Lakbay Norte 3: Dawel River Cruise in Pangasinan, Kart City in Tarlac & Pamulaklakin Forest Trail in Subic Bay

Bangus harvest in Dagupan, Pangasinan

On Day 6 of Lakbay Norte 3, we drove down from Baguio City to Dagupan, Pangasinan to try out the Dawel River Cruise. It's one of the newest attractions of Dagupan City after the local government cleared the rivers in the city of illegal fish pens.

The Dawel experience is similar to the Loboc River Cruise without the buffet lunch. But you can bring your own food of course. And since it's on a trial run, the local government is still offering it for free. But you have to book with them to make sure that there will be a boat that will leave during the day of your visit.

One of the side trips we made was to see how bangus is harvested. We also saw how the local community does mangrove planting to rejuvenate the mangrove cover of the area.

Pinoy Travel Bloggers in Dagupan, Pangasinan

At the port, we were feted with an inihaw na bangus (grilled milkfish) feast fresh from the catch we witnessed earlier. But that wasn't lunch since we motored to Matutina's Restaurant in Urdaneta for even more food!

From there, we proceeded to Kart City in Tarlac to enjoy an afternoon of karting. I didn't realize there was a go-kart establishment in Tarlac City. The group even had an endurance race which was a lot of fun! We stayed there until evening, enjoying the karaoke room until everyone was done showcasing their singing prowess.

The group was divided between Microtel Luisita and La Maja Rica Hotel. I stayed at Microtel Luisita. And like all my Microtel experiences, I really appreciated their chiropractic beds!

After breakfast at Microtel, we proceeded to Subic Bay. Our first stop was the Pamulaklakin Forest Trail to learn some jungle survival from the local Ayta community.

Cooking rice in bamboo or binulo

Ritz Tropical Spa in Subic Bay

Lunch was by the river also in Pamulaklakin. Before proceeding to Clark, we were treated to massages at the Ritz Tropical Spa.

Check out the video of Day 6 and 7 edited by Carlo Cruise. Also check out the photos of Lakbay Norte 3 in the Ivan About Town Facebook page.

Microtel Inn & Suites Tarlac
Luisita, Tarlac
Tel. No. +63 (45) 9851770 / Fax +63 (45) 9851975 / Mobile +63 (927) 7238454
tarlac@microtel.ph

Ritz Tropical Spa
Blk 76, Bicentennial Park
Rizal Highway, Subic Bay Freeport
Tel No. +63 (47) 2526088

Tarlac: Pinatubo Spa Town and more from Capas, Tarlac

Pinatubo Spa Town is among the best places to get a shiatsu massage. I've been there twice and both shiatsu sessions were unbelievably great, especially after a tiring trek to Mount Pinatubo, or in our case, a medical and dental mission in Barangay Sta. Juliana, Capas, Tarlac.

The complete spa treatment has three components. The first is the sulfur sand shower where you are buried up to the neck under volcanic sand from Mt. Pinatubo for 30 minutes. They say it's good for the skin, opens up the pores, and you release toxins while you sweat. But isn't sweat the same with or without being buried under the sand?

After taking a cold shower, the next component is the sulfur mud pack. It's actually a funny feeling since you basically cover yourself with volcanic mud and wait for it to dry up, again to open the pores.

Finally, after rinsing off and one last shower, the last component, and the best if I may say so, is a shiatsu massage treatment in an open air pavilion in the compound. Each component is individually priced at PHP500. But you can get all three at PHP1000, which is quite good a bargain. The lunch is also good and filling. But it's PHP350 per head.

Anyway, Tambayayong 2002, my Ship for Southeast Asian Youth Program (SSEAYP) batch, organized a medical and dental mission last July 4 in Capas. We realized after looking at the registration that we serviced over 500 patients!

Thank you to Mayor Rey Catacutan of Capas, Tarlac for being such a gracious host and for taking us around. We got to visit the New Asia Golf Course and the Capas National Shrine after closing hours!

Thank you so much to all those who attended and contributed, especially those who donated funds and medicines (we got so much and have supply for our next one in Novenber). I specifically want to thank Unilab whom I personally begged at the last minute. They gave us tons of Diatabs, Biogesic, Medicol and Hydrite.

