Subic, to me, had always meant duty-free. Shopping. Imported goods. Seaplanes (for some reason). And AFAMs (yep, I went there again. Can’t help it. Sorry). Yet amid retail black holes and fieldtrip destinations, a couple of out-of-the-ordinary activities exists in the freeport zone.

Let me be honest: the whole “Clark” thing got me so confused that I almost didn’t write this article. See, I thought Clark was a town in Pampanga when, in fact, it was the Clark Freeport Zone (CFZ) which spans towns from both Pampanga (Angeles, Mabalacat, and Porac) and Tarlac (Capas, and Bamban). This article is about the Pampanga side of Clark. I guess. No, seriously. I’m still a little disoriented, but let us soldier on.

If we are to pile all the coins I’ve spent on toilet stops, I’m pretty sure it could cover – at the very least – a roundtrip ticket to Catanduanes. I wish I could tell you I’m exaggerating, but with how frequent I travel plus the fact that I think I might’ve early onset incontinence, my Roadside Relief Budget is kind of a big deal.

Confession time: I haven't really considered getting flights to and from Clark.

I thought, "Commuting to NAIA is bad enough. Why would I submit myself to even more commuting?" Never mind the fact that Clark flights are relatively cheaper compared to those in NAIA, plus more and more routes are opening up — to me, it was just too far.