Monday, September 5, 2011
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
Kota Kinabalu Tour 2011 (July15 - 18, 2011)
At last! After almost a year of waiting, I’m finally going to Kota Kinabalu in Sabah, North Borneo . This was my longest booking ever; we booked this flight last August of 2010. Why not, Air Asia offered a very cheap fare. Incidentally, this was also my cheapest flight. Way cheaper than my domestic travels.
For this flight, we will depart and arrive at Clark’s Diosdado Macapagal International Airport (DMIA) so we booked our bus ticket at the Philtranco Bus terminal in Pasay Clark took less than 2 hours.
We have already checked-in via web through Air Asia’s website so all we had to do was to drop our baggage and proceed with document checks. We arrived at around 11:00AM so we still have a long time to wait. Baggage drop-off opens at 2:00 PM and our flight is scheduled to depart at 4:00PM, so we decided to have our lunch first. There are tables and food kiosk and a Ministop beside the arrivals hall. We bought cup noodles and ate our packed lunch first. Yes! We brought our lunch because we knew that we will have to wait for a long time and it was our first time to use DMIA so we still don’t know if there are fast foods around. It is also a fact that foods within airports are over priced, but I was surprised that they had reasonable prices. After some rest, we went inside the airport and decided to wait at the check-in hall. The airport has a fast wireless internet connection so we were not bored while waiting.
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| DMIA Chek-in Hall |
Finally, baggage drop-off counters opened. We were third on the line; however, it took a long time because the first line had a group check-in so it took some time for them to finish everything. Good thing I decided to pay the Travel Tax first, so when our bag was weighed and checked-in, we went straight to the terminal fee counter and proceeded to the immigration. Here, you will be required to show a company ID. It was a breeze and we were on the pre-departure area in no time. There are several food kiosks here which are a bit pricey but not as expensive as those found at the NAIA.
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| Air Asia Baggage Drop-off Counter |
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| Boarding Time! |
We boarded the aircraft a few minutes before the scheduled departure time so the ground crews were hurrying us, but I still had the chance to take a picture before boarding the plane. Air bridges at DMIA are still not operational so we had to use stairs instead. During flight, a flight attendant went to us and asked if we have pre-booked a meal and a comfort kit. She looked at our boarding passes and told us that she’ll be back in a while to prepare our meal. They serve pre-booked meals first before they start selling during flight. It is cheaper if you booked a meal on the internet. Air Asia does not offer free food and drinks because it is a budget carrier. The food we ordered looked good on the picture, but the actual taste isn’t that good. After a while, my Comfort Kit (Air Pillow, eye mask, blanket) was delivered to me. It cost 367 Pesos when purchased in advance. I bought this because I’d like to have a souvenir from all the airlines that I use.
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| Pre-booked In-flight Meal (Bukhara Chicken Briyani). |
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| Air-Asia Comfort Kit. |
It was cloudy when we reached Kota Kinabalu and the runway was still wet, however we had a very smooth landing. We parked at the Terminal 2 of the Kota Kinabalu International Airport Malaysia
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| Just landed at Kota Kinabalu International Airport (KKIA). |
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| Immigration line. |
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| KKIA Arrival Hall |
It was already dark when we boarded the taxi. We were so excited to get to our hotel. For this trip, we chose Gaya Centre Hotel because of good reviews on tripadvisor. Incidentally, it was offered at an incredibly cheap price on airasiago.com, so I decided to book it immediately when I saw the promo. When we reached the hotel, I was so happy to see how it looked. The lobby looks bare as said on the reviews, but clean and spacious. We presented our airasiago hotel voucher, and since our friend checked-in a day in advance, we requested to be on the same floor. A credit card is required for pre-authorization for incidental charges, or a cash deposit of RM100 refundable upon check-out. We were given our electronic keycard with our breakfast coupons placed on a nice keycard holder. A deposit receipt was also placed inside an envelope. We went straight to the elevator and were surprised to see a 13th floor. We were given room 915. Upon reaching the 9th floor, we noticed that the floor was carpeted and well maintained. We were also very happy to see our room. It was way beyond our expectations. Very clean room, very large window with a view of the sea, very large LCD TV, a fridge, tea making facilities, bathroom amenities which include a soap, shampoo, bath gel, lotion, and a shower cap. There is also an electronic safe and an ironing board inside the big cabinet, a complimentary high speed internet, and a hair dryer inside the drawer, and many more. The room is also carpeted and the design reminds me of EDSA-Shangri-la Hotel in Manila
I went to our friend’s room who came a day before us to pick her up for dinner. Malls were already closed so we decided to explore the city at night. We went to the KK esplanade and saw many food kiosks beside the bay. We tried their Barbecues and also ordered some of their dishes. We were surprised with the huge servings; I can say the price is so worth it. We also went to the Filipino Market; however, most of the stalls were already closed, so we decided to go back to our hotel to rest and get ready for the next day’s adventure.