Thank you to the doctors and interns who attended: Joseph Lachica, Ryan Guinaran, Tina Langit (all three were chairpersons of the UP Med Student Council at one time), Gideon Lasco and Ria Santos. Thank you as well to the Strada Club of the Philippines for the dentists. I hope I didn't miss anyone!

Related entry
Trekking and 4x4 to Mt. Pinatubo

Top day-trip destinations near Metro Manila

Here is a list of my favorite day-trip destinations near Metro Manila. With summer just around the corner, it's time to plan your trips!

1. Beach hop in San Antonio, Zambales
Call them San Antonio's Big Five - Anawangin Cove, Camara Island, Capones Island, Nagsasa Cove, and Pundaquit! And you can reach all these great beaches from the jump-off point in Pundaquit. I most definitely enjoyed the surreal landscape of Anawangin. So remote it is that you need to hike several hours or take a pump boat to get to it. Nagsasa Cove is just as pristine!

2. Taal Volcano trek
You've always seen the Taal Volcano from Tagaytay City. Have you ever tried visiting the island itself and hike or ride a horse to the crater lake? This is a one day-trip option you can do together with a culinary tour of Tagaytay.

3. Mt. Pinatubo trek
All it takes is a drive to Sta. Juliana, Capas, Tarlac to begin that breathtaking journey to Mount Pinatubo's crater lake. A one hour 4x4 ride, plus a one hour trek across some of the most unusual and unbelievable landscapes makes the journey there even more exciting. The crater lake of Mount Pinatubo is perfect for a swim especially when it is baby blue! It's easy to organize a visit through the Pinatubo Spa Town. And don't forget to get a massage after the trek!

4. Corregidor Island day-trip
As I mentioned, this is one of those day-trips taken for granted. Reliving the story of Corregidor is a very enriching experience. The Sun Cruises tour includes round-trip ferry transfers, buffet lunch and a guided tour around the island. You get to visit the various war memorials and the surviving gun batteries which formed part of the Harbor Defenses of Manila and Subic Bays. You can also opt to stay for the night and explore the Malinta Tunnel in the evening and do a morning trek among the less-visited batteries the next day.

5. Road trip around Mount Banahaw
You've all heard about the Viaje del Sol route and the wonderful establishments along the way. But go the extra mile by completing the loop around Mt. Banahaw. Along the way, you can visit the seven lakes of San Pablo, Laguna. You'll pass by the grand Art Deco mansions of Sariaya and the magnificent churches of Tayabas and Majayjay, both National Cultural Treasures. Don't miss the Underground Cemetery in Nagcarlan. Plus you can munch on Lucban's famous longaniza and pancit habhab. Slipper addicts will have a blast in Liliw, Laguna! You can stretch this trip another day by staying a night in Pagsanjan and doing the next suggested day-trip.

6. Shooting the rapids in Pagsanjan
This one you should try at least once in your life. It was exciting and exhilarating. I personally enjoyed the raft ride that takes you right under the falls. So make sure you have extra clothes. The only catch is that the boatmen will pressure you to give hefty tips.

7. Pampanga culinary adventure
You haven't been to Pampanga if you haven't savored its food, both local and international cuisine. San Fernando is home to Everybody's Cafe where everyday Kapampangan food is as exotic as it can get. Angeles City is the birthplace of sisig and make sure you taste the original at Aling Lucing's. At the Camalig, Kapampangan pizza is topped with longaniza, salted duck eggs, and pickle relish. And Fields Avenue near Clark brings you around the world with its international restaurants, my favorites being C' Italian Dining, Zapata's (Mexican), Subdelicious (American), Cottage Kitchen (Cajun/Creole), Red Sea (Lebanese), Hana-mi (Japanese)... the list is endless! Now obviously, you can't eat at all these places in one day since that would be gluttony! So why not stay another day?

