clark, philippines (the journey)

travel mates:

• ray couple, alex couple, gary couple and rex couple

date of travel:

• april 2006

duration:

• 4 days 3 nights

route:

• clark -> subic bay -> metro manila

accomodation (min 1*, max 5* based on my personal review):

• oasis (clark), 3* for an average hotel, nothing fancy but clean
• army bunk (subic bay), 3* for a new experience and good price
• dusit hotel nikko (metro manila), 3* for the poor attitude of the pool attendant, would get a better rating if they get rid of those guys

~ clark ~

• everyone knows clark for it's red light district, however, it has much more to offer particularly, duty free shopping, various tours to mount pinatubo and lots and lots of korean restaurants. you will be amazed by the number of korean restaurants available and we were being told that the korean population is quite high at clark and they are involved in agricultural activities, e.g. water melon plantation and export. re-enactment of crucifixion was something memorable when we were there during the good friday. do a search on the internet, that's clark's specialty!

~ mount pinatubo ~

• mount pinatubo is an active volcano and the last erruption in year 1991, couple with heavy rains, caused thick lahar to flow towards the nearby towns, burrying a very huge area surrounding the volcano. till today, the impact of1991's erruption can still be felt when you travel to these towns. houses, left only the roof with the rest burried deep underground is the common sight or you might even walk into a church and realized the main entrance was actually a window on the 2nd floor before the erruption. to reach mount pinatubo, the nearest airport is at clark and you have to take a pre-dawn 4WD ride to the foot of the mountain follows, by 2 hour's climb to the crater.

~ subic bay ~

• subic bay is where the previous US naval base is located. there are a lot of restaurants by the bay and we managed to spend a night at the army bunk, previously owned by US naval. nothing too spectacular but it was a nice experience. subic bay is also the place where alex and gary met their new friend, muimui, check out the photos.

~ metro manila ~

• first culture shock when we were there, metal detector is everywhere in the city. you will be expecting guards to search through your bags for gun and also walkthough a metal detector when you are entering the building. there is no big deal actually since it appears to be a norm for everyone. didn't travel far from our hotel in makati as advised by my secondary schoolmate who is residing there. there is a gloomy atmosphere in the city and nothing particularly memorable for me, except the nice and cheap juices everywhere.