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| Exploring the City at night. |
On our first morning, we woke up early and prepared for breakfast. It is served at G Café located at the 4th floor. We were again surprised with the large buffet selection. We decided to have our breakfast at the balcony to have a good view of the sea while we eat their delicious dishes. Just when we had too much, we decided to get our things from our room and went straight to Jesselton Point for our island hopping adventure.
There are so many tour selections at the Jesselton Ferry station; we booked our tour for only RM20 per person for two islands plus a terminal fee and tax worth 7.20 each. Snorkel Mask and Life vest costs RM12. We chose Sapi and Mamutik islands because these are great for swimming and snorkeling. Due to our excitement, we forgot to bring some food with us, but it doesn’t matter because we just had a very huge breakfast. We went to Sapi Island
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| Jesselton Point Ferry Station |
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| Inside Jesselton Point |
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| Sapi Island |
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| Swimming Area at Sapi Island |
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| Parasailing Adventure |
Since we were back from the island early, we decided to go shopping. We first went to Wisma Merdeka Mall beside the hotel (Our hotel is between two malls) to exchange our money, then we went to the esplanade to buy some barbecue for snacks and then straight to the Filipino Market to buy some souvenir items. After that, we looked for a supermarket to buy bottled water. We saw Servay Hypermarket and went in. We were surprised with the cheap prices so we shopped for “Pasalubong” I bought candies and local chocolates as well as local cup noodles. I tried using my Unionbank Visa Eon Debit Card to save my pocket money and it was accepted. Along the streets, we saw several food stalls selling fried rice and dishes for only RM1 each. My friend was able to buy 3 pcs. of big crabs for only RM2, that was so cheap! So we bought some for dinner and decided to eat inside our room.
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| KK Street Food |
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| Dishes as low as RM1 |
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| Drinks Selection at a local Supermarket. |
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| Paying my Bills. |
The next morning, we went to Gaya Street Sunday Market. Here, souvenir items, plants, pets, and home decors can be bought at a cheap price. You can even buy T-shirts worth RM20 for 3 Pcs. We bought several items here before going back to the hotel to rest for a while. After lunch, we went to Suria Sabah Mall also beside the hotel. Picture taking is not allowed inside the mall but we managed to do so. We decided to check cinema prices; Golden Screen Cinemas is located at the 8th floor. We booked for the last full show of the last part of Harry Potter because it was cheaper here than in Manila Warisan Square
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| Gaya Street Sunday Market. |
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| We were surprised to see "Philippines" on one item. |
Movie Time! We went early to Golden Screen Cinemas to buy some snacks. 2 regular drinks and a large Popcorn costs RM9.50 and a hotdog sandwich costs RM5.50 each. We chose a great seat and enjoyed the movie, the only downside was the captions. There were two subtitles, one in Bahasa Melayu, and one in Chinese, I can’t help my self from reading them. After the movie we were guided to a door beside the screen, there was an elevator and upon reaching the ground floor, I was surprised that the path led us directly outside the mall.
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| Inside the Movie House. |
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| Transparent Urinal inside Suria Sabah Mall. |
On our last day, we had a very heavy breakfast! We decided to stay inside our room until we check-out for a stress free departure. Our flight was scheduled at 1:35PM so we left the hotel at 11:00AM. There is a taxi line in front of our hotel so we had no problem going back to the airport.
