travel…explore…learn…value

View of Boracay Island from the plane

Jetty port in Caticlan

Boat ride from the jetty port to Boracay Island

The famous Bora sand

The shore

For the budget traveller, there is a lot of cheap places to eat here.

Station 3…not a lot of people here.

‘TREEsome’

Station 1 – The sand is finest and whitest here.

View of the beach from the grotto in station 1

We bought crepe at a store at d’ mall. Lots of stores there….for dining, for buying pasalubong, shopping.

There are ihaw-ihaw restos along d’ talipapa in station 2. This is at Sunset grill and resto. Yummy food at affordable prices.

Station 3 before we went island hopping. This is where the boats are docked.

On the way to Crystal Cove

An entrance fee of Php 100 per head is required upon entering the island. You can eat here.

Viewing deck

Group pic sa viewing deck

A view of crocodile island from crystal cove

Cave 1 at Crystal Cove

Cave 2

Crocodile Island –look at its shape

Near sunset

Snorkelling…One advice – do this in the morning.

Dinner at Hey Jude’s. Not so great. We ate pasta and pizza. I have eaten better food.

 We had a massage in one of the massage places at the beach front. We had sweddish massage which is Php 300 for 30 minutes.

Coffee at Lonely Planet Cafe. Did not like any of the drinks we ordered.

Walk at the beach

At a burger joint at d’mall

Kayaking is one of the affordable sports that you can try here. The rent for the single kayak is Php300/hr and it is Php400/hr for the double kayak.

Gasthof –wag na kayo kumain dito. Masarap naman yung ribs pero super mahal. I ate a not so baby back ribs…meaning- back ribs of old pig. Not tender at all! The ensaladang talong is ridiculously priced at Php160. That is a piece of eggplant with some diced tomatoes and onions! Really, the most expensive ensaladang talong I’ve ever eaten.

This trip was the first trip that I kind of organized with my friends. Kind of only because I was the one who thought of going for an out of town trip for the All Saints day break. I was the one who picked Ilocos to be the place also. But other than that, I had no contribution to the planning process since we had an agency do that for us. They planned the itinerary for the trip. We just payed them the money which is 3,700 and 4,200 pesos for some. There were five of us and we stayed in two rooms. I would say that this trip started the out of town trips with my friends everytime that we have the chance to do so.

This was October of 2005 and I have been busy visiting nice places every October since that year.

We have to line-up at the bus station to buy the tickets the same day that we are going to leave since there are no ticket reservations. We went there straight from work.

This is where we stayed. It was okay. The rooms are not that nice but decent enough. Lots of dust under the bed though. The good thing about The Cordillera Inn is that it is in the heritage village. Just go outside and that’s it. The nice old houses are there and the souvenir/antique shops also.

I don’t know why I thought of going here but we ended up going to a lot of churches. Here are some.

The Shrine of Nuestra Senora dela Caridad. below is the bell tower which is separate from the church…usually, it’s attached to the church right?

This is the view of the church from the bell tower. Quite far huh.

Vigan Cathedral

The famous church in Paoay which is a world heritage site. Indeed a very old church.

A group picture in front of the Paoay Church. We were not able to go inside so we just appreciated the structure from outside.

The church in Laoag. Sorry, I wasn’t able to get the names of the churches. I did not go inside because it was specifically stated in a board at the entrance that people who are wearing shorts or mini-skirts are not allowed to enter.

Bell tower across the street. This is the sinking bell tower in Laoag. If I remember it right, it is near Mc Donald’s.

This is the Burgos residence of the famous Gomburza priests. I love this house. Very spacious inside.

This was taken outside Juan Luna’s residence. Inside, it is not really a house. Unlike the Burgos’ residence which still had furnitures, this house only have lots of memorabilias and photos inside.

Jade and I at the doorsteps. I’m not sure but I think picture taking  was not allowed inside.

We visited the Crisologo’s house and I just love this old carriage.

Just outside our hotel.

This is at Baluarte- a quite famous place in Ilocos because it is privately owned but everyone is welcomed to go there free of charge. Kind of like a park. We didn’t know that we will have this picture taken with the famous Chavit Singson who owns Baluarte. He just arrived there and Ria asked if we could have a picture taken with him. hehe!

Chavit’s pet tiger. I’m smiling but very scared.

