Quick Travel to Ilocos Region

I would recommend that you should not follow what we did; something came up while we were working and instead of departing Friday (Feb. 5, 2016) 10pm  we ended up at Saturday 1am so we don't have any choice but to eliminate some attractions.

Here our itinerary goes:

Feb. 6, 2016

1am: Departed from Manila to Vigan 

10am: Arrived at Vigan, Ilocos Sur

First stop-  Quirino Bridge

Second stop-  Bantay Bell Church

St. Agustine Parish

In my previous blog I called this church the new Bantay Church. Lol! 

     Inside St. Agustine Parish

11am: Early Lunch

11:45am: Proceed to Baluarte

We just had a quick and short tour. We didn't even go inside the museum, just a photo op with the huge Baluarte sign. 

Sample Ad

12 noon: Head to Laoag

3:30pm: Arrived in Laoag 

1st stop- Paoay Church

    Beautiful Paoay Church from the outside. 

    Inside Paoay Church

2nd stop- Sand Dunes

Unfortunately when we got there it was closed because they were still fixing their permit. :( 

We still got the chance to take photos. 

    One of my favorite! 

3rd stop- Paoay Lake 

It is a must to read the Legend of Paoay Lake. 

We just sat here to take photos. Those tables and chairs are from the restaurant and souvenir shop. Perfect place to have a date. 

We proceed to Pagudpud at around 4:30pm 

9:30pm- We arrived at Pagudpud, with a rainy and windy weather. We thought it was just for tonight but it wasn't. 

My friend contacted a local with a transient house before going to Ilocos. But if you do not have any contact before going there, some locals offer transient houses. Or you may want to check in at Hannah's or any other resort.

We ate our dinner in the nearby restaurant which was very expensive and the food was not good (yung pwede na, lamang tyan din yan) I suggest before going to Pagudpud go somewhere to eat. 

We slept early because we have an early call time and we are all tired. 

Feb. 7, 2016

6:00am- Call time and we had breakfast.

The weather did not permit us to experience the beautiful beach of Pagudpud. Instead this happened to the beach in front of the transient house we rented. Even in the morning it was still windy and cold! 

Here's the beach in front of Hannah's Resort.

7:00am Departed from Pagudpud

     Patapat Bridge 

Photo op at Welcome to Pagudpud Arc.

There's a Bangui windmill fridge magnet seller here. I bought 3 mini fridge magnet Bangui windmill for only Php50.

8:30am- Arrived at Bangui Windmill

I don't have any nice or instagram worthy pictures here in Bangui, the wind is so strong and the waves are huge! It was quite scary! 

Around 10am our Next stop was Kapurpurawan Rock Formation

I'm scared to take too many pictures coz' 1. It's too crowded, 2. Very windy! And 3. The water sprinkles in the air, it's like drizzling. My phone is not waterproof. 

11am-Next? Cape Bojeador 

They made the lighthouse a museum, in which each room there are instruments and descriptions. No entrance fees! 

We had lunch in a local restaurant and it was yummy unfortunately I forgot the name of the restaurant, also I don't have any photos since we were too hungry and excited to eat! 

We arrived at Malacañang of the North

Around 2:30pm

They have an entrance fee of Php 30 for Adults and Php 10 for Children.

Here are some photos inside:

    Reception area and Bedroom 

    President Marcos' Office

    Upper left: Imee Marcos' Bedroom 

    Upper right: President Ferdinand and First Lady Imelda Marcos' Bathroom and Walk-in closet

 Lower left: Senator Bong Bong Marcos' bedroom

 Lower right: President Ferdinand and First Lady Imelda Marcos' Masters bedroom

We went to Presidential Center where you can view the late President Ferdinand E. Marcos. Unfortunately it was close. :(

After our tour we've decided to go pasalubong shopping (though I did not buy anything from Laoag, only my friends). 

We planned to have a dinner at one of our friends house in Laoag, her mother prepared food for us. That's the only  time we have tasted or ate an authentic Ilocano dishes (lol!). I love the food in the province, so fresh and very delicious. 

Oh! Before I forgot we reached in her house at around 6:30pm and departed around 8:00pm.

    Laoag's Bell tower (I am amazed on how gorgeous this tower is. It is timeless and very relaxing to the eye, specially Laoag is a very busy city now, but this tower made me stop and just look at it.) 

   There were a lot of tourists during this time because they have a fiesta. 

We headed back to Vigan to explore Calle Crisologo in night time, the church, and buy Pasalubong at Marsha's. 

Arrived in Vigan 10:00pm. Time to see the wonders of Vigan at night.

  Colorful Ilocos Sur (last year it was plain orange) 

   St. Paul Metropolitan Cathedral Vigan

   Plaza Salcedo and St. Paul Metropolitan Cathedral

  This is new, after announcing that Vigan or Calle Crisology is included in 7 wonders. 

