The Lifestyle of Angeles City

Lifestyle & Living in Angeles City

Angeles City is in Pampanga province in the Central Luzon region of the Philippines. The city is rich in history and heritage, with old and historical significant buildings dotting its landscape, but these days it's perhaps best known for its notorious nightlife.

Angeles is a thriving city often compared to the Philippine capital and largest city, Manila. In 1899, it became the seat of the Philippine government under General Emilio Aguinaldo and the site of the first anniversary celebration of Philippine Independence.
The city is a booming nightlife center and tourist destination. Its capital, Balibago, is especially known for its bars and nightclubs, including what may well be the world's largest cluster of go-go bars. Adjoining Clark Freeport Zone is the site of world-class resorts, casinos, duty-free shops and beautifully landscaped golf courses. The city, and the rest of the Pampanga region, is known as the "Culinary Center of the Philippines."

How to get to Angeles City, Pampanga:

By Plane:
Angeles is served by the Diosdado Macapagal International Airport (DMIA) in Clark Freeport Zone, approximately 5 kilometers from the city proper. It has adequate travel facilities, a duty free shopping center, souvenir shops, a tourist information center, hotel and travel agency representatives, and car rental services. The airport is where budget airlines like Air Asia (from Kuala Lumpur and Kota Kinabalu) and Tiger Airways (from Singapore and Macau) fly to. Also, it receives direct flights from Hong Kong and Korea from current carriers like Asian Spirit, Asiana Airlines, Hong Kong Airlines, South East Asian Airlines and Tiger Airways. Non-international flights are offered by Cebu Pacific and South East Asian Airlines.

By Bus:
This is the most common and economical way to get to Angeles from Metro Manila. Several air-conditioned bus lines ply from Manila to Angeles route with terminals scattered across the metropolitan area. It takes one to one and a half hours to get to Angeles by bus. Longer than that would be most likely due to stopovers along the way. Provincial bus companies have scheduled trips from Manila to provinces to northern provinces and key cities.

Southern Cross Shuttle Daily Bus Service
Contact Richard Giles at southerncrossshuttle@yahoo.com.ph or the phone numbers listed above.
Click Here to view page

By Car:
The best way from Manila to Angeles via car is taking the North Luzon Expressway which extends until Sta. Ines in Mabalacat, Pampanga. You may take either the Angeles Exit or Dau exit to get there. Another motorway, though narrow, is the McArthur Highway and visitors need to pass through the province of Bulacan to get to Angeles on both routes. It usually takes about 45 minutes to travel but it is twice the travel time if you plan to take the McArthur route due to heavy traffic along its stretch. Rental car companies can be found all over Manila and Angeles. If you don't know the routes, you can hire drivers by asking the attendant of the rent-a-car shop.

Getting Around:
By Jeepney:
To hop on a colorful jeepney (small bus) is certainly the most affordable way to get around downtown. It is available 24 hours a day and it is the most famous mode of transportation in the country, which connects towns and cities together. Tricycles (motorcyle with a side car) and the rare calesas (horse-driven carriages popularized during Spanish colonization) also abound the city and are usually only used for very short trips. They take you to the exact places that you want to go but these may not be convenient for most foreigners, as these can only accommodate two persons and are cramped so they are designed for people of small stature.

By Taxi:
Though it is more convenient for tourists, taxis are less common in Angeles and are not usually used for travel outside the city, but are usually used to tour around the Clark Freeport Zone. Simson's taxicab terminal can be found particularly next to Clark's main gate in Balibago.

The Sights:

• Fort Stotsenburg, named after Colonel John M. Stotsenburg, a Captain of the 6th US Cavalry, was the location of the first permanent quarters of the American forces in Sapang Bato, Angeles. It is also known as the "Parade Ground," which served as a venue for many important celebrations by the Americans before the US-RP Military Bases Agreement ended in 1991.

• Old Pamintuan Residence was served as the seat of government of the First Philippine Republic under General Emilio Aguinaldo from May to July 1899 and the Central Headquarter for Major General Arthur McArthur. It now houses the Central Bank of the Philippines in Central Luzon.

• Founders' Residence (Bale Matua), located at the heart of Santo Rosario, is the oldest building in the city. It was built in 1824 by the city founder, Don Ángel Pantaleón de Miranda, and his wife, Doña Rosalia de Jesus, and was inherited by Doña Juana de Miranda de Henson, the only daughter of Angeles City’s founders. This house, which is made of high stone wall and an ornate gate, nostalgically symbolizes the glorious past of Angeles amidst the overwhelming onslaughts of modernization.

