“Love is in the air. To watch it together, we declare. The experience will surely be beyond compare.” 

In less than 140 characters, I typed these words on Twitter which won me two free tickets to the 17th Philippine International Hot Air Balloon Fiesta and a free lunch courtesy of Air Asia.

Prior to that, I was able to secure a photographer’s pass courtesy of Digital Photographer Philippines and Caltex. Thanks to Christian Sangoyo of Lakad Pilipinas who mentioned about the pass.

Watching the hot air balloon festival was not new to me. I’ve covered the sky festivity in 2009 and 2010 for Inquirer.net, where I worked as a multimedia reporter.

Though it was my third time to be part of this event, I still found it exciting. There’s always something new–and that was capturing the balloons for passion’s sake and watching it together with J. It was his first time to watch the balloons fly up in the air. My brother and his girlfriend also joined us. They’re also first-timers.

At around 1:40 am, we arrived at the Five Star Terminal in Pasay City. The airconditioned bus bound for Dagupan, which also passes Dau Terminal, was about to leave. There were only few seats left. Fortunately, we got them. After five minutes,  the neat and seemingly new bus of Five Star left the terminal.

The ride, covering 88 kilometers, was fast and smooth. We arrived safely at the Dau Terminal in Pampanga at around 3:12 in the morning. The rooster was still sleeping. Passengers going to the Hot Air Balloon Fiesta alighted from the bus.

We filled our stomachs with rice and longganisa at the Jollibee beside the terminal. Sipping hot chocolate completed the breakfast. Since only portalets were available at the venue, we did a toilet break.

From Jollibee, we walked to the Caltex gas station and crossed the street. During that time, there were no multicabs going directly to the main gate of Clark. The driver told us that it’s still early and we should just ride his multicab and alight at the Shell Station. This would be nearer to the Bayanihan Terminal, where jeepneys with the Clark main gate route are stationed.

The driver then dropped us at the Shell station and pointed us to ride the multicab waiting at Shell. But it was a mistake to listen to him because the ride from Shell to the Bayanihan Terminal only took around three minutes. The terminal was just nearby and we should have walked instead. But we were tricked. Hmm… Talk about taking advantage of the event at the expense of the visitors.

And so, we took our third multicab. Finally, the driver stopped at the entrance of the Hot Air Balloon Fiesta. The ride from Bayanihan terminal to the venue itself was Php 10.00. Total fare for the three multicabs summed up to Php 26.00. It should have been Php 18.00, had we not heeded the advice of the first multicab driver.

We arrived seeing long queue of excited attendees who haven’t purchased their tickets yet.

At around 5:15 am, I got in after getting my photographer’s pass from DPP. I met fellow PTB members, Kevin, Ian, and Elal who also got their passes. Music was filling up the atmosphere during that early hour. Spectators secured their places infront of the fenced area.

We first passed by the booth of Caltex, which was one of the major sponsors of the event. Their booth was a replica of their gas station. One of the cool things in their booth was the ZERO price of gasoline. (How I wish this was a real gas station. No Kidding. hehe)

Streaks of orange and indigo hues started to paint the sky. The sun was about to wake up and stretch its rays but the security personnel won’t allow us yet to enter the grounds.

The silhouette of Mt. Arayat with the stratus clouds was already inviting me to capture the moment but the security personnel insisted that the pilots should set up first. I already voiced out that we should also capture the moments of setting up the balloons. They allowed to enter the VIPs first. Since we were on the right line, where the VIPs were, we got in. hahaha.

So I was one happy kid in the big playground, taking pictures of the big balloons. I hopped from one balloon to another with the hope of not missing a moment.

The Philippine Flag jump by the Army kicked off the event. Thousands of spectators then witnessed 28 balloons soar high in the sky.

I was very grateful to watch the balloons fly up close. Next time, I would want to ride the balloon. To ride the balloon, one should pay $200 (approximately, Php 8,400). Whew! I would just travel somewhere with that budget. hehe. Here were my shots:

I thought the “Panda” would fly too but apparently, it was just for photo-op’s sake. Nonetheless, it was my favorite.

All of the photographers were then asked to vacate the grounds for safety measures.  We then roamed around the area and walked from one exhibit to another. My brother was so fascinated with the military battle gears. I took photos of him.

Then we walked to the booth of the Department of Tourism. I held my camera close to my face and was about to shoot. I peeked at the view finder and saw some mist.

When I checked on the lens, I was shocked. My Kenko polarizer was gone. GONE. My heart broke into pieces. I saved up for that polarizer. I couldn’t contain my tears. My precious polarizer, which was just three-months old, was lost amid the thousands of attendees. I cried. I almost wanted to go home already because I was upset with what happened.

But J was there, comforting me. Thank you Lord, I have someone to cry on. He wiped my tears away. Then, I realized that some people had lost lives, homes, and dreams. I lost a polarizer worth Php 2,600. Though it came from hard-earned money, it was just a thing. Nonetheless, I reviewed my photos and the polarizer left me with good memories.

I may have lost it but I gained some valuable lessons. You would only know the value of a thing or a person if you have lost it. So never take anything or anyone for granted. Next time, I would be more careful. I tried to bring back my composure and smile.

At around 10:00 o’clock in the morning, we went to the Air Asia booth and waited for the briefing. After an hour, Air Asia Philippines team gathered us and told us about the safety and security measures while on the plane. Then the guard opened the gates.

The flight attendants in red welcomed us to the new airbus A320. It really looked and smelled new. I was surprised with their seats. It didn’t look like a low-cost plane at all.

It was my first time to board an Air Asia plane. My previous booking with them was cancelled due to conflicting schedules. I really hope that I can fly with them soon.

We were given an actual boarding pass, which said that we’re designated at row 17. After their inflight games, the flight attendants gave us our lunch: Nasi Lemak and Adobo.

Malaysian food- Nasi Lemak

Pinoy food- Adobo

Since I like spicy food, I chose the Nasi Lemak. J had the adobo.

Photo courtesy of AirAsia Philippines Facebook fanpage

I felt like the plane’s going to fly. haha. But it was indeed fun to ride the airbus even for lunch. I hope next time it would be for real.

We then disembarked the plane. We were about to leave when I saw the Close Up booth. I told J that we should check it out. I asked the staff what the challenge was about. She told me, “Mag-to-toothbrush lang po kayo.” Perfect! We just had our lunch and I wanted to remove the after taste of the Nasi Lemak.

But then, the challenge was not just to brush our teeth but to withstand the air. It was sort of proving the fire-freeze effect of their new variant of toothpaste.

Though something bad happened, I did not let it overshadow the good memories that we had. We went home sleepy after being wide-eyed for more than 12 hours.

It was my third time to watch the Hot Air Balloon Fiesta but it felt like the first time. Love was indeed in the air.

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How to get to Clark from Manila by bus

• Dau Route- Ride a bus bound for Dagupan or Dau in Pasay or in Cubao / Bus Lines: Victory Liner or Five Star (both in Pasay or Cubao),Philippine Rabbit (Avenida)
• Fare: Php 140-150
• From Dau Terminal, ride a multicab across the Caltex gas station. Make sure that the multicab is going to the main gate. Don’t hesitate to ask the driver.

• Clark- Philtranco buses in Pasay Terminal have a direct MNL-Clark route. But it would cost you around Php 450.
• Travel time: 1 hour and 15 minutes (during the wee hours of the morning)
• Travel distance: 88 kilometers