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| Last Breakfast in Kota Kinabalu |
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| Time to Leave! |
At the airport, we used Air Asia’s self check-in kiosk. There were no long lines there so we were able to checked-in our baggage quickly. Entry to the pre-departure area however was a bit longer because there is only one baggage scanner. It was also a breeze at the immigration. Since we still have some more Ringgits left, to include our hotel room deposit of RM100 which was refunded when we checked-out, we decided to shop some more at the airport’s duty free shop.
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| Air Asia Boarding Gate. |
We boarded the plane a few minutes behind schedule but what delayed us more was lining up at the runway to wait for take-off clearance. It was so slow. During flight, we were served our in-flight meals. This time the selections taste better. We enjoyed our meal on a very bumpy ride. Minutes after, when I was walking my way to the lavatory, seat belt signs turned on, and while I was inside, an announcement was made by the captain that there was turbulence and we must remain seated until further notice, so I hurried back to my seat. It became calm after some time. The weather was nice when we reached Clark , but the touch down wasn’t good. It was a very hard landing, the worst landing I experienced. At last! We’re home safe. Last check at the Philippine Immigration and we’re done. I still have RM80 and exchanged it for PHP1,084. There’s a Philtranco counter near the money changer so we bought our ticket and went straight to the bus which will take us back to SM Megamall.
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| Delicious Nasi Lemak. |
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| Here are some of the things I brought home from KK. |
It might have been a short trip but it was a really nice vacation and Gaya Centre Hotel made it even better. I’d like to go back someday to do some serious shopping! So if you see promo fares to Kota Kinabalu, go ahead and book it! I’m sure you’ll have a great affordable vacation.
Saturday, June 11, 2011
Northern Ilocandia Tour 2011 (June 07-10, 2011)
Northern Luzon is not one of the most famous tourist destinations in the Philippines. But it has a lot of things to offer, from good food to friendly people and of course, picture perfect sites. It has clear blue waters and white sand beaches too.
Now I'm taking a trip to Ilocos Norte. This time I'll be taking Cebu Pacific Air to Laoag, and from there, a van service will pick us up to take us to our resort and to the tourist destinations. I chose to stay at Saud Beach because it was featured as the number 1 beach in 2009 by an Australian news paper. We stayed at Villa Del Mar Ivory Beach Resort. It offers affordable accommodation and the best view of the sunset.
June 7, 2011. We went to NAIA Terminal 3 two hours before our scheduled flight for a worry free check-in and it was indeed a breeze. We went to several shops inside the terminal for some snacks before proceeding to gate 116 where we are supposed to board the aircraft. After a few minutes, an announcement was made and says that our flight will be delayed by an hour. That was very disappointing. This is my first time to ride Cebu Pacific and also my first experience of a delayed outbound flight. I had to text our van service for the change of time so he wont wait at the arrival area in Laoag for a long time. We also had to text our other friend who took Philippine Airlines which departed an hour before our flight. It was an early mess since we were supposed to have our tour upon arrival. After about an hour, a more disappointing announcement was made. We were all requested to transfer to another check-in gate. This time we were moved to gate 133. It was so crowded there and most of the passengers, including us had to stand. It was a lot of inconvenience considering we paid 200 pesos for the terminal fee. After an hour, we finally boarded the aircraft. It was an airbus A320.
When we arrived at Laoag International Airport, the crew announced that we have landed 5 minutes ahead of time. I and some passengers laughed at the announcement. It was a delayed flight and even if we arrived earlier than the expected time of arrival, they should not announced it as such because basically it was way out of the actual schedule.
We immediately went out of the airport upon getting all our bags. I received a message from the van driver that he is waiting under a tree on the car park. When we saw our service, we went straight to Saramsam Ylocano Restaurant for our late lunch. The place was cozy, and serves delicious Ilocano cuisine. We tried Inabraw, adobong sili, and poque-poque. After our mouthwatering lunch, we went to the market to buy bagnet.