• Post Office Building (Deposito) is a building that was constructed in 1899 for the purpose of depositing Catholic religious statues and carriages of the church, hence the name Deposito. It was also used as the headquarter of the 11th Film Exchange US Army from 1946 to 1947 and was then used as a jailhouse for recalcitrant US troops during the Philippine-American War. On February 6, 1967, the Angeles City Post Office moved to this building. It is now the site of Angeles Physical Therapy Rehabilitation Center.

• Camalig was built in 1840 by Don Ciriaco de Miranda, the first gobernadorcillo or town head of Angeles, and was used as a grain storehouse along Santo Rosario Street. It was restored in 1980 by Armando L. Nepomuceno and is now the site of Armando's Pizza and Camalig Restaurant.

• Holy Rosary Church (Santo Rosario Church) was constructed from 1877 to 1896 by the "Polo y Servicio" labor system, a kind of forced labor imposed on Filipino peasants by the Spanish colonial government. It was used as a military hospital by the US Army from August 1899 to December 1900. Its backyard was the execution ground to the Spanish forces in shooting down Filipino rebels and suspects.

• Holy Family Academy Building was served as a military hospital of the US Army in 1900 and later as the troop barracks, officers' quarters and arsenal by the Japanese Imperial Military Forces in 1942.

• Museo ning Angeles used to be a municipal hall and it periodically features exhibits on the history, culture, the tradition of the city and its people.

• Bale Herencia, built in 1860, is situated in Lakandula Street corner Santo Rosario Street. It is a picturesque house with the unsavory reputation of having been built for the mistress of a parish priest. The current owners now use it as a banquet hall.

• Juan D. Nepomuceno's Center for Kapampangan Studies houses a library, museum of archives and gallery, research center and theater, put up by the Holy Angel University in 2002 to preserve, study and promote Kapampangan history and culture.

• Lily Hill is a strategic observation post for monitoring Japanese movement in World War II. Remains of Japanese aircraft were found here at the end of the war. Along this hill can now be found Lily Hill Duty Free Store.

• Mount Pinatubo is now an inactive volcano that brought devastation by its eruption in 1991 and forced the US military base to abandon this city. Trekking the volcano's slope and dipping into the crater's turquoise-blue waters is truly an adventure of a lifetime.

• Apu Chapel is the shrine of the Our Lord of the Holy Sepulchre (Apung Mamacalulu). Devotees pay their homage to the shrine every Friday.

• Expo Pilipino is where the commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the declaration of Philippine Independence on June 12, 1898 was held. Today, its 35,000-seating capacity amphitheater is a favorite venue for concerts, ecumenical services and political rallies. Nayong Pilipino is adjacent to this site.

• Nayong Pilipino offers a good and educational alternative road trip destination in the country.

• Kapampangan Museum (Clark Museum) features the history of the US military in the Philippines, Philippine military history and a Mount Pinatubo exhibit. It also showcases Clark as a former US military base and its metamorphosis into a special economic zone and then as a world-class aviation and business metropolis as depicted in pictures, dioramas, replicas, murals and artifacts.

• Bayanihan Park (formerly Astro Park) is home to a year-round mini-amusement park and it is an ideal spot for sports and recreational activities having basketball and volleyball courts and huge space for jogging and other recreational activities. This is where the famous and historical "Salakot Arch" is now located.

• Salakot Arch is a landmark of Angeles City. From 1902 to 1979, Clark remained a US territory, guaranteed by the Military Bases Agreement (MBA) in 1947. In 1978, the Philippines and the US agreed to establish Philippine sovereignty over the US bases and thus the Clark Air Base Command (CABCOM) of the Armed Forces of the Philippines came into being, following the signing of a revised MBA on January 7, 1979. To commemorate this event, the government constructed a special structure based upon the design of a salakot or native hat, which soon became a widely recognized symbol of this new spirit in the long tradition of Philippine-American relations.

• Clark Freeport Zone (formerly Clark Air Base), now the site of the Philippine Air Force and once the largest US military base outside of the United States, is home to a number of resorts, golf ranges, casinos and high-class hotels. Duty free shops, foreign and local investment companies, and a number of call centers can also be found inside the freeport.

Events & Festivities:

Angeles has a number of places of interest and a couple of festivals it can call its own.

