# 26 of 30B430 A day at the 2011 Hot Air Balloon Festival

# 26 A day at the 2011 Hot Air Balloon Festival

Mission Accomplished.

Venue:  Air Force City, Clark Freeport, Angeles City in Pampanga

Date: February 11, 2011
Official website

 Last Friday, February 11, 2011, I finally set foot on the land of Hot Air Balloon in Clark, Pampanga. I have always wanted to go to this magical event way back 2 years ago. I coined this experience “OLD and NEW” (credit goes to my good friend Teta) Why?

a.        An OLD dream that I was able to fulfill, finally! *yipee*

b       I was so happy that my dear Kristine, a good OLD closest  friend of mine  way back Nursing  days was with me in accomplishing this endeavor

c.       I got to be meet a new friend – Aeus ^_^ ( coolest name by the way!)

d.       NEW dream for next year – to actually ride a Hot Air Balloon 

Being #26 on my 30B430 list, I always dreamt on how it feels to actually be on top of the world ( and in some sort kinda flying). Well, Skidiving and riding a Hot Air Balloon  are on my bucketlist but due to budget constraint I opt to just be awed with the cuteness of these flying objects as it goes up up and away into the sky.

I was determined to go alone in case no one would be lovely enough to accompany me. But here goes my partners in crime and I truly thank them from the bottom of my heart for they played the perfect roles that auspicious day:

L-R : Sweet, Alvin, Aeus, Kristine and Espie

TRANSPORTATION: We were supposed to ride by car with some other friends but there were changes in our plans so being a commuter that I am, we decided to take the public transportation.  You can ride a Victory Liner bus, terminal is located at Cubao, Quezon City, bound to Alaminos, Pangasinan and go down at Dau, Pampanga (P123.00 one way). From Dau, you can take PUJs or Tricycles going to your destinations. If you know how to ask directions you will get by :) hehehe


We also planned to ride PUJ from  Hotel Hana to Clarkfield but since we got extra cash ( hehehe) and we need to get going as early as 4:30AM we rather asked the hotel to request an Innova van to take us to the event (P350.00). It was kinda expensive but we got a bit of a baggage so we really need one ( right Alvin?:P) It's just a 10-minute drive. 


After the event, there are sponsored vans, free of charge, outside the venue that can take you to Marquee Mall and in front of this mall is a Victory liner bus stop that will take you back to Manila (P121.00) You just need to wait for the next bus to arrive, usually every 15-20 minutes. In our case, we played Monopoly to kill time :)

Alvin introduced us to the new generation Monoploy card game 

   
HOTEL : Based from our experience it is better to book the hotel a few months before the event so you'll have a lot of options. There are plenty of hotels within the vicinity that you can choose from to suit your preferences. In our case,we booked late, though we were able to get rooms at Hotel Hana (P1095 per Standard Room). We paid extra for additional heads (P300.00 / person) and for the additional mattress ( P300.00). We checked-in the day before of the event so that we wouldn't be late for the early Hot Air Balloon Flights which starts at around 5:30AM. Being early on the venue also gave us a good spot to witness the exhibition.

courtesy of Teta

TICKET: Ticket for the Hot Air Balloon costs P150.00 only. It is available at the entrance on the day of the event but my friend Kristine bought our tickets at Ticketworld in Manila so to avoid long lines. If you want a closer encounter with these big balloons I think you have to pay another P250.00 ( <-not really sure about this part) and of course if you wanna ride the balloon you would need a bigger amount of dough - $150.00 ( which is a first-come-first served basis)

ayan!

FOOD : Food stalls are located inside the field, so no need to worry about your tummies. I suggest you bring your bottle of water ( we had 1Liter of water each, hehehe) and food from outside is also allowed


WHAT TO EXPECT :  Well, cute Hot air Balloons! hahaha.. You really have to be there early on for the Flight exhibition will just last for about 2 hours. I loved the way Mr. Sunshine said hello while waiting for the flights to start.

WHAT ELSE TO BRING : 
1.Your P&S or DSLR to document your activities
2. A cap or umbrella to protect you during the day , and put on some sunscreen or sunblock please
3. Something to sit on during idle hours - we brought malong with us, since there's a limited number of chairs and tents
4. If you are commuting, pack light! Carry a backpack so it would be easier to go around 
5. Your happy self! Enjoy, even if you'll be fried under the sun, this cute event is worth seeing in this lifetime :)


And so, Im crossing out #26 on my 30B430 list ( the first of the 30 by the way) 


LESSON LEARNED: Pursue you dream no matter what, Espie and I are really determined to go and nothing stopped us from seeing this magical event. If you really want something, there's gotta be a way to get. I just find hot air balloons amazing and I dont wanna miss this for the world!


I cant's wait to accomplish the rest on my list. Thank you Espie, Alvin, Teta and Aeus, it was superb! Love you!

my favorite picture

16th Hot Air

hold on tight!

the crew

^_^

snapshot

several pictures available here


P.S. This is,seriously,really my first time to blog about my travel hahaha, so spare me on this one. Promise, I'll be better :D

Share a sunshine,

Sweet :)