Subic - Zoobic - Subic

Oh yeah, so a friend of mine came from Indonesia and no it wasn't a short notice trip but then, our mistake we weren't able to get ourselves a flight and be gone to a place better than what we can find traveling north by land. LESSONS LEARNED. Next time, we'll plan and fly off somewhere else... though it wasn't really such a bad idea. One, we got to experience Zoobic, and we got to see the new Naval Ship of the Philippines! =)

 Off we went to Subic at around 9AM; and went to place we booked for our overnight stay. It was someplace in the Barrio Barreto. It is a beach front place and boy was it really a nice place! Our friend picked a really nice time to come as there were not a lot of people having a beach vacation. We had the beach all to ourselves, literally.

 We left our bags, freshened up and off to Zoobic which was a few kilometers from Barrio Barreto. For this Zoobic trip, we reserved four tickets from metrodeal and claimed our 50% discount! he he he
We were asked to wait for the tour with other groups, there are probably about 30 people there.  Not included in the Metrodeal was the tram ride which was only 50 bucks. You have to ride with the group otherwise bringing in your own could prove to be a lot of trouble. he he suggest that you also have a bottle of water for yourself. Its a bit expensive in there!
So we toured Zoobic... Serpentarium, where all the snakes are... the Crocodile Park, Savannah where all we see are hogs (potbelly pigs) and ostriches, Close encounter with the Tigers (hmm but it was stinky in there - smelled of animal piss).  I did enjoy the whole Tram ride though as it was really refreshing. In the Bird Sanctuarium, you can actually buy 10 pesos worth of seeds and the love birds can all be in your hands, pecking for the food. he he
The Crocodile park was a nice place too, you will walk through steel bridges with gaps so you can see the crocodiles directly at
your feet. Scary now that i think of it.. especially hearing about the news in China where a foot brdige collapsed in one of their  tourist spots. Imagine if there were crocodiles in there. Boy they would have quite a feast!
surely, this one in the photo is hoping for that, looking up as we walk past them, or as we look at them taking naps, relaxing and simply preserving their energy. he he he

For a fee of 300 (I think), you can have a chance to have that photo taken with the tiger cub. You get to feed him with a bottle of milk, but it only happens about 2 mins tops. no more no less!

After the tour, we were gathered at the mini holding area, and there came the Aetas performing for the whole crowd as part of the tour.

The next day.... We checked out early and headed to the Extremely Espresso Cafe... They say you never really visited Subic if you haven't stopped at this cafe. It was early and there were already a lot of people in the cafe having their breakfast served. I'd say i am not much of a coffee fan, but since all their meals are served with a cup of coffee.. why not try it?  I even had a refill! ha ha (Refills are free until 11AM.)

Bataan to Subic Road trip!

After our Montemar Beach Experience... We headed off to Morong for a Bataan White Corals  Experience.. From Bagac, we traveled up to morong, following only the road signs leading us to the Pawikan Conservation Center. It was a long drive with worries that we might soon ran out of gas as the sign keeps popping up that the car is low in Gas now. hehe

Finally, At the Pawikan conservation Center... We found 3 Sea turtles, small medium and average sized ones. they are the only ones there, no baby turtles, no other worth seeing... :( quite disappointed that the conservation center did not have much to offer. The pawikans are lovely though, It is the first time i have come so close to one and have actually touched their "feet". The caretaker said they bite to we cannot touch the head. 

We gave the person there that asked us to enter the place 50 bucks as "entrance fee". After going to the site.. we decided to go to further, but having changed our minds in going to the Bataan white Corals, we then headed towards Subic Bay, after seeing the road signs. :) I thought there might be more to see in Subic than in another beach resort that might just be similar to where we have been. 

Going to the subic bay, We saw low rates sign of the Subic Bay Venezia Hotel... Hmm thought we could just spend the night there for lower rates; the concierge was very nice at giving us additional discounts since we checked in at almost 4 in the afternoon already. The room is very comfortable, the bed sheets are nice, the amenities are complete and they even have a water heater for our coffee. They also have a Casino in this place... 

Oh prior to this, we also had a great time go Karting. It was our first go kart experience and we had to try it at Subic! haha as if there are no go kart places here in Manila. 

The next day, we decided to have lunch first before going home; we had to go too the bay view area (
Waterfront road) but there are limited choices, i think we will not enjoy it as much as we have enjoyed our Aristocrat meal. We were so full and I sure do love to eat their chicken barbecue! It is really the best barbecue ever!! 

It took us another 2 hours of long road trip from Subic bay to Manila, A very worthy travel of fun and spontaneous decisions. haha I like to have planned events, journey, etc... but being spontaneous at times helps add spice and adventure! :) 

In the spirit of fairness, I think this was built for the Maya birds. It was called Villa Maya. hehe I thought this one is  cute, isn't it so we took the time to take a picture and have it shared to everyone. 

This can be seen at the Subic Tipo entrance. It is on your right side coming from Subic - Manila bound and  on your left when entering Subic (from Manila).