After our late lunch in Laoag City, we went straight to the town of Burgos to see Cape Bojeador Lighthouse. It is a cultural heritage that was established during the Spanish Colonial period in the Philippines. It was first lit on March 30, 1892 and is set high on Vigia de Nagparitan Hill overlooking the scenic Cape Bojeador where early galleons used to sail by. After over 100 years, it still functions as a welcoming beacon to the international ships that enter the Philippine Archipelago from the north and guide them safely away from the rocky coast of the town. We enjoyed the sights and took some pictures before we finally proceeded to Bangui, Ilocos Norte. Here, we went to see the famous Windmills. The windmills, officially referred to as the NorthWind Bangui Bay Project, were a project by the NorthWind Development Corporation as a practice renewable energy sources and to help reduce the greenhouse gases that cause global warming. The project is the first “Wind Farm” in the Philippines consisting of wind turbines on-shore facing the West Philippine Sea and considered to be the biggest in Southeast Asia. The project sells electricity to the Ilocos Norte Electric Cooperative (INEC) and provides 40% of the power requirements of Ilocos Norte via Transco Laoag. I never imagined that these windmills were so gigantic. I was so amazed with what I saw. I took photos and the sunset made it even more picture perfect. I also bought miniature windmills available around the area. Because it was starting to get dark, we went straight to our resort to check-in.
It was already dark when we reached Pagudpud. We all clapped when we saw the gate of our resort, Villa del Mar Ivory Beach Resort. When we got in, we were surprised by the amazing sunset. It was almost 7 o'clock in the evening and it was still sunset. I guess the sun sets late in the north... haha. I checked-in on the standard room. It was quite old and needs a make over, but the room was so big. The staff were nice and very accommodating. We were allowed to bring our own rice cooker and use it at no extra cost, so we took no time to cook rice for dinner. we do all the cooking in one of their beach front huts. For our first dinner, we brought with us pre-cooked chicken and pork adobo, we also ate some bagnet which we bought earlier in Laoag (I don't eat pork so I only ate the Chicken :)...). After that heavy dinner, we went straight to our rooms to rest.
Day2, June 08, 2011. We woke up early for our breakfast. There were fishermen selling fresh catch by the shore. We bought a huge fish called Balaki. After cleaning the fish, we stored it on the resort's freezer because it was too big for the mini ref inside our room.
For our tour, we were picked-up at 9:00AM. Our first stop was the Kapurpurawan Rock Formation. These are rock formations created by forces of the ocean on the rocky coast of Burgos, Ilocos Norte. We have to stop beside a hill and go straight down and walk some 750 meters more to reach these amazing rock formations.
Our next stop was the Kabigan Falls. Each person has to pay 10 pesos each plus 100 pesos for a tour guide. This is about a kilometer trekking, but while walking, you will be relaxed by the breath taking nature. Upon reaching the waterfalls, all our efforts were worth it. The water was so strong and it was really really cold. It was not too deep so you can actually be near the falls. It took us more than an hour of swimming before we finally realized that we still have some places to go.
After the wonderful Kabigan Falls adventure, we changed clothes and went to Patapat Viaduct. It is a viaduct at the municipality of Pagudpud, Ilocos Norte. elevated 31 meters over sea level, is a 1.3 km concrete coastal bridge that connects the Maharlika Highway from Laoag, Ilocos Norte to the Cagayan Valley Region. It rises along the town's coastal mountains, which is the starting point of the Cordillera Mountain Range that snakes through Northern Luzon. It is the 4th longest bridge in the Philippines. We also went to Agua Grande,
The Agua Grande River (also known in Ilocano as dakkel a danum) is known for its eco-friendly and non carbon producing mini-hydro electric power plant. This was commissioned in 1983 and has been providing a renewable and alternative power supply to the consumers of Pagudpud, Bangui, Dumalneg, Adams and Burgos. The Agua Grande and Mabogabog falls supply the water power to turn the turbines.
Before going to Blue Lagoon, which is the main event of this day's tour, we stopped over at Paraiso ni Anton. This is just a spring water flowing from a mountain beside the highway. Nothing to do here but take pictures and buy souvenirs. I bought Bagoong padas for only 30 Pesos and sea weeds for 20 Pesos.
At last! We are on our way to Blue Lagoon. There should be an entrance fee but there was no one on the guard house when we arrived so we just drove our way straight to the beach. Blue Lagoon claims to be the Boracay of the north because of the fine white sands. However, when we reached the beach area, we were not totally amazed, it was way far from our expectations. I guess we just expected too much. Yes, the sands were fine, but the water is not that crystal clear as they claim to be. It has a short shoreline, and the waves are so high, we didn't even had the chance to swim. If I were to compare Blue Lagoon with Saud Beach, the latter is better. Saud beach has better water, although the white sand is not finer. It also has a better location, both for travellers with or without their own service. I can say the best tour for the day is the Kabigan Falls.
