Ilocos Region

A year of saving will pay its worth especially when you came all the way from the South just to visit the North. Everything you heard and dream of Ilocos will be a perfect reality! Me and my friends had a blast during our weekend tour, thanks to Triple 8 Travel and Tours and to our driver slash guide Kuya Randy for the great company. Pictures speak more than a thousand words. So here's a sneak pick. Enjoy!

Vigan's Heritage Village



Every January 25, Vigan commemorates the fiest of St. Paul the Apostle. The town's celebration is more commonly known to locals as the Vigan Longanisa Festival. Vigan longganisa is a native version of Mexican salami which has a distinct garlic taste and has become one of Filipino favorates.

Not only, has Vigan been known for its longganisa but also for its Empanada made flavored with the famous longganisa which taste good when matched with their special vinegar and soy sauce.

Elegantly at night, you could stroll the beautiful town's antique inspired buildings and the plaza where you will enjoy the colorful dazzling lights and water fountain as it jazzed with the music for an hour.



Bantay Church and Bell Tower 

Paburnayan (Jar Making)



Subli-Subli Resort



Marcos Museum & Photo Gallery



Paoay Church



Malacanang Ti Maianan






Laoag Sand Dunes

Ride an ATV for only P500 per head at Laoag Sand Dunes and enjoy sand surfing activities for free. Steep slopes will surely bring your happiness to the extremes and the vast ocean will surely mesmerized you.

Kapurpurawan Rock Formation

Kapurpurawan mean "Kaputi-putian" as per the local tour guide, the place used to be part of the ocean but as time passed by, it transformed into a beautiful landscape. 

Bangui Windmills

Blue Lagoon

Ilocos tides are strong by nature. Here in blue lagoon, white and powdery sand beaches will surely greet you. You could take a swim and have some relax time. Nearby coffee shops, hotels and themed parks are also available approximately 10 m from shoreline.

The Zipline Deck 

There are still many places to go in Ilocos that I haven't enumerated in here. So guys, stay tuned and enthusiastic about travel. Don't stop to discover. 

Till then, Shiela.

How to plan and save for a trip

I remembered a friend asking me to go on a group trip, but all the planning went on until the idea just died down into bubbles of imagination. Funny but I think most of us do. Don't just seat and daydream about it but think! 

1. Research

First things first is to have an end in mind. Plan on your itinerary, budget and schedule. If you want to go on a road trip of your own, research, read some blogs, see local tourism infos and discussion of the place you wanted to visit to check on exciting things you can do in that area. But if you prefer to go on a package tour, inquire ahead of time for schedule of departure (for your flight schedule), itinerary (so you'll have the slightest idea on the food and etc), how much would it cost (for your budget) and other things you wanted to ask.

 

Going solo would be a lot easier to plan but somehow could end up boring especially if you will join a group tour. One thing to do is ask who are committed to go with you. This way you'll pay less on package tours, a happy trip and have someone look after travel tickets for you.

2. Funds

Many would say, a trip is too costly especially if you desire to go miles and miles away from home. But beat you! We did it. Horay! For our Ilocandia group tour, we started amortizing P200 every payday since December 2014 till Novermber of 2015. We invested the money to a cooperative to gain extra cash while saving for our own trip allowance.

3. Tickets

Plane tickets are certainly costly. One way to save on tickets is buy it ahead of time. If you already have the plan and a few bucks, all you need is a promo. 

Local airlines offer promos especially on holidays, weekends, midnights and etc. Follow them on twitter, Facebook, subscribe on newsletters or enroll to sale alerts.

4. Travel 

Adversities might test you but remember that beating the odds will answer every 'what ifs'. So, have fun while you're still young. Travel if you can!

A Long Time Ago in Sugbu, Cebu City

 

In most of my travels, I love to experience what it feels like to be at home in that foreign land to see what in the world was I missing. So, I live, transport, communicate, and entertain like a regular citizen.

"Yeah, I was home!" but I felt lost because I was missing a faraway home.

