Republ1c Wakepark Review

Do you want to experience how to wakeboard but don't want to go as far as Bicol? Don't worry as the closest one is located in Laguna!

Last December 26, I went to Republ1c Wakepark with my mom and my brother to try it out. We were looking for an activity we could do as a group since it is rare that all three of us are together. The place is located at this address: West Diversity Boulevard, Nuvali, Calamba, Laguna.


Getting there

There's no way of getting to this place by public transportation. You would really have to have a private car. The place is difficult to get to since the map provided on the website is not the detailed. We tried the navigation via Google Map but we were asked to go through a route where only vehicles with Nuvali stickers can pass through. We had to turn back and look for the entrance where outsiders can enter. It is inside a subdivision so you would have to leave your driver's license at the entrance.

Rates

We arrived there at around noon and was surprised to see that there were lots of guests already. We then went inside to check the rates.

Day rate: 0830 - 1730

1 hour pass - 250

2 hour pass - 475

4 hour pass - 595

8 hour pass - 995

Night rate: 1800 - 2200

1 hour pass - 350

2 hour pass - 600

4 hour pass - 800

We opted for the 1 hour pass since we are new and just want to experience how it is to do this activity. Aside from the "cable rates" above, you would also have to rent the life vest and helmet (if you don't have your own) and the RFID band. The RFID band is where they put in the number of hours for you paid for. I don't know why it has to be an RFID band when there were no device to tap it into or anything. It could have been a regular bracelet of sort and it would have done the same purpose. 

Life Vest and Helmet - 600

RFID - 200

The fees for the life vest, helmet and RFID are refundable so it's really the cable rates that you would have to spend on. The helmets and the RFID are in good condition. The life vests on the other hand are almost wrecked. 

The Park

There are lots of obstacles for enthusiasts in the park. I really don't know these terms but after checking their website, there are obstacles such as kickers, step-up rails, flat bar, roof top and skatebox among others. There are actually 13 different obstacles you can choose from.

Ammenities

There is a restaurant in the venue where you can buy food and drinks. I did not get the chance to see though if they serve alcoholic beverages. There are limited number of tables available for the resto though as most tables are occupied by the companions of those who are wake-boarding and some tables are just used as "lockers" as stuff are just laid down there.

They also have a big changing room and shower area. The area is pretty dark considering we were there at noon. Lights are very limited. There are around 6-8 shower stalls but there were only 2 that were working! Most stalls have the shower handle broken off so you really can't use them. This is really disappointing since the park in itself is big so there has to be a shower area that can handle the volume of guests.

Service

Customer service is lacking in this area. It was pretty obvious at the onset that it was our first time to do this activity and we were not informed by the receptionist on the amenities on the park. We had to find it our for ourselves. We actually went to try to wakeboard on the "professional" area with disastrous results. We were later informed by the operator that there was an area at the back where beginners like us can try out.

Another item to take note of is security or lack thereof. As mentioned earlier, the tables at the restaurant are already being used to just leave stuff around as the guests take turns on wake-boarding and some are used by the companions. These companions don't have to pay anything to enter the park, which means that basically anyone can enter the park! There were no guards roaming the area, no CCTV so thieves can easily steal from bags or bags themselves that are left unattended.

My brother told me that they may be short staffed that day as it is the holiday season. I cannot accept this if it is indeed the case. Dec 26 is not even a holiday and guests deserve good service no matter what day.

Conclusion

I would definitely go back here given the chance. Even if I was not successful in completing a turn, I still had lots of fun. I got to try something new and bonded with my mom and brother as well. The areas for improvement was not enough to dampen the fun that I enjoyed at this place.

Go try it out yourself and tell me it went for you!

Gold's Gym Glorietta Schedule

With the holidays coming up, Gold's Gym Glorietta posted their hours of operation for the coming two weeks.

I believe it's safe to assume that Dec 27 - 29 will follow the regular schedule.

Three Impressive Videos for this week

If you have several minutes to kill and want to be impressed, please watch the videos below.

Azul Spa Massage

It's been several months since I've had my last massage and my back already has lots of "lamig" (Sorry, I don't know what it is in English). I then decided to try the most decent looking massage place near my place.

Azul Spa is located at GA Tower 1 which is right along EDSA. This is really accessible for me since I take the MRT on a daily basis going to and from work. The spa is small, I believe there's only space for 5 clients at a time. They do not have a restroom so if ever you need to pee, you will have to use the one by GA itself. They have a shower stall though if you want to take a shower first before the massage.

I had the 1 hour Azul Pure Touch which costs only P300. The massage really was one hour and there was no "es" offered so that's good.

Below are the other services they offer as well as the corresponding costs.

