Pampanga | Nayong Pilipino: realizing a childhood dream!

Nayong Pilipino - Clark Expo
In Metro Manila and nearby provinces, field trips and excursions are part of annual school activities, especially in the private schools.  But in far-flung areas and remote barangays like the one I once lived in Oriental Mindoro, field trips and excursions are unheard of activities in school.  I've never experienced field trips during my elementary days.  In my high school days, though Batangas is near Metro Manila, we had but only one field trip.  It's an educational tour to the Planetarium, the Luneta Park, a museum (I forgot what museum) and SM Store (educational tour(?)...and as if we have money to buy souvenirs...hehe).

But we haven't had a chance to go to Nayong Pilipino.  I don't remember where or how I got to know the place but I do think that I'm hoping to visit Nayong Pilipino way back in my high school days.  I heard then that by visiting Nayong Pilipino, I would be able to have a look of the entire Philippines through the miniature versions of some of the tourist attractions of our country including witnessing the lifestyle of some of our country's indigenous people so I dreamed of going there back then.  Unfortunately, it was not included in our field trip then.

The Nayong Pilipino I used to know is the one located near the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA).  I thought it was closed already but my recent online research showed that it wasn't. According to the website I read, it's still open and is accepting tourists and visitors and take note, without entrance feeNayong Pilipino is a cultural theme park that features replicas of tourist and historical sites of our country.  It also features different native villages that display the traditional shelters or houses as well as the lifestyle of the locals in the particular area.  It also features cultural presentations that showcase the talents of Filipino performers through folk dances and other cultural shows.

Our trip to the Nayong Pilipino was not really a planned visit.  After enjoying the hot air balloon festival, we're supposed to go straight to Paradise Ranch, Clark's nature and conservation park.  However, we made a wrong turn somewhere inside Clark, hence we ended up in Nayong Pilipino.  Since visiting this park is a childhood dream, we decided to drop by and have a look of the park.

It was past 9am when we reached the park.  It's still early but several buses and private vehicles were already parked inside.  We first took our brunch (breakfast and lunch at the same time) in the park's so-called canteen since we haven't had our breakfast yet. After the "brunch", we then explored the park.

Here are some of the attractions that we saw in our short and rush visit to this famous field trip destination, Nayong Pilipino.

Barasoain Church

Barasoain Church is originally located in Malolos Bulacan. It is the seat of Philippine Revolutionary Congress which convened from September 15, 1898 to the last week of February 1899 under the Presidency of Pedro A. Paterno.  The drafting of Malolos Constitution and the inauguration of the Philippine Republic on January 23, 1899, the first constitutional democracy in Asia took place in this church (source: the church's marker).

Nayong Pilipino - Barasoain Church Replica
Tribal Villages

Nayong Pilipino showcases several tribal villages which include the Aeta and Ifugao Villages.  Aeta Village features traditional huts where the Aetas sell native products like bamboo flutes, wooden toys and other bamboo- and wooden-made products.  In the Ifugao Village, several traditional houses were also featured like the Ayangan and Mayoyao houses.  Ayangan and Mayoyao houses were made of bamboos and cogon grass and stand on four sturdy wooden posts.  Mayoyao houses differs from that of other Ifugao traditional houses in terms of the steepness of their pyramidal roofs, Mayoyao's are very steep while the Ayangan's are not. Under these houses are tribal villagers who posed for the visitors. Others are there to showcase their talents like carving and basket making.

Nayong Pilipino - Aeta Village
Ifugao Village - Mayoyao House
Ifugao Village - Ayangan House
Folk Dances/Cultural Presentations

Nayong Pilipino also hosted cultural presentations and folk dances.  We were lucky that a presentation was scheduled during our visit so we were able to watch performers do some of our traditional dances like pandanggo sa ilaw and our national dance tinikling.  After the presentation, the dancers asked for  audience participation, inviting everyone especially the foreign visitors to go folk-dance with them.  It's a good presentation, everyone appreciated their performance and were happily applauding while watching them perform.

Nayong Pilipino - Cultural Presentation
Other Sites/Photos

Nayong Pilipino - fountain/flowers/etc.
Nayong Pilipino - lagoon
My models: Si Malakas at si Maganda :D
Nayong Pilipino - w/ Mariang Makiling and ?? (I forgot to ask eh...)
Visiting theme parks like this makes me feel like an innocent kid again; worry-free, carefree. Unfortunately, this was just a short and rush visit. We were not able to roam around the whole park but I am glad that finally, I was able to visit Nayong Pilipino.  Next time, Banawe Rice Terraces...(hehe...just wishing!!). :)

Date of Visit: February 11, 2012 
Entrance Fee: PhP50.00/person
Parking Fee: PhP20.00

47 comments:

  1. Tagal n yung last visit namin sa nayong Pilipino yung malapit sa airport. Maganda ba yang sa Clark?

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    1. Hi Anney! Oo, maganda dito sa Clark, madami makita, pwede mag-boating, mag-picnic. Meron nga din pre-nup eh, hehe! Ok sya esp. for kids para ma-familiarize sila sa mga tourist & historical sites natin. Punta din kayo w/ your cute nieces, daming maganda place for photo ops. :)

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  2. Feel ko biglang nawala sa limelight ang Nayong Filipino. Dati ang sikat-sikat nito pero now unheard na... I'm telling this per experience at mga bata sa amin is not aware about it as I was aware before :)

    Marami na kasing developed tourist spots ngayon everywhere kaya siguro ganun, haha.. And me, it is also my childhood dream kasi sikat nga noong bata kami at gusto ko rin siyang puntahan someday :)

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    1. Medyo nga nawala sa limelight ang NP, lumayo kase sya eh, napunta sa norte, kaya nga sana i-take advantage to ng mga taga norte kase malapit na sa kanila. A trip to NP is really educational, madami matutunan mga bata about our cultural history. Punta ka na din para matupad na rin isa sa mga childhood dream mo. :)

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  3. Para na akong pumunta ta way u presented here,
    Hope we can visit here naman so i could show my son how rich our culture is.
    Thanks for a great post:))

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    1. Thanks Sherene! Kapag may field trip son mo, suggest NP, maganda sya for children, para maging aware sila sa culture and history natin. :)

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  4. Pwede ka na mag trabaho sa Travel Magazine! Ang galing! Gusto ko ring pumunta dyan... kasi parang ang dami mong napuntahan sa isang location lang... pero syempre iba pa rin pag hindi replika lang hehe

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    1. PS din...gaya-gaya lang... Editor in chief ka ba ng travel mag? or ikaw ang owner?

      Aha... bumili ka pala ng sisiw na kinulayan ng blue! hahaha

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    2. Hi Mar! Ngek, magagaling na writers lang po ang pwede dun, trying hard lang po ako. Syempre, iba talaga kapag original ang pinuntahan, natuwa lang ako rito kase gusto ko 'to mapuntahan nung bata pa ako. Alam ko marami ka na napuntahan, mapupuntahan ko rin mga lugar na yun.... sa pangarap, hehe! Thanks Mayong. ;)

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    3. bakit naman sa pangarap lang? mapupuntahan mo rin yon...

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    4. Hehe...sa dami ng pinuntahan mo, medyo malayo sa katotohanan na mapuntahan ko rin sila, unless mag-work din ako abroad. Hmmm, sana may kumuha sa 'kin ng work abroad para double purpose, nakapasyal na ko, kumikita pa ko. Hay naku, ang dami ko pangarap...hahaha!

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  5. Ito ang hindi dapat palagpasin, yung mga ganitong pangyayari na hango sa ating kasaysayan at mayaman na kultura. Naappreciate ko ang ganitong mga lugar at ang entry mo na to, salamat. Sana mapuntahan ko yan at mabalikan din yung Fort Santiago.

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    1. Thanks Gracie! Oo, kaya nga maganda talaga field trip destination 'to para sa mga bata eh, naririnig ko lang 'to nung bata ako kaya natuwa ako ng naligaw kami at dito napadpad...hehe. Maganda rin nga Fort Santiago, visit ko nga ulit yun para makakuha ng mga bago pics at ng mai-post dito. :)

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    2. sige unahan tayo, kaloka lang nung magawi ako dun sa fort santiago di pa uso ang smartphone e nyahahaha 3310 pa walang camera aruyy..

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  6. gusto ko pumunta dito..ikaw TPW tour guide namin..hehehe

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    1. Hi Say! Nyahaha, dito na lang tayo sa may airport, sabi nila open pa daw yun, hindi tayo pwede sa Clark, ang layo at wala tayong sasakyan. :)

      Sa Pinagbanderahan na lang tayo, historical site pa. hehe...

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  7. Ako din yung Nayong Pilipino malapit sa NAIA din ang natatandaan ko, and lagi namin finifield trip-an nung elementary ako, pero ngayon meron na din pala sa Clark :) mukhang mas bongga 'tong sa Clark ah, sana mapasyalan ko din ;)

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    1. Hindi ko napuntahan NP-NAIA pero itong sa Clark, okay naman, malaki sya at madami ka makikita, though di namin nalibot kase nga punta pa kami Paradise Ranch. Sulit naman pagkaligaw namin dito, hehe.

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  8. Ganda! swerte at 'naligaw' kayo dun. yung alam ko rin na Nayong Pilipino ung malapit sa airport...pero di ko pa rin napuntahan yun! lol. nami-miss ko na maglakwatsa! :)

    nung elementary ung fieldtrip namin sa mga farms ng kaklase/schoolmates ko. lol. mas na.appreciate ko talaga ung fieldtrips nung college days (oo, sa humanities subject namin, prang tradition na sa school na mag fieldtrip sa Ilocos/Baguio area...kahit nasa Laguna ung university namin. lol).

