Hoping to get this post out before the Brrrrrr months set in. I’m not really sure why. I just feel the need to do so. Looking at my calendar (naks! Calendar talaga!), my next adventure won’t be in 7 weeks, at least. Unless something good comes up to shake things up a bit. But before that, when you’re in Bacolod, have you ever heard of this place called Campuestohan Highland Resort?
I think the beauty of theme parks or amusement parks is how you feel as if you are transported in an entirely different world once you pass through its gates. For a few hours, you forget that an outside world existed, and your attention is pulled in all directions, so much that you tend to forget there are other people around. Until you realize you’re stuck in a long queue, that is. But I daresay it’s still a good experience to go through, one that I won’t mind repeating, if given the opportunity.
I’m not claustrophobic, or at least I don’t think I am, but something about the thought of going around in circles and feeling trapped, even in a wide open space, is something that gives me the heebie-jeebies. That’s why you won’t see me entering a haunted house (not even in an amusement park, no) or a maze all by myself. Because I don’t particularly relish the thought of not being able to find my way out. But Maze Land in Jeju made me see the fun side of the concept.
If I am going to be completely honest with you, I never enjoyed going to museums very much when I was younger. For me, they were mostly a fixture or a building housing rare stuff that has some historical or cultural importance, and that my only reason to visit them was because I need the credits at school. I blame that noncommittal attitude towards museums to the fact that, well, there weren’t much fun to be had at the museums around me. They all practically looked the same, so how was I supposed to get excited over a visit to one? But visits to South Korea (and Japan) changed that.
Continue reading “Jeju-do, South Korea: The Jeju Stone Park”
I suppose I should apologize for posting too much about Everland, but then I realized, why apologize for something I thoroughly enjoyed? We took the Special Tour of The Lost Valley, and I blogged about that in the previous post. But even if you decided not to get on that ride, you are still going to be able to feast your eyes on gorgeous creatures, as we did!
Continue reading “SoKor 2015: The Lost Valley at Everland Resort”
Everland is the largest theme park-slash-resort in South Korea, and it is also one of the theme parks that commands the most number of visitors all year round. The T-Express was one of the main draws, and then they opened the Safari World, and attendance increased even more. Later on, they opened another major attraction, “The Lost Valley Safari Adventure“, and the numbers were higher than ever. When we were there August last year, the resort was celebrating the first anniversary of The Lost Valley, and we were so glad we were there, even for a bit.
Continue reading “SoKor 2015: The Lost Valley Special Tour at Everland Resort”
Growing up, zoos haven’t been one of my favorite places to go to. For starters, there weren’t a lot of those where I grew up. I remember the Manila Zoo being my first ever zoo visit and that was for a school field trip. I vaguely remember it to be fascinating although, as I grew older and realized seeing animals in captivity was less… exciting than watching them roam free, zoos lost some of their appeal for me. The Safari World at Everland Resort, however, was different.
Continue reading “SoKor 2015: Safari World at Everland (plus the Amazon Express!)”
Imagine this: you went to Boracay, but you never got your feet wet. You visited Osaka, but did not even taste takoyaki or okonomiyaki. You went to Sagada, but you did not check out any of the caves. You drove all the way to Baguio City… and never laid eyes on Burnham Park. See what I’m getting at? So I’m saying that you cannot go to Everland without going on any of the rides and, once you’ve worked up the courage, get on the T-Express, a wooden rollercoaster with one of the steepest drops in the world.
Continue reading “SoKor 2015: Everland Rides – Working Our Way To The T-Express”
When in Rome, do as the Romans do. From a fangirl’s POV, we could spin that into “when in the land of K-pop, do as a K-pop fan does”. I know of many fans who purposely head over to places such as Cheongdam-dong and Apgujeong-dong to “nonchalantly stroll” past the entertainment agency buildings, hoping for a sighting of this or that idol. Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on how you look at it), this was never high on my list of things to do. That does not preclude, however, my perking up when I hear a familiar K-pop tune playing on the street or a poster or a standee of a K-pop artist that I took a particular shine to. What can I say, once a fangirl, always a fangirl.
Continue reading “FF#5: YG & Big Bang Feels at Everland (a.k.a. K-Poppin’ at a Theme Park)”
Amusement parks and theme parks used to be marketed to kids, tweens and teens (I blame Disney for that), then came the parks with scary-to-terrifying rides, and adults ceased feeling irrelevant. I haven’t been to many of these parks but, several months ago, I found myself in a place that I can – without any reservations – declare to be my favorite theme park. EVER. And it’s called EVERLAND (see what I did there?!?). And I had to go all the way to South Korea for it, and even further out of Seoul.
Continue reading “SoKor 2015: Best Time Ever… at Everland Resort”
If you are going to the Korean Folk Village, MAKE IT A POINT TO CATCH THE SPECIAL PERFORMANCES. If not for the cultural and historical value, at least for entertainment. And you will be plenty entertained, I can pretty much assure that. Continue reading “Korean Folk Village Performances: Acrobatics on a Tightrope and Equestrian Feats”
Yes, KFV, I’m not done with you yet, not by a long shot! So here I will share a bit about the several special performances that we were able to catch during our short visit to the Korean Folk Village in Yongin, South Korea. There were a total of four shows, and I am splitting them in two posts. For this one, it’s the Traditional Wedding Ceremony and the Farmer’s Music & Dance. Continue reading “Korean Folk Village Performances: Traditional Wedding Ceremony and Farmer’s Music & Dance”
If you ask me, they could have simply set up a separate theme park altogether, all devoted to Harry Potter. You see, while walking around other parts of USJ, I did not have any sense that there is a “wizarding world” close by. In fact, I wasn’t even able to get a glimpse of the Hogwarts Castle from the outside. And then, when you enter the Wizarding World, you’ll immediately forget that just around the corner were the other rides and attractions. It’s definitely a theme park within a theme park.
Continue reading “Osaka, Japan 2014: The Wizarding World of Harry Potter (Part 2)”
Personally, I had a bigger goal for checking out Universal Studios Japan. It is to visit The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, an attraction that opened on July 15, 2014. I’m not an expert on Harry Potter lore, so I am going to apologize in advance for any mistakes or errors I am likely to commit. Also, this will be another two-parter, since there were simply too many photos I wanted to share and putting them all in one post will result in an image-heavy post. #ExcusesExcuses
(Oh, and I can’t believe it’s February already! I was just lamenting being broke over Christmas, like, yesterday! Time, slow down, please?)
Continue reading “Osaka, Japan 2014: The Wizarding World of Harry Potter (Part 1)”
I like how this Universal Studios was different from the one in Singapore. It has different attractions than the ones I saw when I was there, so it was all fresh, at least for me.
Continue reading “Osaka, Japan 2014: Universal Studios Japan (Pt 2)”
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