Ironwulf En Route
After more than two years of the pandemic and its seesawing mandates on lockdowns, it’s literally a fresh idea to literally go out once again in the open to the freedom of your nearest park. Imagine how we all coped staying put and working (studying for those still in school) at home, going out only on the most exigent errands.
If you plan to visit the recently inaugurated and redeveloped Arroceros Urban Forest Park by bike, I would advise to defer for a later time. The park doesn’t allow bikes in the area, let alone, on the pavement going to the park. Since it is still in development (despite being inaugurated already) there are no bike racks in the area. I asked the guards where I can leave my bike securely and they can’t give a definite answer. I was excited to check out the re-opened “last lung of Manila” and do a little birding so I decided to ride all the way from Pasig.
The heat was overwhelming upon my first taste of Kuwaiti air in the 3rd quarter of the year. Even at night, the blowing wind felt like it was coming from the oven. During day, the sun intensifies the heat, reaching higher than 40°C. The only respite is the shade. But even under the shadows, I found myself still sweating buckets. It took a while for me to get used to this weather. Even if there are several malls with air-conditioners functioning at full capacity, I was looking for some green, cool, and open spaces. I found the recently open and on-going development of Al Shaheed Park fascinating. A modern city development to what seemed to be an oasis in the city.
Taichung is not short of IG-worthy places to visit. Coming from Liphao Land, we had a short ride to Chungse Tourism Flower Market also found at Houli District. Also known as the Zhong Se Guang Guang Flower Market, the flower market is famous for successfully growing tulips in low altitude areas in central Taiwan. There’s a variety of blooms all year round that it has become a favorite place for pre-nuptial or post-wedding shoots or simply having wonderful portrait with a European-like back drop.
I think there was a time in Philippine tourism when we had a “Zipline Craze”. After a few successful ziplines in Davao, Bukidnon and my favorite, Lake Sebu, suddenly, a lot of province I had visited to wants to add a zipline as their attraction. In my head I was screaming “Not another zipline!” as a tourism officer enthusiastically shares their plan on site. In Pangasinan, there’s Balungao Hilltop Adventure view that claims to have the longest zipline in the country at 1.4km long. Honestly, it’s the first time I’ve heard of the municipality of Balungao. If not for Lakbay Norte 5, this would remain out of my radar. And guess what? We get to try their zipline and more.
If there’s one thing I noticed, America is really proud of their military. I don’t think it is mostly about patriotism on their part but giving respect and due to those who served for their country. America invested a lot on their military technology and it follows that it pours through their people. Those in the military, past and present, gets benefits like considerable discounts at establishments to family perks. In my visit to the USA, my brother-in-law, suggested I visit the USS Midway Museum in San Diego. I wasn’t surprised really. To know America is to know its military. Besides, it would be interesting to see the now decommissioned USS Midway (CV–41) aircraft carrier which used to be the largest ship in the world until 1955. It even made its way to the Philippines after its deployment.
I got a couple of nieces from Guam having vacation in our house. With their parents still out of the country, it’s up to us on how to keep these hyper-active kids of 5 and 9yo busy. One way would be the occasional visits to amusement parks. One such newly opened park is the DreamPlay at the City of Dreams in Manila. If you (and your kids) are a fan of DreamWorks animation like Shrek, Kung Fu Panda and How to Train Your Dragon to name a few. This would be really interesting to visit.
