Okay, so it's already June but I'm still not done with my summer posts. Will you guys forgive me and allow me to just squeeze in this one? :D

A few days after our day tour at Cristina Villas, we again got to enjoy another summer fun, at the beach, but this time without my mom and my older brother. Last April 20, Gia, Jaoey, and I were tagged along by my dad for their company outing at Ocean View Resort in Subic.


Although I've been to Subic a lot of times already, it was my first time to be with my family so I still got excited. Jaoey was the most excited because it was his first time again (after almost 7 years I think) to hit the beach. We left the house early and got to the resort after almost a 3-hour drive. We were provided with breakfast while waiting for our room to be setup.

Aside from the lovely beaches, hotels, and restaurants, Subic is also known for its adventure spots.  Mark and I have already been to Zoobic Safari and Ocean Adventure, but there's one more place that we haven't been to, and that's Tree Top Adventure. So after a hearty breakfast at Asian Spices, Mark and I went off for some extreme adventure! :D

We went straight to the information area and were ushered to the holding area for some briefing. Together with the rest of the guests, we got briefed on the different adventures and adventure packages that we mail avail at Tree Top.  After which, we were asked to fill up a form and pay at the cashier.

There were a number of adventures to choose from which you may avail separately or through adventure packages which come in a more affordable price. Mark chose the Adventure Package E which includes Canopy Ride and Canopy Walk, Superman Ride, and Tree Drop Adventure. Rate is at Php 620.00/person. These adventures really made Mark excited but not the scaredy cat in me, so I just opted for Adventure Package B. The package is almost the same with package E, with Canopy Ride, Canopy Walk, and Superman Ride, but just minus the Tree Drop Adventure.  Rate is at Php 500.00/person.

Mark and I first went to try the Canopy Ride.  We had a little briefing, were equipped with harnesses and hard hats, and then off we went!

Canopy Ride

Just like every extreme sport which involves heights, the scariest part for me would always be the part wherein you'll have climb a flight of stairs to the reach the platform, mount the ride/machine, on a platform way above the ground, and then let go! I just always have a hard time in letting go. Haha!

We headed back to Segara after our snacks at Meat Plus Cafe.  After our night dip at Segara's pool, Mark and I got hungry so we went out to grab some food for dinner. :p

We drove around Subic Bay Freeport Zone to search for a place to dine.  We ended up driving along the Water Front Road and finally decided to dine at Texas Joe's House of Ribs.

After parking our car at their spacious parking area, Mark and I decided to do away with the al fresco dining at Texas Joe's since there were only a few tables available. We were ushered by their waiting staff inside and accompanied us to a table at the far end of the restaurant.



The restaurant is an authentic American smokehouse which takes pride of its tender briskets, pit-smoked pulled pork, and ribs. The interiors were very country-style, more of a Texas saloon.  It also has a bar, a pool table, and flat screen TVs; ideal for a night of drinking and unwinding.

I have already tried dining at Meat Plus Café with Mark and his family when we got to Subic a couple of years back.


Mark and I got to try this restaurant for the second time when we got back to Subic early this year.  Meat Plus Café is just less than a minute drive from Segara Villas and Suites.  So after an afternoon nap at the hotel, Mark and I decided to have some snacks at Meat Plus.

Asian Spices Bar and Restaurant, housed inside the Segara Villas and Suites, is where Mark and I had our lunch as we arrived in Subic from Manila.

Mark and I also liked the restaurant's ambience just as how we fell in love with Segara Suites. The restaurant is chic and elegantly designed and decorated in shades of gold, ochre, and earth tones.

Also very evident in the restaurant's interior are the Balinese accents.

We came to Subic without having any hotel reservations. I know this entails a lot of risks, but according to Mark being care-free and just going with the flow sometimes adds up excitement and fun and most of the time results to an extraordinary adventure. And well I guess he was right! :)

I already expected Camayan Beach Resort to be fully booked but we still gave it a try and got no luck. Good thing Segara Villas and Suites saved the day! Segara Villas and Suites became our home during our Subic trip last January 5-8.

We came across this serene boutique along the Waterfront Road as we were looking for a place to dine. The staff suggested that we checkout the place and upon checking the rooms, Mark and I agreed to book at Segara.

