Going back to the old times, courtesy of Vigan City

On our third and last day in Ilocos, there were no tours but we just went back to Vigan for pasalubong shopping.

From Saud Beach, we had a few hours travel to Vigan.

(c) JC Natividad

 Amazing view of the Bangui Windmills from Saud Beach.

(c) JC Natividad

Saud Beach.

My group didn't even had a glimpse of the beach before we left Pagudpud.

Di talaga beach front yung pinagstay-an namin. Parang sa bandang gilid tapos may mga rock formation and I didn't know na eto na pala yung Saud Beach. Haha. Didn't research, pasensya naman. Haha.

(c) Ace Santos

Waved goodbye to Pagudpud 

 We stop along the road to buy pasalubong. 

Sikat yung bawang at suka dito, kaya bili lang! Di ko alam bakit (tinatamad ako magsearch.haha) Infairness, mura din ah!

Had lunch in Vigan treated by Kuya Nathan! Salamat Kuya!! :) We're kinda sick of fast food chains in Manila. Pinili na lang namin kumain sa carinderia, cheaper and had the chance to taste their local foods. Sa may tapat ng mcdo yun :)

Nagkalesa ride kami after. Dapat, for the sake of experience lang. Yeah, It's not our first time naman pero syempre you're in Ilocos and with all these old houses.... wala lang, pakikibagay. Haha. Looking forward pa naman kami sa pagshoshopping.

Fail yung tour. Except for those who has a lot of time. Medyo di magaling magtagalog ang mga kutsero kaya parang di nila naiintindihan yung iba, Umo-oo lang yata sila. Then it resulted to wasting 2 hours with a senseless tour. Kaya make sure na i-clear sa kutsero ang gusto niyo gawin.

 Kalesa ride with tour

Php150 per hour

 Visited Burgos Museum.

 Crisologo Museum

 Yay! Pridyider!! =)

 The actual car used when Governor Carmeling Crisologo was ambused in 1961

 Cute car! Girl na girl! =)

 Carriage used by the elites.

I love museums and old houses only if there is someone who'll tour me over and tell me stories behind each thing I see. And If no one will, seeing the house, old structure and antiques becomes senseless.

Here's Hidden Garden, a concrete example of miscommunication to the kutsero. Even before heading to the garden, my friend asked the kutsero if this garden is along the way to Heritage Village. The kutsero said yes, edi go naman kami! ANAK NG TOKWA!! 20mins ang byahe one way pero di naman on the way to Heritage Village. As in sinadya pa namin para lang sa wala. Wasted 40-50minutes of our lives. Badtrip yung kabayo, ang bagal!! HAHA!! Parang gusto ko na bumaba at sumakay ng tricycle e. Kaloka!!

Not your ordinary Christmas Tree.

 GETS MO?!!

 Eto, mas gets mo?? hahaha.

When my foot was set back to the Heritage Village, ay nako! Puro speed walking at running na ginawa ko at ng mga kasama ko dahil wala na kaming oras.

 The crowded Heritage Village. Parang market place lang.

 Super dami ng souvenir stores!! Eto ang hindi namin naenjoy, shopping.

Di nakakasawang pagmasdan ang mga old houses. Ang gaganda!!

 Ran towards Irene's to buy Empanada!!

Left Vigan at around 5pm and arrived in Manila past 12. Kaloka si Kuya Rey, ang bilis di ba? Lumipad kami e. Haha.

This is everything I bought.

Windmills - miniature:Php40 ; ref. magnet: 5pcs for 100

Banana Chips (outside Marcos' Mausoleum) - 3packs for 100

Tinubong (outside Marcos' Mausoleum) - 4pcs for 200

Cute Ref Magnets (Pagudpud) - 3pcs for 100

Vigan Longanisa - 1 pack of 12 pcs for 100

Bawang - 30

Suka - 35

Empanada - 10pcs for 350

Vigan shirts (outside pottery) - 100 each

Should refrain from buying many many pasalubong. :D

This was once my wallpaper. Crossed-out na ang Ilocos!! So happy!! :)

Bad vibes lang talaga ang Kalesa ride pero overall, super sulit ang Ilocos tour na to. I'd keep coming back for more!! The end of the Ilocos series. =)

Explore Island Philippines by EIP Travel & Tours

Mobile: 09359072592 (John) TM

Email: natividadjohnchristopher@y.c.

