Yesterday, we headed to the Clark Freeport Zone. Zipping through the NLEX which has greatly improved in terms of road quality, readily available emergency facilities and its efficient rest stops (mini mall like ambiance), we were there in less than 2 hours.
Since we had snack at one of the rest stops, we headed straight to the Clark Expo. More specifically the Nayong Pilipino. You can find replicas of some of the famous landmarks in our country like the Barasoain Church and Colonial Plazas. There are also regional houses which were categorized as Ifugao, Kalinga and Kapampangan villages. Sad to say, Nayong Pilipino was pretty deserted and we were the only people roaming around the premises. A quick lunch at a local eatery gave us more energy to continue our itinerary.
Next stop was the Clark Museum which is located right across the sprawling Parade ground. The original site of Fort Stotsenburg which was named after Colonel John M. Stotsenburg, a Captain of the 6th US Cavalry. The massive fort was the location of the first permanent quarters of the American forces in Sapang Bato, Angeles. The Clark Museum which is also known as Museo Kapampangan traces the history of the US military presence in the Philippines, features Philippine military history and has an elaborate Mount Pinatubo exhibit. It also presents Clark as a former US military base and its evolution into a special economic zone as depicted in pictures, dioramas, replicas, murals and artifacts. It was really interesting from a military/historical point of view especially for a gal like me who knows zilch about Philippine history.
Then we hit several duty free shops. With nothing particular in mind nor a list of items to buy, we merely browsed through the Px goods. Mentally calculating the price which was quoted in US dollars, there were some items which are considerably cheaper there than at the malls like Tasters Choice coffee and all those sinful Hershey kisses and chocolate bars!
By 5:30pm we headed back towards the metropolis, catching a fading glimpse of the imposing Mount Arayat as it loomed in the distance. Since we were already hungry from all the walking we did, we decided to have an early dinner at the Mega Station rest stop located somewhere in the San Fernando vicinity of Pampanga. We ate at Razon's which tasted way better than their outlets at food courts in the malls. I had skinless longganisa which is a personal favorite of mine, I could eat it for every single meal for the rest of my life and not complain one bit!
P.S.
This post would have been a lot more interesting to read if it had captioned pictures to describe my fun filled day. But alas for some strange reason the compact flash memory got corrupted so I cannot retrieve the shots. I am way beyond sad that I cannot recover the pictures. But I am still hoping that I can still get them somehow! But suffice to say, the photographs cannot really capture the memorable moments I had during our family outing. =)
Since we had snack at one of the rest stops, we headed straight to the Clark Expo. More specifically the Nayong Pilipino. You can find replicas of some of the famous landmarks in our country like the Barasoain Church and Colonial Plazas. There are also regional houses which were categorized as Ifugao, Kalinga and Kapampangan villages. Sad to say, Nayong Pilipino was pretty deserted and we were the only people roaming around the premises. A quick lunch at a local eatery gave us more energy to continue our itinerary.
Next stop was the Clark Museum which is located right across the sprawling Parade ground. The original site of Fort Stotsenburg which was named after Colonel John M. Stotsenburg, a Captain of the 6th US Cavalry. The massive fort was the location of the first permanent quarters of the American forces in Sapang Bato, Angeles. The Clark Museum which is also known as Museo Kapampangan traces the history of the US military presence in the Philippines, features Philippine military history and has an elaborate Mount Pinatubo exhibit. It also presents Clark as a former US military base and its evolution into a special economic zone as depicted in pictures, dioramas, replicas, murals and artifacts. It was really interesting from a military/historical point of view especially for a gal like me who knows zilch about Philippine history.
Then we hit several duty free shops. With nothing particular in mind nor a list of items to buy, we merely browsed through the Px goods. Mentally calculating the price which was quoted in US dollars, there were some items which are considerably cheaper there than at the malls like Tasters Choice coffee and all those sinful Hershey kisses and chocolate bars!
By 5:30pm we headed back towards the metropolis, catching a fading glimpse of the imposing Mount Arayat as it loomed in the distance. Since we were already hungry from all the walking we did, we decided to have an early dinner at the Mega Station rest stop located somewhere in the San Fernando vicinity of Pampanga. We ate at Razon's which tasted way better than their outlets at food courts in the malls. I had skinless longganisa which is a personal favorite of mine, I could eat it for every single meal for the rest of my life and not complain one bit!
P.S.
This post would have been a lot more interesting to read if it had captioned pictures to describe my fun filled day. But alas for some strange reason the compact flash memory got corrupted so I cannot retrieve the shots. I am way beyond sad that I cannot recover the pictures. But I am still hoping that I can still get them somehow! But suffice to say, the photographs cannot really capture the memorable moments I had during our family outing. =)
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