Just as what I said in my previous post, I just had a simple birthday celebration for my 27th birthday. This is because Mark and I had been planning for a birthday vacation. :D We were supposed to have the vacation on the day of my birthday but we were busy with the holidays and did not have a lot of time to prepare, so we both agreed to just have it on the weekend after my birthday.

Mark and I don't usually entertain the idea of having to pay for everything immediately and then having to wait for months for the vacation itself (add the fact that there are also a lot of 'horror stories' along with those kinds of setups), and so seat sales or travel vouchers were never really an option for both of us. Also, Mark was very firm in pushing through with the vacation as soon as possible because he might have to leave anytime soon. *sniff* *sniff*

Being the not-so-skilled-trip-planners that Mark and I were, we just tried to book on a Friday, January 4, when we were supposed to leave the following day. We initially planned for a trip to Hong Kong, unfortunately the flights and hotel that we eyed on were already fully-booked. Same is true with the Bohol trip that was supposedly our next choice. There were available flights and hotels for January 7 but since Mark can't afford to wait any longer, we decided to just drop them off and both agreed to just spend our vacation at Subic. :p

Lovely rainbow on our way to Subic :D

We've been to Subic countless of times but Mark and I still keep coming back because of Subic's very relaxing environment. Subic Bay Freeport Zone is very clean, quiet, and peaceful! Plus, there is no traffic in Subic! Haha! :p Very perfect for us who just want to spend some quality time together and get away from the hustle and bustle of Manila.

We went off for lunch after our morning dip.  We didn't get to enjoy our breakfast at All Hands Beach so we decided to have our lunch elsewhere. Mark already saw Bunker Bob's when we passed by from Camayan and insisted that we have our lunch there.

Subic Bay Freeport Zone used to be a naval base of the US which is why bunkers, which were used for storage of fuels and ammunition were almost everywhere.  When the Americans left, the bunkers were kept intact and became sanctuaries for wild animals, some were made into museums like the bone museum near Zoobic Safari, and one was transformed into a restaurant and bar like Bunker Bob's.


From afar, the bunker looks like a hill.

Got to spend another Holy Week vacation with Mark and his family. There was only one place that Mark's mom insisted that we go to and that was Subic.  Maybe she forgot that it was also where we had our Holy Week last 2010. :p

Mark and I were both busy with work so we didn't get the chance to prepare for the trip. We just searched over the net and eyed on Camayan Beach Resort, but didn't actually get a reservation. :p  We went off from Mark's house at 4pm and arrived in Subic after around 2 hours.

At Dinalupian, Bataan..on our way to Subic...

Mark and I after a 2-hour ride :p

When we arrived at the resort, we weren't really surprised that it was already fully-booked.  Good thing the resort offers walk-in guests who just wants to swim at their beach so we just decided to get back the next day. We just went back to the free port zone to have our dinner. After dinner we searched for a hotel around the zone, which unfortunately, were all fully-booked. We just decided to stay were we stayed when we were in Subic last 2010, and were lucky enough to get a room for 5. :)

After watching the dolphins and sea lions at Ocean Adventure, we headed to Zoobic Safari for another close encounter with some wild animals.

We had our souvenir photo taken with the native Aetas the moment we got into the place.

We had a short briefing on how the tour will go about.





We were then grouped and each group was assigned a tour guide.



After the briefing we watched some animal shows and then we're off for the tour!




First we had a walk along the forest where we encountered a lot of wild animals. Mark enjoyed seeing and feeding (and bullying) the animals. He just stopped his being bully when an ostrich bit his chest! Haha!

For our next stop, the others took the safari train while we drove to the tigers' den. We first went to their cages while the tour guide informed us about some interesting facts about tigers. Then we had a close encounter with them, and I mean really close! We rode in a caged jeepney and drove into a place where the tigers roamed around.

We also bought some chicken to be fed to the tigers. We were lucky to have caught the attention of one hungry tiger. He immediately went to our jeepney and munched the chicken which the feeder bravely waved with his bare hands!

We then drove to the bone museum and then headed to the crocodile farm.

We ended the tour with a souvenir photo taken with a python. :)

We completed the tour around half past 5pm. The tour was very long and tiring. I really wasn't ecstatic during the tour because it was just like the ones that I had in some zoos during school field trips.