These are my favorite photos at Calle Crisologo:

After exploring Vigan we went to Marsha's to buy pasalubong (leche flan, bibingka and baked mac).

Feb. 8,2016 

We departed from Marsha's around 12mn and we arrived in Manila around 6am!! Our driver nailed it. I did not sleep properly the whole time because I was scared and he was really in a hurry. 

I guess I still have reasons to go back to Ilocos:

1. Kabigan Falls 

2. 4x4 ride in Sand Dunes Paoay  

3. Go inside Presidential Center
4. Vitalis Villa 

If you want a relax and Vigan only itinerary you may check out my blog last year My Holy Week in Vigan . .

Xoxo,

Tara

\

My Holy Week in Vigan

My parents and I have decided to visit my boyfriend's province long long long time ago but it is not the perfect timing! Gosh! So, this time its Holy Week! Time for some R&R and also time to appreciate our Saviour. 

We took a Partas bus in Cubao around 8pm, since it is holy week there are a lot people! Then finally we have our chance to start our journey going to Vigan! That's around 11pm. 

In case you are wondering why we did not purchase earlier or had an advance purchase or had a reservation, it is because Partas would not allow those. 

We arrived at Bantay, Ilocos Sur around 7am. Why in Bantay? Not in Vigan proper? Because we checked in at One Vittoria. Their rates are very competitive and also the hotel is new! You can check their rates in AGODA or they have their own website. 

Here's a photo of our room. 

Day 1: 

We had our breakfast in the hotel. It is free if you are checked in. Just keep the stub. Then we take a rest. Please do remember that Vigan is one of the hottest

City in our country. Bring a bottle of water. 

We started our tour in Plaza Salcedo and we are surprised that there are a lot of tiangge/booths. So we shop first, in all fairness the shops there are cheap! 

I know Plaza Salcedo is popular for its Dancing Fountain, we've decided to go back here for the performance. Also, you can take pictures here.

At the back of the Dancing Fountain is the St. Paul Metroprolitan Cathedral. The interior is very nice! 

Then we headed to Calle Crisologo to see the old houses and also buy souvenirs.

It is much better to come here during sunset, late night and early morning. You will appreciate the lights during those hours. 

We didn't notice that it is already time for lunch! We walked from Calle Crisologo to General Luna because we want to eat at Sanitary Restaurant. I wasn't able to take photos. But here is a blog from another blogger. 

http://blauearth.com/2015/04/13/keeping-the-flames-of-the-oldest-vigan-restaurant-burning/

Sanitary is a must try in Vigan, super duper yummy food specially the Kwekeng and Fried Pork! The Siopao is a must try! And the resto is very budget friendly. 

Then we rest and rest and reeeeessssttt! It is really hot in Vigan. 

Our next destination is at Baluarte. 

If you've been to Zoobic, you will say Baluarte is nothing special. But hey! Remember? You should appreciate the little things. 

And also, they have Safari Museum where Chavit displays photos of him hunting and also they

preserved the fur and bones. 

Next? Hidden Garden.

I've hear that Hidden Garden is known for the plant displays and also the food! Sadly, we took the tour around but we did not try the food. :( 

Here are some photos in Hidden Garden. 

     Lol.

Our last stop for our first day is in Bantay Bell Church. 

I really like the new Bantay Church because the interior is very simple. But the main attraction is still the old Bantay Bell Church. There is no cost or entrance here but they will ask you to sign in the guest book and a donation. It's up to you  but I think it is for the preservation of the church. 

I think it is time for rest. 

Our Second Day!! :) 

It is also the same in the morning, we had our breakfast in the hotel  then we rest first. We waited till the afternoon, so it would not be that hot and sunny anymore. Then we headed to Mindoro Beach. Mindoro beach is a black sand beach, it is more on gemstone gray. Black Sand beaches is not appealing here in our country by the locals. But I think foreigners love those. Also You cannot swim in there because the waves are huges and strong. You need a floater or just take a stroll. Like we did. :)

I heard the sunset here is very beautiful but unfortunately It is a little bit cloudy because there is a storm approaching the Philippine area of Responsibility. We've decided to not wait for the sunset. :( 

But I think God is really good. Because there is a procession because it is Black Saturday.

We passed by Vigan National Museum, since it is holiday, it is closed! :( 

We just took pictures during the procession.

Also, please take your time going to the City Hall. They are giving free map of the province. 

We waited for the schedule of the Dancing Fountain. Really, Dancing Fountain is amazing and very entertaining . 

On our third and last day we just rest until afternoon. Then we went home ride the Partas Bus. They have a trip going to Manila every hour.

More photos. 

  I went back to Vigan but this time, I went to Vigan-Laoag-Pagudpud-Laoag-Vigan.

Here's the link >>>Quick Travel to Ilocos Region<<<