8. Road trip around Laguna de Bay
We all know about the visita iglesia route which will take you to Pakil and Paete in Laguna, and Morong, Baras and Tanay in Rizal. But there's more! Make sure you also visit the heritage town of Pila, Laguna and stop over at Lumban to check out their wonderful pina cloth emroidery. Have you ever considered stopping over at Daranak and Batlag Falls in Tanay, Rizal? Well, you should! End the day with a sunset dinner high up on the ridge in Antipolo.

9. Intro dive in Batangas
Even if you don't have a license, you can still experience diving with the help of a dive master through an intro dive. And that's exactly what we did in Bauan, Batangas! It's a different world down there and all I could say is, "Wow!"

10. Plant trees at the Ipo Watershed
Now this is travel with a cause. Just contact the UP Mountaineers to find out if you can join one of their reforestation trips to the Ipo Watershed. Any advocacy to preserve our cultural and natural heritage is close to my heart. Which is why we made a visit to the Ipo Watershed to support the advocacy of the UP Mountaineers to protect it!

Top Philippine destinations for 2008

The year 2008 was a great travel year for me. As of today, I've stepped foot on 62 out of 81 provinces of the Philippines. Here are some of the highlights for this year. Since 2008 was also heavy on international travel, I'll come up with another entry on that!

1. Mt. Pulag, the rooftop of Luzon
I could not imagine myself 2,922 meters above sea level at the summit of Mount Pulag. But I was there! It took a lot of effort on my part but the view from the top was surreal and most definitely worth it. Is Mt. Apo next?

2. Adopting a sea turtle at the Pawikan Conservation Center
We visited the Pawikan Conservation Center early this year to adopt sea turtles. You can include it as part of any Subic itinerary. And this is a great help to efforts to protect the pawikan.

3. Journey across the Ifugao heartland
I was very lucky to join a rice harvest tour to Mayoyao, Ifugao this year which took me through the very core of Ifugao. It was a very enriching experience and it opened my eyes to the culture of our Ifugao brothers. I look forward to joing their planting rice tour this January. I made five entries about this great trip!

4. Trekking and 4x4 to Mt. Pinatubo
The crater lake of Mount Pinatubo is perfect for a swim especially when it is baby blue! It's easy to organize a visit through the Pinatubo Spa Town and when you get back, a sumptuous lunch and massage awaits.

5. Batanes, undiscovered paradise up north
Batanes is pristine and refreshing. It's a must in any traveler's list of places to visit in the Philippines. I'll be blogging about my trip soon.

6. Intro dive at Dive and Trek in Bauan, Batangas
Even if you don't have a license, you can still experience diving with the help of a dive master through an intro dive. And that's exactly what we did in Bauan, Batangas!

7. Ipo Watershed, Angat Dam and the La Mesa Ecopark
Any advocacy to preserve our cultural and natural heritage is close to my heart. Which is why we made a visit to the Ipo Watershed to support the advocacy of the UP Mountaineers to protect it.

8. Romblon, Romblon is a heritage town
Talk about the road less-traveled! Romblon was indeed a surprise. It was fun exploring the old town of Romblon since its heritage is unbelievably intact. I hope to visit again soon.

9. Anawangin Cove in San Antonio, Zambales
Another unbelievable beach destination so close to Manila, I most definitely enjoyed the surreal landscape of this Zambales beach. So remote it is that you need to hike several hours or take a pump boat to get to it.

10. Tawi-Tawi, overnight in Bongao
In one month, I was able to visit the northernmost and southernmost provinces of the Philippines. Despite my short stay, the fact that I was able to set foot in Tawi-Tawi is worth mentioning. And I'm definitely making another trip to explore more!

Read also Top Philippine destinations for 2009.

Baguio: North Philippines road trip

For day 2 of our North Philippines road trip, we had a meeting with Mayor Bautista of Baguio City and a working lunch meeting with the Baguio Convention and Visitors Bureau (BCVB) at the Panagbenga office. Of course, we feasted on a packed lunch from the Baguio Country Club (BCC). They may have been in plastic containers, but the food from BCC was delicious!

Outside the Baguio Convention Center, students from UP Baguio were protesting the cutting of trees by a proposed SM project. If you remember, SM City Baguio is a graveyard of trees, since many pine trees were cut to built it. As I always say, wherever SM is built, people will go anyway. So they could have picked a less-congested location (away from Session Road) where heritage structures would have been preserved (Pines Hotel was demolished to build SM) and the least number of trees would have been sacrificed. Well, at least young people in Baguio are speaking up!

