Ultimate Kapampangan Show-Off 2.0 Thanks to all of our tour friends who joined us for the Ultimate Kapampangan Tour 2.0: Up Up and Away! Hupping, Puffing, and Pumping in Pampanga! Also, thank you for the gift of feedback because we learned a lot from this tour.
Rating Scale: (1) Horrible (2) It is OK. (3) We had a good time. (4) I love it! (5) Awesome! I would recommend it!
Overall Tour Experience Rating: 4.0 (I love it!).
Our target is to get a 5.0 (Awesome! I would recommend it) on all our tours and we learned a lot from the Hot Air Balloon Fiesta tour.
What do the tour participants have to say about Ultimate Kapampangan Show-Off 2.0?
” The hot air balloon, the massage, the farm, the food, and the pizza are all wonderful experiences. However, you need to focus more on avoiding long lulls. We stayed too long in the farm it became boring. And to top it, we left two hours too late (based on my understanding was the plan), we missed the migratory bird experience. Because of bad roads, the migratory bird experience is a one-off arrangement. No more going back. Sayang. But the effort and perseverance is noted. The perseverance alone should make future tours with you worthwhile. Just plan better. “
” The trip was a good start for me….I don’t mind the early call time and we left quite on time. I think it would have made a big impact if the ride was more comfortable than it was…i guess its also because i’m quite tall and i also encounter the same discomfort when riding planes on economy class……I really enjoyed the balloonfest since my objective was to take pictures…the press passes made all that difference from just going on a trip on my own. As for the food, I think i expected more in terms of variety and “yum” factor……the massage was a lot better than expected…..the ambiance in that small little cabana was a pleasant surprise……”
” I totally enjoyed. Would like to go to another tour in the future.”
” I’m supposed to click on the “Awesome! I would recommend it!” kaya lang baka mawalan ako ng slot next time. “
” It was a PERFECT day tour for me and Kristine since it was our first time in a group tour locally and especially the Hot Air balloon festival. We are already looking forward to the next ULTIMATE destination tour of the group:-) Food is fantastic. Recommendations reached a lot of people already with what we have experienced. Thanks a lot guys and More Power!!! “
” The tour was well planned. “
” The tour was great. Everyone’s warm and friendly especially Anton, the Ivans, Spanky and Rommel who are equally nice, informative and affable. And I love the fact that Aidan was also there.. I think he’s even cuter in person. *wink*”
” really had a blast… i especially liked how some places were surprises. good times!! =)”
” What a great food trip!”
” Our heartfelt thanks to all of you for putting this together. We know it takes A LOT of imagination and dedication to get something like this off the ground, we’re behind you 100% of the way. Count us in your future trips, we keep meeting the most interesting people! Hope this feedback helps with the succeeding tours. “
PART 1. OVERALL NIGHT TOUR EXPERIENCE: 3.3 (We had a good time.)
The night tour failed our expectations and we vow to learn and improve next time around.
BUS/ LOGISTICS: 2.54 (It is OK)
Although the bus driver and services are reliable, we won’t be using that coaster anymore in our future tours.
OASIS HOTEL: 3.67 (We had a good time.)
The garden hotel was cute but not enough to impress our guests. We will go to ABC Hotel next time!
HOT AIR BALLOON NIGHT GLOW: 2.0 (It is OK.)
On Saturday, the winds were so strong, it prevented the balloons to inflate. The saturday crowd in the hot air balloon festival was very disappointed. A lot of Hot Air but no Balloons.
C ITALIAN DINING: 5.0 (Awesome! I would recommend it!)
C Italian Dining exceeded all our expectations. I’ll dedicate a separate post on this.
WALKING TOUR OF ANGELES NIGHT LIFE: 4.0 (I Love it!)
This walking tour has a potential. The Angeles Beach Club Hotel was out of this world.
Q. What do you think made this tour a memorable experience?
” The hot air balloon, of course.”
” the balloonfest was great……the full body massage was also refreshing…..the resthouse of LJC was a good photoshoot experience too…..”
” Meeting new people!”
” Yung food!!! saka ang kukulet ng mga participants!!! i think you guys were able to achieve the “barkada experience”. Mas masaya kasi pag barkada although ang setback nun eh hindi mo yun ma-a-achieve sa first try. I think nag-work this time kasi familiar na yung iba with some people. Saka buti na lang yung iba magaan kasama. Saka ang laki pala talaga ng mga Lobo. Yikes!”
” The camaraderie of meeting new people from all walks of life is an experience”
” Aside from watching the hot air balloons take off, Abe’s farm really is a treat since it was the place where everyone really felt at peace and relaxed during the tour compliments of the massages and the sumptuous buffet! “
” the food (kapampangan, yum)! the heavenly massage (i’m such a sucker so i have lots to compare it with pero ang sarap parin sobra… parang the best so far for me)”
” Memorable for me since I did not have any friend/s with me in the tour (since my friend backed out the last minute due to an urgent rendezvous) so it was really a new (and exciting) experience for me.”
” Albeit that, I was able to meet new friends who have similar passions, i.e. food, travel, photography & lomography”
” people, food, surprises…”
” an owner of the hot air balloon was so nice & let me get inside his square-like basket & took a souvenir shot of me while he blew up the light up up the sky as though he is going to let me fly with them,,for free maybe…hahahahha!”
