17th Philippine International Hot Air Balloon Fiesta: Angeles City, Pampanga

I got excited when my friend invited me to attend the 17th Philippine International Hot Air Balloon Fiesta in Clarkfield, Angeles City, Pampanga. I did not confirm to join her on the date she was going to see the event (that was Saturday). As I browsed the net, checked the event and blogs related to the event, suddenly, I decided to see it too. Just got excited to see hot air balloon for the first time. I planned to catch the event the last day, it's Sunday!!!

my gate pass

Luckily I've got a friend in Angeles City, Odi, and I asked him about the event for further information. I got even more excited after few conversations. After few hours, he told me that he already got a ticket for me! So lucky enough! Hahaha. One more thing is that, he got a dinner appointment with his friends in Quezon City (Saturday night) so we decided to meet before the dinner and will go home to Angeles City together after dinner and slept over in his house.

I woke up around 05:00 the went directly to Clark to catch up the jeep going to the event area. I contacted a friend of mine in Pampanga who also wanted to see the festival. Funny thing was that, they attended the event but went late on the Saturday morning so they wasn't able to catch the balloons. With that, he decided to accompany me. How lucky is that?! 

The Crowd

We arrived on time! It was a heavy traffic approaching the event area. Long queue for getting the tickets and even more on the entrance area. I advise you get your tickets a day or two before you plan to see the event to be a hassle-free trip because it's too crowded on the event area. Here are some of the pictures I've got as balloons were getting fired.

My friend, Sonny, took pictures of me! We had so much fun taking pictures while those balloons were not high. Colorful balloons just in front of us, how cool is that?! Priceless for someone like me who witnessed a first time Balloon Festival. It was so cool. 

there I am with the balloons

After balloons, there were also some exhibitions presented to the viewers! Kites and paragliding exhibitions, helicopter flying exhibitions and RC helicopter show!

We also got the chance to see those planes used by the Air Force. Took pictures on those displayed equipment and stroll around the crowded area. Fantastic! With the gloomy sky it was not too hot so you can stroll as long as you want without even bothered by the heat of the sun. 

with Sonny

Sir, yes Sir!

The area is crowded and there's a lot of people enjoying playing kites! I did not try it! Hehe! Just enjoyed my stay there watching the crowd. 

No problem about food because there's a lot of food-carts within the area. Restrooms got a long queue too! It's not a commuter friendly unless you want to go there as early as 04:00 or even earlier. For those who got their private car, better go there early so you can have parking area near the entrance. It was totally fun! I might go there again soon... I said "I might"! :)