Subic Bay offers summer respite

As a prelude to summer, we took an exhilarating weekend trip to

Subic Bay! The trip from Manila was easy and comfortable via the

North Expressway. We exited at the San Fernando Toll Gate, and then

followed the national road traversing Pampanga and Bataan towards

Olongapo City. The sceneries are lush green especially the rice fields.

We also passed by a vast field covered by lahar but it is now grown with reeds

and dotted by some ipil-ipil trees. We saw portion of the controversial

megadike!

We are wondering, if ipil-ipil can grow on those lahar-covered fields, why can't

the government convert the entire area into an ipil-ipil forest? This can change

the area into an economic boom for the people, especially those displaced by

lahar!

Narie Cordero, who welcomed us at the Legenda Hotel for our late lunch at its

Museum restaurant, told us that the hotel has 256 rooms, with 69 as

standard, 144 as deluxe, and 42 are suites. All the rooms, according to her,

are well-appointed and elegantly furnished with modern conveniences.

Legenda hotel is a few meters from the coastline of Subic Bay. It is also the

closest neighbor of the Subic May Metropolitan Authority offices.

Kelvin Tan, senior vice president of Legenda Hotel, also joined us at our table.

He said that twice a week, a chartered plane travels between Legenda Hotel

(Subic Bay) and the Legenda Hotel in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

First on our itinerary was to watch a jungle and environmental survival training

demonstration (JEST). It featured fire-by-friction as we knew it during those

boys scout days, and rice cooking by using a bamboo. It also told us how to

recognize a water vine and drink from it. And I did drink a lot from the water

vine given to us.

We also did a mini-mountain climbing and became acquainted with bushes

whose leaves could cure cuts and even asthma. And you won't fail to wonder

at the trees who circumferences at their trunks are so big. Perhaps the trees

are by now no less than a hundred years old! We were very thankful the trees

- or that forest area - have been preserved for us!

A best-seller spot in Subic Bay is the Miracle Beach. It is considered as an

exclusive area. But you can request permission to go there. No one sells food

there, so you must bring your own!

The Upper Cubi Point in Subic Bay is also a must-see. It is where you see the

thousands of bats at the so-called Bat Kingdom. If you go there, you must

observe strict silence. The bats are not to be disturbed; they also have social

divisions: The bats hanging on lower branches. Hanging upside down, the bat

urinates on itself, the water spilling into the lower bats. Perhaps this explains

the social division. At about six in the evening, the bats get back to life and fly

as far away as Zambales where they feed on insects and fruits. They return

before sunrise and sleep the whole day.

The best gardens in Subic Bay are also in the Upper Cubi Point. Do not miss

the tree houses, the hanging bridges, the swings, the aviary and the flowers

(please don't pick up any). To enjoy all of this, you may stay at the Legenda

Suites, each suite equipped with a living room, dining room and a kitchen. All

rooms have veranda that gives you a view of the rainforest. Narie says however

that you must not forget to lock the veranda at night or you might have a

monkey sneaking inside your room. But the monkeys are however friendly.