Despite her stature in South Korea as a KPop star, Sandara Park has never forgotten her second home, Manila.
Recently, the Pinoy Boy Band Superstar judge took part in Korean travel-variety program Battle Trip, where two teams would travel and relate their adventures afterwards.
The television viewers would then vote for the better travel spot.
Sandara showed a bit of the Philippines to South Korean audience, and became a tourism ambassador of sorts.
She said, "People usually ask if it is safe to go on a trip.
"The bad news tend to be exaggerated, so I wanted to let people know it's safe there.
"Filipinos are the kindest people in the world, but they only show crimes that happened in the Philippines."
Sandara and her best friend, Korean model Hyoni Kang, came up with "beginners" and "intermediate" tour packages, which she named "Dara Tour."
Both had an itinerary for a three-day, two-night stay.
Beginners Package
1. Starting Point: Bonifacio Global City in Taguig
2. Food adventures
- Sandara introduced her favorite sinigang to Hyoni.
The former picked sinigang na ube, which Hyoni initially found a bit off due to its color.
But the latter eventually liked it because of the veggies.
- The two tasted beef asado and halo-halo, which Hyoni loved.
3. Next stop: a pool in Laguna, where they could stay overnight.
It was during this part of the tour that Hyoni found out just how famous her best friend is in Manila.
She thought "Sandara" was the Filipino word for "Hello."
At the villa, Sandara met up with Joross Gamboa (second from right), Ryan Bang (right), and Robi Domingo (not in photo).
Joross was Sandara's batchmate in ABS-CBN's defunct reality-based talent competition Star Circle Quest.
Intermediate Package
1. Starting point: Tagaytay.
Sandara and Hyoni went to see Taal Volcano.
The two made sure they get the best spot by the hilltop, where Sandara revealed that she would definitely say yes if someone proposed to her in that spot.
Her other revelation: she wishes to live in a house overlooking Taal Lake.
2. Food adventures:
- They ate more Filipino dishes at Gerry's Grill, where she previously brought the members of boy band Big Bang.
They had sisig, inihaw na pusit, shrimp gambas, and crispy pla-pla.
All of these were complemented by beer.
3. Beach!!!
The goal for that day was to find Nemo and Dory.
Sandara and Hyoni flew to Tagbilaran, Bohol, where they did their underwater search.
But before heading to the beach, Sandara brought Hyoni to Bohol Bee Farm for an ice-cream treat.
They took a 30-minute boat ride to Balicasag Island, where Sandara crossed two things off her bucket list: conquer her fear of deep waters through snorkeling and see Nemo the clownfish in real life.
She also showed the two things South Koreans must remember about the Philippines: it is both fun and safe!