Our next meeting was in Bauang, La Union with the La Union Convention and Visitors Bureau (LUCVB) at Villa Estrella. The fog was heavy in Naguilan Road where we passed to get to La Union. The views from this road are also picturesque. It was a pity I did not have my camera the last time we visited BCVB since the views were clearer.

As soon as we arrived in La Union, I dressed down, prepared for a swim in the beach after our meeting. The highlight of the day was watching the wonderful La Union sunset from the resort's restaurant.

For day 3, we drove down to Tarlac City to meet with the Tarlac Convention and Visitors Bureau (TCVB) at the La Maja Rica Hotel. They used to have an Italian chef so their pizzas are worth trying. If you don't know what to have, their Four Seasons pizza will let you have four flavors of your choice.

To end the day, we had several meetings in Angeles City including one with GCVB again.

Of course, we passed by the SCTEx to get back to Pampanga which was a real time-saver! I'm finally back home. With at least three meetings a day in three different cities everyday for three days, not to mention travel from one city to another, that was indeed a tiring road trip!

SCTEx Clark-Tarlac stretch opens on Friday, July 25

The Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway will be fully operational beginning Friday when the Clark-Tarlac portion of the 94-kilometer opens to the public. I got a sneak preview of the closed portion of the SCTEx today since we were given special permission to drive from Subic to the Luisita Exit in Tarlac.

With the SCTEx complete, travel time from Balintawak to Subic is now just about an hour and forty minutes. While travel from Balintawak to Luisita will be just one hour and twenty minutes. When it opens on Friday, motorists can drive from Subic to La Paz, Tarlac in just a little over an hour. Now that's progress!

Notes: I'll post more photos of my SCTEx Tarlac preview as soon as I get back to Manila. I was quite happy to see that they corrected the "MacArthur Highway" signs which I complained about in a previous post. I found out in San Francisco how the observation made its way to BCDA top brass and got the signs corrected.

Anyway, so much has been happening the past few months, I could barely update everyone about my travels. I'll try to get back in the groove within the next few days so expect a lot of updates from my recent trip to the US and the Mayoyao, Ifugao harvest experience last weekend.

SCTEx on test run until March 24

If you have not yet tried out the most scenic highway in the country, you have until March 24 to do so free of charge! The Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway is on test run beginning today and is open from 5:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Remember that they close at 5:30 p.m. and they won't let you in after that.

The SCTEx Exit is a few meters after the Dau Exit of the NLEX. There is a short spur road which will take you to the actual SCTEx. What I found amusing is the fact that there were several signs which had the wrong spelling of MacArthur Highway. To the silly person who did those signs, it's "MacArthur" not "McArthur" since the road is named after Douglas MacArthur! That's what we get for having too much of McDonald's.

On the way to Subic from Clark, the only open exits in the SCTEx are the ones in Dinalupihan and Subic. The SCTEx ends right at the entrance of the Subic-Tipo Tollway so it's really convenient for those going to Subic.

We tried it out on the way to Subic today and it was worth the trip. Imagine arriving in Subic from Clark in just 35 minutes! I still remember the days having to pass through all the traffic in Sta. Cruz, Lubao, Pampanga and other busy intersections along the Gapan-Olongapo Road (now Jose Abad Santos Highway). Finally, smooth travel all the way!

I hope they finish C6 - Lakeshore Expressway soon. The proposed expressway will connect Cavite City to Marilao, Bulacan as well as the SLEX to the NLEX so that you need not travel through chaotic Metro Manila.

Add to that the fact that the highway is so scenic. It passes through the untouched countryside in Porac and Floridablanca, Pampanga. The drive itself is an attraction you should not miss! Enjoy it while it lasts because I could already foresee development creeping in as the different exits are constructed and opened.

And if you make it just in time for sunset (we were almost not allowed inside since we were a few minutes late) the views are nothing but surreal.

North Luzon Expressway
(02) 35000