Pampanga

My stay at The Lakeshore, Pampanga last November has been fun! Christian tagged me along to join his friends from the office to have a chill weekend at Chinee’s place. The road trip has been a blast, thanks to the lovely weather and good ol’s music from the 90’s. I did not doze off even for a bit! If you know me, Queen of Sleep, you will give me a pat in the back for the tremendous effort of staying awake.

After the 2-hr-ish drive, we stopped by Koko Buri in San Fernando for lunch. There, I got to try their famous soy chicken. It’s quite similar to Bon Chon but their serving is much bigger. Therefore, much affordable. The interior and the ambiance of the place is cozy with the warm lights and colorful table knick-knacks.

Post-lunch, we headed to Chinee’s place to settle down for a bit before our afternoon swim. I met Chinee’s dog, Amber, once again! Super cute!

One thing that I really loved about our swim is I got to enjoy the sunset. I always get this peaceful feeling when I’m having a nature trip. It’s such a nice, sweet escape from the urban jungle. Yeah, let’s not forget the fact that I am getting old so I tend to be nostalgic on these kind of mundane. 😛

Another thing I enjoyed on this weekend getaway? The food! Everyone helped in preparing the meals and they all turned out delicious. Seriously! I’m thinking of trying them out on my own — especially the “Good Shepherd’s Pie” and “Bangus Belly in Spanish Sauce”.

I don’t know what its actual name is but everyone called it “Good Shepherd’s Pie”. It has chicken chunks and carrots in mushroom sauce, topped with mashed potato and greens. It was a hearty meal and I can’t wait to make my own version of it. I really need to have a decent kitchen soon! The Bangus Belly meal is a mashed-up of two of my favorites: bangus belly and spanish sardines. It was really easy to make. I just need a pressure cooker and the right ingredients and voila! Instant awesome meal! 🙂

And what’s a getaway without the booze? We had our fill of these after dinner while playing King’s Cup. It was hilarious! The game got funnier as everyone gets drunker.

In the morning before heading home, we went to the other side of the lake to enjoy the view and have some photo ops. Thank the heavens for the really lovely weather that weekend.

Last May 12, Christian and I and some of our friends from work headed over to Pampanga for our Mt. Pinatubo hike. This is my first time to go to Pinatubo and see the infamous ruins. I was so psyched. The trek started with an hour travel through the barren lahar-laden lands on-board a 4X4. It was an exciting and bumpy ride.

In the middle of the 4×4 ride, we all took a pit stop for some photo ops. I stood on a cliff, trying to capture its steepness, but I failed. Oh well. All photos here were taken by my HTC phone camera by the way. I just did some minor tweaks in Lr for them to be more acceptable. 😀

The weather was moody that day. One minute the sun is shining brightly, the next minute it would be gloomy. But we’re thankful that it did not rain. In the middle of the trip, though, one of the vehicles got stuck in the creeks causing several minutes of delay. Another 4×4 need to pull it out of the pit for it to move forward.

Let me just say that this has been a visually-interesting trip. The rock formations… the native Aetas that lurks by the boulders… even the stray fox-like dogs looking for a shade.

After the 4×4 ride, the real fun begun. I will tell you all about it in my next post. 😉

kirsteneBV

Weekend at The Lakeshore

To Pinatubo: On Board a 4×4