Our special, full body sticker-wrapped Victory Liner bus |
The 5-day, North Philippines
Visitors Bureau (NPVB)/Manila North Tollways Corp. (MNTC)-sponsor Lakbay Norte
2, First Leg, was launched at the Victory Liner Terminal along EDSA (near
Kamias St.), Quezon City last January 23, 2011, Sunday. Our special Victory
Liner bus, its body sticker-wrapped with the tour's sponsors, left the terminal
around 2 AM. The tour covered the 7 Northern Luzon provinces of La Union
(Rosario and Pugo), Benguet (Baguio City and Tuba), Pangasinan (Pozorrubio and
Manaoag), Zambales (Subic Freeport Zone), Tarlac (Capas and Tarlac City),
Pampanga (Angeles City, Clark Freeport Zone, Bacolor, Guagua, City of San
Fernando and Mexico) and Bulacan (Sta. Miguel de Mayumo).
Joining from the print media
were Ms. Jacky Lynne Oiga of Manila Bulletin; Dandi Galvez of
Philippine Star; Mr. Ivan ManDy of Tulay Weekly; Mr. Gabriel
"Gabby" Malvar of Travelife Magazine; Mr. Art Villasanta of
Philippine Daily Inquirer; Mr. Raydon Reyes of ExpatTravel and
Lifestyle Magazine; Mr. Ramir Cambiado of Travel Plus Magazine
and Monica Macalinao and Brian Joseph Casenas of Northbound
Magazine. Travel bloggers include Ms. Esperanza "Nina" Fuentes (www.justwandering.org), Mr. Ivan
Henares (www.ivanhenares.com),
Mr. Ferdinand "Ferdz" Decena (www.ironwulf.net) and Mr. Karlo de Leon (www.karlodl.com).
Joining us from Yahoo! Philippines was Isadora "Izah" Morales while
doing a segment for Travel Time (hosted by Ms. Cory Quirino) are the Studio 23
team of Ms. Hannah Barrios, Mr. Leo Lava Cruz, Mr. Joshua
"Red" Nietes and Mr. Viktor Julius "Bads" Licos.
Our trip was documented by professional photographer Mr. Franklin
"Frank" Dizon and videographer Mr. Jayson "John
Lloy" Casilang.
Mt. Pinatubo
|
Joining us was MNTC Senior
Marketing Manager Ms. Grace Ayento while Ms. Melissa Grace Dizon (Executive
Director), Ms. Jesame Nabong (CVB Operations and Event
Manager), Michelle Liza "Mishy" Co (Marketing Manager) and
Ms. Rica Paz represented NPVB. MNTC Marketing
Vice-President Mr. Renie Ticzon visited us at Mexico, Pampanga while NPVB
Executive Director Vince W. Araneta saw us off at the Victory Liner Terminal in
Quezon City. Rica has since migrated to the U.S. and now works at Park
Hyatt Aviara Resort in Carlsbad.
Highlights of our tour
include sipping kape alamid, the most expensive coffee in the world
(sourced from civet cat poop) at S.O.U.L. Cafe in Rosario (La Union); having
our portrait sketched, meeting Cordillera artists, sipping tapuy (rice
wine), bugnay (blackberry wine) and native Arabica coffee and dining
on pinikpikan at Tam-awan Village and savoring Mediterranean charm at
Hotel Elizabeth in Baguio City; meeting National Artist BenCab and exploring
his museum at Tuba (Benguet); flying like Superman, driving an all-terrain
vehicle (ATV) and wall climbing at Pugad Pugo Adventure Park in Pugo (La
Union); observing the making of the Ilocano delicacy patupat in
Pozorrubio (Pangasinan); lighting candles at the new Candle Gallery at the
Manaoag Shrine in Manaoag (Pangasinan); riding 4x4 all-terrain vehicles and trekking
Mt. Pinatubo in Zambales; having our tired bodies pampered at P.D.C. Spa Town
in Sta. Juliana (Tarlac); dining on Kapamapangan cuisine and viewing
Kapampangan lifestyle and culture at Museo Ning Angeles in Angeles City
(Pampanga); dining on Korean and Italian cuisine; jetskiing, banana boating and
sea kayaking and R&R at Lighthouse Marina Resort at Subic Freeport
Zone (Zambales); pilgrimage to notable Kapampangan churches in Bacolor and
Guagua; attending a cooking demo (and sampling her cooking) by culinary expert
and historian Lilian M.L. "Atching" Borromeo in Mexico (Pampanga);
bus tour of San Miguel de Mayumo's ancestral houses and retracing the footsteps
of Philippine revolutionists at Biak-na-Bato National Park in Bulacan.
These 5 days have been
great. I gain a better appreciation of the beauty, culture, arts,
cuisine, architecture and excitement of the North and I've scratch a number of
items in my Bucket List (kape alamid, Mt. Pinatubo, jetskiing, spa treatment
and ATV ride). I've also learned how to sleep in buses and developed a
fondness for oatmeal bars and Cloud 9 chocolate bars. I also found out
that Jesame (rhymes with besame, Spanish for "kiss me") is short
for "Jesus Save Me," that I'm not the oldest in the group (Art
Villasanta is four years older than me), photographer Frank Dizon is also a
registered architect like me, Mishy Co isn't Japanese (I thought she was
Michiko), Grace has a very private Facebook account and that Dandi Galvez
doesn't believe in Facebook, Tweeter or any other social networking site (kawawa).
I also saw the power of the internet especially with regards travel
blogs, so much so that I've created one of my own (F.Y.I: Fire Your
Imagination). Finally, I've gain a new set of friends which I don't want
to shed and a few extra pounds which I'm still trying to shed up to now.
Congratulations to MNTC and NPVB for organizing a successful first leg of
Lakbay Norte 2! More power to you all!
North Philippines Visitors
Bureau (NPVB): 291 St. Joseph St., Oranbo Drive, Pasig City, Metro Manila.
Tel: (632) 637-6798. Fax: (632) 631-1674.
E-mail: northphilvisitorsbureau@yahoo.com. Website: www.northphilippines.org.
Manila North Tollways
Corporation (MNTC): NLEX Compound, Balintawak, Caloocan City, Metro
Manila. Tel: (632) 479-3000. E-mail: corpcomm@mntc.com.
Website: www.mntc.com.
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