My Subic Trip

I've been so busy juggling work and night-outs that I'm blogging about this only now, more than a month after the trip. This was my 3rd trip to Subic. My first trip was pretty forgettable - it was a company outing at a resort whose name is not worth remembering. The second time was better, a very liesurely vacation with family where we lounged by the beach most the time, going out only when hungry. This 3rd trip was with friends and it was the most fun because there was a little more activity and much less sober time.

The rain was pouring hard and the wind was howling 2 nights before we left Manila. As fate had it, there was a typhoon - in the middle of summer! I was out that night, drowning out stress with a few bottles of Light (this drink has become so popular that you don't even have to mention the brand when ordering), seriously discussing with one of my would be Subic companions if we will cancel the trip.

Fate was good to us. The typhoon would be leaving the country in the afternoon, as I heard from CNN's weatherman the next morning while having (sigh!) instant coffee, hoping that it would cure my mild hangover. And so we went the next day. The light drizzle on our way to Subic did not bother us. There was no typhoon :D. Summer stayed around for a little while longer.

It was too early to check-in when we arrived so we decided to have lunch at Pier One along the Waterfront Road, a short walk from our hotel. Food was okay, the usual Pinoy fare, just what I expected from one of the many similarly themed Filipino restaurants ("bar & grill") in the country. Nothing special here.

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Check-in time. The Subic Park Hotel is a 3-storey building with well-designed interiors, good rooms, a restaurant/bar and swimming pool, also along Waterfront Road. What do I mean, you might ask, by "good" rooms? Given the price (P2,100/night for a standard room - 2 single beds or one queen sized bed) I was happy with my room. The room looked and smelled clean, the sheets looked and smelled new, it was basically well maintained. The furnishings were classy enough for me - it didn't have the old, cheap feel of some similarly priced hotels, although I don't know anything about good furniture so you can take that statement with a grain of salt. The only downside was that the bathroom was cramped. There's airconditioning of course, cable TV, and a small refrigerator with nothing inside.

At the back of the hotel, facing the beach, is the swimming pool. The view from the pool area was very picturesque. The kids loved the pool, and so did some adults although it was just 4 feet at the deepest end I think. The restaurant is just beside the pool - the tables by the pool are basically an extension of the restaurant, which is very convenient for those who do not want to leave the poolside, watching over kids who refuse to eat their meals on time.

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Zoobic was also on our agenda that day. There were several kids with us so we just had to show them animals - plenty of them. There were indeed plenty, although it would have been better if they were in glass cages as the bars really are bad for viewing. The pace of the tour around the zoo was too fast for me as there were too many tourists that day, and the each guide had to hurry their group around the area. Easily, the highlight was the "safari" where we were caged inside a jeepney-like vehicle and rode around the area where a few huge tigers were roaming, walking right beside us, jumping on top of the jeep. For a short moment I felt that we were the lesser animals because we were caged and the tigers were roaming free - good thing that we were the ones who fed the tigers and not the other way around. It was not the safari I was expecting, but it was still good fun especially with kids around.

This entry has gotten much longer than I planned and is getting dangerously boring. I will stop this now and will continue another day with my Subic sequel.

Click here to continue to My Subic Sequel