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Related posts: 

From Photographs to Reality: Ilocos Norte and Ilocos Sur
Paoay Sand Dunes: 4x4 ride & Sand boarding
Ilocos Norte - Paoay Kumakaway!

Chinx♥

Ilocos Norte - Paoay Kumakaway!

"Paoay Kumakaway" The Ilocos Norte tourism brand

After a very tiring and sleepless first day in Ilocos, our second day welcomed us with a good weather. Energies were recharged because of a good night sleep. Ayan, meron na din akong pictures!! 

CAPE BOJEADOR LIGHTHOUSE

Burgos, Ilocos Norte

This 65-foot tall stone tall tower is located on a top of a hill overlooking the South China Sea. It serves those international ships entering the Philippine archipelago from the North.

Cannot enter the lighthouse. But heard a lot of scary stories.

(c) JC Natividad

Nakakalokang nagtagal kami sa kakapicture sa inclined part sa gilid ng lighthouse at nakakaloka din sa ganda ng view!! Bongga!

KAPURPURAWAN ROCK FORMATION

Burgos, Ilocos Norte

Nature is really a good artist. We didn't have the chance to come nearer since it is already prohibited. Of course to conserve the beauty of nature. They provided a viewing deck for the tourist.

(c) JC Natividad

 At saan na naman kami nagtagal? haha.

BANGUI WINDMILLS

Bangui, Ilocos Norte

Dahil sobrang dami na ng photos ng windmills anywhere, parang ka-umay na din. Haha. Pero iba talaga kapag andun ka na at nasa harapan mo na ang mga windmills. Sobrang nakakaamaze! Ang laki-laki at nakakaaliw pagmasdan. Ang galing lang!! =)

There are many stores around the place. Buy your souvenirs!

KABIGAN FALLS

Pagudpud, Ilocos Norte

After a delicious lunch at Papa Nard's, we checked-in at Jun and Carol's Beach Resort, I dunno pero parang nawalan ako ng gana sa pagpipicture dahil wala na din naman pictures sa Day 1. Anyway, we immediately proceeded to Kabigan Falls. As in madalian dahil late afternoon na at nasa half pa lang kami ng dapat puntahan.

30 minutes trek one way, still depends kung gaano katagal o kabilis maglakad. It is also required to have a guide.

 There are a lot of streams along the way.

(c) JC Natividad

 Dipped into the falls with the boys. 

Bongga sa lamig ng tubig!! Nakakawala ng pagod! 

Ang dilim na sa may falls though sumisilip pa ang araw sa bandang labas.

 Before we left Kabigan Falls, we tried their karioka (deep-fried coconut rice)

PATAPAT BRIDGE
Pagudpud, Ilocos Norte

Connects Maharlika Highway from Laoag, Ilocos Norte to the Cagayan Vally Region. It is 31 meters over sea level and is a 1.3 km zigzag road which makes it the 4th longest bridge in the Philippines. The bridge was constructed to solve the problem of landslides in the area which have caused so many vehicular accidents in the past.

Story behind the Patapat bridge: (di ko knows kung totoo talaga pero sabi lang to ng driver namin)
Bago pa magawa itong tulay na ito, meron talagang original road na doon talaga ang daan. Siguro doble ng taas ng bridge sa dagat yung original road na itinuro naman sa amin ni Kuya Rey (driver). Bale, kung andun ka, as in super taas.

