty which I will blog on my next entry.

Getting the chance to witness this kind of fiesta was really fulfilling and fun-filled not only because of the Big balloons but the chance of spending early Valentines with my friends, no one can replace the memories, experience, and the bonding where everything flies!!! 

Directions to Clark Pampanga:

Getting to the Clark Special Economic Zone by car, take the North Luzon Expressway from Manila and exit at Dau, Mabalacat. Take a left turn towards Angeles City and right turn into Clark. On entering the main gate, proceed along Roxas highway and the Balloon Fiesta will be to your right. Car trips usually take about an hour and a half to two hours from Manila.

Ways to celebrate Valentines

February is nearly approaching and it only means one thing; Valentines is coming! It’s a celebration of love and affection not only for couples but also applicable to families and friends.  Surely flower shops will be jam-packed for locals buying bouquets, hotels fully-booked with romantic candle light dinner dates and gift shops filled with “Heart” items. Valentine’s Day can be a great time for everyone to relax and unwind just by simply preparing dinner at home with some romantic touch of candles and rose petals. On the other hand we can celebrate this romantic event outdoors with new adventure and feel a new kind of thrill that brought us in listing some ideas on how to celebrate Valentines in extra special ways. Here’s how:

A romantic candle light dinner date is one of the most common ways to celebrate Valentines, but we can add some spice and extra scoops to your preferred romantic date. Why not try Sunset Cruise in Manila Bay. A dinner cruise with your special someone while watching the sun to set with a touch of romantic serenade is so effing romantic, isn’t it! Sunset Cruise package of Sun Cruises includes a romantic serenade on board the M/V Spirit of Manila which docks beside the Jumbo Palace Floating Restaurant at the back of CCP Complex which cost Php550nett per person! There are 3 schedules to choose from: 4:30pm, 6:15pm and 8:00pm. I recommend taking the 6:15pm schedule to be able to enjoy the romantic sunset by the bay. 

But if you want a different level of adventure on your date, you can choose Hot Air balloon festival that is celebrated February of every year at Clark Field Pampanga. This year’s event will be held on February 9-12 and usually starts 5:30 in the morning with Hot Air balloon flight and ends with fireworks at 7 in the evening for the last day. The event also includes paragliding, helicopter flying exhibition, hot air balloon glow in the evening, aerial exhibition, skydiving and many other aerial activities. Admission tickets can be bought at the Clark Field gate or if you want to avoid long lines in you can buy tickets in advance at Yats Restaurant and Wine Bar or in authorized outlets of Ticketnet for 200 pesos only. For more details & schedule you can visit http://www.philballoonfest.net/

photo courtesy of southeastasia.org

Another way of celebrating Valentines with your special someone, families and friends is witnessing month-long annual event in Baguio City, the parade of flowers which commonly known as Panagbenga festival. The festival includes floats that are decorated with flowers and includes street dancing presented by dancers clad in flower-inspired costumes. Grand Flower Parade starts at the upper Session Road and ends at the Athletic Oval in Burnham Park. The program usually starts at 8AM but starting at 6AM lot of spectators were already flocked on both sides of the Session road.  If you want to experience this wonderful event as a Valentines celebration you should reserved your bus tickets and hotel in advance for your convenience and to avoid some hitches. Most hotels in Baguio were fully-booked as early as January. Click here for the complete Panagbenga schedule. For more info about Baguio you can refer to this previous blog. 

photo courtesy of I love Panagbenga

For many people, Valentine's Day is the ultimate day for romance. For others, it is just another day and not a big deal. Single, in a relationship, married, love for family and friends, either way you can celebrate Valentines even with just an ordinary day. Whatever kind of Valentine celebration you want with the one you love and with people so dear to you, the most important thing is spreading love and make them feel loved every day. Even with just a romantic gesture, expressing I love you’s, and with simple things, it becomes meaningful because it shows your loved-one how he or she is valuable to you. Love love love. Advance Happy Love Month everyone. <3<3<3

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