Lena : Up, up and Away! (Hot Air Balloon Festival 2011)

The annual Hot Air Balloon Fiesta marked it's 16th celebration in Clark, Pampanga.

According to the Philippine International Hot-Air Balloon Fiesta (PIHABF) organizers crowds were expected to increase compared to last year's outcome. Overflowing hotel guests were expected to be booked due to the ongoing ad exposure and other media frenzy that the event has gained during the years.

Clark Freeport Zone became the home of this spectacular international aviation sport event mainly due to its vast area and facilities. Also, the said venue offers a wide array of high-end hotels and leisure establishments that provides options to both local and international spectators.

 
Off to get some adventure, me and my office colleagues strutted our way to Clark. We decided to catch the morning balloon flight which is set to take off at dawn (5:30am).

The whole day event program is fun-packed (managed to get this via their website).

It’s a must to leave early, since parking area may get crowded and we might end up the-ones-who’s-parked-so-far! =) Plus, somebody told me (a friend who went to the previous festival) that the probability of all balloons successfully taking their flight is higher during the morning compared to the evening (there’s 2 scheduled flight, 5:30am and 5:45pm).

We hired a private van for the day, left Sucat at around 3:30am and arrived at Clark at around 5:30am. You can just imagine the number of people that time. Who could have thought that it’ll be jam-packed! But don’t you worry. The place was cool and still offered a lot of place to run, jump, smile, and even free-wheel. J

Entrance Fee/Pax : 150Php

Meanwhile, if you’re planning to stay for the whole day event take note to bring the ff:

- a mat or any picnic style cloth to sit on (no available chairs)

- a tent, if you feel like dozing-off privately

- a packed-food for the whole day (no corkage) ; yet millions of food kiosks can still be found inside

- water

- a kite to fly (there’s a kite flying event, cool!)

Our group decided to skip some events and be back on the Hot Air Night Glow instead.

We then turned the wheel towards Subic Treetop Adventure at around 11am. It’s a helluva fun! A must-try! Good thing, we managed to glimpse some night glow events back in Clark at around 7pm, packed our way to eat and went back to the busy city of Paranaque.

Treetop Adventure details to follow on my next blog! =)

Lena : An Unexpected Encounter

A late night dinner, KTV, and send-off party (for Pot) with my high school BFFs was a blast! It was a work night and we're off to call it quits before we end up tired and wasted at around 1am. We then opted to go home in pairs (except for us).

Onat and Pot is off to QC

Reggie and Sugar will be heading home to Cavite.

Mike and me's going down south (Sucat) with Misty tagging behind us (will be dropping her off in Taguig)

Since late night cab-catching might turned out unpleasant due to unpleasant drivers and fare haggling, I was very particular in getting a green colored cab (MGE, R&E, EFE). But then, unknowingly, I flagged down a white cab. Looked down the driver, decided that he seemed O-OK and immediately hopped in with Mike and Misty.

And so the story goes.

We we're talking about the recent bus bombing when Kuya interjected that it was an inhumane thing to do. Whoa! Closing my eyes will just made me imagine that a radio announcer or a fluent anchor is talking to me about a crucial event. As the ride goes on and on, so did our interactive conversations. I must say that he's been very helpful in providing real life experiences and know-hows. He got our attention, stimulated our senses and in no time, all three of us were engaged in a heated, spontaneous yet genial exchange.

During the course of our profound chat, I then found out that he was an overage and overqualified hotelier who had worked on numerous local and international hotels. Came from a family of lawyers -- his dad and brothers. Out of necessities, Kuya's recently driving a cab for almost 8 months now , been in three failed relationships which resulted to three children (1 each) and was left and abandoned by all three of them for the same reason -- another man. :(  Whew!

Riding my way home has never been this fun, real and inspiring. You're a great eye opener Kuya! An unexpected way of getting unsolicited yet very timely (on my part) piece of advice on life and love. Such a great conversationalist!

Now, it's time to bid goodbye. I hope that our well wishes and a few extra bucks will made you feel so appreciated (which I'm sure, you're very much confident about).

Kudos to Kuya of NAUTILUS taxi (UVA 162).

Ciara : Clarins Fluide Eclat du Jour

I have three basic requirements for a moisturizer:

1.) It should be hypo-allergenic.

2.) It should be hypo-allergenic.

3.) It should be hypo-allergenic.

I have used Boots N07 moisturiser over the summer and finished the bottle two days ago. So yesterday I made a trip to Sephora to look for a new one since winter is here and I need to adapt my skincare regimen ;). I was planning to try Philosophy's Hope in a Jar. Unfortunately the branch I went to doesn't have it. Being the impatient person that I am, I looked for other options. I had my eye on Chanel or Lancome, but the sales lady told me that Clarins is more recommended for Asian skin. After a few minutes of question and answer portion, I finally gave in and she also gave me some freebies!

 

Clarins Pore Minimizing Serum, Mattifier, Moisturiser (AED 130.00) and Foaming Cleanser
(the small ones were the freebies)

Clarins Fluide Eclat du Jour (Moisturiser) 



I've been using the moisturiser for 2 days in a row now and can I just say that I love the scent? I'm so used to unscented and colourless products so this is quite a change :) I haven't had any reactions so far. Sadly I am not friends with the foaming cleanser, last night I washed my face with it and it became an unsightly shade of red. Next week I will give the pore minimising serum and the mattifier a road test, till then!