Have you ever felt like the Philippines is so overwhelming? We mean, it may be a small country compared to the giant ones, but Philippines sure is made up of thousands of islands that has its own unique feature, right? We have a lot of mountains to climb, land to trek, seas and oceans to dive into, waterfalls to be in awe of, and so much more! And we are still just talking about its beautiful sceneries, we have yet to explore their food, their culture, their arts, their history, their story – so many tales to talk about the Philippines and we are just here trying to plot our next trip.
Anyway, with a lot to explore, a lot of places yet to discover and have our jaws dropped of, but so little time in our hands, Lakbay Museo takes us to a 1000-squaremeter worth of IG worthy and interactive learning experience that boasts the beauty of Philippines.
Before entering, you get to choose how you actually want to enter the museum – by jeepney, by plane, or by boat – and that is because the Philippines is an archipelago, so you have a lot of options on how you actually want to travel. We chose airplane, btw, because it’s a whole lot more fun as you get to slide from it.
Inside the museum, you get to explore 11 areas including separate stations National Capital Region, Ilocos Region (Region I), Cagayan Valley (Region II), Central Luzon (Region III), Southern Tagalog (CALABARZON and MIMAROPA), Bicol Region (Region V), Western Visayas (Region VI), Central Visayas (Region VII), Eastern Visayas (Region VIII), Cordillera Administrative Region, and the whole gorgeous island of Mindanao.
Goers will be able to see and learn a lot about each region’s festivals, cultures, even food such as the colourful Pahiyas Festival of Quezon, the traditional houses like the Ivatan house of Batanes and the Bale of the Ifugaos. You also get to see life-sized displays of every region’s cuisines, so you get to be exposed on some dishes that are not at all familiar to you, but will pique your curiosity into trying it once you get the chance.
More into food, because we all know how deep our love for food actually is, a large collection of Philippine staples can be seen as well as tasted here at Lakbay Museo. They have dried fish like Samar’s palad, Ilocos’ bisugo, and even Batangas’ labahita. Some are just replicas, though, so you need not to worry of smelling like one when you drop by. They have some real ones inside sealed jars which you can open and smell for that dried-fish-smell experience.
Local vinegar of different kinds are also present alongside an array of bagoong, a variance of coffee beans and roasts, and a whole lot of rice grains that you didn’t even know existed! They also got some flavoured lambanog which we know drinkers would love to get a sip of!
There also are merienda dishes you could try and grab as there are stores available inside. Admission passes include 12 tokens for each person which can be used to buy meals from the carinderia and chips from the sari-sari store.
By the way, what we adored more here at Lakbay Museo is that for each and every food station, they have these cards and a phone wherein you can use the phone to scan each food card and find out more about that food card you have scanned. For example, you are at the tusok-tusok station, you could grab the food card for “Betamax”, scan it and then the phone will give you an introduction of the food, ingredients in making it, and of course, a recipe to make it! Such a wonderful idea actualized, right?
Anyway, a lot is really going on here at Lakbay Museo as they even have cultural performances all throughout the day which you watch. Sit on their puto cushions or suman couches and you sure will be delighted with different cultural dances. You can even go up the stage and dance with the performers, too! We did that and it was so much fun!
And so, with so much going on, we understand that you might feel overwhelmed and info overload – fret not, because there are also a bunch of well-trained guides all over Lakbay Museo, ready to offer clarifications and even interesting facts and trivias about the Philippines.
They also are for environmental awareness, highlighting that most of their displays are made of recycled and upcycled materials from used rubber flip-flops, old worn down tires, plastic bottles, and other waste products that apparently are not waste as they have served another purpose.
Not many people are a fan of museums, some would raise an eyebrow, others would even roll their eyes and call it boring, tiring, and just downright a waste of time, but what they don’t know is that museums really are a wonderland, it’s a packed adventure under one roof and you are to miss a lot. You don’t need to travel far, especially if you have so little time and not so much money. Try museums and really try to be there, appreciate it, and learn more of what it has to offer – just like what Lakbay Museo has to offer.
Lakbay Museo is located on the ground floor of S Maison at Conrad Manila, Marina Way, Pasay City. Tickets are priced at Php 699 for weekday rate and Php 799 for weekend rate. This includes a travel of the Philippines in less that 2 hours, more than 14 unique and awesome experiences, and 12 token to use and try out different nomnoms! They also have a token booth inside when you have used up all your tokens. Have fun!
Follow Lakbay Museo on their Social Media pages below
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lakbaymuseoph/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lakbaymuseoph/
Website: https://www.lakbaymuseo.ph/
Address: Level 1 S Maison, Seaside Blvd, Coral Way, Pasay, Metro Manila
Hours of Operation: 10AM to 10PM