Last Trip of 2012: Ilocos Sur & Ilocos Norte

My guy friends planned a trip to Ilocos, where one of our friends got a family beach house.  They tagged me along since I wasn't doing anything those days. A Lithuanian couch surfer also joined us, since he's in the Philippines for a short vacation. We left Manila at around 5pm on December 28; and we had a stop at NLEX and another one at Rosales, Pangasinan. After 8 hours on the road, we arrived in Vigan, Ilocos Sur at 2am. We had a quick meal at Rizal Park in Santo Domingo, a town near Vigan. The next town was Magsingal, where our friend's place was. We slept from 4am to 11am and headed out after lunch to explore Ilocos Sur. The last time I've been to Ilocos Sur and Norte was 7 years ago, during our field trip in Art Studies class. 

So here's a rundown of the places in Ilocos Sur that we've visited:

1. Crisologo Museum - the ancestral house of the Crisologo's, one of the most influential families in Ilocos Sur.

2. Baluarte - the house and ranch of Chavit Singson, a famous politician who loves collecting animals, even tigers!

3. Bell Belfry - the bell tower in St. Augustine church in Bantay, Ilocos Sur.

4. Calle Crisologo - a historic street in Vigan, which is listed as one of the UNESCO World Heritage sites.

5. Sunset at the beach behind our friend's place in Magsingal - the sunset was so nice, plus the sand was so fine, although it's dark gray.

What's cool about this trip was, our friend's mom was also at their beach house and she was cooking for us while we were there. But of course, we paid for the groceries because only her cooking service was free. haha! We were also able to try the Ilocos miki, a super yummy noodle soup with special noodles called, "miki" that's only available in Ilocos. Our friend's cousin cooked it for us and it was so addicting!:)

So that's our day 1. The next day (30th), we went on a 3-hr trip from Ilocos Sur to Ilocos Norte. We're supposed to swim at a beach in Pagudpud but due to a rainy weather, we were not able to swim. The waves were so huge and the weather was really cold. But at least we were still able to go around Ilocos Norte and visited the following sites:

1. Cape Bojeador Lighthouse - too bad it was prohibited to climb up the lighthouse itself because it's unsafe to do so.

2. Kapupurawan White Rock Formations - it's where Mario Maurer's tagalog movie, "Suddenly its Magic" was shot, plus some fake rock houses were built for "Si Enteng, Si Agimat, at Si Ako", an entry in the 2012 Metro Manila Film Festival.

3. Bangui Windmills - it energy produced by the windmills supplies electricity to the nearby towns.

4. Pannzian Beach and Restaurant - we had late lunch there while it was storming outside; and we loved their adobo.

5. Patapat Bridge - it's a bridge where you can see an ocean on the left and a mountain on the right.

6. Hannah's Resort - one of the famous resorts in Pagudpud; it's where we had coffee since it's too cold to swim. You can also try Blue Lagoon in Pagudpud.

7. Paoay Church - a baroque church that's also one of the UNESCO World Heritage sites.

Due to bad weather, we were not able to explore much of Ilocos Norte. But I still remembered the places we've visited 7 years ago during our Art Studies field trip. That time, we also visited the place of the Marcos family, where the former president's body was still being frozen. That experience really gave me goosebumps. It's so scary to see a dead person inside a glass freezer. Anyway, it's also nice to see the Paoay sand dunes where Panday and Himala was shot. It's like a huge desert. When I first went there, there's not much to do there, but now I've heard tourists can ride some ATVs while playing in the dunes. One place we have also visited 7 years ago was the the Laoag Sinking Bell Tower, as the name suggests, it was said to be sinking year after year. We've also worked on some pottery during our Art Studies field trip there.

Then we went back to the beach house in Ilocos Sur. The next morning, it was still cloudy so we were not able to swim at the beach. We just decided to leave early going back to Manila since it's the 31st of December and we had to catch the New Year's countdown.

The 2-day trip (not counting the days on the road) to Ilocos was quick yet fun. We were able to go to a lot of nice places there in a short span of time. And to talk about the budget, it was so cheap. We paid around Php 2,200 each, not including the pasalubong. So there were four of us and we just divided all the expenses by 4. Here's how much each of us paid:

1. Transportation (gasoline of Mazda 3) - 1,000

2. Food (groceries and snacks) - 1000

3. Toll Fees - 200

TOTAL: Php 2,200 (more or less)

And that's my last trip for 2012. Looking forward to more trips for 2013.:)

xoxo,
citygirl

Puerto Princesa Weekend (Day 2)

On our 2nd day, we woke up at around 5:30 am. After fixing up, we had breakfast at the hotel, then the van picked us up. Then we  finally met our official tour guide, April. She's so cool and funny.:) On our way to the port, April briefed us on our itinerary while showing us photos on her Samsung Galaxy Tab. High-tech right?!? haha! Anyway, here's a rundown of the things we did on our 2nd day in PPS:

Day 2 (Dec. 1) - Honda Bay Island Hopping

Swimming Gear Rental Center - We stopped by a shop where we rented our snorkeling gears at Php 100 each. I only rented a snorkeling mask. However, other items in the shop include rashguard, fins, aqua shoes, and camera/cellphone waterproof cases.