On our way back to the resort, we stopped by the Market to buy ingredients for our kebab and kare-kare. We also ate empanada on a stall just outside the public market.
Back at the resort, we marinated the chicken and kept it for tomorrows kebab. We cooked the fish we bought earlier that morning instead, we grilled the other half, and the head part was made sinigang. It was a very nice dinner indeed. We took an early sleep.
Day 3, June 09, 2011. We do not have a scheduled tour for this day, it is our time to explore Saud Beach. The water was so clear, we can see fish not very far from the shore. What better way to enjoy was to feed the fish. The fish here are not used to people unlike in Boracay and some islands in Palawan, they do not go so near to people and goes away after biting the bread. I wonder why there are no snorkeling activities in that area considering there are so many reefs. I guess they're really preserving nature and don't want people intervene with the natural habitat.
For lunch, we cooked kare-kare and used bagnet as meat. Later that afternoon, we setup our tent and prepare a space beside it where we can have our drinks later that night. It was a lot of fun the whole day at the beach. After our kebab dinner, we spent the rest of the evening drinking and of course eating other grilled food such as hotdogs and kebabs.
June 10, 2010, our last day. We woke up early to have a final dip at the sea and at the resort's pool. We had heavy brunch because we'll check-out at exactly 12:00 in the afternoon. Our van service came exactly on time for our check-out. But we still have our tour. These are tours that we should have done on our first day but was moved because of the delay of our flight. Because our return flight is scheduled at 8:10PM, we still have [limited] time to see other attractions. On our way, we stopped by Sarabo Souvenirs, a souvenir shop in Pagudpud not far from our resort. I bought a t-shirt for 170 Pesos, and a Rice coffee for 85 Pesos. You can buy the coffee for a cheaper price elsewhere but because of their paper bags, I decided to buy it here for a more appealing pasalubong.
We reached Laoag City past 2:30 in the afternoon and we went straight on to Batac, Ilocos Norte to see the Marcos Mausoleum. Here, we saw the remains of former President Ferdinand Marcos. We also went to the photo exhibit where it showcases the life and activities of Marcos during his presidency.
Next stop was Paoay Church. Founded by the Augustinian missionaries in 1593. The church was built using corals. Near the church is Cafe Herencia which serves pinakbet pizza. We ordered one worth 370 Pesos and it was great. I am not a fan of pizzas but this was totally different and I loved it!
It was past four in the afternoon when we were done eating our pizza, we had to rush to Malacañang
of the North. This was the residence built by the late president Marcos to serve as the official residence of the president when visiting the Northern part of the country. It was now turned over to the provincial government for tourism purposes. Entrance fee costs 30 Pesos each. We arrived there just on time before it closes to the public. Visiting hours is until 4:30PM daily.
We need to be at the airport by 6:00PM for check-in. On our way, we stopped by a stall selling empanada beside the road. It was cheaper than in Pagudpud but equally delicious. We still need to buy longaniza and sukang Ilocos (Ilocos Vinegar) to complete our pasalubong. So we again rushed to the market. We ran our way to the stores and back to the van because we have to be at the airport 2 hours before our flight. It was starting to rain on our way to the airport. When we reached the airport, we immediately proceeded to the check-in counter. It was the most unorganized check-in I ever saw. bags are being sent inside the check-in counter randomly, I was already given the boarding pass and the stubs even if we still haven't checked-in all our bags yet because they wanted to put all vinegars in a box rather than in our bags, and some of my friends are still in the process of transferring them in boxes.
I was informed that our flight will be delayed by 40 minutes. Cebu Pacific seems to be consistent in their delays. After some time at the departure hall, we later found out that our flight was moved to 9:15PM just upon checking their website. It took more time for them to announce it. We should have enjoyed our tour more if only we knew our flight will be delayed.