Meron daw dating provincial bus na bumyahe, parang field trip ang lagay at puro bata ang nakasakay. Tinutukso ng mga bagets ang driver na maliit daw ang "pototoy" nito. Sa sobrang panunukso at inis, nagbanta ang driver na ilalaglag niya ang bus kapag tinukso pa nila ito, pero patuloy pa din sa pagtukso ang mag bagets kaya tinuluyan ng driver at inilaglag nga ang bus. Nakaligtas daw ang konduktor at isang bata na siguro ay hinatak lang ng konduktor nang tumalon sila sa bus bago ito tuluyang mahulog sa dagat.

 Ang bongga at may falls pa!!

BLUE LAGOON

Pagudpud, Ilocos Norte

Dahil ang OA namin sa tagal sa ibang places, di na namin napuntahan ang ibang sites like Bantay Abot Cave at ang burol sa teleseryeng Walang Hanggan nina Katerina at Daniel. Sayang much :(

 As in konting liwanag na lang pagdating namin.

(c) Nathaniel David

We just enjoyed the remaining time for swimming.

Had dinner delivered by the cook of Papa Nard's then inuman ulit! Haha.

Gaya nga ng sabi ni Kuya Rey at Kuya Jojo (Driver ng kabilang van na kaclose na din namin), Sobrang minsan lang daw na nagkakasundo ang lahat sa isang van. Mas madalas magkakaaway daw. =)

Another fun filled day at Ilocos. Kamiss! =)

Related Posts: 

From Photographs to Reality: Ilocos Norte and Ilocos Sur

Paoay Sand Dunes: 4x4 ride & Sand boarding

Next post: Vigan!!!

Chinx♥

Paoay Sand Dunes: 4x4 ride & Sand boarding

Because I'm kinda bias, I made a separate post for this. =) Obviously, this was my favorite part of our entire Ilocos adventure. Others may not consider this as their favorite but I doubt if they didn't even enjoy a bit of the experience. It was an entirely different experience. It's not everyday that you'd get a chance to ride this type of 4x4 vehicle with those sand and in uneven surface where the vehicle would climb an extremely high dune and in a second goes down again, all in high speed. I cannot describe enough what we exactly felt with the 4x4 experience but it is closely like WOOOOAAAAAHHHH and WAAAAAAAHHHHH. =))

Good thing I didn't come few years back because this 4x4 experience and sand boarding is not popular enough for everyone to consider this as a must try activity. It is not actually included in the tour package we had but ahead of time, we asked if we can go sand boarding and we'll just pay for how much it requires. Thank God for awesome "tour mates" who all are always game for everything.

Rates: Php2500 per 4x4 vehicle ; maximum of 6 persons. ; includes 30 minutes 4x4 ride with 3 stops to enjoy the view, the last is for sand boarding.

 Looks a lot like toy cars

 The enjoy na enjoy face :)

 Our group right next to the sea

After shouting our lungs out the entire 4x4 experience, sand boards are up! Scary dahil sobrang matarik pa yung pinili ng guide namin but eventually, you'll get to enjoy the experience! It was as fun as surfing and wakeboarding. No need to worry if you'll get knocked down, the sands are fine and soft =)

Here am I, getting ready

Happiness! =))

Here are some videos para sa ikaliligaya ng lahat =))))

Eto ang masarap balik-balikan!! 

If you'll travel to Ilocos, don't ever miss this experience! It was really really great!! =)
Just to mention what he had after our energies were drained....

LAOAG PARKLANE HOTEL
http://laoagparklanehotel.blogspot.com/

Check in after giving out all our energy for the 4x4 ride and sand boarding. Sabi ni Kuya Rey (our driver), kalahating hotel, kalahating churva-han daw to. If you know what he means... But infairness naman, malinis at maayos, di halata =))

CHICKEN ATI-ATIHAN
Gen. Segundo Ave., Laoag City

 Had their signature Chicken At-atihan and this Fried Chicken which I forgot the name

Inuman after dinner. Happy Birthday JC! (guy in blue)

Thanks JC Natividad for most of the photos! 

Related post: From Photographs to Reality: Ilocos Norte and Ilocos Sur

Next post: Pagudpud and the rest of Ilocos Norte

Chinx♥