To be honest, there’s not a lot of kid friendly things to do in Clark.

Sure, there’s Nayong Pilipino, casinos, several duty free shops, a horseback riding venue and a few waterparks. But it’s not Subic where there’s a heck of a lot more activities to go to for the family.

However, husband was there for a race so the entire family was there for a mini vacation.

People nationwide travel regularly to Clark just to race against the best and the fastest.

The youngest driver was 11 years old, and he started driving at 7. Here he is inside the car with his dad as his coach. It’s very interesting to see how a lot of people are so passionate about cars and racing, and put their money where their mouth is.

It was so nice to be invited in a racing lounge and see the events in a dry and comfortable place.

Since it was a bit rainy, it was challenging to entertain a 3 year old. However, we trekked to Dinosaur Island just to check it out:

Honestly, it was a bit rainy and muddy so it was a tad disheartening to go around. But since we were already there, why not?

Tickets are php 350 per person. There’s a small extra charge for the other exhibits in the area.

Bewarned, kids are not exactly free. Unlike other places with more flexible height limits, Dinosaur Island Clark charges full price for kids over 80cm. My daughter who is not even 4 years old is already over the limit and is required to pay php350 full price:

It was interesting though. Php350 gives you at least 18 dinosaur exhibits with most of it moving and roaring after passing a sensor. I hope I got their name right but here’s some of the dinosaurs we saw:

Apatosaurus

Parasourulopos

Stegosaurus

Brachiosaurus

Baby T-Rex

Kentrosaurus

Angustinaripterus, similar to the Pterodactyl

Tyrannosaurus Rex, you can feed it too for php20!

Styracosaurus, more horns than a Triceratops

Maiasaura – can eat 200 lbs of leaves in one go

Wuerhosaurus – A picky dinosaur eater who likes to eat fresh leaves on trees

Spinosaurus – A fast dinosaur who can apparently beat the ferocious T-Rex

Baryonyx, heavy claw – grandmother of alligator and crocodile

Triceratops – mortal enemy of the Tyrannasaurus Rex

Allosaurus – only wants fresh meat

Velociraptor – in movie, fast running bipedal dinosaur w 80 sharp front teeth

Dimetrodon – one of earliest dinosaurs, where iguanas came from

Clark dinosa

Irritator – wants to hunt in isolation

Diliphosaurus – largest meat eater

Please note that the ticket comes with a personal guided tour and a special dinosaur dance show.

Hence, given all the offerings, I would still highly recommend a visit with the kiddos especially if they love dinosaurs.

After Clark Island, we then proceeded to try out the duty free shops there. A little warning, the Parkson Duty Free shop was old and run down. Here’s what it looked like outside:

The inside was also sad. A lot of the inventory was old, and it’s obvious that many were overruns of another era:

The Crocs was less than php400, but may not be authentic. We did manage to buy a few items but duty frees were supposed to be glittery, prestigious and international. Parkson Duty Free was far from this.

Our next stop was the Puregold Duty Free.

Now, this was how a duty free should be.

There’s a lot of selections at Puregold Duty Free. It’s also a joy to shop: the space was expansive, the light bright and the haul relatively reasonably priced. Ranging from imported toiletries, cleaning materials and grocery, one can spend hours there.

Here was our haul that reached USD100:

A lot of the things cannot be found in Manila. So Puregold Duty Free is a worthwhile trip if you’re in the area.

For dinner, we ate at Matam-Ih, authentic Kapampangan cuisine.

It was a terrific choice.

The menu was broad, the prices were reasonable for the big servings, the taste was good, and the service was relatively good. I will highly recommend Matam-Ih to any visitor in Clark.

We ordered the following: Pork sisig – abundant serving. Taste was ok. Apparently it’s a best seller.

Binagoonan: My gosh. The Best! As in, nothing can compare. Binagoonan in Metro Manila cannot be better than this. Please order this when you are there!

Liempo Kare Kare: Another must order. So creamy and lots of laman. The bagoong is generous. We asked for an extra serving.

We also ordered the Sinigang na Miso. The soup was thick but lots of fish and veggies to go around.

Overall, very impressive meal. The bill came out to less than php1,900 which is amazing! We will definitely eat here again.

In conclusion, as long as you’re with family, fun can be found anywhere. Despite the heavy rains, we still managed to have fun at Clark.

Have a great week ahead!!!