Discovering a bit of Subic (April 3-6, 2014)

Joining the list of my "places to be" in the North Luzon area just the past two weekends is Subic. It is roughly 3 hours away from the Metro (plus two if you're traveling past the rush hour which is 7PM, just like what we did Thursday night). We went there through a private vehicle because we thought that it would be an easier and much accessible mode of transportation to the locations we want to visit in the area. I should just warn you, Subic is very strict on their traffic regulations. There are many "Stop" signs everywhere, where you should cease for 3-5 seconds regardless if there are pedestrians or vehicles that will cross. Furthermore, "first stop, first to go" on intersections is also being observed.

The hotel we chose is Subic Park Hotel. It is situated along Moonbay Marina, Waterfront Road and is near Pier One and Gilligan's - just perfect for people who are always in the mood to go partying and bar-hopping. It turned out to be a good choice for a place to stay for their very accommodating staff, clean rooms and facilities including a swimming pool, wi-fi connection, and one free breakfast meal. 

Dinner at Pier One

Going to Ocean Adventure and Zoobic Safari is relatively a 30-45 minutes drive from our place. Of course the former focused on marine animals while the latter on land and air animals. Personally, I liked Ocean Adventure more than the other because of their shows. There were several souvenir shops on both but we did not bought any thinking it was always a venue for overpriced items. We scheduled one tour per day so that we will have ample time in the afternoon to go to outlet stores, malls and bars since both attractions can be completed in two-three hours. The 3 nights, 3 days vacation was the most relaxing I have experienced! No pressure on moving fast just to keep up with our planned itinerary. 

Ready to go inside!

Zoobic Safari Adventure. Picture on the right is the tram ride.

But if asked what my favorite part of the trip was? That would be eating at Meat Plus Cafe! Its specialty is steak - oh boy, too good to be true. If it's not a sin to our body (and to our wallet) to eat there every meal, we would! :)

Heaven! =)

In terms of budget, I made a breakdown of the significant expenses we incurred as found below:

Some costs of items are for sharing

It helps to buy additional groceries like cup noodles, breads and biscuits so as to lessen the expense. Also, PhP1500 worth of gasoline is already sufficient, we just made sure to store up again another PhP500 since there are no gasoline stations at SCTEX. 

So if you're planning for a get away relatively near the metro, Subic is the place to be. I found the place disciplined and beautiful too. I don't mind going there again some other time since there are other attractions we have not visited yet. =)