From Vigan I decided to continue my tour to Laoag. According to locals I spoke with, the Ilocano word Laoag means Light, the reason why it is called the Sunshine City.
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| forget the Hollywood sign, we have our very own here! |
From National Highway, I rode an ordinary bus going to Laoag. The fare is 100 php and will take 2 hours. Once again I wasn't able to fell asleep, not because of the lights but of the beautiful scenery along the way - rivers, mountains, rice fields, old houses and churches. I don't see stuff like that in Manila that's why I cannot take my head out of the window while smiling ( I believe my seat mate thought I was crazy though ). After arriving at Laoag, I went to Texicano hotel and once again was informed that they were already fully booked. So they told me that I can check La Elliana Hotel which was a couple of blocks away. I went there and same response from the receptionist - FULLY BOOKED. I was kinda desperate that time and as a new guy on the block I don't know where to go next. The receptionist told me that there's a Hotel on the nearby town which was 15-20 mins away. I really wanted to tell the receptionist what I've been through in finding a hotel in Vigan and how I really need to rest but decided to just keep it to myself... I am really a shy type.. hahaha.. So in desperation I just went back to Texicano Hotel and I was able to get a single fan room for 310 php!!! yehey!! I know you wanted to know what I did, right? I went back there and the receptionist was surprised to see me again. So I told her that La Elliana was already fully booked. I ask her what time a room will be available ( with a flirty voice), she said by noon. So once again with some acts of lasciviousness , I told her that I'm just gonna wait in the lobby. While sitting there I can hear her telling the room boy to find a room ASAP and clean it as soon as possible. And after a few minutes of waiting, she told me that I can check in. Hahaha... in time of desperate need you need to use your charm, right?
Texicano Hotel is located at corner Giron and J. P. Rizal Streets. They also have airconditioned units and suites on their new building. They also have a restaurant wherein guest can order food to be delivered to their rooms. WiFi is also available.
The room boy assisted me to my room and offered me that his brother have a tricycle which can tour me around. He offered 700 php for the tour. I told him that I will just rest for the day and will talk about it later but really I have no interest of availing his offer. So took a quick shower then slept for an hour. I woke up at around 3pm, ate something, then decided to visit the Paoay Church. I forgot the name of the street but there was a designated jeepney terminal going to Paoay and I paid 35php for that. It will take 25mins to get to Paoay Church. Because of the exhausting day of finding a hotel at Vigan til Laoag I was able to fell asleep at the jeep. The passenger besides me shouted," Manong simbahan lang po!". What the hell was that?! She shouted just right behind my ears that woke me up. Geez, I don't think that was necessary since she was just the third person from the driver. Anyways, I want to thank her, since she gave me the signal that I need to get off the jeep as well. I saw the church but its facade didn't look the same as what I saw in some pictures so I just continue walking til I reached the back of the church. To my surprised, the one facing the highway was actually the back and the back was actually the front facade. The Bell Tower was humongous! Maybe around 5-6 stories tall and as wide as a 120 sq meter lot ( based on my assumption). The Church itself was so beautiful and I think this was the most beautiful church I have ever seen. Time failed to fade the grandeur and magnificence of this building. There was a wedding ceremony that day so I went inside for a short while to take pictures of the interiors. The interiors was not as grand unlike the exteriors. And somehow I was kinda disappointed because it was totally a different place inside --- it looked depressing. The interiors failed to endure the test of time since its skeleton is what was left of its former beauty I believe since I don't know what it exactly looked like before.
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| the picturesque Paoay Church |
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| looks like scaffolding?! look depressing.. |
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| World Heritage Marker |
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| the church's mighty buttresses |
I went outside again to have get more photos of its magnificent facade. This church is the most photographed church in the country since there were tons of tourist and photographers alike outside the church taking photos of every angle of the church and I did the same.. hahaha.. I walked further and further to get my perfect shot of the entire church front facade and I realized that you can appreciate its beauty more from afar. I saw a local coffee shop nearby to rest for awhile. It is called Strasburg Coffee and they make decent frappuccino. It was just in front of the church premises. I ordered a tall mocha frappucino for 80php and sat at the alfesco to enjoy the view. The view from there hypnotized me that I didn't notice that I was already staying there for an hour already. Upon noticing the time, I went my way to the highway to get to my next stop the Marcos Museum. At the highway I wasted another 20mins waiting for a jeep to arrive and I was unsuccessful, so I approached a bunch of tricycle drivers playing card games at the nearby waiting shed. I asked whether if there were jeepney plying that route and they told me that it will take me long to wait because of long jeepney intervals. They offered me a ride for 50php but I negotiated for 40 php and they agreed.