It feels as though the past five months were just yesterday. Recalling how I was packing my things, preparing documents I needed for my exam, the series of brownouts that tormented me during my thesis proposals and defenses, sleepless nights spent on my designs, the earthquake that destroyed some of Cebu and Bohol's historical places and the unexpected typhoon "YOLANDA" that raged through Visayas Regions on the same day of our flight to Cebu.

That cancellation was the reason my classmate lost his license to an airport officer for driving without head gears on a motorcycle. A piece of advice? Do not panic in the event of unintentional flight cancellation.

And who would forget those series of unfortunate events? Well, that was just a piece of icing on the cake, if you just let Cebu speak.

Sinulog Festival

Sinulog Festival falls in the third week of January in honor of Sto. Nino. During Sinulog, most of the houses, small-scale businesses, and establishments in town would play festive sounds of "Viva Pit Senor!".

Vibrant and colorful decorations hang around the corners. Several local artists joined the parade on their booths waving to millions of expectorates. Different schools, colleges, and barangays participated in the street dancing competition.

Expect the downtown roads to be closed and you can have all the streets to walk until your feet are sore. I'm kidding about having the streets to your own. Be warned that you'll have to deal with a throng of people coming from different directions. Actually, expect a million people dear buddy to join your party. Never forget to bring along a hat or you can buy one along the street when you go out for a stroll and lots of bottled water enough to quench your thirst for the whole day.

Along Fuente Circle, lots of young artists offer henna tattoos ranging from P10 - P20 depending on the design, t-shirt printings in less than an hour for only P150 (t-shirt is for free), freehand face painting for P10 - P20 and sometimes even for free, a man who let you hold his pet snake (almost take my breath away) and the night street party wherein people will hug, shake hands, greet you a happy Sinulog and lastly would be the grand fireworks display to most of the city's malls.

Street food

I remembered seeing some street vendors selling sea shells on sticks. Not for adornment but as street food. I was not a fan of exotic food but it is worth a try. Deep the luscious seafood into "sukang pinakurat" (home-made vinegar with a variety of spices) would make your mouth really water. Well, it really tastes good.

Another peculiar thing about their street food is to have tasted chicken "balut" (boiled unhatched chicken embryo). Most baluts back home are from ducks but I don't know why they have chicken. One of my all-time favorites is Carcar's chicaron made out of whole porkchop.

Flea Market

Every Tuesday and Friday after class, me and my friends would walk the narrow streets of Colon where various street peddlers sells goods from P5 and up of various sorts of blouses, toys, shorts undies and etc. Vendors uses different styles of promoting and marketing their goods. Some vendors employ their recorded voices shouting "tag-byente, tag-byente na lang kini!" repetitively on the radio which somehow I find amusing.

We were very busy wandering off the streets until we came to a curve of dark alleys. Slightly surprised when we saw sellers of gadgets lying free on torn-out tarpaulins or mats laid down on the streets at cheap deals. Just kidding. Well, the night market and a little bit of imagination were fun for first-time visitors like me.

Strong Faith

What I admire most about Cebu is that despite its advanced metro lifestyle, the culture was preserved and people's faith is very strong in this place.

One time, I went to the mall to buy something when all of a sudden in the middle of walking, I noticed everybody stood still, rooted in their positions. I was feeling very weird, looking side to side and searching for eye contact from people but to no avail. I was really missing something before I realized what was playing on the intercom, the 6:00 o'clock prayer. I was so embarrassed for not noticing it earlier and so I bent my head down until I heard Amen.

There are still many places to explore in Cebu City like temples, churches, malls, diving sites, and other tourist attractions. But during my visit, typhoons and the quakes most likely destroy some of these historical places so I don't have much of it to share.

Till then Cebu!   

Missing my Life as a Vagabond

After a month of a very busy schedule, I can sense all things are reaching its deadline... and another set is coming up. Then, thought a brand new start will be exciting. However, I suddenly felt the urge to look back to the path I had traversed... the happy and sad moments...

Just then, I realized I missed everybody... my friends and classmates before. Adulthood had lots of responsibilities and so us college! I am stuck to my childish ways, to the point of forgetting responsibilities which somehow... and in some way... make me decide to settle on my reckless saying 'bahala na si Batman'.

But we must grow up and move on with our lives despite age and numbers, acceptance of mature roles is important.