A few weeks ago I came back from my 2 weeks holiday. Trip started from Manila going up north to Laoag, Pagudpud, back south to Vigan and ascended up the mountain to Baguio, further up to the mountain to our main destination, the quiet town of Sagada, descended back down to Baguio, and now, on a side trip to SUBIC, OLONGAPO before heading back to Manila and ending my trip.
The city of Olongapo is located in the province of Zambales along side Subic. Rich in history, this little city was destined to be a naval base once inhabited by the Spanish and then by the Americans. World War 2 obliterated the city. The city suffered massive destruction twice. Reconstructed and rehabilitated shortly after the war, the United States retained the city as their principal naval base in the Philippines. On June 15, 1991, Mt. Pinatubo eruption caused a 36-hr nightmare in the city causing widespread damage to the Naval facilities and the city.
Phew... That was such a long way to go!
7 hours from Sagada and we arrived at Baguio just in the nick of time to board the bus going to Olongapo City. We didn't even had the time to freshen up at Baguio. Alighted the bus from Sagada at Dangwa Bus Station, took a cab to Victory Liner Bus Station and just nice the bus going to Olongapo was leaving. Another 7 hours on the road. But this time, I fell asleep comfortably and the bus was not crowded. I had a real hard time on Lizardo Express (bus we took from Sagada). One of the most uncomfortable ride probably because of that stench I smelled all the way from Sagada to Baguio.
Anyways, so we arrived at Olongapo 12mn. Took a tricycle ride to bf's aunt's house (Auntie Tere) to stay there for 2 nights. It was such a long trip and we were very very tired as we have been up since 4am to catch the sunrise at Sagada but it was too foggy to even see the slightest glimpse of sunrise. Took a quick shower and off to bed.
DAY1. Today's itinerary was Ocean Adventure located in Subic Freeport Zone. I've been there some 8yrs ago. And it still looks pretty much the same to me. Same shows except for the addition of the new Balancing Act show but everything is pretty much as I've remembered.
Note: We were told that if you go with someone who is a residence of Olongapo City (with valid ID) you'll get 50% discount! And we did got that discount thanks to Amboy. :)
After all the shows, we took their shuttle bus back to Olongapo City. Actually, that shuttle bus was for the employees. Hehehe.. But hey! Free Ride! And it was a long ride back to the city!
We had our dinner at bf's aunt's place at 18th St. They (including bf) did some pork bbq and it was yummy! BF told me that it wasn't their best bbq coz Aunt Tars didn't took it quite seriously. One day, he says, he'll do some bbq for me. Yay! Can't wait! :)
We were so stuffed. Went back home while still deciding where to go next day. Probably we got bored coz it was still early, thus we went out again, Me, bf, Kitkat & Elli, and we went around for a walk and had a couple of drinks at a local bar. Hmmmm... I heard some talks about Wally & Jose doing a show in Olongapo City. that night at the bar, we saw them! Elli was so thrilled. She wanted to have a photo with them. We managed to get a photo with Wally but Jose was kinda snobbish. Well, whatever. I'm not either one of their fans.
The first drink I got was my usual Piña Colada and it was horrible beyond explanation. Didn't even finished that drink. So in the end I just got myself a miserable Vanilla Milkshake. I kinda wanted to try their pizza coz the girls said their pizza was nice but we were too stuffed from dinner. After our drinks, the bar was clearly doing their closing, we had to leave and we went back home. It was a lovely day!
The Tigers was the last one we went. We were in a group tour and honestly, there's nothing much in Zoobic Safari. Kinda boring. I was really just after the Tigers.
Once we reached the last destination, the Tigers, we were seated inside this caged jeepney and then off we go to meet my brothers. They're huge! I thought we get to feed them ourselves from within the cage. NOT! Oh, and you have to pay a certain amount for the chicken (Tiger's meal). It's not included in the fee. Kinda rip off you know. But whatever. Kinda pity those Tigers though. I saw their teeth and it was sad. Because of the what I believe constant grinding of their teeth from the cage, they lost that powerful teeth that they supposedly have. I didn't liked that.
All in all, I was not fascinated by Zoobic Safari.
After the Safari, we went to Ayala Mall (I guess?) and hanged out deciding whether we should go to the carnival or not later in the evening.
That evening, after dinner, we decided to go to the carnival. All four of us with Amboy. Just like any carnival. It was very simple and yet it exudes that feel. I liked it. There was this "Lover's Wheel" that was turning slow, slow, and slow. And I said I wanna ride that. When we rode the ferris wheel, it wasn't slow, slow, and slow. It was turning rather kinda fast. Bloody hell! But it was mine & bf's first ferris wheel ride together. Sweet.
I hate roller coaster rides. I was forced by them to ride the bloody coaster. Well, it was a simple coaster ride. Not too high. I've been to worst coaster rides. I've tried the one in Enchanted Kingdom (forced by my friend) and ofcourse the ones in Universal Studio (Battlestar Galactica & The Mummy Ride) killer rides that made me not scream my guts out! Forced by my BFF. And in every photo taken from the ride, I wasn't their because I was leaning super low for support from BFF. Lol. I hate Roller Coasters. Anyways, bf wanted to go to the horror house. I declined. He wont go without me. Awwww... But he took the Viking with the girls while I'm below taking their photos and video. After the Viking ride, Kitkat suddenly was not feeling well. Motion Sickness. We took a break from the rides and took her to a nearby resting area. After some time, bf, Amboy & Elli took another ride. The last ride we took was the Carousel. Bf really does't want to ride the carousel. He says it's for kids. But I wanted to and he has no choice but to give in to me. Lol. Our first carousel ride together. Haha.. It's kinda amazing how an 8yrs relationship has so many first(s) to do. Lol.
Well, after the carnival rides, the last one we had was some old school dirty ice cream. And it was so yummy!!!! I miss eating that. I got the cheese flavor. And we walked back to SM Olonagpo and took a tricy from there back home.
It was a fulfilling night. Tomorrow's our last day in Olongapo and off we go back to Manila.
DAY3. Last day in Olongapo City. Kitkat & I decided to go for some girly stuffs at the parlor and I had my hair trimmed as well. I know bf is so gonna protest. He wants my hair long. Hehehe..
It almost took us forever to finish. We went there at 11am and we were done by 3pm. FML. We missed our lunch. Aunty Tars cooked a really nice lunch and we missed it. There were 3 staffs and only 2 of us and yet only 1 person was doing the work for both of us. WTF!
We planned to take the 3pm bus back to Manila, we ended up taking the 5pm. Geez.
Anyways, it was a smooth trip back to Manila. We stayed at bf's brother's place in Eastwood and in Cainta until I fly back to Singapore.
Thank you to bf's family for letting us stay with them and for the awesome food.. :)
I miss Kitkat & Elli na.. See you this summer!
WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN TO LATELY?!?!
Much Love!
