Subic Trip with J's Family: Ocean Adventure

Note: This is the last (and loooooooooong overdue) installment of my Subic series. I thought I have to get this up before the year ends! Haha!

After recharging over the night and grabbing a quick breakfast, we checked out of the villa as we're all set for our Subic Day 2 destination:

This time, J's driving and that made me kinda lonely at the back seat (you see, I'm used to cuddling with him during long travels). That's his kuya on the passenger seat, guiding the way with his handy-dandy GPS.

But you know what, whenever he checks me out on the rearview mirror, with that look that I know is mine alone... I melt. Cheesy, yeah, but it's true. Hihi.

Anyway... going back to the trip, somewhere along the way to Ocean Adventure, we had to pull over because these monkeys deserve to be photographed! Haha. They're at the road-side, as if waiting for tourists to pet them and feed them and click away. That's exactly what we did :-)

When the bigger monkey came near (he's scary, he looks like he's the superior guy there), we went on our way. At around 10am, we got to Ocean Adventure. Mr. Sun's already up and about but we still stopped by the facade to take pictures.

Unlike Zoobic Safari, we didn't have promo tickets here so we availed of their regular rates:

I'm not sure about their height requirement but sadly, Jhay's nephew who's just about to turn 2 on December is no longer entitled to the free admission :(

Our tickets ^_^

Since it's Halloween, we were greeted by crew members dressed in spooky costumes. J wanted to take a photo with the zombie nurse and patient but since I'm not very fond of creepy stuff, I only let him pose by these 2. Hehe.

I also went inside the souvenir shop but didn't have the time to look around so I just took this shot.

We were given this flyer containing the show schedule. No need to worry if you miss a show because if you look at the image closely, there are re-runs throughout the day :-)

We headed straight to the Seaside Stadium to catch the Adventures of Olongapo Jones. It's more of an environment-centric kiddie show complete with a Kuya Kim-look alike lead character and his mascot friends. Hahaha.

This next act was a hit to young and old. The 2 guys were supposedly the villains in the story (they were the illegal loggers Olongapo Jones and his friends were aiming to catch) but with their trampoline tricks, they were easily the heroes of the show :)

*This is the part where I discovered the photo collage tool of Picasa. I swear I almost cried when it did the trick in a few seconds! Haha*

Of course, the show had a happy ending with O.J. and friends catching the bad guys and the bad guys then promising to work hand-in-hand with the team to save the environment.

After they took their final bow, all roads led to the El Capitan Theater where Dolphin Friends Show will be staged. On the way, I couldn't resist taking a photo of the serene Subic Bay.

As soon as everyone had settled, these adorable sea creatures started to strut their stuff. Really, I was amazed at their talent! These are the moments I wish I had an SLR. The following pictures don't do the show justice but at least you'll have an idea :)

Three dolphins and a baby whale wowed the crowd with their skills.

Oh, credit goes to their trainers, too.

The third show was another display of the brilliance of our marine friends - the Sea Lion Marine Patrol Show. It was pretty entertaining and what made it special was that one of the seals was actually blind but still proved to be as talented as the others.

I particularly loved the stage :-)

Sorry for the poor lighting but you can still see the seals naman, di ba?

Finally, we went to their Eco-Theater for Walk on the Wild Side where a native aeta talked about Jungle Survival 101.

At this point, our stomachs were already growling so we didn't finish the show. We proceeded to Ocean Adventure's cafeteria where Tita Meg and company were already waiting. As expected, the queue was long so it took us another half an hour to have these...

 Sinful Lechon Kawali for me :-)

Salisbury Steak for J

The food is good but the prices are on the steep side. If I remember it right, my plate cost PhP 250 while J's at PhP 190. Without drinks pa yan.

After lunch, we took a quick tour inside their aquariums. I didn't find anything extraordinary inside, just like a much smaller version of the Manila Ocean Park.

Sharon and Gabby daw sila :P

I missed J here. He's already outside getting the car :(

One last group shot.

Overall, I think we got what we paid for at the Ocean Adventure. If you're heading to Subic with your family, don't miss to include to include it in your itinerary. I'm sure the kids and kids-at-heart will enjoy!

And of course, what Subic trip would be complete without a stop-over here? :D

Duty-free shopping at Royal.

