Sam Travels 2015: Ilocos, Philippines

My first trip to Ilocos was via plane, so it only took us an hour or so. In this trip, however, we went via car. 

We left at 9PM (the driver fetched us from our house), and it took us about 7 hours to get there. 

7 and a half including our stop-overs, without traffic. So we got to Vigan City at around 4:40AM. 

I honestly think it's pretty convenient compared to a plane ride.

A photo of us, plus Raffy (my cousin) who took this photo in the van we rode.

My reasons for preferring land-travel than a plane ride:

Since we arrived early in Ilocos, the driver (who is also our tour guide, btw) took us to Vigan first. He wanted us to catch Vigan at night. Er- early morning. 

He says that if we were to go there at night (actual nighttime. The PMs), it can get really crowded; so he suggested it was better to take the chance while it was there.

I honestly loved Vigan at night. It gave me the pinoy feels. Lol, the kind of feel that makes you think of the time when pinoys wore barongs and pinays wore sayas. Everyone should experience going there really early.
Plus, it was chilly. No humidity (meaning: sweat) for peeps! 

After a moment filled with historical-feels, we headed on to what's next in our itinerary:
The Hidden Garden. 

A place that wasn't in our itinerary during my first trip to Ilocos.

 As much as our tour guide wanted to squeeze the itinerary, the Hidden Garden wasn't opened yet.
It opens around 5:00-6:00AM.
Which explains the pic of our Van with one of my aunts' leg resting.

So what's in the Hidden Garden?
It's... a hidden garden. Lol but true. A garden. That's that!
These pictures though, isn't of the hidden garden itself.
These are what you'll see when you enter the main entrance. Plants, Religious images, a souvenir shop, cages of birds (yes, there are talking Parrots), and a provincial-looking restaurant!

Here's the small restaurant I was telling you about!
It's really homey there, especially with the cool weather, since we came there early in the morning.

My aunt being a goof with her shake. Lol!

So yep, we had our first breakfast in Ilocos there.
If you're wondering what those in the pictures are, they're "Longsilog"s. Longganisa Tapsilogs. 

We ate there for breakfast, and their morning menu consisted pretty much of Tapsilogs.

They're a very common Filipino breakfast; and having those on our plates along with the look of the place made everything refreshing.

Fact: Longganisa is one of Ilocos's specialty!

If you're wondering... for morning drinks, they offered 3in1 coffees, Hot and Cold Milo, and even Tea. :)

After having our stomachs filled, we proceeded to the actual Hidden Garden.

How cute is this? They even have an organic-looking Lover's Corner!

So here's the actual answer to your question that I left hanging:
The Hidden Garden is filled with various plants that are being sold. The most special part, I think, is the Bonsai Garden.
Here are pictures of some of the plants.

Notice the "600" sign on the right of the picture above?

I loved this one so much, that I was tempted to buy a pot!

After marveling the beauty of the plants in the garden, we went to the Baluarte Zoo. 

If you expect this to be some small zoo, you're so wrong. The place is really big!
If you hate long walks to get to specific animals, this place isn't for you, haha.
Constructions of new places were even going on when we went there.




The Zoo has this huge field in the center. Like a really really huge field where I once saw most animals running around in. There were even Camels, Horses, Donkeys, and more.
When we went there in this trip though, the animals were few. Probably because it was still too early in the morning. The Birds weren't even tied up to the bird cages in the public area.

I suggest you go at around noon to experience the zoo at its peak. :)






These Tigers were HUGE. As far as I remember, there was a pregnant one in a different cage.



Another Deer; but this one's separated from the group.


Can you spot the Peacock?


Baluarte has a collection of the most beautiful birds I've seen; and I mean the "big" birds like peacocks and Ducks, and the such.
They vary from pure whites to colorful ones.


Meet the sassiest Ostrich I've ever seen. I mean seriously...
It's like she's walking on a runway.


After doing this pose, she turned her back to us and walked back (crossing legs) to the far area on the opposite side.
See? A natural runway model.


You've seen Baluarte!
Though not completely, but a sum of what's in it.

Next up, we went to the Shrine of Our Lady of Charity!
Or more often called the Bantay Church.



Bantay Church has a Bell Tower that can be a challenge to climb.
See those set of stairs?
Imagine another set inside, but wooden, and a lot steeper.


Vendors in the Church area.
They obviously know how hot it can get in there haha!


The Church has its own Garden where you can see a mini outdoor chapel, religious images, and a station of the cross area.




They even have this cute little figure of Pope!



Here's how the Church looked like.



Now, we're going inside the Bell Tower!




The relaxing view from above. :)



Raffy and me doing the "pacool" pose because everyone's doing it. LOL


And here's a sassy photo of achi Kat, fanning herself because the heat that time was seriously no joke.

Next up, we went to the Marcos Museum!














Imelda Marcos's clothing.


The Museum trip ended about 11:30AM - 12:30AM, so our next destination was somewhere to eat.


We were supposed to eat at the Herencia Cafe, that's located just in front of Paoay Church, but the restaurant's filled with people and the space available's already reserved. Boohoo.

In my first trip though, we were able to eat there; and I must say... the food was amazing!
I loved this unique pizza that we were able to order, and the atmosphere of the restaurant was relaxing.

So... 2 words for you guys: EAT. THERE.



As funny as it is, we ended up in KFC. Lol!
But hey, KFC never disappoints tummies. ;)



I couldn't take a full picture of it because the lens of the Camera I borrowed are zoom lens. :(

Anyway, the next in our itinerary was the beautiful Malacanang.







The view from the balcony. :)





The office.


The place is really spacious, and can get fresh when it's windy. A pretty nice place to live in. :)

Afterwards, it's rest time. So the tour guide dropped us at the Parklane Hotel, where we stayed in.


