The Wonders of Ilocos Norte

In the Philippines, provinces are grouped into regions with the National Capital Region comprising the focal point. Region I, or more commonly known as the Ilocandia, is composed of four provinces in Northern Luzon: Pangasinan, La Union, Ilocos Sur and Ilocos Norte. However, Ilocos is only commonly referred to Ilocos Norte and Ilocos Sur, with the UNESCO Heritage City of Vigan as the frontliner. Ilocos is a major tourism hub for its centuries-old churches (prime examples are those that can be found in Sta Maria, Vigan, Paoay and Bacarra), old Spanish houses in Vigan and even contemporary structures like the windmills of Bangui and Malacanang Ti Amianan in Paoay. Other tourist sites include the homes of patriotic heroes like Juan Luna in Badoc, Diego Silang, Leona Florentino and Father Burgos (one of the three martyr priests) in Vigan, Artemio Ricarte in Batac. Even the houses of former presidents of the country have attracted massive number of visitors like that of Elpidio Quirino (or the Syquia Mansion) in Vigan and Ferdinand Marcos in Batac. Natural wonders include the beaches of Pagudpud and Cabugao (which is good for surfing), sand dunes and the magnificent lake of Paoay and Tirad Pass in Cervantes. Delicious foods are also popular like the pinakbet, bagnet, longganisa, sinanglao, chichacorn, soft biscocho, balicutia, bibingka, empanada and okoy.

How to enjoy Ilocos Norte with a tight budget?

1. Buses are cheaper modes of transportation from Manila than planes. But you have to spend 10-12 hours travelling. Planes can only consume 1.5 hours. For those who cannot afford to buy plane tickets, they can take the bus. The most expensive bus fare is 962pesos with Partas (deluxe type). Partas terminals are in Pasay and Cubao. Other options include the Farinas Trans (green buses), Autobus (orange) and Florida Liner (pink).

Philippine Airlines (PAL) and Cebu Pacific (CebuPac) fly from the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminals 2 and 3, respectively. PAL flies to Laoag at 1745hours, while CebuPac is either 1240 or 1800 (both airlines fly only once everyday to Laoag International Airport). From the airport, one can take shuttles or trikes to the city proper. You can ask your hotel to pick you up at the airport. Just a caution though, not all hotels offer free airport transport. Better ask the hotel before making a reservation to save money.

2. For local accommodation, it is best to plan very wisely. There are hotels within the city and in nearby towns (which can be 30 minutes away from the airport at most). If you are planning to roam the city at night, it is best to stay in one of the hotels in the city proper. But there are also good finds at the outskirts of the city, such as the 5-star Fort Ilocandia in Paoay and Gertes Hotel in Laoag (via San Nicolas). You can also opt to stay in Playa Tropical in Currimao or Blue Lagoon in Pagudpud.

3. For tour packages, you can ask your hotel for tour packages or contact James through mobile number 09083088131. Rate ranges from 3500 - 4000pesos. Some offers 2500pesos, but customers shoulder the expenses for fuel. Driver and van is, of course, included. You can go to any part of the province or even Vigan. Some drivers even suggest good itineraries to maximise your visit to the place.

4. Take the early evening CebuPac flight (1800hours) from Manila and arrive in Laoag at 1920hours. If you are planning to include a one-day swimming in Pagudpud, you can go directly to this town. This will give you the time to rest for the night and wake up to the scent of the ocean breeze. Homestay is popular in this town wherein you can avail really low rates. Cottages in the municipal beach cost 300pesos for overnight stay (plus 20pesos entrance fee). There are buses that ply from Laoag to Pagudpud (I do not know though the time schedules for buses, so for you to be assured of the bus, better take the early afternoon CebuPac flight). Fare should be minimal as there are only four towns in between. Pagudpud is two hours away from Laoag by private vehicle.

5. After a day of swimming in Pagudpud, you can visit the other tourist spots. It is better to rent a vehicle to visit as many places as possible. From Pagudpud, the first stop-over is Bangui Windmills. A windmill ref-magnet costs 25pesos. The sand in the area is fine but black.

6. The lighthouse of Cape Bojeador in the town of Burgos can accompany you in viewing the entirety of the place. This is on the left side of the road. You can buy gamet seaweed (nori) in this town for 400pesos per bundle (ganta).

7. Kapurpurawan White Rocks Formation is one of the natural wonders in this part of the country. As the name suggests, there are white rocks in magnificent formations.

8. You can buy soft biscocho in the Pasuquin Bakery (the name of the town is Pasuquin) for 70pesos. The toasted biscocho is 75pesos.

Pasuquin Bakery is the lone maker of the soft biscocho.

9. One of the popular churches in the country is the Bacarra Church and Bell Tower Ruins. The domeless belfry has attracted a lot of tourists.

The domeless belfry of the Bacarra Church has attracted a lot of tourists. (Photo credit: http://worldtourist.us/ilocosnorte/laoag.html)

10. In Laoag, you can visit the Sinking Bell Tower, Tobacco Monopoly Monument and the museum where you can buy loom woven clothings.