• Tigtigan Terakan Keng Dalan translates to "Music and Dancing in the Streets" and is an annual all-night party on the streets of Angeles, usually lasting 2 to 3 days at the end of October. It features music from amateur and OPM bands and is attended by celebrities and citizens alike. This event is used to celebrate the Octoberfest. Phone: (63)(45) 625-8525 (Department of Tourism); E-mail: celtour@yahoo.com.

• Philippine International Hot-Air Balloon Fiesta is held every year between January and February and it features multicolored hot-air balloons with more than a hundred balloon pilots from around the world and considered to be the biggest aviation sports event in the country. Phone: (63)(45) 599-5524.

• Sisig Festival is held annually in the month of December, celebrating the Kapampangan dish, sisig, which said to have been originated in this city. Phone: (63)(45) 625-8525 (Department of Tourism); E-mail: celtour@yahoo.com.

• Mount Pinatubo Trekking is highly recommended for trekking or hiking enthusiasts who like to have the most memorable trip to this once deadly volcano. One would have the experience to board a 4x4 which will head to lahar country passing some rough terrain, gray, barren mountains interspersed with green, lush mountains. Upon reaching the summit, you would definitely enjoy the spectacular clear blue, pristine waters surrounded by mountains. Phone: (63)(45) 892-7975 (Dream Treks), (63)(45) 781-12582 (R & J Pinatubo Trek) and (63)(45) 602-5133 (Swagman's Mount Pinatubo Adventure Treks). Current cost for the trip is PhP8,000 and it is good for 4 persons. This might be a problem if one is traveling alone, as it might be hard to find company for this trip as most of the tourists in Angeles are there for totally other reasons. This is for short 9 hours or one-day trip. Hiking part is being anything between 3 and 6 hours depending on the fitness of the group. There are also overnight trips available.

• Philippine Adventures provides an exciting day trip to Mt Pinatubo from Manila. The tour includes air-conditioned transfers. Use of 4x4 Jeep. Packed lunch. Private local guide leading a trek to the crater and lake. For further information email info@philippineadventures.com or view www.philippineadventures.com

• Mount Pinatubo Aerial Tours is for you if you want to have the best seat to view the volcano that once ravaged Central Luzon. Considered one of the largest eruptions of the 20th century, the eruption affected global weather patterns. Having been dormant for centuries, Mount Pinatubo erupted anew in 1991, spewing an ash plume that spread across the globe. Have a bird's-eye-view of the crater, surreal ash canyons and the remnants of the once-devastating lahar flows. Flights depart out of Omni Aviation Complex at Clark Field. Cost is $55 per person, flying time for 1 to 2 persons is 45 minutes while for 3 or more is one hour. The best time to fly is early in the morning (sunrise-10am) and in the late afternoon (3pm-sunset). Phone: (63)(45) 599-5524.

• Parachuting/Skydiving has to be one of the very best ways to view the surrounding countryside. The Tropical Asia Parachute Center (TAPC) operates from Clark Freeport Zone. The center provides student training, including both tandem and static line parachuting, and advanced training. Costs are very reasonable and if you have considered trying this sport before, take advantage while visiting the Philippines. Phone: (63)(45) 599-6246; Fax: (63)(45) 599-6245; E-mail: ville@mozcom.com.

• Ultra-light Flying is one sport that is definitely growing. If you want your senses get heightened and your heart pound as the wind whistles through your hair, this is for you! This is organized by the AngelesCity Flying Club. The area also offers many additional attractions, from diving to cycling to hiking to night clubbing. Phone: (63)(918) 231–5266; Fax: (63)(45) 332-3311; E-mail: acfc@mozcom.com.

• Drive Off-Road is an off-road challenge where you can take on a wild, bumpy, ride in old four-wheel-drive jeeps in a safari-like journey across the dusty expanse of the valley to a campsite. It is organized by the Angeles City Four Wheelers Club and is ideal for trekking and be able to see the lahar canyons, Gate of Heaven and other sites in Mount Pinatubo. Phone: (63)(45) 599-5000.

• Golf, world-class golf courses, such as Holiday Inn Golf and Resort, Fontana Resort, Angeles Sports and Country Club, and J&K Golf are the recommended golf courses for those so inclined. Phone: (63)(2) 845-1888 or USA toll-free: 1-888-465-4329 (Holiday Inn), (63)(45) 599-5000 (Fontana), (63)(45) 892-6358 (Angeles Sports and Country Club) and (63)(45) 599-7888 (J&K Golf).

