The Travelling Feet

The best part about having a brother who is based in Manila is that I can ask favors like picking us up at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 3 when our plane landed from Cebu while on our way to Bangkok Since we were crazy about cheap plane fares, we had to endure the consequence. On this particular trip, we had to follow this route: Cebu-Manila-Clark-Bangkok-Aranyaprathet-Poipet-Siem Reap just to reach our 1st destination on this leg of our Thailand-Cambodia trip.

After meeting up with my brother, he dropped us off at the Victory Liner Pasay Terminal. It wasn’t far from the aiport though. I just want to “inconvenience” him so that we can save on our expenses for this trip (at least I get to bond with him. LOL).

paid P137.00 for an airconditioned bus to going DAU, Pampanga

To reach Clark Airport, which is in Angeles City in the province of Pampanga, you have to ride a bus for a minimum of 1.5 hrs depending on the traffic.

If you still got a lot of time before your flight, you can chill at SM City Clark like that little fellow below

In order to reach the Diosdado Macapagal International Airport a.k.a. Clark International Airport, you can ride a regular taxi or hire one of those airconditioned jeepneys. A regular taxi is very expensive since they only go on special trips.

the airconditioned jeepney going to Clark Airport

Hiring an airconditioned jeepney will cost you P200.00 for the trip (one way) which is why it is convenient to travel in groups so that you can split the cost of the fare. We paid P150 for this trip since we opted not to have the air-conditioning unit of the jeepney on.

The Clark International Airport opens at around 5 – 5:30pm. If you arrive here early, you can find a seat at those tent-covered benches at the departure area or wait at the benches on the arrival area.

Even if you get inside the airport premises early, you still have to wait for the counters to open at 6:00pm. This is the best time for you to have your money changed to dollars or baht (Thai currency) in case you failed to do so. However, there’d be instances when the Foreign Exchange Currency booths inside the Clark Airport would ran out of bahts. If this happens, you can have your money changed to dollars and have your dollars changed to baht when you arrive in Bangkok.

surfing the net while waiting for our flight (photo credit: Soloflighted)

After missing our flight in Cebu, we had to make sure we were early for our Clark to Bangkok flight since we couldn’t afford to miss it again. One good thing about being early is you’d get to head first to the working power outlets inside the final waiting area of the airport and plug your gadgets while you kill time waiting for your flight.

Finally! After waiting for almost 2 hours, we got our queue to board the plane. The best thing with flying from Clark is that if the aircraft is on time and all the passengers have checked in, you get to leave early. I wouldn’t really say that we got the cheapest fare on this trip but it was already cheap compared to its normal rates. I even discovered that one of my closest friend found a cheap flight to Miami and was exiting from Clark Airport too. I saw her on our way to the boarding  gates as she awaited for her connecting flight out of Clark.

in the absence of a Headware, a malong can be useful in long flights

The travel time from the Philippines to Thailand is 3 hours. I only slept for 1 hour from the previous night so I couldn’t wait to shut my eyes on this trip. After an hour or so, I woke up and saw the Thai Immigration Card which needed my attention. You have to fill in those blank spots in the immigration card since you will need to hand them over at the immigration counters of any country you are travelling.

Thai Immigration Bureau: Arrival and Departure Card

don’t forget to flip the other side since there are more things you need to fill in there

When you travel to a different country, whether you have a place to stay or not, be sure to keep an address of a place you intend to stay or just any regular address since that information is needed in the immigration card.

Alas! After 3 hours, I could already see the well-lit highways of Thailand.

Before you get out of the plane, be sure to move your clock one hour late since the Philippines’ time is one hour ahead of Thailand.

To be continued…

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This is a series of blog posts documenting my trip from Bangkok to Siem Reap and back in January of 2011. If you haven’t read the first posts, please check on the links below:

** Off to Bangkok and Siem Reap
#1 – The Accidental Trip to Bangkok and Siem Reap in 2011
#2 – Trip to Bangkok and Siem Reap: The Planning Stage
#3 – How to Create Your Bangkok to Siem Reap Itinerary
#4 – Arriving 5 Minutes Late on our Connecting Flight to Bangkok
#5 – You are reading this now
#6 – Touchdown Bangkok!
#7 – Suvarnabhumi Airport a.k.a. Bangkok International Airport
#8 – Bangkok Train Station: Waiting for our Train Ride to Aranyaprathet
#9 – My First Taste of Authentic Thai Food

Unfinished Series from my 2008 Trip…
My First Train Ride From Bangkok to Aranyaprathet
Arriving at the Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok
My First Trip To Bangkok

You might also find this useful:
Modes of Transportation in Bangkok
Things to Consider When Planning Your Travel Itinerary
The Cheapest Way to Bangkok from Suvarnabhumi Airport

If you are from Cebu or anywhere in the Visayas and Mindanao region, there are two options you could take when going to Zambales to check out the famous Anawangin Cove, Nagsasa Cove and Capones Island.