11. In Batac, you can visit the Marcos Mausoleum and Mariano Marcos State University. Ask the locals where you can buy bagnet, longganisa, and empanada. A kilo of bagnet costs 350pesos. A kilo of pure meat longganisa costs around 220pesos, with taba is 190pesos. A piece of empanada (wrapping material made from rice, with cabbage, longganisa and egg as fillings) is 40pesos.

12. In Paoay, you can visit the Paoay Church, eat pinakbet pizza in Herencia Cafe (in front of the church) for 330pesos, sand dunes, Malacanang Ti Amianan near Paoay Lake. Chichacorn factory is in this town. Loom woven clothing factory is also located in this town.

The massive structure of Paoay Church makes it not susceptible to earthquakes.

Herencia Café in front of the Paoay Church is home to the popular pinakbet pizza.

13. From here, you can go directly to the airport for your flight back home. You do not need to go back to the city proper.

Suggested duration of visit: 2 days and 1 night (excluding the first night of travel from Manila and the last night of travel back to Manila). If you are planning to include Vigan in your itinerary, just add 1 day.

Suggested month / time to visit: February to coincide with the Pamulinawen Festival of Laoag, July for the Empanada Festival of Batac, or summer months to enjoy swimming in Pagudpud.

Paniquian Falls in Mariveles, Bataan

It was one of those trips which I failed to commence with full enthusiasm. I was a bit half-hearted when I woke up at 0100hours to proceed to our assembly location (Mini-Stop Bicutan). We left Bicutan at around 0210hours but the bus took more than an hour to Cubao (fare is 26pesos). We left Bataan Transit’s terminal at around 0345 hours. Regular fare from Cubao to Alasasin, Bataan is 267pesos (if you have a valid student ID, fare is 214pesos).

I shared 140pesos for three meals (ampalaya with egg, fried milkfish, corned beef, sausage, sinigang) plus 2 litre of gin. Registration fee at the barangay hall is 40pesos. We commenced the hike at around 0830 hours. While walking, they were talking about their Mt Arayat Traverse. Oh well, I was out of the box because I was not with them when they had that itinerary. By the way, I was with Kiko, Dave, Mar, Rey and Van.

We soon reached Nanay Daldalita and the same routine went on. You know what happens here when you reach this place. There was another group (composed of girls dressed in skimpy shorts, as if they were headed to the mall). Their presence was good because they acted as magnets that kept Mar on track. We even joked about not proceeding to our goals but instead, divert to Papaya River where all the girls were heading. We later found out that they were working at a bar, according to one of the guides.

One of the guides also told us the way to the summit from the falls. When we reached one of the falls, we started looking for a trail to the summit. They had lunch, but I did not. I just wanted to test my survival capacity if I could reach the campsite without eating lunch. And yes, I reached another waterfalls – this time, the Paniquian Falls. And my sanity literally went over the edge when I saw the crystalline water and felt its cold nature. It was good Kiko and Rey were literally energetic to find something beyond the falls. With Dave, Van and Mar, we took pictures as if the sun was at its last course.

We reached the campsite at 1400. We pitched our tents. They started their booze session. And I proceeded to my usual exploration of unique flora and fauna half-naked. When the surroundings were decorated with pitch-black walls, the party started! Do not ask me to describe how the party turned out to be successful…  with some knocked out of consciousness and figuratively went over the top of the fence of existence.

We left the campsite at 0800hours. Twenty minutes after, we reached the Pantingan Falls and we were surprised to see that there is another campsite in the area. If we have found about it, then we should have camped here. After the whirlwind romance with the waterfalls, we then started our dazzling affair with the summit.

After taking pictures with the Historical Tree at the summit, we walked our way through the Ridge to the Papaya River.

(Image credit: Dave Regoso.)

Ms Polly's Chocolate Cake

Do you crave for something but you do not know what it is? Try Ms Polly's Chocolate Cake! It IS the best chocolate cake ever!

According to www.bacontunamelt.com, do not compete for the corner slices as the middle slices have the thickest icing. Branches include their Comissary in Merville and in Robinson's Galleria. One box is for 460pesos only.

Read more about this mouth-watering chocolate cake.

 (Photo credit: www.bacontunamelt.com and Ms Polly's Facebook account.)

Pico de Loro

Pico de Loro is a beautiful monolith stone located in the midst of Mt Palay-Palay in Ternate, Cavite.

How to get there from Metro Manila:

1. Take a bus bound for Ternate in Lawton, Manila. Or go to Baclaran or Coastal (in front of the then Uniwide Coastal mall) and wait for the same buses in the loading area. Fare from Baclaran is more or less 50pesos. The trip only takes a bit over an hour via the newly-built Cavite Expressway.

2. At the bus terminal in Ternate, you can take trikes near the church to the DENR office for registration. One ride can accommodate three passengers. Fare is 75pesos each. You can haggle for a more affordable fare with the trikes near the bus terminal. (Note: Trikes near the bus terminal charge higher fares sometimes. A ride would normally cost only 225pesos.  You can actually rent a jitney all the way to the jump-off point for even more affordable fares if your group is composed of 15 people or more.)