• Lawn Bowling is the only one of three in the country and is offered at the Hidden Vale and Angeles Sports and Country Club, a mature 11.34 hectare site which includes a nine-hole golf course, luxurious penthouse suites and driving range. Phone: (63)(45) 625-8525 (Department of Tourism); E-mail: celtour@yahoo.com.

• Visit the Pool Resorts, though Angeles has no beaches, it has a number of resorts to choose from, including Clearwater Country Club, Angeles Beach Club (ABC), Fontana, Oasis, Holiday Inn Resort, Amando's, Villa Alfredo's, Villa Antonina, and Greenville, some just slightly outside the boundries of the city. Phone: 599-5949 (Clearwater), (63)(45) 892-2222 (ABC) and (63)(45) 599-5000 (Fontana).

• Drag and Go-Kart Racing is organized by the Angeles Hot Rod Association (AHRA), the oldest drag racing in the Philippines. You can find this attraction at the Omni Aviation inside the Clark Ecozone. AHRA is where you will find most of the big V8 muscle cars, as well as many "bangers." In addition to race meets, they also organize and run regular classic and custom car shows, swap meets, social events and more. Phone: (63)(45) 599-5524 or (63)(45) 599-6246; E-mail: ahra@nt1.ph.

• Gambling, being renowned as a city with high concentration of casinos, such as Casino Filipino-Angeles, Casino Filipino-Mimosa, Fontana Casino, and Casablanca Casino, Angeles offers a variety of activities that will keep leisure travelers definitely happy. Phone: (63)(45) 332-1196, (63)(45) 332-1198, (63)(45) 892-5073, (63)(45) 892-5074, or (63)(45) 892-4182 (Casino Filipino-Angeles) and (63)(45) 599-6020 (Casino Filipino-Mimosa); E-mail: cfangeles@comclark.com.

• Play Pool in a city of great champions like Efren Reyes and Rodolfo Luat. Angeles has an abundance of pool tables to play all along the Fields Avenue and hundreds of other places in the city.

• Mount Arayat Trek is available November through May. Prices range: day trips (minimum of 3 persons, P800 per person) and overnight trips (minimum of 3 persons, P2500 per person). Phone: (63)(45) 892-6239.

Shopping:

If you like to shop, Robinsons Place, Jenra Grand Mall, Nepo Mall, Saver's Mall and the SM CLARK SuperMall are the places to go. These are mostly shopping malls with decent boutiques, department stores, supermarkets, hardware stores, movie theaters and over a hundred shops and restaurants.
Duty-free stores are to be found inside the Clark Ecozone, namely Pure Gold, Oriental, Parkson, Clark Interiors, Liberty, and Arjan that sell imported housewares, cooking items, snacks and branded clothes. Most of which are surplus so they are actually cheaper. Some of these stores have an extensive selection of cigarettes and perfumes as well.

The barratillos (cheap or thrift stores) crap the likes of which you cannot imagine. If you really want a native experience, go to one of these open-air "flea markets," there are several of them around town. Hop on a jeepney and have someone take you. There are many other fun places to shop household items, clothing, including audio-video equipment in a makeshift market called tiangge at bargain prices at Apu district every Friday. Twenty-four hour convenience stores, like 7-11, are also found in the city from city proper to Balibago. Most locally owned stores, which they call sari-sari, sell retail terms, especially the cigarettes that you can buy per stick or per pack.

Handicraft stores sell locally good and export-quality craftwork. The Rosa's Handicraft Gift Shop and Mhea's Custom Woodcraft have a large selection of gift items and are conveniently located in Balibago district. Stores selling souvenir shirts, woodcraft and other local stuff are also dotted along Fields Avenue and they are sold for cheaper prices.

For more Angeles souvenirs and products, you may get in touch with the Metro Angeles Chamber of Commerce and Industry at (63)(45) 323-4145.

Restaurants:

Angeles is known for being the "Culinary Center of the Philippines." This reputation reportedly goes back to the Spanish colonial times where it is said that the Kapampangan cook learned very quickly to improvise on Spanish dishes using local ingredients.

The culinary adventure in Angeles is sure to be an experience of a lifetime. A must-eat dish is "Sisig", which Angeles is famous for. From its humble beginnings in Aling Lucing's Eatery along Angeles' railroad to its present top-of-the-menu ranking in Manila's bars and nightclubs, sisig has come to conquer the Filipino drinkers' palate. It has become the quintessential pulutan fare — the default order that comes with every round of beer.