My aunts said that our hotel is actually more convenient for backpackers. The space is just enough for the specified quantity, and it's more affordable than other hotels.

My only concern was the bugs. When we first got there, one of the beds had so many ants crawling in it. Of course, we called maintenance for help. Next, our aircon wasn't getting any colder. Then, the next day as we woke up, Raffy found a cockroach in his shoe just as he was about to wear it. It's probably because our things were adjacent to the door, and the door has about an inch of a gap in the bottom.
Please take note that this was just based from my experience.

I'm a person who prefers a huge hotel than a high quality trip in the area, so I would prefer staying in a different hotel.
BUT if you're up for better trips and the hotel isn't much of a concern for you, I highly recommend Parklane.

If the bug incidents didn't happen, it would be pretty satisfying for me already. :)






It's day 2! Day 2 held more adventurous destinations, which required us to bring extra shirts, towels, and of course, water.

To start the day right, Parklane provided us with breakfasts. Simple, but stomach-filling ones. The breakfast for the first day were Tocinos with Scrambled Eggs. They also provided 3in1 coffees. :)


The breakfast area was in the hotel's function room that could accommodate about 130-150 people. After meal, we readied our things and went to our first destination- The Lighthouse.


By the way, if you're wondering whether this is at the Norte or Sur of Ilocos... I don't even know. Lol! Well, atleast, I'm confused as to whether it is, or not.
We went to both sides of Ilocos even in my first trip, and even after the second trip, I still get confused about it.



This is the first set of stairs to get to the lighthouse.



Then it has this set of stairs that lead to the actual top. It's the steepest one.



This is the view from the top!
The top is a circular balcony, so it's as if we're able to see a panoramic view of the place. The backside of the top though, is only filled with trees. So the area of the photo up there, and area on the sides is the only view you can get.



A group pic of the aunts + my grandma + achi Kat while walking back to the Van.

Now, the next destination is the Windmills!



Kidding!
The next destination is the Rock Formation, where you can also see the windmills. :)



That's the rock formation! And that's where we're heading...





... with a horse! HAHA
You can actually walk towards the formation on a constructed sidewalk. However, if you want some thrill, you can ride a horse to the rock formation for 100 php; and the path you'll take will be the rocky one!


Here's the rock formation!





Can you see how haggard we are?




That's the kind of rocky path that we crossed.



A group pic of us on our horses.


Group pic of the aunts + our grandma in the waiting shed. Haha! Only the 3 of us went down. :)


The next destination's a beach where the Windmills are! :)








There were so many windmills in the area, and they were all so huge.
Ilocos is also known for its windmills, so you'll probably love going here. :)


The next destination's the Kabigan Falls.
There's this interesting story behind its name that I won't tell, so you'd find out yourself when you travel there. ;)






The waterfall's about an hour of hiking per way.
About half an hour under the sun, and another half under trees.




A lone vendor in the middle of the path.














There were times we had to cross this kind of bridge.







And here's the waterfall!





And here are our aunts who didn't cross to the other side with us. Lol!
Not all of the aunts went with us. My grandma didn't, as well.




After the tiring hike, we went back to the van, and slept all throughout the trip to our lunch destination.

For Lunch, we ate in Hannah's Resto that's located in Hannah's Beach Resort.





Actually, we were supposed to ride a zip line from a specific point adjacent to the beach, to the beach. So it's like crossing the vast body of water. How awesome is that?!
Unfortunately, it was raining, so we decided not to continue it. :(


The food was great. I was so full afterwards. :)



Actually, we were supposed to have a dip in the beach of Hannah's Resort; but we weren't able to bring extra clothes, slippers, and even a towel. Lol!
I looked forward to it, though. Huhu. It was actually funny how we planned on buying slippers there, but not towels. HAHA


After lunch, the next destination was the Bantay Abot Cave, which also requires a bit of hiking; but not as long as the one awhile ago.



Here's how it looks!












Next up is the Patapat Viaduct!


It's this bridge that connects Ilocos Norte and Cagayan.







After seeing bodies of water, in the next destination, you're going to see sand!


The next destination's the Sand Dunes!



This was the most adventure-filled part of the day! We rode in this 4x4 and explored the sand dunes in an extreme way. Extreme as in the 4x4 accelerating uphill and downhill while we're standing up, only holding on to the metal bars of the car; and the angles might have been 45% or even less!


Super fun-filled!
Sand Dunes will be included in my itinerary every single time I travel back to Ilocos.
That though, is if I have enough budget the next time. Lol!


After a day filled with adventures, we went back to our hotel and ate dinner in its restaurant: Bonita.


I love Bonita and its modern, funky vibe. It was so relaxing there.







They served iced teas in mason jars, and other drinks in regular glasses.


Their food are mouth watering; and they're actually really good!
I can't remember the names of each and every dish we ordered, all I know is that they were amazing; and I'd eat there again anytime.









Fort Ilocandia was as ever, marvelous.




And Vigan at morning is still beautiful. I still prefer it at early morning, though.



The most fabulous Kalesa I've seen. <3


After shopping for our special ones, we ate in Luk Foo. Not very unique, lol; but I guess my aunts missed Chinese food.


The place, by the way, was Ilocos-fyed. Lol!


And that ends my second trip to Ilocos. :)

I didn't get to eat their famous Empanada, but all the meals we ate were tummy-filling!
Ilocos was beautiful as ever, and everywhere we went gave me much enjoyment.
I guess Ilocos is one of those places that can visited numerous times, yet doesn't get old. :)

Have you been to Ilocos? or are you planning to travel to Ilocos?
Tell me all about it! :)

'Till my next post! x