3. Registration fee at the DENR station is only 20pesos. There is another registration station at Base Camp 1 for 20pesos. But I do not see the point why you need to register again at this point. I think of this as a money-making strategy. They should just make it compulsory to pay 20pesos in exchange for a Coke or buko juice. In that way, they could sell and earn from it. Yes, they could earn by asking 20pesos from hikers, but I feel it a bit wrong because they are not doing something for the good of the mountain. They even encourage hikers to leave their wastes in their yard because they can sell the plastics and other recyclables and keep the income for their own use. The DENR station fails to conduct briefing or orientation to hikers. Mountaineers know the rules but the general public does not. Some youngsters were taking a bath at the falls with soap, shampooing their hairs in the waters of the falls. I have also never seen the head of the DENR station, only the old lady and her family face the registrants.

4. The trail is easy. It is equipped with concrete signs (which should not have been nailed to trees) and trailsigns (ie straw, cords, stones).

5. For other notes, check my first ascent to Pico de Loro.

Masskara 2011: The Festival of Smiles

We left Manila for Iloilo early in the morning. I was really excited for the Masskara Festival of Bacolod that I did some itinerary dry-runs while at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport waiting for the announcement to board the plane.

We arrived in Iloilo five minutes late from the scheduled time. But it did not matter because I know that the street dancing is in the afternoon. We still had time to travel from Iloilo to Bacolod. From the airport, take a shuttle service (not the cabs because they would charge you for higher fares) to SM City Iloilo or Jaro (which is located at the centre of the city). Shuttles, just to be clear, are vans that serve as public transportation. Fare is 50pesos.

 

You can get off near the Jaro Church, with Jollibee fastfood establishment on the other side of the street and Ted’s La Paz Batchoy on the corner of the street perpendicular to where the shuttles would normally stop. You can either take a jitney or taxi to the port. Fare is only 7.50pesos for the jitney but you need to walk to the ticketing station of boats to Bacolod. Taxis can take you right in front of the ticketing stations of either the Weesam Express or Supercat. We paid 100pesos to the taxi driver from Jaro to the port.

Ferries or boats depart for Bacolod on schedules. In the case of Supercat, it leaves Iloilo starting at 6 o’clock in the morning with 1 ½-hour-difference to the next trip and the last trip is 5 o’clock in the afternoon. I think, Weesam starts at 6:30 AM with the same time difference to the next trip (one boat was leaving when we arrived at the port, so we had to wait for the 7:30 AM schedule of Supercat). For Supercat, fare is 450pesos for the business class (air-conditioned room and at the upper deck); 300pesos for the tourist class (air-conditioned room at the lower deck); and 230pesos for the economy class (non-air-conditioned room at the upper deck, just outside the business class room). We were lucky because the company had roundtrip (two-way) promo fares for the Masskara Festival: 600pesos for business class; 500pesos for the tourist class; and 460pesos for the economy class. Travel time is more or less 1 hour and 45 minutes.

From the Bacolod Port, you can take a pedicab (a three-wheeled vehicle made from bicycle attached with carrier for passengers and moved by pedalling) to the city centre. One ride can accommodate two passengers and costs 20pesos. 

I like Masskara Festival because of the pictures of dancers in colourful costumes and happy masks. I have learnt from listening to people that the festival was borne from economic downturns and natural catastrophes that occurred in the yesteryears. This year’s theme New Icons of Bacolod is all about the new infrastructures and landmarks of the city that gives a cue on the path of progress that the city and its people is taking.

Streetdance competitions for the schools and barangays (villages) were scheduled on the last Saturday and Sunday of the almost-month-long festival. It is best to go a day before the streetdances so you could witness the electric masks and floats competition at night. Arena competition happens in the city plaza after parading and dancing in the streets and usually starts at 3PM. To get the best seat, reserve your place and endure the heat of the sun sitting over the steel benches near the stage. Do not be tempted by the shade of the trees over the benches at the back.

Since we were early in the city for the streetdances, we decided to roam around and through the streets. Big masks made by different groups of people were dangled in trees in the plaza.

 

Different masks were displayed at Robinson’s Place. Life-sized figures in masks were displayed at SM mall. Masks of different features are sold in the streets and several commercial establishments. Price ranges from more or less a hundred bucks.

For great souvenir items like tees, keychains, fridge magnets and masks, you can visit The Negros Showroom in front of the capitol. Tees can cost from 200-300pesos. Keychains and fridge magnets can cost 100pesos at most. Masks made up of clay and those that can be worn could reach up to 500pesos. The popular Bongbong’s piaya can be purchased in the malls and other commercial establishments.

Festival upturns: The city government scheduled the streetdance and arena competitions on weekends. It is a great strategy to attract local and foreign tourists. This could translate to lively economic activities and a great way to make the city popular not only to the country but to the whole world.

Downturns: The city has no schedule announcements placed in strategic locations. Tourists have no way of knowing the activities for a particular day. A tourist information centre is placed in front of the city capitol, which is a bit far from the centre of the activities.