#1) Through the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA)

Upon arriving in Manila, you need to take a bus that travels to Zambales. There should be a couple of buses but I only know of Victory Liner. The earliest trip is at 4:00 am at their Caloocan Terminal. Travel time is approximately 4 hours. Fare is Php 250.00/head.

Advantages:

- You will arrive in San Antonio, Zambales at approximately 8:00 – 9:00 am. This will give you ample time to buy what you need for your camping/day trip in their public market. This will also allow you to visit 2 destinations – Capones Island and a choice between Anawangin Cove or Nagsasa Cove.

- 1 bus ride from the Caloocan terminal to San Antonio, Zambales

It is advisable to visit Capones Island in the morning as the waves tend to get rough in the afternoon. So you can either do this on Day 1 of your trip or simply leave early from your camping site the next day to check out this island. In our case, we chose to visit Anawangin Cove first and we arrived there at around 10:30 in the morning and left for Nagsasa Cove at 3:00pm but was greeted with the scary boat trip going to Nagsasa Cove. We spent the night in Nagsasa Cove and left at around 9am the next day for Capones Island.

Disadvantage: You need to be in Manila in the evening, unless of course you book a flight that will arrive in Manila 2 hours before 4:00am. This means you either wait in the airport before you head off to the bus terminal for the 4am trip or you spend the night at some cheap hostel or stay at a friend’s house.

Though you can still book the first flight to Manila and arrive in Zambales after lunch, you or your boatman may have the tendency to cancel the trip if the waves are too big in the afternoon.

#2) Through the Diosdado Macapagal International Airport, also known as the Clark Airport

Cebu Pacific is most likely going to give away cheap fares for the Cebu to Clark route. This was the route we took when we went to Zambales. We only paid Php 114.00 for the round trip fares which was booked on 2010′s Independence Day promo

Advantage: The time it will take for you to sit in a bus and travel to Zambales will only last for approximately 2 hours.

Disadvantages:

- Cebu Pacific flights from Cebu to Clark are scheduled once daily. Your usual time of arrival in Clark will be around 6:30 pm onwards. This means you have to spend the night in Clark or Olongapo before you head to Zambales the next day. I would suggest you spend the night in Olongapo since the hostels there are cheaper. You can rent a room for 12 hours at P500, which is good for 2 heads.

- You will ride 2 buses to reach Zambales and this may be inconvenient for those who doesn’t like to transfer buses to reach their destinations.

Bus 1: Dau Bus Terminal in Mabalacat going to Olongapo (Travel time: ~1.5 hours) Fare: Php 130.00
There are vans that will take you to Olongapo at the same rate. The downside is you have to wait for the van to be filled before it leaves the terminal (in our case, we waited for more than 1 hour before the van left). You can also wait for the Victory Liner bus that will pass by the terminal and hop on one. Always ask around to know what time that bus will pass by the terminal.

vans going to Olongapo are waiting outside the DAU Bus Station

Bus 2: Olongapo to San Antonio, Zambales via Victory Liner (Travel time: ~1 hour) Fare: Php 59.00
These buses are the the ones coming from Caloocan so you have to be very quick in getting inside the bus since there will be a lot of people waiting for this trip too. I am not too sure though if there are also designated buses that leaves for Zambales from Olongapo via Victory Liner. Better contact the bus company to inquire.

a very cheap lodge is sitting above the Victory Liner Terminal in Olongapo

There may also be other bus liners that travel to Zambales from Olongapo but I have no knowledge what those are.

On going back, you can ride any bus from San Antonio to Olongapo and ask to be dropped off at the Victory Liner terminal or near it. Then immediately book a ticket going back to Manila since the last trip leaves at 6:10 pm. If you are exiting Clark Airport, it is best to leave San Antonio early and consider the ~1 hr travel time to Olongapo and another ~1.5 hours trip to Clark.

Bus Fares

Via Clark Aairport-DAU-Olongapo-San Antonio, Zambales
50.00 – Clark Airport to DAU Bus Station (airconditioned jeepney)
130.00 – DAU to Olongapo (bus or van)
59.00 – Olongapo to San Antonio (bus)

Via San Antonio-Olongapo-DAU-Clark Airport
59.00 – San Antonio to Olongapo (bus)
130.00 – Olongapo to DAU (bus or van) – fare is tentative since we didn’t take this route going back to Clark
7.00 – DAU to Terminal near SM Clark (ask the driver to be dropped off near 7-Eleven)
200.00 – SM Terminal to Clark Airport (rent of non airconditioned jeepney; fare is good for 1 head up to the jeepney’s maximum capacity)

jeepney to Clark Airport

Via Manila-San Antonio, Zambales
250.00 – Caloocan Terminal to San Antonio, Zambales (via SCTEX)

Via San Antonio-Olongapo-Manila
59.00 – San Antonio to Olongapo
240.00 – Olongapo to Pasay Terminal (via SCTEX)

These are bus rates as of February 18-21, 2011. These fares may be subject to change depending on the never ending price increases of transportation here in the Philippines.

So there. After considering what route to take on your Zambales trip, book that flight, plan your IT next and enjoy your adventure!