Then we headed to the Honda Bay Port where we rode our boat. After registration, we boarded our boat, which became our ride for the entire duration of our island hopping.

it's so hot out there

all aboard!

Our first stop was at Pandan Island. We were snorkeling with our life vests on. However, since I was so scared of the water and the fishes (LOL at me!), I asked our boatman to assist me. I was able to appreciate what I've seen underwater because the boatman knew the nicest spots out there and that's where he took me, while I was holding on to the floater. While we were snorkeling, our tour guide was preparing our lunch (yeah, she's a multitasker). So after snorkeling, we feasted on seafood, grilled meat, and some veggies. We  also tried the grilled sea urchin. It tasted better than the raw one that's being served in Japanese restaurants. There were lots of other tourists in the island too.

 

salted eggs with tomatoes and onions

 

grilled sea urchin

jump!

our boat :)

After lunch, we headed to Starfish Island. There were less tourists in this island. There we took a lot of "camera trick" photos, because the props were readily available and the tour guide and the boatman were already photography experts haha! Then we snorkeled again for a bit there. The view underwater was pretty nice too.

LOL at me!:))

like a celeb! haha

Sadako in Starfish Island 

 

like we're playing "Paint Me a Picture" haha

 

i love this!:))

Our last stop for the island hopping was Pambato Reef. It's called as such because they said it's their "pambato" or the most that they're bragging about. It's one of the sites being maintained by ABS-CBN Foundation as a part of their environmental advocacy. This one's in the middle of the sea. Floating walkways and reception areas were near the reef. During the time we were there, the center of the reef was being restored so snorkeling on that part wasn't allowed. However, we were not able to see that much creatures underwater. I can say that the previous snorkeling spots we've been to were a lot better.

that's me!:))

after snorkeling

fun gang :)

That ended our island hopping. We went back to the boat, had refreshments, and headed back to the port. We were already done at around 4pm and we got to the hotel at around 5pm. But of course before that, we returned the snorkeling gears at the shop. Then at the hotel, we just took a shower, rested for a bit, and headed our for dinner.

On Day 1, upon arrival at the hotel, we called Kalui Restaurant for dinner reservation on our 2nd night. So come our second night, we took a tricycle from the hotel to Kalui. Then we realized it was so near our place that we should have just walked haha. Anyway, Kalui was a very interesting place for dining. It had really nice decorations, and most of them were native. It had a nice landscape outside and lots of paintings inside. At the reception, we were requested to remove our slippers, which we stored in their cabinets. The floor of the entire restaurant was so smooth and shiny! When it comes to the menu, there were only a few dishes to choose from, and most of the dishes were very unique. So we ended up ordering almost everything. Then after eating, we were served complimentary desserts. And that's the reason why there's no dessert listed on their menu. It's a surprise treat! The best part of all was, we only paid around Php 250 each for everything. It's one of my best dining experiences ever!:)

at the entrance

 

Palawanderer!

one of the boys

Menu

Four Seasons :)

complimentary dessert

there's a stage

ladies' room

paintings up there

so nice :)

So we just walked our way back to the hotel since it's near. Then I stayed in the room while the others proceeded to the pasalubong center nearby. We slept early because we had to wake up early the next day.

Total spending for the day (per pax):
1. Breakfast - FREE (included in the accommodation)
2. Snorkeling Mask Rental - Php 100
3. Honda Bay Island Hopping Tour - Php 1040 (supposedly Php 1300, but we got 20% discount)
4. Ecotourism Fee - Php 40
5. Lunch - FREE (included in the tour package)
6. Transportation - Php 10 (tricycle)
7. Dinner - Php 250
TOTAL: Php 1,440 per pax

*Note: Tips for the boat men not included.

Just a tip: Wear rashguard and a lot of sunscreen! In my case, I didn't get darker (no tan line) even if I was just wearing a two-piece bikini and board shorts because I kept reapplying sunscreen every 2 hours. I used Beach Hut's Max SPF100 and Southshore's Sunscreen Kiwi SPF60 simultaneously for my body, and Loreal's Facial Sunscreen SPF50 for my face. 

That's a wrap of our 2nd day in PPS. See my next post for our adventure on our 3rd (and last) day there.:)