HOT AIR BALLOON TAKE-OFF: 4.58 (I Love it!)
Most of us fell in love with the balloons. We felt like kids again except for Aidan who got scared.
VFW BREAKFAST: 3.38 (We had a good time!)
I think the food was not impressive to the participants. We got to find a different breakfast place for next year’s fiesta.
COLD SPOON: 4.25 (I Love it!)
The next dessert craze in the Philippines is Frozen Yogurt!
ABE’S FARM LUNCH: 4.08 (I Love it!)
The participants loved it but personally the Ivans, Spanx and me was a bit disappointed with quality and quantity of the food.
NURTURE SPA: 4.08 (I Love it!)
Most people appreciated this after waking up at 2am in the morning!
CAMALIG PIZZA: 3.33 (We had a good time!)
This is the best Filipino pizza but it is best to be eaten in the restaurant itself. The crust was not anymore crunchy when we ate it at Abe’s Farm.
CANDABA WILD LIFE PRESERVE: 2.58 (It is OK!)
This was poorly executed and should have been the best way to end the tour. We were late by 10mins to see all the white egret birds fly. Also, we failed to give the story of these birds.
Never thought it was so difficult to tour people around and make them happy… looks like everybody was quite demanding…
I guess it all depends on why you travel…
I like to quote Paulo Coelho: “A traveler immerses himself in the newness of the place and the experience without comparing anything – prices, cleanliness, quality of life, means of transport… Nothing. You are not traveling in order to prove you live better than others. Your search, in fact, is to find out how others live, what they have to teach, how they view reality and the extraordinary things in life. You can globalize economics but you cannot globalize culture.”
Hello! I also went to the Hot Air Balloon Fiesta but on the first day. It was soo much fun. Thanks to your posts, sobrang naengganyo kami pumunta. We also went around to pig-out though we went somewhere else. I hope you don’t mind but I linked you in one of my entries. Also, is it okay if I include you in my blog roll?
Many thanks to you and more power to OAP! God bless!
….pampanga’s 2009 hot air balloons feast hopefully will be way bigger than this year….i will do everything i can to ask pray serenade everyone needed to make it as i ‘fantasize’ it lol….wait a minute….but this does not mean i have to kiss them lol!….i will create my own ‘personnal’ group tour of 20 will show you a sample of how strangers foreign or not will enjoy a tour with majority points-score of 5.0 lol…..first of all i will definitely make my ‘own’ initial advance personnal tour those actual balloons locations to check out all ambiances & comforts i expected to cater….if they are the price ranges i needed but not good enough then i make my own ‘improvisations’ without disturbing those places like….i will create some parlor games in between boredoms-empty times i will bring my own mini state of the art folding tent films cameras fresh quality bouquets of flowers & plants tiffany or high end qualities philippine floor table lamps interesting radio-alarm clocks attach on ceilings walls though provoking quality oil paintings to make the hotel rooms or restaurants private room interiors for my groups ‘only’ arrangements without paying 5 star hotel accommodations but can re used it again & again in all other tours for you rache anton aidan joshua lol….inside the coach private mini van i will have at least 2 lap top computers available to bored not so enthusiastic extremely private quiet type of guests & games in between story telling as we pass historical or any interesting places architectures landmarks as we travel back & forth places without buying state of the art travel coach buses lol…..the food restaurants in advanced i shall demand ‘changes’ like bringing my own 800 tablewares sterling silverwares exclusively for my guests only also changes on some food tastes & table preparations deemed necessary coz of health religious or style reasons….extra soft throw pillows are available for short uncomfortable riders extra leg room spaces for those tall passengers the mini van is exceptionally clean with mini trash bags has emergency road equipments first aid kits has disinfectant carries self printed maps with large x in all planned destinations & all our travel iteneraries including emergency meeting places plus instructions phone numbers just in case we missed some of them later mini food munchies to eat drinks inside mini coolers….all restrooms as we travelled are told & provided in advanced of all extra toiletries like soaps lotions softest papers mini hand towels & eou de toilette perfumes besides those the van carries just in case some couldnt wait and many more improvisations but too intimate to disscuss so i must stop here lol….the rest is up to what our destinations normally offers to all their guests….it is necessary that we must stick to time schedules as we planned earlier….anton rache anyone lol….i hope i spelled out correctly some future provocative needs gadgets of what is ‘state of the art’ tours mostly have lol….
Congatulations for your successful tour! Sana sa next vacation ko may naka-set kayo na tour. Holiday Inn in clark is nice and not very expensive – at least at the time I got married in Clark. You can also try villas in Fontana or Mimosa although medyo luma na rin. I just don’t know if they have renovated their villas already or at least upgraded the furnitures. When we got married, we got villas in Fontana even if the reception is in Holiday Inn. If you know someone who is a member in Fontana, you can get 50% discount for the villas. I remember paying P1,800/night instead of P3,600/night for three-bed room villas.
wow anton! rache looks so nice, slim and refreshed considering she just gave birth months ago. how does she maintain her figure? hoping she might share her secret..thanks!