Top 5 Things To Do When Visiting Subic

2) Go on the Zoobic Safari.

We each got a turn to bottle-feed this young tiger!

Zoobic Safari really puts most of the other zoos that I have been to before to shame. Another super unique place, you surely don’t want to miss this safari! It starts off with a walk through areas where you can actually feed all of the animals (just not the monkeys, we were told)! Be sure and purchase a basket of fruit for Php100 at the counter before your tour starts or you may regret it! We were the only ones who did so in our tour group, and we were easily the most popular people there. Everywhere we walked, we were being followed by birds, goats, camels, horses, deer and more, trying to get more of the food!

The tour typically lasts 2-3 hours and is inclusive of all of the park’s features. You only have to pay extra if you want to feed the animals or try your hand at things like archery, which we certainly did! One of the coolest parts of the day was getting to feed crocodiles raw chicken with a fishing pole! Definitely 50 pesos well-spent.

And of course, Zoobic Safari’s most famous attraction: the Tiger Safari ride. You will pile into a unique jeepney that is enclosed like a cage with your tour group and be driven out where a tiger will be handfed from the jeepney by one of the Safari personnel. You get to see the tiger up close and personal enjoying a whole raw chicken!

1) Hike at Pamulaklakin Forest.

Easily my favorite part of our entire trip. I cannot speak highly enough of this amazing experience. At Pamulaklakin forest, you will be greeted by native Aeta tribe members. For a small fee, you can tour their forest! We paid for the 2-3 hour Ecology Tour, and were escorted by an Aeta guide named J.R. He took us through the forest and imparted some of his tribal knowledge to us, which was so cool. We learned a lot from him, like how to recognize different plants that can be used as medicines, how to survive in the jungle overnight, and even how to make little flutes out of bamboo!

J.R. really outdid himself. He was so friendly and easygoing, he made the hike a lot of fun and even gave us some gifts from the forest. While walking, he stopped at one point, started hacking at bamboo with his bolo, and voila! He made us some super cool bamboo cups as mementos! We were so proud to receive those and are very excited to use them at our table!

J.R. making us bamboo cups, cutting an extra hole on the top to fit my tall nose!

At the end of the tour, J.R. gave us permission to take our shoes off and relax our feet in the Pamulaklakin river, where we were very pleasantly surprised when some doctor fish came up and started nibbling on our feet! It was an all-natural fish spa! David had a small wound on his foot, and the fish swarmed over it and cleaned all the blood away, which was so cool to watch.

We met some of J.R.’s fellow Aeta members in the forest coming along with their carabao who they graciously allowed me to sit on the carabao for a photo!

After just 3 short days spent in Subic, I completely fell in love with the place. We had an absolutely amazing trip and unforgettable honeymoon there and we have absolutely no regrets for picking it as our vacation spot. Subic, we will return!

David and Abby are the Writers In Tandem! Follow us on our adventures at:

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