Fun in Baguio, Day 2 and 3: Tree Top Adventure and Wright Park

Our Baguio adventure continues after a beautiful first day of driving around Session Road and touring BenCab Museum. Despite having car trouble on day one, we were still able to visit some sights with a rented van the next day and enjoyed ourselves for the rest of the trip with amazing outdoor activities for the whole family to remember.

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Fun Friday: Horse-back Riding at El Kabayo, Subic

Third Friday of the month:  Travel / Leisure

There are a few not-so-ordinary activities that instantly delight my kids, and it involves horses.

Ever since they had their first close encounter with horses in Tagaytay over a year ago, one mention of a planned out-of-town trip has them picturing a day of riding horses!  Since we can't bring them to Tagaytay every time they clamor for their horsey rides, I just bring them instead to nearby Tiendesitas, a shopping and entertainment complex that offers visitors a quick calesa ride around the center. It's one of their cheap thrills that they couldn't say no to. 

On our recent Subic trip, the kiddies finally went galloping one sunny afternoon at El Kabayo Riding Stables. It's a pretty popular tourist spot in Subic so you could easily find your way there since it's along El Kabayo Road. 

Poised and confident on his brown steed

Of course, mommy and daddy have to ride with the boy and the girl, but the boy insists on riding on his own just like the first time. We're so proud!  I was even more scared for him but he did ride with so much confidence.

We were each provided a riding helmet. My girl did not complain about getting a biker's helmet since it was in her fave pink color!  This was the first time we rode as a family so it's safe to say that it was the highlight of our brief summer trip.

All aboard and ready to ride!

We took the 1-hour leisurely ride by the roadside, with a side-trip to a hidden falls and creek in the forest. It costs P700 per horse (approx. US$16) per hour. We took 3 horses. Sorry I can't recall their names. They offer lower rates for shorter rides with no visit to the falls. We went there around noon -- worst time of the day, it was scorching hot our heads were all sweaty under those helmets! Eeew!

Crossing the make-shift bridge over the creek

The "falls" was a dud. See that thin stream of water flowing down the creek? That's it. We only spent a few minutes there just to feed the kids' curiosity, and ours too! :)))

My hubby J has the camera the whole time since I was riding with my daughter, and so I missed taking photos of the landscape and this magnificent row of old acacia trees that we passed through the forest. It was a postcard moment that I will never forget. Another thing I won't forget was how punishing this ride was on my bum!!! I can't imagine how equestrians do it.

Making our way back to the ranch

El Kabayo Riding Stables house close to 2 dozen horses and offer private riding classes. While writing this feature, I discovered there's an El Kabayo Cowboy Town in Clark Freeport Zone, Pampanga. It looked so cool from the pictures. This will be our next destination if and when we decide to treat the kids to their favorite outdoor adventure! They will be thrilled to the max!

One final shot before we left the stables.  Girl waves, "bye horsey!"

El Kabayo Riding Stables
El Kabayo Road, Binictican
Subic Bay Freeport Zone
Zambales

El Kabayo Cowboy Town
Clark Freeport Zone
Pampanga

You might like to read:
Tagaytay Family Holiday, Album 1
Fun Friday: Calesa in the City
Subic Summer Retreat at Lighthouse Marina Resort


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Fun Friday: Calesa in the City

Third Friday of the month:  Fun and Leisure

Calesa or Kalesa (noun): a horse-drawn carriage (calash) with two thin wheels; commonly seen around Chinatown in old Manila.  This is how I personally describe a calesa, as I remember it from my childhood.

I honestly can't recall how long it has been since my last calesa ride in downtown Manila. Years... But just thinking about it brought back memories of those leisurely rides, along the hustle and bustle of the Binondo sidestreets, hearing the clickity-clack of the horse's steady gallop.

When I was younger, it thrilled me to be riding high, even slightly, above the busy roads amidst zooming jeepneys and cars.  Nowadays, all I have to do is go to Tiendesitas in Pasig City to enjoy a nice, leisurely ride around the village, without the pollution and stink. (",)

Posing for a shot with this calesa that the boy got to ride in with the nanny

Of course I could never compare the sights and sounds (and smell!) of Chinatown, which is part the whole calesa ride experience, to this express carriage ride around this commercial complex.

Sometime ago, a roving calesa caught the eyes of my kids while strolling around Tiendesitas. They never rode one before, so expectedly they bugged me for a ride. They did not get one that day but mommy promised they will, and soon.

Another souvenir shot with the white horse, the girl's choice

"Woohoo...cool!". "This is fun mommy!!!".  These were their exact words as they went around the village on their very first calesa ride. They compared the experience with their introductory horse ride in Tagaytay last December. Since then, they have been clamoring for more horsey encounters.

Cheap thrills you say? Absolutely! At only P10 a ride for adults, and P5 for kids, a few breezy rounds in the mini-carriage (don't expect any sight-seeing here) sure made a super fun day for the boy and the girl.  And they can't get enough!

You may think this experience is nothing spectacular, but how often do you get to ride, or even see, a calesa these days? A ride that's "alive and kicking" sure beats the mechanical amusement park rides they usually enjoy -- at same price! They even had a big laugh when they caught the brown horse peeing like a hose! So this was truly a unique and welcome treat for the kiddos.

"One more please." "Last one mommy, last one."
It only took around 2 to 3 minutes per ride, circling the village.

We passed this spot 6 times already!!!

Finally, they had enough.  Before getting off, the boy tried his hand at the harness...hee-yaaa!

With the dizzying rounds we had, the two manong kutchero (mister horse driver) that drove us around were nice enough to oblige (I guess they should, we paid for it! heehee) even cutting short their snack time to appease the little ones who just can't wait to hop on.

We shall return!

Tickets for sale at the concierge from the Food Plaza and the horses are waiting across the hall 

Had a calesa ride lately? =)


Kalesa Ride at Tiendesitas
Frontera Verde, Pasig City
1 round @P10 / adult; P5 / kid
4 pm - 9pm Daily


Related posts:

See the kids' happy faces on their first horse ride here:
Family holiday trip to Tagaytay

Mom-Friday's shopping finds at Tiendesitas:
Blouses & Tunics
Ballet Flats
Espadrille Wedge Shoes



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Tagaytay Family Holiday, Album 1

Cool, fresh air of December, blue-gray skies, and a view of the smallest active volcano en route to our destination -- Tagaytay.

It's been three long years since I last went to this beautiful and bustling city south of the metro. It was December of 2006 when we had a day trip and celebrated my mom-in-law's birthday. Fast forward to 2009, we decided to have a more relaxed stay and spent a night during the last holiday of the year. All I can say is we had an amazing family-bonding experience.  The kids just can't stop raving about this trip and kept asking to go back and ride the horse again, and again, and again!

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