This is the very unexpected highlight of the trip for me. I didn’t really enjoy going around Ilocos and visiting those churches. Must say that I got bored. But the company of friends made it a happy one. This dinner at Hambre is definitely my most favorite part of our whole trip. Loved the food! Sisig is a must try there.

A bit tipsy after our dinner.

I enjoyed the calesa ride around Vigan.

Malacañang of the North. This is the former Marcos’ residence in Ilocos Norte. It is a tourist attraction there. Below are some pictures taken inside.

Marcos’ bed

One of the many tables there.

Sala and the painting of Paoay church

I will be staying here next time. By that time, I might have the money to afford the luxury of atleast staying here overnyt.

Fort Ilocandia

We also visited Marcos. Yes, our former president Ferdinand Marcos. Cameras are not allowed inside the very dark room where his frozen(?) body rests so I just had my picture taken with a big photo of him.

Book your flights in advance so that you can save a lot of money. We paid for our trip, which booked from a travel agency, March of this year and we got it really cheap. We rode Cebu Pacific via Kalibo and stayed at Boracay Courtyard in boat station 2. The coaster, jetty and trike transfers are also all included. We stayed there for 4 days and 3 nights. There are lots of things to do in Boracay even for those who have limited pocket money. Almost all water sports and water adventures can be done there (sailing, scuba diving, jet skiing, banana boat rides and so on). We went island hopping via a rented boat for 1,600 pesos (there were 4 of us) and went snorkeling. TIP: do this early in the morning or after lunch…we kind of run out of time snorkeling because the sun is already going down and the fishes don’t go up anymore when we feed them. You can eat your lunch at Crystal Cove (it’s an island) and bring food there. There is an entrance fee of 100 pesos per head. The island is already developed and has cemented pathways already. You can go to the two caves there easily…which are not really caves in my opinion. We also rented 2 kayaks for 600 pesos (1 2-rider kayak and 1 single-rider kayak). It was surprisingly easy to maneuver and was a fun experience. We originally wanted to rent a kayak so that we can go far and then snorkel. We didn’t go down the kayak though because we were afraid that we won’t be able to go up again. Well, Andy actually tried once and he had a hard time. Aside from these, shopping and food-tripping are the activities that you can do here. J There are lots of shops at D Mall and you can find almost anything there. We bought writable CDs there so that we can have copies of our pictures from the 3 cameras that we brought. Of course, there are lots of pasalubong stuffs such as key chains, ref magnets, accessories, shirts and a lot more. There is also D Talipapa, where you can also find pasalubongs and buy fresh sea foods. It is at the side of Nigi Nigi Nu Noo. We ate at Hey Jude, at the Thai resto at D Mall (I forgot the name), at Gasthof, at this burger place at D Mall and at Sunset turo-turo and grill. The cheapest meal we had was at Sunset grill but it was the most sulit for me and I liked the food. The soup we ordered at the thai resto was sooo spicy. The portion of baby back ribs I ate at Gasthof is from an adult pig (I believe it was because it was not tender…my other companions got soft, tender meat) plus the ensaladang talong, which costs 180 pesos only consisted of one piece of eggplant and a few dices of onion and tomato with bagoong on the side, is exptremely overpriced. I didn’t really appreciate the food at Hey Jude. I always dine with my friends at different restos that serve pizza and pasta here in Manila and Hey Jude failed in comparison. The pasta in oil and shrimp was good but the other pasta dish that we ordered lacked taste (tomato based pasta with seafood). The Marguerita pizza doesn’t have thinly sliced tomatoes on top and has only few basil leaves….so, it doesn’t taste that good either. We also had shakes at Jona’s which is located in between boat station 1 and 2. I tried the best seller which is the chocolate, banana and peanut shake. It tastes good…but after a while I already got ‘sawa’ with the taste. It is like drinking liquefied chocnut. We also had coffee at Lonely Planet Café and sorry to say but the drinks there did not please us as well. It is not bad but we felt that the taste of the coffee drinks are ordinary (meaning- kaya naming itimpla). We ordered black forest cold, café mocha and café mexicalli hot. But nonetheless, I still enjoyed everything (including the mishaps in choice of food) because I’m with the company of my friends and we did have a good time. The highlight of our trip there would be the massage! It was our first time to have massages and we chose this massage place in boat station 2 because it is located in the second floor and we thought that it would be more private than having one by the beach. Flimsy white curtains serve as the walls of the second floor. People walking outside wouldn’t be able to see you but…all the other masseurs can. Male and female clients are serviced together in this single room which has around ten beds. It was unforgettable because we had to remove our clothing down to our underwear only…and then when they massaged our back, they lowered our underwear up to the slit in between the two butt cheeks! I was really laughing and giggling when we were having our massage because I kept on looking around and the surprise in our faces was really funny. This might not be a big deal for others but it was indeed an experience for us first-timers. Imagine, we were able to overcome the experience of a person we don’t know touching our whole body while we were almost nude and add to that an audience while it is being done to us! The picture-taking was also the highlight of the trip. J We love taking pictures of ourselves.  