I got to see some animals for the first time though, but I'm really not a fan of these kinds of tours. I was also very moody during the tour (sorry Mark *mwah*). Maybe I just got tired of the long walk under the scorching sun. But it was fun and I enjoyed it, really. ;p

We were up early the next day after a fun night. After around half an hour drive, we arrived at Ocean Adventure.

We then headed to the stadium where the Sea Lion show was held. Here's Sam, the sea lion, doing her tricks.

What an intelligent sea lion! And, oh she's just so adorable!

Next we went to the Seaside Staduim for another entertaining show, the High Dive show.

The divers were simply awesome. They showcased jaw-dropping dive stunts.

Next show was the Tour to the Wild. I was so amazed seeing some wild animals doing some tricks.

And last but not the least, and definitely my most favorite among the shows, was the Dolphin show. The dolphins were all cute and very intelligent.

Our morning adventure ended after we roamed around the Ocean Adventure Aquarium.

We all enjoyed our stay at Ocean Adventure. There was one thing though that ruined the experience, the pricey rice topping (which was kinda short on the toppings) and iced tea (which was more like iced-tea-flavored-water) that we had for lunch. If the we weren't really hungry and if the sun wasn't scorching that time, we really would not settle for this pricey lunch.

After pigging out at Meat Plus Cafe, we headed to Le'Manns Go Kart. There were a lot of people when we got there so we had to wait in line for our turn.

We actually waited for around an hour. Good thing our long wait was worthwhile. For around Php 500, we got to race down the track for 10 laps. Not bad, right? :)

Plus, we got to take a photo with Vina and Shaina, who were in the crowd that night.  They, too, tried the go kart ride. :)

It was still early and we still didn't want to get back to the hotel and call it a day, so we decided to chill out first. We drove back to Subic freeport and headed to Willis Bar. We drank a few shots while being serenaded by the live band.

After a few hours of chillin' we headed to the hotel to get ourselves energized for the next day's adventures. :)


UPDATES:
April 2012: Mark and I went back to Subic together with his family for a Holy Week vacation.  We found out that Le'Manns Go Kart is already non-operational.

Had a great vacation at Subic with Mark's family. We headed to Subic last Thursday afternoon and got there around half past 6pm. After checking in at the hotel and unloading our stuffs, we headed to the freeport zone to search for a place for dinner.

We wanted to get away with the usual fast food chains so Mark's uncle suggested that we try it out at Meat Plus Cafe. We placed our orders and then took some photos. :)

Mark's mom loves steaks. She actually knew what to order that she didn't even have to look at the menu. She ordered the classic Tenderloin Steak.

Mark's uncle opted for the Spaghetti and Burger meal.

I believe both dishes tasted good since both Mark's mom and uncle seemed to have enjoyed their orders hehe..

I didn't really settle for steak since I'm on a diet (haha!) and knowing how huge the serving could be I thought that I might not be able to finish my plate. But oh well, I think I was the one who got the biggest plate! *blushes* I just love how the steak sauce which was not too salty jived with the tender pork marinated in sweet barbecue sauce.

I just didn't enjoy the rice though. I first thought it was java rice, but it's was more like the Dolmeh, with bell pepper, spices, and onions, but a lot tastier. :)

My dish came with the soup of the day, the Hearty Vegetable soup, as what the waiting staff claimed. But it was more like the usual sopas without the macaroni hehe..
Their mashed potato was what I loved the most (next to Red Coconut's mashed potato of course haha!). It was actually Mark's order hehe..unlike the usual gravy on top of mashed potato, Meat Place's mashed potato was swimming into steak sauce! *drools*

He also got fresh watermelon shake.

Mark's order came last. We were almost done eating when his order was served. Mark's dish was not just healthy but sumptuous as well. The generous serving of pink salmon grilled to perfection was made more delectable with the sauce which consist of the steak sauce, olive oil, and pineapple salsa. I guess good things really come to those who wait! :)

We all enjoyed the dinner. We had a few chit chat before heading to the Go Kart track. :)

MEAT PLUS CAFE
Bldg. 6 Sampson Rd., Subic
Olongapo City, Zambales