 

Olympic medalist Tom Daley comes out of the closet

In a surprising move, swimmer Tom Daley admitted he is gay through a video. Below is the video he posted on his Youtube page.

He is sooo cute and brave to publicly admit who he really is.

MMDA Bus Segregation - not effective?

Going from point A to point B along EDSA was pretty much easy, hail a bus with the correct signage and wait to get to your destination. Travel time varies from a couple of minutes to a couple of hours depending on the traffic. This is mainly caused by the large number of vehicles both private and public that ply EDSA on a daily basis.

photo taken from Google

Because of the congestion, a segregation scheme was implemented. This is basically just like the number coding that is already in effect on private vehicles. The only difference is that the segregation is not based on the last number on the plate but in a preplanned allotment of buses in three segments: these are Bus A, Bus B and Bus C. With this, specific buses can only load/unload passengers in assigned stops. Pretty simple right? This in effect should lessen travel times as the buses will only have limited stops. A very good plan if you ask me. The site of MMDA explains the "rules" in more detail.

This segregation has been in effect for almost a year now and initially, people are complaining about it. Some say that it is difficult for them because they have to go to certain stops just to ride a bus. Commuters initially had difficulties adjusting to this since again, they are used to just hailing a bus where ever they feel like it. I for one had no difficulty with this as the stops that will get me home and to where I work are both assigned to Bus B. I just had to look for a Bus B from Boni then get off at the Ayala stop.

Now why did I say that people are "initially" complaining about it? It's not because they got used to the system, but because the MMDA is not implementing this strictly. Buses could pick up passengers anywhere they want, same thing with unloading. I heard from the news before that the MMDA said that they cannot implement this segregation completely because they lack people. I find this reason absurd. Even if they only have one enforcer in every stop, it will be easy to enforce it. How? By giving tickets to all those buses that do not follow it. If the bus drivers know that the scheme is strictly being enforced, it won't matter of there is only one enforcer. They will adhere to it so that they won't be penalised. They can't say that the passengers want to get on/off anywhere they want since they have control in that situation, just close the door if they are not yet in the designated stop.

The MMDA is already looking into other means of decongesting EDSA like removing all the provincial buses that use it as there is still too much traffic. I believe that before they implement another plan, make sure that the first one they launched has actually been tested fully. They can't say that it is not working when we have barely felt it's presence.

Two First Times

It was June 30. My team planned to have the Strat Session while we have someone rendering OT for the Saturday shift.

Started with a game called Guestures. Team was divided into two: Lawits and Butas. Haha. I believe you guys can figure that out. Fortunately the Lawits won by a huge margin. After the ice breaker game we proceeded in the session proper.

Once it finished, I was really excited for our next activity. We were going to shoot live guns! I have already fired a gun before back in college (M16) and after graduation (a 45). So why am I still excited? Because I was about to try a shotgun! haha. My teammates have never fired a gun before so they chose the less caliber weapons naturally. We underwent a brief safety training course at the Commander Shooting Range before the actual shooting.

Photo op before the actual shooting

The girls took the first few shots as they were graciously assisted by the safety personnel. They were a bit nervous since they have no idea as to how strong the recoil is going to be. One of them actually took breaks after firing several rounds as she got tired lol.

Then came my turn. I was really excited and a bt nervous as well. I checked with the safety personnel if my posture was correct as well as how I was holding the gun. I was corrected a bit and I am glad I asked. Below are the pictures before and after the shooting.

This is not the correct posture. The butt of the shotgun should actually be touching your cheeks.

May not have been all on the X but if this was a human body, you'd still be dead

After firing real guns, the team decided to play laser tag. So from Cubao, we went to Centris walk in Quezon City. This was my Second first time for the day. We opted to go for the 15 minute package at Lazer Maxx since one teammate who has already tried it said that it was enough. Luckily for us, there was another group there waiting to play as well. So it was our team vs theirs. The place was not as big as I expected or even hoped but it was ok. 

After the 15 minutes, we saw the scores that we had for the game. Guess what, I was the top scorer! I shot the hell out of those macho guys! Kidding, most of the members on the other team were kids lol. Eventhough, I was still happy that I ranked number one.

We then decided to eat at Yabu. Most of my teammates haven't eaten there yet so they had no idea what to order yet. Luckily for me, I have eaten there quite a number of times already so I knew exactly what I will order. We were all mostly hungry from the day's activities so it was nice that most of the meals there had unlimited Japanese rice and cabbage for coleslaw. It was mostly me and my manager who took advantage of it though. We ended the afternoon with lots of laughs and fond memories.

So there you have it, my two first times. Care to share your first time? *wink*