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    1. may field trip din pala sa college, dami ko na-miss...haha! sarap naman ng field trip nyo, Ilocos/Baguio, narating ko na lang yun ng nag-work ako eh. btw, byahe na Maiylah, spend some of your earnings from blogging...haha!

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    2. oo, may fieldtrips din kahit sa college. hehehe.
      di makapag.lakwatsa kasi wala na ma-spend: ubos na ang konting kita sa blogging dahil sa online shopping! LOL.

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  9. wow.. namiss ko pumunta dito...
    thanks sa mga info mo...

    btw newbie sa blog mo
    www.axlppi.com

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    1. Hi Axl, ka-ublog! ;) nadadalaw ko rin blog mo from time to time, di lang nakapag-iiwan ng bakas...hehe! Salamat sa pagdalaw dito, will add and follow you now. :)

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  10. Hi,
    don't worry about it. Appreciated for letting me know that you accidentally deleted. hehhehe.you have a nice blog.

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  11. this is interesting. i would love to bring my kiddos here when we go home this april:-)

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    1. Hi Wendy! Yes, bring your kids there, hopefully, they'd get to appreciate our culture, and our country in general. Thanks for dropping by, anyway. :)

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  12. Hi wRey! Sayang naman! :( Whole day adventure 'to for us, after NP, tuloy naman kami sa Paradise Ranch. Sinulit ang gala, sayang din ang isang byahe eh...hehe! :D

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  13. Never been to the Nayong Pilipino in Paranaque when I was a kid. And tho we were in Subic before, we still didn't took the chance in visiting it. Sayang lang! :(

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    1. There's always a next time, you'll have your chance again PM, when the right time comes. :)

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  14. hi there!

    ngayon lang ako nakareply.. regarding sa question mo about bohol trip.. 2k bayad ko kay kuya tatsky :)

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    1. Hi Donnie! Thanks very much for taking time to reply. Ok lang late, mag-iipon pa lang naman ako ng pambyahe sa Bohol eh. Thanks ulit. :)

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  15. wala na bang NP sa paranaque? sana mapuntahan din namin ito!

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    1. Hi McRich! Nakakadalaw ka na ulit ah, salamat. Meron pa daw sa Paranaque sabi ni google, pero I'm not sure kase yun mga tinanong ko eh di rin alam. hehe...

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  16. Great pics! Ang sharp ah. I specially like your photo of the lagoon, parang sa ibang bansa ang mood ng picture hehehe.

    Yung sa may airport lang ang NP na napuntahan ko and that was back in 1989 pa hehehe

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    1. Hi Ms. N! Thanks to photoshop, ehehe. I saturated the lagoon a bit kaya ganyan effect...at sisiw photos ko sa mga photos mo, mali, itlog pa nga lang eh, di pa alam kung maging sisiw...hahah. Salamat muli sa pagdalaw... :)

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  17. Naalala ko ang kabataan ko.. Choz! :D

    Nung highschool ako, lagi ko tong naririnig.. Nayong Pilipino. Isa din to sa mga gusto kong puntahan.. Meron mga Boy Scout tours and jamborees yung school namin at kasali ang Kuya ko dun kaya nakapunta sila sa NP. Ako, hanggang ngayon, hindi pa. lol..

    Medyo hindi ko na nga rin narinig ang NP.. Dumadami na rin kasi ang mga developed theme and nature parks dito sa Pilipinas. At hindi na sya masyadong napromote.

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  18. Hi Leah! Natuwa nga ako ng naligaw kami dito eh, at least nakita ko na rin ang NP na nababasa ko lang dati. Hindi man sya kasing sikat ng mga bagong theme parks ngayon, naiiba naman sya because of the history and culture it features. BTW, salamat sa pagdalaw dito. :)

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  19. didn't know may nayong pilipino sa clark. this is one of the things you'reglad you got lost, hehehe!

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    1. Yup, I'm glad we got lost, at least I was able to see NP. Thanks for visiting here Wild Butterfly. :)

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  20. my Nayong Pilipino experience was here in Manila near the airport. then in Clark in "Centennial ewan" 194gotten ulet lol. Then my last visit to Clark was about 4 yrs ago yata lol, I had a meeting at Gerry's Grill in Clark SM.

    di ko pa eto napuntahan.

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  21. Till now open pa din po ba yung nayong pilipino malapit sa naia airport? :(

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    1. sorry po, no idea though may nabasa ko way back last year na open pa daw, pero di po ako sigurado.

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  22. Hi!!
    Want To Know if Still Open Pa Ang Nayong pilipino?
    How Much Is The Entrance?
    Want To know also If Ok Lng Mag picnic?

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  23. Hi!
    Want To Know f Still Open Pa Ang Nayong Pilipino?
    How is The Entrance Fee?
    If its Ok F Mg picnic Sa Nayong Pilipino?

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  24. Wala akong masyadong nababasa about sa place na to sa Pampanga, sana bukas pa sila until today para makapasyal naman kami jan. :)

    ReplyDelete

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