By some stroke of bad luck, the window switch of our car malfunctioned. J had to stay in the parking lot so I really didn't enjoy shopping. I only bought a few chocolate bars (which I regret, by the way, coz they're so cheap there!) for pasalubong and then spotted an All Flip Flops outlet at 40% off so I bought us these matching slippers. Nice, no? ^_^

These are only Php 567 a pair. I thought the purple and pink combo is too feminine so I got J the brown one. Ending: He's inggit with mine. Haha.

On the brighter side, not having J beside me that time game me a chance to bond with his mom. We strolled in the supermarket together and she told me a lot about J and their family. Being able to spend time with my MIL2B is truly a rare opportunity and for that alone, I'm very thankful that this Subic trip came to be.

We drove off soon after and reached home in less than 3 hours. Thanks to the Hipolitos and Paulinos for making my Halloween weekend fun and truly memorable :-)

Subic Trip with J's Family: Our Homestay

After 3 hours on the road and 4 hours getting up-close and personal with the animals in Zoobic Safari, we all felt that we deserve a nice and comfy place to stay the night. Good thing Tita Meg doesn't settle for less :-) She passed up on the tram tour to look for a homestay for our group of 16 and this is what she found:

photo credit

Forest View Residences is a US-style residential village in El Kabayo Road, Subic. They offer the units to families and big groups who are in the city for short trips or longer stays alike.

Much like your usual village, the place is private and security is tight.

You'll find here the peace and quiet you're looking for when in a vacation.

This is the unit that Tita Meg got for us :-)

Hotels in Subic range from PhP3500 - PhP 5000 per night, with strict number of guests per room. This one costs Php 6500 per night and can fit all of us so it's definitely sulit!

It's pretty spacious and looks modern (Thank God! I most certainly don't want a creepy-looking vacation house on October 31st. Haha!). The furniture and fixtures seem new as well. Let me tour you around :-)

There's a huge sofa and a 32" LCD TV in the living room. Sorry for the not-so-good angle. I don't want them to wonder why I even have to take a photo of the place. Hahaha.

The Dining table is huge and classy, too -- minus the plastic covers, that is!

But I understand that they just wanna keep the fabric clean :P

The kitchen is complete with the basic appliances you'll need to prepare quick meals. On the opposite side is a large sink and another counter.

Now on with the bedrooms...

The master's bedroom. It has its own bathroom with a dedicated shower area.

And then 2 rooms like this. This is where we stayed, along with J's mom, and the family of his bro. We brought with us an airbed which we put in the center. All rooms have A/C units, by the way.

This is the common toilet and bath. Not seen in the picture is a bathtub (sosyal!) and a water heater. It's equipped with a bidet as well. On the other side is the vanity counter and sink. Water pressure is strong also.

I generally liked the place but here are a few pros and cons that you may wanna know if you're considering renting it:

Pros:

   - Fully-furnished, with high-end interior pieces.

   - Beds are comfy and A/C is working well so we had a good sleep.

   - Very homey, and there's a lot of open space, which I love (and the kids, too, I think -- cause they enjoyed running around :D)

   - There's a swimming pool near the admin office, if you wanna take a dip. Too bad we don't have a lot of time (and I didn't have a swimsuit too! Haha!)

Cons:

   - The place is kinda far from the main road. If you have you own car, this won't be a problem. Otherwise, I don't think I saw public transport in the area.

   - When I pulled the comforter (the blue one in the picture above), there's a dead cockroach in there! It was disgusting, yeah, so we just didn't take the comforter off. We used our own blanket when it got too cold in the middle of the night.

Overall, we had a pleasant stay. The cockroach could be an isolated case, so I'd still recommend the place :-)

Forest View Residences
El Kabayo Road, Subic Bay Freeport Zone

Rates and reservation details are here, here and here.

P.S. I almost forgot, the power went out at midnight but it went back after around 30 minutes. I'm not sure if it was just a technical problem, or the house's way of saying "Happy Halloween!" Hahaha!

Subic Trip with J's Family: Zoobic Safari

If you've noticed here and here, I was an emotional wreck last week. The boyfriend and I were having issues and for a moment there I thought that was the end of us. Luckily though, during the Halloween weekend, tita-in-law invited me to go out-of-town with the whole family and J came to fetch me. We talked and settled things and kissed and made up ;-) And the rest, as they say, is history :)

Now back to the out-of-town trip. I was only told to pack my things noon of Saturday. J and I left home that same evening and slept over at their Marikina house (first time! :D) and come early morning of Sunday, we're bound to Subic!