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| Captivating view from Strasburg, while drinking my mocha Frappucinno. |
The Marcos Museum is located at Batac City just right across the Batac Church. The entrance fee was 50 php. Inside you can see alot of memorabilia of the late president. His shoes were also displayed like the former first lady's in Marikina. The Mausoleum was located in the building next to it, so you need to go out of the main building and walk a few meters to the mausoleum. Since there's a lot of visitors that day, they will let people inside by batches not one by one, since the mausoleum is air conditioned, they can't allow people keep on opening the door often. While heading to the Mausoleum, I saw a bunch of people going inside so I came rushing before they closed the door but it is quite dark inside so I went to the left side and upon seeing the body of Marcos people begun staring at me on the other side because people supposed to go to the right side upon entering and head left to go out..But I acted like nothing was wrong, then I took out my camera to get a picture suddenly a voice of lady from the speaker begun saying," the man in white cap and white shirt, taking pictures inside is not allowed!" It was so embarrassing since there are no other person inside with white cap but only me! There was no escape..hahaha.. Ferdinand Marcos was quite short, maybe around 5'1 -5'3 only. Maybe his corpse shrunk over time.
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| lots of tourist ha? |
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| the Door to leading to the dead. |
The Batac Church was just nearby so I went there to take some photos. No tourist can be found inside and around the church premise, unlike the Marcos Museum which was flooded by tourist. And I wonder why? Maybe because on the outside, the church doesn't look old but once you get inside it is totally different.
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| looks like a new church on the outside |
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| kinda empty right? |
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| it is very old in the inside |
I went back to the hotel to change clothes and rest for awhile. At around 8pm I decide to go out to eat and I went to the public market to check out the local empanada. I paid for 35 php for that and 15 php for a soft drink. The stall owner told me that it has Longganisang Ilocano inside, cabbages, tomato and egg. Well, based on my evaluation, nothing taste special about it, but I like the idea of putting the longganisa and egg inside the empanada though.
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| Empanadang Ilocano.. Yummy! |
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| Don't forget to buy Longganisang Ilocos and Sukang Ilocos for pasalubong.. |
After eating, I went to the Laoag Church to take photos, first stopping by the Bell tower. Then went straight to the Tobacco Monopoly Monument at Aurora Park and adjacent to it is the Ilocos Norte Capitol Building.
After burning my lungs and taking photos I went back to the hotel and slept.
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| belfry at night |
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| the entrance have already sunk half way. |
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| Tobacco Monopoly Monument |
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| Aurora Park |
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| Ilocos Norte Capitol Building |
The next day, I woke up late at around noon. I went to Mang Inasal to have something to eat then went straight to St. Nicholas Church. Just ride any buses going to Vigan and tell the conductor to drop you off at St. Nicholas. You can also ride jeeps going to Batac. Fare was just 8 php. After visiting the church I went straight to the hotel and went straight to Farinas bus terminal for my departure.
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| I wonder how many kilo of rice can I cook here? |
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| Park just right outside San Nicholas Church |
TRANSPORTATION COST:
100 php - ordinary bus fare from Vigan to Laoag
35 php - jeepney fare to Paoay Church
40 php - tricycle fare to Marcos Museum
15 php - jeepney fare from Batac to Laoag.
600 php - Farinas bus fare to Manila
OTHER EXPENSES:
310 php - fan room at Texicano hotel
50 php - entrance fee at Marcos Museum
35 php - empanada
125 php - food at Mang Inasal
200 php - snacks
150 php - Longganisang Ilocano for pasalubong
MISCELLANEOUS - 250 php
TOTAL EXPENSES: 1910 php
NOTES:
* Paoay Church, Batac Church, San Nicholas Church and Marcos Museum is accessible by public transport.
* If you want to go to Malacanang of the North and Sand Dunes, you need to rent a tricycle since it is not accessible to public transport.
* If you are looking for local delicacies like Empanada and Bagnet, it can be bought at the public market but if you want it for lunch or dinner for a cheap price, you check Dap-ayan Ti Ilocos located in front of Ilocos Museum. It is like a food court with lots of stalls to choose from.
* Ilocos Museum is closed during Sundays.
* Texicano hotel offers the cheapest accomodation in Laoag City with only 310 php for a single fan room.