At last, we have boarded our plane and we're on our way back to Manila. Our plane took off quickly since it's just a small ATR aircraft. Shortly upon reaching the sky, it was turbulent and it continued almost half of our flight. It felt like riding on a roller coaster, the plane was going up and down while shaking. It was really terrifying. The flight attendants didn't even had the chance to sell their items as Cebu Pacific usually does during flight. It was a sign of relief when our plane finally touched down the runway of NAIA. It was a smooth landing, finally I'm in Manila.
It was truly a memorable trip, and one of the things I learned during this trip is that there is so much you can do on a rice cooker! :)
Now I'm taking a trip to Ilocos Norte. This time I'll be taking Cebu Pacific Air to Laoag, and from there, a van service will pick us up to take us to our resort and to the tourist destinations. I chose to stay at Saud Beach because it was featured as the number 1 beach in 2009 by an Australian news paper. We stayed at Villa Del Mar Ivory Beach Resort. It offers affordable accommodation and the best view of the sunset.
June 7, 2011. We went to NAIA Terminal 3 two hours before our scheduled flight for a worry free check-in and it was indeed a breeze. We went to several shops inside the terminal for some snacks before proceeding to gate 116 where we are supposed to board the aircraft. After a few minutes, an announcement was made and says that our flight will be delayed by an hour. That was very disappointing. This is my first time to ride Cebu Pacific and also my first experience of a delayed outbound flight. I had to text our van service for the change of time so he wont wait at the arrival area in Laoag for a long time. We also had to text our other friend who took Philippine Airlines which departed an hour before our flight. It was an early mess since we were supposed to have our tour upon arrival. After about an hour, a more disappointing announcement was made. We were all requested to transfer to another check-in gate. This time we were moved to gate 133. It was so crowded there and most of the passengers, including us had to stand. It was a lot of inconvenience considering we paid 200 pesos for the terminal fee. After an hour, we finally boarded the aircraft. It was an airbus A320.
When we arrived at Laoag International Airport, the crew announced that we have landed 5 minutes ahead of time. I and some passengers laughed at the announcement. It was a delayed flight and even if we arrived earlier than the expected time of arrival, they should not announced it as such because basically it was way out of the actual schedule.
We immediately went out of the airport upon getting all our bags. I received a message from the van driver that he is waiting under a tree on the car park. When we saw our service, we went straight to Saramsam Ylocano Restaurant for our late lunch. The place was cozy, and serves delicious Ilocano cuisine. We tried Inabraw, adobong sili, and poque-poque. After our mouthwatering lunch, we went to the market to buy bagnet.
After our late lunch in Laoag City, we went straight to the town of Burgos to see Cape Bojeador Lighthouse. It is a cultural heritage that was established during the Spanish Colonial period in the Philippines. It was first lit on March 30, 1892 and is set high on Vigia de Nagparitan Hill overlooking the scenic Cape Bojeador where early galleons used to sail by. After over 100 years, it still functions as a welcoming beacon to the international ships that enter the Philippine Archipelago from the north and guide them safely away from the rocky coast of the town. We enjoyed the sights and took some pictures before we finally proceeded to Bangui, Ilocos Norte. Here, we went to see the famous Windmills. The windmills, officially referred to as the NorthWind Bangui Bay Project, were a project by the NorthWind Development Corporation as a practice renewable energy sources and to help reduce the greenhouse gases that cause global warming. The project is the first “Wind Farm” in the Philippines consisting of wind turbines on-shore facing the West Philippine Sea and considered to be the biggest in Southeast Asia. The project sells electricity to the Ilocos Norte Electric Cooperative (INEC) and provides 40% of the power requirements of Ilocos Norte via Transco Laoag. I never imagined that these windmills were so gigantic. I was so amazed with what I saw. I took photos and the sunset made it even more picture perfect. I also bought miniature windmills available around the area. Because it was starting to get dark, we went straight to our resort to check-in.
