A Philippine Ancient | Vigan (1)

The moment I set foot on those cobbled flooring and set eyes on everything seemingly ruined, shabby, and cobwebbed, I knew I was in the country's most preserved Spanish heritage, Vigan. I guess this is the only place in the country that'll make any Filipino live back the Spanish colonial period and reflect on how our ancestors sustained the place from generation to generation. Quaint and attractive---and yes, so pretty :P

Stopover | Paoay

Probably, for a local traveler who knows his country better than any outsider, the return of a lost item left somewhere in an unfamiliar town is quite unlikely. This was not the case when we dropped by the beautiful St. Augustine Church in Paoay to see for ourselves how it's different from the hundreds of Roman Catholic churches we've seen, and why it is labeled as "Earthquake Baroque" by architecture. At the outset of the stopover, I thought I would just get to see a UNESCO world heritage. Never did I think about meeting a guy who would make amends of my carelessness and help me realize how warmhearted Ilocanos are with just that one act of kindness and integrity.

Sights and Scenes | Pagudpud (2)

SAUD BEACH
Fast forward to Day 2. We stayed overnight at the newly opened Casa Victoria Inn. The rooms were really cheap (1,000 room for 3 + 100/extra person) as of February 2012. The owner was so kind and attentive to our needs. Our room was larger than the one we checked at pricey Hannah's Beach Resort along Maira-ira Beach. Plus, it's just one cartwheel away from the beach. :)

Sights and Scenes | Pagudpud (1)

I was born and raised in Mindanao. Actually, still being raised in Mindanao. And I'm trapped in this city (?) called Ozamiz. Being so far away from Ilocos, I didn't know anything about the town called Pagudpud until some blogs thought about promoting it to the world. So I wanted to see the place for myself. Traveling a long way from the south to the farther north, I got to see the paradise that is in Pagudpud.

The Odd One To Ilocos

The bus ride from Pampanga to Ilocos went on for 11 long hours. We were aware about wasting a day of the itinerary sitting and exchanging blank stares for the whole trip. There was nothing much interesting along the way except for good-tasting treats from vendors coming in at bus stops, weird-looking people, and those cute twins seated behind me that day.

From North To South

This is definitely my longest trip to date. Twenty days to be exact. It was awesome---like Kung Fu Panda! Ahw. :)

In this trip, I got to travel with a handful of people for the first time following itineraries that went on shorthanded and made up it was so fun we wanna travel together again to get lost more and laugh at misadventures along the road. Nyaha, run-on sentences are so fun right? Just like run-on sentences, our trip was so spontaneous we almost lost in touch with hygiene and current events :). I didn't even know Whitney Houston died and that my hometown got flooded again until the next two days. Being so caught up with the here and there, I almost had no time for laundry. I had to wear the same shorts for 4 days and wear the same....secret!