Zambales & La Union: North Philippines road trip again

For the longest time, I haven't been able to update the blog because I've perennially been on the road. In fact, the last three days have been extremely exhausting because I had been driving up north, down to Manila, and back up north on a daily basis. Anyway, if it's any consolation, despite all the work involved in the trips, the opportunity to explore still keeps me going.

The last two days, we did our rounds of the Subic Freeport. While at Zoobic Safari, I didn't miss the opportunity to have my photo taken with a real tiger.

Of course, shoe therapy is a good reliever of stress thanks to the many discounted options available at the duty free shops (as the saying goes, 'There's a little Imelda in all of us'). I saw myself driving back to Manila to attend meetings and a guesting on ANC's Shop Talk (thanks to all those who watched Shop Talk the other day) and back to the north to get some sleep.

At least I finally got to breathe now. I'm savoring the only consolation after that unbelievably exhausting three-day road trip: a wonderful suite room with a great view at the Thunderbird Resort in Poro Point, San Fernando, La Union. Hopefully, things will normalize by the long weekend.

So in the meantime, I invite you to consider a tour with Ultimate Philippines. We've already released our tour calendar for the rest of the year and for the first half of 2010. This is especially for the benefit of balikbayans who have been urging us to release our schedule early so that they could plan their trips for next year. Our tours get booked really quick so I suggest you make those reservations now.

Malaysia: Bah kut teh, chicken rice and more food from Kuala Lumpur

I just can't stop raving about my food adventures in Malaysia. Every time I visit Kuala Lumpur, I look forward to trying out something new, or craving for something good I had eaten before.

Bak kut teh is a Hokkien-style herbal pork broth which translates as pork bone tea, a very popular dish in Malaysia. It's a complex mixture of several herbs and spices boiled with pork ribs for hours! The dish which is served in a clay pot also has other ingredients such as mushrooms, tofu and lettuce.

It comes from Klang and that's where they serve the best! Here's a previous post on Klang's legendary bak kut teh. Anyway, since we were craving for bah kuh teh in KL, we went to Sun Fong Bak Kut Teh at Medan Imbi to satisfy our taste buds. We also ordered (1) stewed pork, (2) steamed fish, (3) lettuce with garlic or yau choi, and (4) egg pancake with shrimp to go with the dish. It was a feast!

For lunch the next day, shopping at Sungei Wang, we had Nam Heong's Hailam chicken rice which comes from Ipoh. It was really good especially with the ginger. I'm not a chili fan but this goes well with chili too.

We also ordered (1) pork sandwich with yam, (2) pork leg vinegar which was really good, (3) steamed bean curd with oyster sauce, and (4) tauge with garlic. They say Ipoh food is good because of the high calcium content in its water. Anyway, for more on Ipoh food, check out: Old town kopi tiam of Ipoh.

Issue 3 of Northbound Magazine is out!

In this issue, we talk about adventure! Issue 3 of Northbound Magazine, a free quarterly travel guide to North Philippines (Ilocos Region, Cagayan Valley, the Cordilleras and Central Luzon), will be available in hotels, restaurants and information centers around the region beginning this week. This magazine is a publication of the North Philippines Visitors Bureau. You can download the online version from www.northphilippines.org.

Eid’l Fitr holiday on September 21

Eid’l Fitr is a Muslim holiday that marks the end of Ramadan. We have another long weekend coming up with the Eid’l Fitr holiday pegged on September 21. For a complete list of holidays this year, read Philippine holidays and long-weekend schedule for 2009.

Update: September 7 was also declared a non-working holiday and a national day of mourning for the burial of Iglesia ni Cristo leader Erano Manalo. So this weekend is another long weekend.

Malaysia: Sunway Lagoon, a premier Malaysian theme park

Sunway Lagoon is one of the premier theme parks of Malaysia. It's most known for its water parks. But it also has a lot of cool rides and activities which we got to try while we were there.

We were dropped off at Sunway Pyramid, the shopping mall right beside Sunway Lagoon, where we had lunch before proceeding to the theme park. A series of escalators took us to the park which was several levels down. We actually regret not bringing swimming gear since the water park was obviously fun, fun, fun! But with the limited time we had, plus the equipment we were bringing, we decided not to swim. So we were content with just walking around the park and towards the dry area where we got to try a ride and some attractions.

Sunway Lagoon is actually five theme parks. Each person is given a magnetic watch to get into the various parks which is used to enter the automatic gates. It also tells you which parks you paid for (adult/child), or which rides and attractions you could try out since there's a Single Park Pass (RM45/RM30), 2 Parks Pass (RM60/RM45), 3 Parks Pass (RM75/RM60), and 5 Park Pass (RM90/RM70).

Anyway, we got to try the Tomahawk which was one nasty ride which hurls riders up and down several times and 360 degrees twice! Pirate's Revenge looked even nastier from where we stood on the Pedestrian Suspension Bridge. The ride is a ship that slowly revolves 360 degrees as well. Speaking of the suspension bridge, it's said to be the longest pedestrian suspension bridge in the world. And to add to the thrill is that a long stretch of it consists of metal grills so you could see the bottom while you scale the length of the bridge.

From the top, you could also see most of the park, particularly the Surf Beach which creates artificial waves for some fun body boardin and surfing. On the opposite end of the bridge is Extreme Park which offers paint ball, wall climbing, ATVs, and kayaking among other activities. We didn't stay too long since we were still tired from the late arrival the night before. So we decided to have an early dinner in KL before calling it a night.

Sunway is a perfect getaways for family and friends. And it's also great if you stay overnight at the nearby hotels for lesser hassle.

Sunway Lagoon
3, Jalan PJS 11/11, Bandar Sunway
46150 Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia
www.sunwaylagoon.com