Pampanga Diaries: Hot Air Balloon Festival

Jen and I planned this day escape for months in advance since she's on vacay for a month. I've always seen the hot air balloon festival but never bothered to go just because. This time, since I'm with a friend, I decided to forego my laziness and enjoy the trip.

The fact is this: I've never been to Pampanga for anything touristy. Honestly. Going to the location requires a long bus trip, with constant pestering of Manong Conductor for the location. Luckily, the place is along the national highway and easy to spot.

We arrived early, at 4 a.m. Too early, actually. The place was still deserted. There's nothing to view and nothing to spot. Should a zombie apocalypse sweep through the area, we'll be the first casualties. There are no waiting areas so we painstakingly waited and watched the organisers arrange everything an hour or so after.

By past 5 a.m., the 4x4s started to drive in and we were given the step-by-step view of the whole flying process. Its kinda fun, actually. And relaxing.

There were some that were hard to put up, like this balloon here:

But others are just breezy.

And up they go!

So when they start flying, we start posing. Because that's the whole point of going there, right? To pose with the balloons. Unless of course you're participating, that's another story altogether.

(Gah, I'm such a tomboy.)

After the session, restaurant stalls opened up and we grabbed breakfast before catching the next bus home. Because the best times to be there are during the the beginning, which we saw, and during the return flight of the balloons, which happens in the late afternoon. Will I do this again? Maybe if I bring a car, I will. But otherwise, this experience is good enough for the long haul. - 4/13/2014