It’s almost that time again.  Starting Thursday the 12th of February 2009 the 14th Annual Philippine Balloon fest will kick off at the former “Clark Field”, now the Clark Special Economic Zone.  The official Philippine Balloon Fest schedule is here.  I attended this event two years ago and it was great, looking at the schedule there is more  added every year so I can assure you this would be worth at least one “early rising” day of the four day event.  I mention early rising because the balloons will be taking off by 0530 or so, so unless you live close by, you’ll ne leaving at 4 am or so.

To reach the event from Manila, take the NLEX to the last toll barrier, Dau, and take the Dau exit immediately beyond the toll barrier.  Turn left (west, toward the mountains) and follow the signs.  There’s a small entry fee … perhaps 100 pesos this year and a huge parking filed (IIRC the parking is an additional 20 Pesos or so.

Hot Air Balloons at Clark

There is a lot more to the even than the balloons, but hot air balloons are totally u8nder the control of the winds so the still air at sunrise is typically the only time they will be able to fly.  Lots of food, drink and static exhibits to occupy your day if you like anything to do with aviation, including booths and displays from all the major aviation training companies (a real growth industry here in the Philippines at the moment), so you can get information from many suppliers in one place … something it is not always easy to do in the Philippines.

If you don’t like 0-dark-hundred departure times, many people prefer to stay over at least one night I one of the many hotels on Clark or in surrounding Angeles City  here’s a list of Angles hotels,

I was reminded to give a shout out about this event on Sunday when I was watching a show on ANC (the Philippine Channel that goes out world-wide over satellite and cable) called Asian Air Safari.  This is a weekly half hour show that is put together by a great “booster” of the Philippines, Captain Joy Roa.  Capt. Joy learned to fly in the Philippines and could just make a living in obscurity, or else just run off to some other country where it’s easier to make money, but he’s a true Filipino hero and he does things others will just say “can’t be done”.

Not only does he make a successful TV show out of airplanes and travel … no telesere drama or semi-obligatory T&A shots needed, he runs a business venture of the same name, Asian Air Safaris who offer high end structured and customized tours around the Philippines and many other Asian countries.  “You can’t build and run a high end business in the Philippines” is the kind of opinion you’ll hear all the time on web sites about the Philippines.  Or even more common, “all the high end businesses are foreigner developed/managed, Filipinos can’t build or manage a ‘real’ business”.

Well you can believe that sort of clap trap if you wish to 9and even many Filipinos feel that way too, sadly) but guys like Capt. Joy prove how wrong those attitudes are.

There’s a lot of opportunity here in the Philippines, most of it just needs someone to believe in themselves and their country.

Popularity: 6% [?]