Other not-to-be-missed local mouth-watering cuisines are Dencio's kare-kare (another Kapampangan menu, which is a Philippine stew made from peanut sauce with a variety of vegetables, stewed oxtail, beef and occasionally offal or tripe), fresh papaya lumpia, tilapia in tausi sauce, adobong pugo, morcon, tortang bangus (milkfish stuffed with ground pork), Everybody's Cafe's camaru (fried cricket adobo), kilayin baboy (pork meat and lungs pickled in a marinade of vinegar or calamansi juice, usually along with garlic, onions and hot/sweet peppers), bringhe (local Spanish paella), bulanglang (meat or fish broth soured with guava fruit), Aling Luring's batute (a frog stuffed with ground and seasoned pork, then deep fried to a crisp), burong isda (fermented rice with fish or small shrimps), pork and carabao tocino, Bale Dutung's burong talangka (the fat of salted little crabs, very rich and laden with cholesterol but hard to resist), Filipinized pizza in a bilao at Armando's Pizza, brazo de mercedes, halo-halo from Razon's and Corazon's (a popular dessert that is a mixture of shaved ice and milk, added with various boiled sweet beans and fruits, and served cold in a glass or bowl), Susie's Cuisine's famous pancit luglog (palabok), tibuk tibok (made from carabao's milk and also known as "maja blanca"), tocino del cielo (a richer version of leche flan) and turron de casoy.
If you are a person inclined to drinking beer and eating barbecue, then Frank & Jim, Ikabud, Marisol Steakhouses and the eateries along Angeles railroad crossing are certainly the spots for you. Street foods, such as fishballs and kikiams on sticks, are a must-try at Nepo Compound vendor stands.
If local cuisine is not your type, no need to worry as the city has a wide range of pretty decent restaurants to choose from. Fine restaurants and eateries that serve international menus are C Italian, Maranao Grill-Oasis Hotel, Salvatore's, Zapata's, Rodizio-Holiday Inn, Cottage Kitchen, Red Crab Seafood & Steaks, Shanghai Palace, House of Bamboo, Subdelicious, Rumpa, VFW, Chic 'N Ribs, A la Crème, Rib Eye Steak House, Fortune Seafood, Perfect Loaf, Four Season's Grill, Angeles Fried Chicken, Bretto's, Mar's, Toll House, Hana-mi, Didi's, Peking House, Mister Frosty and a host of other American, Italian, Japanese, Chinese, Mexican and Korean restaurants.

A number of coffee shops are also to be seen even in the outskirts of the city, such as The Coffee Academy, Starbucks, Northern Brew, Coffee Overdose, Mequeni Cafe-Holiday Inn, Coffee Outlet, and Beatico, that serve drip regular coffee, decaff, brewed coffee, espresso-based hot drinks, other hot and cold drinks, and snacks.

Nightlife:

The infamous nightlife scene in Angeles originally sprung up to service nearby Clark Air Force Base. The US military left in 1991, but a crackdown on prostitution in Manila promptly restored the industry's fortunes, and today Angeles boasts the biggest nightlife scene in the Philippines.
Angeles is home to many bars and karaoke sites. It boasts of a number of clubs which fit any budget and personality. There are traditional clubs with DJ's and the live band clubs. For endless evening of dancing and pulsating music, head for the bright lights of Balibago. Fields Avenue and McArthur Highway are the places to head for go-go bars, comedy bar shows, sing-along or karaoke bars, nightclubs and drinking beer - it is a non-stop pleasure seven days a week, everyday of the year.

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Cost of Living Base Index As Of June 2008

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Cost of Dying

Click here to view the complete price list from Angelina Memorial Chapel

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Accomodation:

ANGELES CITY ACCOMMODATION LISTING

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Visa

TEMPORARY VISITORS 9(a)
Aliens initially admitted for 21days may be extended for another 38 days

After 59 days of stay (initial 21 days + 38 days extension)

*To secure regular EMIGRATION CLEARANCE CERTIFICATE (ECC) at the Alien
 Registration Division at the back of Equitable Bank Bldg. and pay the express fee of P500.

N.B.1) Legal Research Fee (LRF) of P10 will be charged for each item except Head Tax

2) Alien Certificate of Registration

For more information, please visit http://immigration.gov.ph

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Retiring in Angeles City

Please visit this link www.pra.gov.ph to know more about retiring in Angeles City or the Philippines in general.

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Sponsors List

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Local Tradesmen

Below is a directory listing of local tradesmen that have been reffered & listed by our fellow RSL Angeles City sub branch members.
Please visit this section as the list grows.

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