Bonding with Cousins at Sandbox and Camalig

Let's take a break from the usual gaming stuff that I post. This entry is a must: I have never had this much fun in a very long time.

My cousins and I have an annual post-Christmas bonding time and for this year, we decided to go to Sandbox in Porac, Pampanga. We were all very excited for the trip, since it was out first time to go out-of-town together as a group.

See how psyched everyone is?

There were a lot of people, thus very long lines starting from the entrance down to every single attraction. But hey, we went there to have fun, and how much fun we did have!

Since there were a lot of people, they were only selling Package D by the time we got there. Package D is comprised of the Free Fall, Rollercoaster Zipline and the Giant Swing. Not bad, since that was the package most of us were considering to get anyway. It took us around 30 minutes before we finally got in but it was very much worth the wait. :)

First up, the Free Fall! We figured the queue wouldn't be that long due to the type of activity. We had fun watching other people fall and scream, joking among ourselves that it was just a "slow, non-agonizing, not-so-scary fall anyway". We were proven wrong. My sister backed out at the last minute while some of my cousins had to pass and gather courage before making the jump.

The lower deck's for the zipline while the topmost deck is for the free fall

That's a very high Adventure Tower, where the zipline, free fall, wall climbing and rappelling activities are all located.

I did jump, while screaming how much I love my girlfriend and that I'd rather go back to med school. :))

Some of my cousins were lucky enough to head straight to the Zipline after doing the free fall, since the Adventure tower was pretty much unguarded on the way up. So they skipped the long queue to the zipline while my youngest sister and I got roasted under the sun waiting for our turn. It took us more than an hour before we finally got to the zipline not only because of the amount of people lined up, but also because of the lack of system among the personnel and the shortage of harnesses. They didn't have enough harnesses and people we would have to wait until someone else is done with the ride so he could have that other person's harness. Aside from that, the personnel assisting the crowds would go from one ride to the next, whoever they feel like putting the harness on. Good thing they were all very friendly and accommodating. Some were even apologizing. No one lost their temper, by the way.

The entire course of the Rollercoaster Zipline. Looks easy? NOT!

And so it begins!

Because only drinks were allowed inside the venue, most of decided to skip lunch and settle for hotdogs and burgers instead. Of course the food was pricey but we didn't have a choice. The basking sun was dehydrating us and the adrenaline rush was burning up most of our calories.

Some of my cousins tried out the aerial walk, for an additional fee of PHP100. It was like training for a military boot camp, with all that crawling and climbing. It looked really fun but when we tried to buy tickets for it, they said they're not accommodating people anymore. Probably because it's quite a long course and a lot of people had a hard time finishing it.

The very challenging Aerial Walk

The tent on the left shows the queue for the Aerial Walk

Lastly, we rode the Giant Swing. It's self-explanatory. It's a swing you might have dreamed about when you were a kid, the kind that could pull you up, up and away until you could reach the clouds. I was one of those kids.

This ride made my dream come true.

The Giant Swing's innocent-looking posts of excitement

We were up so high it felt like we were in the clouds - of dread, fear and thrill!

Because one of our cousins was too heavy for any of the rides, he decided to do the mini golf instead, wherein he was given three Package A tickets. What does that mean? 3 FREE PACKAGE A TICKETS FOR US!

Wall climbing on one side, the rappelling's on the other side

That was how we were able to do wall climbing and rappelling. My sisters and cousins had a grand time there. The staff were nice enough to let most of us try it out, since our group were only ones left at the venue around the time.

One of the staff even showed rappelling tricks to my sister which she tried to imitate - successfully.

We had a grand time and we'll definitely be back!

I highly recommend the place for thrill-seeking barkadas and families. And oh, the Giant Swing could be a nice way to propose to your girlfriend :P

For dinner, we headed to the Historic Camalig Restaurant. We had a hard time finding it because the place was pretty dark.

 When you're in Pampanga, it's a must that you order the province specialty, sisig!And because pizza's the restaurant specialty, we definitely had to try it out. I've seen a lot of features and write-ups about this restaurant and they all recommend the food. Thus, we ordered their Top 3: Armando's Best Pizza, Doy's Kapampangan and Marco's 3-way Tinapa-flavored.

Marco's 3-way Pizza: sun-dried tomatoes, kesong puti and tinapa

Doy's Kapampangan: lungganisa (Kapampangan sausage), ebun buru (salted duck egg), onion & pickle relish

Armando's Best: with extra peperoni, double ground beef, double green pepper, double mushroom & extra Canadian bacon

Their pizza's so good we were all excited to eat it and when we did, it didn't even last for 5 seconds on the table!

Bilisan mo mag-picture, Annj! Gutom na kami! :))

The place was exactly what it was, a kamalig turned into a restaurant. For someone who likes old-school atmosphere with a good dining experience, this is the place to be.

On the way to the second floor of the restaurant, where our group was situated

The second floor of the restaurant, with a classic piano

simut-sarap sisig and pizza!

Photo reprints of classic Filipino artwork decorate the place

We had such a great time that day. Thank you to all our sponsors - our uncles, aunts, and older cousins who shelled out their money to make this trip happen.

Sa uulitin!

The Fugoso Cousins: One Happy Bunch!

 Credits: http://www.camalig.com/armandos.html, Sandbox


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