Beautiful Central Park at NYC

Central Park in Autumn of 2008

Notes from the Author.  One of my favorite trips in NYC is my visit to Central Park. 

Central Park is about 843 acres or 6% of Manhattan's total acreage.  Practically, you would have to walk about 6 miles from North to South, or if you follow all the walking trails, about 58 miles.  In short, one day isn’t enough!   So, I just had a glimpse of  Central Park which is fine by me, although I would love to re-visit as there is still so much to see.

For more info, visit:  http://www.centralpark.com/

You can’t miss Central Park when you’re in New York.    I’m pretty sure summer is beautiful,  but autumn is also a nice season to be there with leaves turning red and orange.   

The Jellyfish Display at the Manila Ocean Park

Visited on March 2010

Notes from the Author.  Catch the new Jellyfish display at the Manila Ocean Park this summer.    Just got a preview today of the so-called “dancing sea fairies”.   Really magical to watch.

One of the jellyfish featured was the Blubber Jellyfish.  They were placed in light changing aquariums.  Since the Jellyfish is a semi-transparent creature, the colored lights pass thru their skins, and the effect is amazing!    (Reminds me a bit of the lava lamp.)

See the Jellyfish glow in the dark…

  Dramatic in Red!

One of the jellyfish which I found interesting  is  the ‘immortal jellyfish’ because it has the ability to return to it’s juvenile stage, thus, it never dies, until it gets eaten. 

Some facts about the Jellyfish:  They dont’ have eyes, noses, ears or brains.  They only have tiny sensors.   I’m not sure whether they have the ability to feel pain or fear, because even bugs can sense fear. 

Of course, the Manila Ocean Park is known for housing different aquatic animals, especially fish. 

Some photos in the Oceanarium

  The underwater tunnel

Visit their site:  http://www.manilaoceanpark.com/index.html

Hot Air Balloon Fiesta – Clark, Angeles

visited February 2010

Notes from the Author. My friend and I recently went to the Hot Air Balloon Fiesta at Clark Freeport Zone, Angeles City, Pampanga. The Hot Air Balloon Fiesta is held once a year. This year was my first time to go and it was a smash! There was a big crowd doing the same thing we’re doing – taking lots and lots of pictures. (Didn’t know that a lot of Filipinos are fascinated by Hot Air Balloons.)

Hot Airballooners up in the sky. I was able to shoot this with a Panasonic Lumix 12x zoom.

Fancy Hot A ir Balloons – Turtle, Barnhouse, Sun. (The turtle was my favorite!)

Flight of the balloons at sunrise. (We had to wake up at 4:30 am and be at the site by 5:30am for the balloon flight. But it was all worth it. )

Balloons dispersing in the early morning sky at the Clark Airbase, Angeles City.

Taken at around 6:30 pm, almost dusk. This is what they call the Hot Air Balloon Night Glow.

The event started with a man parachuting while carrying the Philippine flag with the Philippine National Anthem being played in the background.

Aside from the Air Balloon Flights, the 4- day event was packed with other activities such as the Paragliding exhibition, Ultralight Aircraft Flyby, Kite flying, Skydiving exhibition, Aerobatic display and many more.

www.philballoonfest.net

The Ayala Triangle Courtyard

Notes from the Author.   There’s a new park in Paseo de Roxas corner Makati Ave.  Actually, it is not really  new as the park has been there for a long time, but it was not developed until recently.  So now, the park was given a facelift, and  it’s now known as the Ayala Triangle Courtyard.  The nice thing about this park is it’s WIFI-ready, so you can  relax in the park while you surf the net.  

I haven’t seen the park at night time, but they say that it’s pretty with all the lights.

The Ayala Triangle Courtyard is adjacent to or the back of   the Ayala Stock Exchange building

Punta Fuego Resorts, Batangas

Visited Jan 2010

Punta Fuego Beach Resort overlooking the infinity pool and beach.

Notes from the Author. Punta Fuego is located in Nusugbu, Batangas, about a 2.5-3 hour ride from Manila.

I have visited Peninsula de Punta Fuego a couple of times already and it is still a beautiful resort to come back to. It is an exclusive resort with residential properties. To get here, you need to be a member of the club, but another way is to get your company to hold events here, as they offer corporate packages on weekdays.

Punta Fuego consists of Spanish-Mediterranean-inspired villas, a Beach Club, a Marina, a nine-hole golf course, a Country Club. They also have Basketball and Tennis courts, an infinity pool and more pools scattered around the vicinity. You can also engage in aquatic sports like jetski and banana boat – a really great place to hold your conferences, team building activities and outings.

They recently opened Terrazas de Punta Fuego which is another resort 10 minutes away from the main. The beaches on this part of Nusugbu are really nice. It has fine sand and pristine waters. They also have a nice infinity pool.

Beach front at the Terrazas de Punta Fuego

See other photos of the Peninsula de Punta Fuego

See other photos of the Terrazas de Punta Fuego

Visit their website for more information: www.puntafuegoresort.com

Avilon Zoo

Notes from the Author. I went to the Avilon Zoo in Montalban, Rizal a few years back. The Avilon Zoo was started by Mr. Jake Gaw who was an animal hobbyist. Currently, the Avilon Zoo is now the largest zoological park in the Philippines.

AVILONZoO

view more photos . . .

Visited on March 2007. Visit: http://avilonzoo.com.ph/