More than the adventure, I guess what made me fall in-love with this place is the food! I love Yoghurt House! We ate there twice. Masfere’s restaurant and Alfredo’s serve good food also, as well as St. Joseph’s restaurant located at St. Joseph’s rest house where we stayed. We stayed at a cabin house at St. Joseph’s for two nights. We paid 2000 per night which is worth it because there are 3 beds in the very nice cabin. There is hot shower and 24 hrs water supply. If you’re on a budget, you can stay in the dormitory type rooms where you share the room with other people and share a common bath. You only have to pay 200 per night. If you are a big group, this would be okay since most, if not all, of the persons in your dorm room are your friends. Our two nights stay there was not enough for all of the adventures we can have in Sagada.  That’s why I’m definitely going back there again! The municipal hall is a place you must visit upon arrival. The places you can explore and visit are listed there, as well as the guide fees per place to visit and per number of persons. You can get the guides at the municipal hall also. The guides there have IDs and are trained so it is highly recommended that you get your guides from there. Unlike us, who just asked a kid to teach us where to go and the kid ended-up being our guide during our first day…which was really an adventure of a lifetime! Just ask jade! J We were able to see the hanging coffins at Echo Valley (pass the Episcopal Church and cemetery and you’re there) and the underground river during our first day. We only paid our very young guide 200, which he took very gratefully. (Kasi naman may halong parusa yung pinagdaanan namin.) The following day, we went to explore Sumaguing cave (this time with a certified guide). That was really something to remember! This is not for the faint-hearted because you will just end-up like Jade, who decided to be left in the middle of the cave and just waited for the rest of us to go back from exploring the other crevices of the cave. There are a lot of physical skills needed to explore the cave. But it wasn’t really hard…you just have to tell yourself that you can do it. Let’s just say, there were ropes to hang and hold on to. J We also went to a burial cave and I ate a wild berry on the way. The guide fee for the two trips is 500 pesos. Unfortunately, we were not able to go to the big falls because it is quite far and we have to rent a jeep. Plus, we were also already tired from the day’s adventure. By the way, riding on top of the jeep from Sagada to Bontoc was also a highlight! Well, not the whole way but just a short stay on top will give you a memorable experience you’d cherish for a lifetime. J Kasi naman sa bangin ka pupulutin pag nahulog ka. Hehe!Some helpful tips:-bring electric thermos/ heater (boiled water is 5 pesos per cup at restaurants and some guesthouses there don’t have hot shower)-bring extra jacket or blanket-We rode Autobus going to Banaue and then we rode a jeep from Banaue to Sagada. The bus fare is 450 pesos and the jeep fare is 120 pesos per head. Going back to Manila, you can ride a bus going to Baguio from Sagada so you can see a different view (cabbage terraces they said) and then have a short stay in Baguio before going back to Manila. -be prepared to sweat while riding Autobus especially going back to Manila (the extreme opposite of the chilling temperature in Sagada)-see fare and guide fees in photo section 

