Our Pampanga Tour via Philtranco Bus

I'm always excited to take a bus ride. Enjoying the road trip to buying pasalubong in between, until I set foot on the soil of my destination. My family welcomes me with all the food I've been missing.

Going to provinces, we normally drive our own car. Others prefer a long bus trip especially nowadays with affordable provincial bus fares. I also love taking long road trips going to Baguio all the way to Sagada or Manila to Bicol. I often enjoy the quick bus stops for stretching, CR break to buying grilled hotdogs.

Our recent Philtranco Pampanga tour reminds me that even how busy living in the city is, no matter the distance, there's no place like home. Although a bit tired from an out of the country trip, I found myself enjoying the sightseeing, food & heritage tour hosted by Philtranco.

It was proper that we started our tour saying offering prayer and thanksgiving at one of the oldest church in Pampanga, the St. James Parish in Betis Guagua. It's commonly called Betis Church with eye-catching Baroque architecture. The church was established in 1607 with beautiful ceiling paintings from the early 20th century.

Next we passed by the Pamintuan mansion in Angles.

A quick visit to see how Tamales are made. It can be an appetizer of dessert. It looks like suman as well. Tamales is made of masa or dough, which is steamed in a corn husk or banana leaf. I also bought a bottle of crab paste or fat (taba ng talangka for P200/bottle).

A wonderful lunch was served at 25 Seeds in Angeles Pampanga hosted by Chef Sau. One of the interesting dishes that was served is the camaru, an exotic dish from Pampanga. It was an amazing experience eating camaru or crickets sauteed or deep friend. I can say it was tasty or malinman. I could compare the taste to pork sisig. Lunch comprises of Filipino famous dish, kare-kare,

Chef Sau's wacky face

Tamales ng Pampanga

It's nice to take a quick nap after a good lunch at 25 Seeds but I don't want to miss the next destination, the Betis Woodcraft. Their showroom displays beautiful, world-class quality, classic and modern furniture. I was seated in one of the Victorian chairs and it felt like a queen. Oh, you'll find their furniture in Hollywood films such as Sex and the City.

One of my favorite spot is the veranda at JB Betis Woodcraft. 

It was a pleasure to re-discover Pampanga, made more comfortable and fun with Philtranco bus tour. Pampanga isn't my hometown but I felt the warm welcome from Kapampangans I met. Allow me to end with a cliche 'Home is where the heart is'.

Philtranco Telephone No: Call (02) 851 5812

Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/PhiltrancoOfficial/

Website: https://www.philtranco.net/

Daily trips from and to Camarines, Sorsogon Area, Samar and Leyte, Panay Island and Visayas, Mindanao and Pampanga.

It was my pleasure to rediscover Pampanga again. The last time I went there for a food tour was almost four years ago. We've been to a lot of places and I realized there's so much more to discover. I truly enjoyed the food and the company. Chef Nancy Lumen was great host, I don't know where she gets her energy, hosting and giving out prizes on the road is very challenging.

Aling Lucing in Pampanga

Aling Lucing's Sisig

Special thanks to Philtanco. I'm excited for my next road trip. Where to next Philtanco bus ride? Let's go back to Bicol!