Ponds and Pines View Resort

Ponds and Pines took my breath away. That is an exaggeration, but I really did love the place the moment I saw it.

Located in Nagbunga, Castillejos or San Marcelino (I don't even know, but it is located at the border), Zambales, somewhere in the middle of nowhere.

Aside from the pool, what I actually loved about the place is the spacious landscaped lawn. It is a great place for events, plus parking won't be a nightmare. ;)

Ponds and Pines View Resort

For inquiries, call: 09157840974; 09198954652; 09215559282

Cris Aura Swimming Pool

Hidden somewhere in Magsaysay, Castillejos, Zambales. I think they charge P50 per person. They close at 6:00 PM, but it was indicated in their rules and regulations that they'll charge you extra for staying beyond that time. I guess it has to be arranged in advance.

Cris Aura offers separate pools for kids and adults. However, the slide is located at the adult pool, and using it plunges you to some 6 feet of water, so better get the life jacket ready if you can't swim but wish to enjoy the ride.

:)

Weekend Trip Splurge – Enchanted Kingdom and Splash Island

This was one weekend of a quite excessive trip.

Originally, the plan was to simply go to Splash Island with Mon’s friends from the office. He thought we were going on Saturday, then stay overnight in their place in Laguna before going back home early Sunday morning.

However, he did not know that the plan was to go to Splash Island on Sunday. We were set to meet at lunch time on Saturday, so there was lots of free time to do nothing else. Sayang naman ang oras. So finally we decided to go to Enchanted Kingdom.

As I was prepared for a trip straight to the pool, my attire was not really appropriate for the theme park. Imagine enjoying those rides in skirt! Fortunately, I was already wearing my “swimming shorts” so I was able to move more comfortable. Good thing I wasn’t too excited to wear swimwear right away. Haha!

March is International Women’s Month and Enchanted Kingdom joins the world in that awesome celebration. Hurray for ladies as we get 20% (P100) discount for their ride-all-you-can ticket. Another fortunate thing was that years back, I had a bet with Mon where the stake was an EK ticket and I won. That was about Pacman’s fight.

Enjoying EK rides in a skirt was one new thing for me. Just lots of confidence needed, plus some getting used to rugged outings. What’s new in EK? Space Shuttle was closed for the day, saving me to make excuses not to go to that ride. Uhm, nothing so new from my last trip back in 2006. I still got wet in Rio Grande.

Fast forward to the next day – Splash Island.

Splash Island gave me another reason to buy a waterproof digicam. I got only a picture of Doogie (their mascot) and Mon. Not so exciting pictures :)

At P325 per head, it was almost worth it. I’m not a pool person so the said amount for me was overpriced by about P50 to P75. Factor in the “new experience” thrill, I have to somehow accept that it was “worthy”. The slides were fun. Some can be scary at first sight, but no, they weren’t really scary.

At the end of the day, even if I was tired (and got a “hangover” the whole week), it was definitely another adventure worth my time and money. I met new nice people, to top it all.

Oh, did I mention that my total expense for the weekend was just more than P1,000? That’s the awesome thing about Women’s Month and winning a bet.

From left: Carlo, Marvin, Mon, Kate, Di, Egoy

Click here for more pictures :)