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| The Cape Bojeador Lighthouse. |
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| Sunset at the Bagui Windmills Farm. |
It was already dark when we reached Pagudpud. We all clapped when we saw the gate of our resort, Villa del Mar Ivory Beach Resort. When we got in, we were surprised by the amazing sunset. It was almost 7 o'clock in the evening and it was still sunset. I guess the sun sets late in the north... haha. I checked-in on the standard room. It was quite old and needs a make over, but the room was so big. The staff were nice and very accommodating. We were allowed to bring our own rice cooker and use it at no extra cost, so we took no time to cook rice for dinner. we do all the cooking in one of their beach front huts. For our first dinner, we brought with us pre-cooked chicken and pork adobo, we also ate some bagnet which we bought earlier in Laoag (I don't eat pork so I only ate the Chicken :)...). After that heavy dinner, we went straight to our rooms to rest.
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| Villa Del Mar Standard Room. |
Day2, June 08, 2011. We woke up early for our breakfast. There were fishermen selling fresh catch by the shore. We bought a huge fish called Balaki. After cleaning the fish, we stored it on the resort's freezer because it was too big for the mini ref inside our room.
For our tour, we were picked-up at 9:00AM. Our first stop was the Kapurpurawan Rock Formation. These are rock formations created by forces of the ocean on the rocky coast of Burgos, Ilocos Norte. We have to stop beside a hill and go straight down and walk some 750 meters more to reach these amazing rock formations.
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| The welcome arc. |
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| Kapurpurawan Rock Formation. |
Our next stop was the Kabigan Falls. Each person has to pay 10 pesos each plus 100 pesos for a tour guide. This is about a kilometer trekking, but while walking, you will be relaxed by the breath taking nature. Upon reaching the waterfalls, all our efforts were worth it. The water was so strong and it was really really cold. It was not too deep so you can actually be near the falls. It took us more than an hour of swimming before we finally realized that we still have some places to go.
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| On our way to Kabigan Falls. |
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| Kabigan Falls. |
After the wonderful Kabigan Falls adventure, we changed clothes and went to Patapat Viaduct. It is a viaduct at the municipality of Pagudpud, Ilocos Norte. elevated 31 meters over sea level, is a 1.3 km concrete coastal bridge that connects the Maharlika Highway from Laoag, Ilocos Norte to the Cagayan Valley Region. It rises along the town's coastal mountains, which is the starting point of the Cordillera Mountain Range that snakes through Northern Luzon. It is the 4th longest bridge in the Philippines. We also went to Agua Grande,
The Agua Grande River (also known in Ilocano as dakkel a danum) is known for its eco-friendly and non carbon producing mini-hydro electric power plant. This was commissioned in 1983 and has been providing a renewable and alternative power supply to the consumers of Pagudpud, Bangui, Dumalneg, Adams and Burgos. The Agua Grande and Mabogabog falls supply the water power to turn the turbines.
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| Patapat Viaduct, 4th Longest bridge in the Philippines. |
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| Agua Grande. |
Before going to Blue Lagoon, which is the main event of this day's tour, we stopped over at Paraiso ni Anton. This is just a spring water flowing from a mountain beside the highway. Nothing to do here but take pictures and buy souvenirs. I bought Bagoong padas for only 30 Pesos and sea weeds for 20 Pesos.
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| Paraiso ni Anton. |
At last! We are on our way to Blue Lagoon. There should be an entrance fee but there was no one on the guard house when we arrived so we just drove our way straight to the beach. Blue Lagoon claims to be the Boracay of the north because of the fine white sands. However, when we reached the beach area, we were not totally amazed, it was way far from our expectations. I guess we just expected too much. Yes, the sands were fine, but the water is not that crystal clear as they claim to be. It has a short shoreline, and the waves are so high, we didn't even had the chance to swim. If I were to compare Blue Lagoon with Saud Beach, the latter is better. Saud beach has better water, although the white sand is not finer. It also has a better location, both for travellers with or without their own service. I can say the best tour for the day is the Kabigan Falls.
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| Blue Lagoon Shore. |
On our way back to the resort, we stopped by the Market to buy ingredients for our kebab and kare-kare. We also ate empanada on a stall just outside the public market.
Back at the resort, we marinated the chicken and kept it for tomorrows kebab. We cooked the fish we bought earlier that morning instead, we grilled the other half, and the head part was made sinigang. It was a very nice dinner indeed. We took an early sleep.