Our first destination:

Tita Meg got Zoobic Safari tickets (I forgot to ask where) at a promo price of Php1499, that's for 6 persons already. But in case you wanna know, here's the regular rate:

Yes, it's kinda pricey, and everything inside comes with a price, too.

But let's just say we're doing it for the animals :)

After presenting your tickets, you will have your wrists stamped.

You'll also need it when you go in and out of the premises.

We got there around 11AM starving so we opted to eat first. They have a mini resto there but the food choices are limited.

Of the 5 set meals, only 3 were available when we were there.
Yeah, I meant it when I said "limited" :P

The interiors are consistent with the whole safari ensemble (but they could definitely improve on the ventilation).

The boyfriend's family.
That's S2BMIL at the far left and beside me were bro-in-law and his wife.

Us ♥

 Us again, post-meal. Candid shot courtesy of Kuya Migs. I dunno what we're talking about here but I guess if you ask us about the food, that look could describe it. The food is so-so. But for hungry tummies, okay narin. Haha.

After lunch, we proceeded to the mini-stage where orientation is conducted before the tour.

 She's our tour guide, and we belong to group number 15 along with many other groups of guests. Because each guide is in charge of about 50 people, the actual tour is sort of chaotic. You can just roam around by yourself, or choose to stick with her if you want it to be reaaaallly educational.

Closer look at the map.

Then the tour began. At this point, I'll let the pictures do the talking (or not.) :P

 

 The more tame birds you can find here.

 At Bird Thrill, there's more interaction with other types of birds.

 After this picture, J almost got bitten by that bird. Haha.

 Here is where you'll find rats, hamsters, guinea pigs, and more.

Zoobic Park houses the farm animals and those that live in the wilds.

You can feed them, but you have to pay for the food also.

 Behind us is a bearcat.

There are also boards like these in the park, where you can stick your heads out for souvenir pictures. If you don't quite recognize them, they're J's mom, Tito Bobby and Tita Meg :P

We just have to have one! :)

Next attraction is the Serpentarium.

(Thanks to Kuya Migs again, for all the photos with his watermark :D)

That ends the walking tour. The rest of the attractions are accessible via this tram for an additional Php50 per head. You can choose to bring your own vehicle, too, and drive alongside the tram.

Our first stop is the Forbidden Cave and another one called Zoobic Cave. I don't have pictures of the latter, and I forgot what's in there, as well. Haha.

Inside the cave are stuffed animals (real ones).

When we're done with the cave, we waited for our turn on the caged jeepney (below) for like 30 minutes, then off we drove into "the Philippines' only Tiger Safari".

In there, humans are caged and tigers are free, for a change :-)

This for me is the most exciting part of the tour. It's not for the faint-hearted, I tell you! You actually feed the tigers with raw chicken (which you also buy for PhP 200). According to Kuya, the chicken pieces won't even constitute a quarter of a kilo. Lesson learned: Next time, bring your own raw meat! Haha.

A crew will throw a few chicken pieces towards the hood and naturally, the tiger will run for it. Katuwa panoorin, promise! :)

After the safari, you'll ride the tram again to bring you to the rest of the park zones:

Do I look scared? Well, I am! Hahaha!

Next is the Savannah where ostriches run around, lots of them!

And for some reasons, wild boars too (not running, just lounging around like normal pigs :P). Please don't ask me how ostriches and boars are related. Hahaha.

Spencer aka Bruno Mars stayed at the back of the tram because we all didn't know we'll pass through something like this. He's playing cool until the ostrich threatened to run after him! Everyone was laughing at our guy! Haha.

From the muzooeum, our final stop is at walking distance:

At this point, we're just too tired so we just took pictures outside.

J took this from outside as well. Lots of crocs waiting for food.

Noticed Mariz's shirt? She just passed the CPA board exams (Congrats!)

But if you call her CPA, she'll correct you: CPA Dancer!

Oh-kay. Haha!

That ends the tour around Zoobic Safari. It took more than 3 hours and it can really drain your energy, but it's fun nonetheless! Friendly advice: Be sure to keep some bottled water and face towels handy :)

While having snacks.

The boss/manager/financier contented at watching us eat. Haha.

Before leaving, don't forget to buy souvenirs!

Prices are kinda steep, though.

And if you have some extra cash, you might wanna take a picture with the tiger.

Because we don't wanna spend so much, these souvenir shots will suffice :-)

There. I hope you enjoyed a virtual tour of the zoo! Up next, another Subic tourist destination: Ocean Adventure! :D