I went to the beautiful, heavenly, idyllic place called Pagudpud summer of year 2006. I went there with two of my girl friends a week before the Holy Week break via land. We rode the RCG bus straight to Pagudpud. The bus station is near UST. I can’t remember the street but it’s just around there. The fare then was only 480 pesos. I don’t really understand why it is this cheap since the bus is new, there were free snacks (canned juice or soda and chips or cookies) and Ilocos Norte is far. The bus ride was quite heart racing because it was really fast….as in I had a hard time closing my eyes to go to sleep because I can feel how fast the bus is running. Anyway, we safely reached Pagudpud at 6 am (we left Manila at 10 pm) which means that the travel time only took 8 hours! We went down near the Saud beach already and just rode a tricycle going to Polaris Beach House. Don’t immediately go down near the town hall and wait until you see a lot of resort signage. The trike fare was 30 pesos only. But in case you go down at the ‘bayan’, pay the trike driver the same price because that’s also the fare from bayan to resorts. Polaris beach house is located near the end of Saud white beach, near the community beach area where you can rent cottages or set-up your own tents. It was still early for us the check-in in our room that morning so we decided to take a stroll along the beach. The sand is not really white (very comparable to Boracay sand) but it is very fine and clean. The sea water is very clean as well. Saud Beach Hotel is one of the nice beach resorts there but it would also cost a lot more. If you just plan to stay inside your room during your visit, then stay here! But if you plan to enjoy the outdoors, then you have many resorts, beach houses and even rental houses (home stay) to choose from. The locals there are permitted to have rooms of their houses rented out to tourists for a very cheap price. You can get a room for 900 pesos a night. We paid 2,300 per night at Polaris. There are 2 beds in our air-conditioned room and there’s a private bath with shower. They have bigger rooms and family rooms also. Anyway, after strolling at the beach, we had our breakfast at Polaris and got some rest afterwards. When we woke-up, there were quite a number of waves and so the water is not suitable for swimming so we decided to go to the bayan to withdraw money. Haha! This is a big booboo because there is not a single atm there! We ended up going to Laoag and ate lunch at Mc Donald’s. It takes an hour of dusty bus ride each way so it was already late afternoon that we came back to Pagudpud. Our first night became a night for resting. The following day was the adventure day. We went to the cold waterfalls called Kaibigan Falls, the unbelievably clear blue water at Blue Lagoon, the fascinating site where fresh water meets sea water called Agua Paradiso, and the long mountain-side road called Patapat Bridge. We went to all of these places via a rented tricycle with the trike driver as the guide. You have to pay 20 pesos per head in each of the places you’ll visit except for Patapat bridge. You only have to pay the trike driver 500 pesos (we paid 700 because we had a great time and our guide was very nice). We brought packed lunch that day because it will take you the whole day to visit all these nice places. A visit to the Blue Lagoon is a must when you go here! Another thing that is a must is buying fresh lobsters for a much cheaper price. We had it cooked at the Polaris restaurant and they just charge you 50 to 100 pesos for cooking. We ate 4 small but delicious lobsters for 500 pesos only. This is one of the things that I’ll do again when I get the chance to go to Pagudpud again. They also have ukay-ukay there that time at the bayan and no one was buying. We found lots of nice clothes there for really low prices…and the clothes aren’t old but are actually new…okay, maybe they were worn about once or twice already. J Anyway, I bought 2 short dresses for 50 pesos each and I know that no one would believe that I got them for that price only! Our second night was again a night for resting our tired but happy selves. We swam a little at the Saud beach and had henna tattoos by the beach the following day. Then it’s time to go home. This is another boo-boo because instead of waiting for the 6 pm RCG bus ride from Pagudpud to Manila, we decided to go home early and take a bus ride from Laoag. We ended up riding the 1 pm Fariñas bus going to Manila which ran the slowest pace a bus could ever go. It went to every town it could pass by and so we ended up being caught on heavy traffic. It was a bicycle ride! I swear, a bicycle rider even passed over us and this was on a road with no traffic! We arrived in Manila past 12 already! Huh! That’s why I’m swearing not to ride that bus again!Some helpful information:We were only three when we went there and we spent about 4,000 pesos each for everything (transpo, house, food, pasalubong). A bigger group would mean more people to chip-in, therefore smaller amount of money to share. Suggested group size is 5 because of trike ride.RCG dispatcher’s number in Pagudpud- 09156624690 (Yvette)Polaris Beach House – 09193078803 (Me-an Santos- owner) 

Photos have been my great love…but i must say that letters are very enticing and interesting. I am not really a ‘blogger’. I don’t post or write much on the other free sites that I have. I’m talkative, opinionated, curious, critical-minded and expressive…but not in writing. Putting my thoughts in writing is actually a challenge for me. I say my mind…and I don’t have a hard time doing that. But writing it instead of saying it is not as easy. Must be because I don’t find myself articulate and eloquent enough in writing as much as I wanted to be. Suffice to say, this is my first attempt in blogging. I hope that it will be a fun, informative and interesting site that many can find to be very helpful or  atleast enjoyable to read. Enjoy reading!