Day 3, June 09, 2011. We do not have a scheduled tour for this day, it is our time to explore Saud Beach. The water was so clear, we can see fish not very far from the shore. What better way to enjoy was to feed the fish. The fish here are not used to people unlike in Boracay and some islands in Palawan, they do not go so near to people and goes away after biting the bread. I wonder why there are no snorkeling activities in that area considering there are so many reefs. I guess they're really preserving nature and don't want people intervene with the natural habitat.
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| Saud Beach. |
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| Villa Del Mar Ivory Beach Resort in Saud Beach. |
For lunch, we cooked kare-kare and used bagnet as meat. Later that afternoon, we setup our tent and prepare a space beside it where we can have our drinks later that night. It was a lot of fun the whole day at the beach. After our kebab dinner, we spent the rest of the evening drinking and of course eating other grilled food such as hotdogs and kebabs.
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| Kare-kare with bagnet. |
June 10, 2010, our last day. We woke up early to have a final dip at the sea and at the resort's pool. We had heavy brunch because we'll check-out at exactly 12:00 in the afternoon. Our van service came exactly on time for our check-out. But we still have our tour. These are tours that we should have done on our first day but was moved because of the delay of our flight. Because our return flight is scheduled at 8:10PM, we still have [limited] time to see other attractions. On our way, we stopped by Sarabo Souvenirs, a souvenir shop in Pagudpud not far from our resort. I bought a t-shirt for 170 Pesos, and a Rice coffee for 85 Pesos. You can buy the coffee for a cheaper price elsewhere but because of their paper bags, I decided to buy it here for a more appealing pasalubong.
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| Sarabo Souvenirs in Pagudpud, Ilocos Norte. |
We reached Laoag City past 2:30 in the afternoon and we went straight on to Batac, Ilocos Norte to see the Marcos Mausoleum. Here, we saw the remains of former President Ferdinand Marcos. We also went to the photo exhibit where it showcases the life and activities of Marcos during his presidency.
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| At the Marcos photo gallery. |
Next stop was Paoay Church. Founded by the Augustinian missionaries in 1593. The church was built using corals. Near the church is Cafe Herencia which serves pinakbet pizza. We ordered one worth 370 Pesos and it was great. I am not a fan of pizzas but this was totally different and I loved it!
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| Paoay Church. |
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| Pinakbet Pizza. |
It was past four in the afternoon when we were done eating our pizza, we had to rush to Malacañang
of the North. This was the residence built by the late president Marcos to serve as the official residence of the president when visiting the Northern part of the country. It was now turned over to the provincial government for tourism purposes. Entrance fee costs 30 Pesos each. We arrived there just on time before it closes to the public. Visiting hours is until 4:30PM daily.
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| Malacañang of the North. |
We need to be at the airport by 6:00PM for check-in. On our way, we stopped by a stall selling empanada beside the road. It was cheaper than in Pagudpud but equally delicious. We still need to buy longaniza and sukang Ilocos (Ilocos Vinegar) to complete our pasalubong. So we again rushed to the market. We ran our way to the stores and back to the van because we have to be at the airport 2 hours before our flight. It was starting to rain on our way to the airport. When we reached the airport, we immediately proceeded to the check-in counter. It was the most unorganized check-in I ever saw. bags are being sent inside the check-in counter randomly, I was already given the boarding pass and the stubs even if we still haven't checked-in all our bags yet because they wanted to put all vinegars in a box rather than in our bags, and some of my friends are still in the process of transferring them in boxes.
I was informed that our flight will be delayed by 40 minutes. Cebu Pacific seems to be consistent in their delays. After some time at the departure hall, we later found out that our flight was moved to 9:15PM just upon checking their website. It took more time for them to announce it. We should have enjoyed our tour more if only we knew our flight will be delayed.
At last, we have boarded our plane and we're on our way back to Manila. Our plane took off quickly since it's just a small ATR aircraft. Shortly upon reaching the sky, it was turbulent and it continued almost half of our flight. It felt like riding on a roller coaster, the plane was going up and down while shaking. It was really terrifying. The flight attendants didn't even had the chance to sell their items as Cebu Pacific usually does during flight. It was a sign of relief when our plane finally touched down the runway of NAIA. It was a smooth landing, finally I'm in Manila.
It was truly a memorable trip, and one of the things I learned during this trip is that there is so much you can do on a rice cooker! :)
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