Posted by calvin on February 26th, 2008 at Ilocos
This is Part 2 of Touring Ilocos Without a Car series
GOING TO PAGUDPUD
Pagudpud lies on the north of Laoag. It’s pretty cold out there during the “ber” months pretty much like Baguio. From Laoag, it is a 2 hour bus ride. There are two good beaches in Pagudpud, one is Saud and the other is Blue Lagoon or what they call “Maira-ira“.
The airport is located in a town outside Laoag so when you leave the terminal, you will see some jeeps, tricycles and the Fort Ilocandia bus waiting at the parking lot. It’s up to you if you want to ride the jeep or the small tricycles (I mean really small compared to Manila trikes) going to Laoag since the fare is the same, Php40 – Php50 per head depending on how good you are at haggling.
TIP: Take the trike if you wanna go directly to your hotel. Take the jeep if you’re headed for the bus terminals at Laoag.
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Posted by calvin on February 26th, 2008 at Ilocos
On December 2007, my wife and I went on a 6-day Ilocos tour. We visited places in Laoag, Pagudpud and Vigan. We don’t know anybody there so it was a great adventure for us. I’m writing our experience to help others out there who want to visit the place but don’t know where to start, what to visit, how to get where, etc.
Our plan is to go to Pagudpud first and stay there for 2 nights then go back to Laoag for 3 more nights. It was raining pretty bad the week before we’re supposed to leave and since it’s already December, we decided not to go swimming anymore on the nice beaches of Pagudpud.
We travelled by plane (Cebu Pacific) to Laoag instead of the cheaper but 12 hour bus ride from Manila to Laoag. As many of you may experience riding Cebu Pacific, always expect that the flight would be delayed. Anyhow, we were greeted with a nice sunny weather landing in Laoag Airport.
TIP: Call your airline before you leave for the airport for schedule changes. It sucks to be stuck on the terminal for hours.
Our next order of business upon landing is to head straight to Pagudpud which is covered on the next part.
Part 1: From Manila to Laoag
Part 2: Going to Pagudpud
Part 3: Pagudpud
Part 4: City of Laoag
Part 5: South of Laoag
Part 6: Going to Vigan from Laoag
If you have any questions/suggestions/corrections, please feel free to leave a comment. Thanks!
Posted by habagatcentral on February 22nd, 2008 at Iloilo, Road Trip, Travel Destinations
17 Pebrero. Bagama’t binayo ang Iloilo ng malamig na ihip ng hangin mula sa Siberia, hindi nagpatalo ang mga Ilonggo sa kanilang talento na harapin ang bangis ng karagatan na humanaw sa kamuwangan ng mga Ilonggo bilang isa sa mga kilalalang seamen ng bansa. Ang Paraw Regatta Festival ay tinuturing na isa sa pinakamatandang regatta o karera ng mga yate o bangka sa Asya. Ngayon na nasa ika-36 na taon ng pagdiriwang na ang nasabing festival, ito’y lumaki at lumaki mula sa simpleng karerahan ng mga bangka-de-paraw ng mga mangingisda noon, hanggang naging isa itong pang-akit sa mga turista at mga boat enthusiasts na rin. Tinaguriang ika-tatlong best tourism event ng ATOP (Assoctiation of Tourism Officers in the Philippines), maliban sa karera sa dagat at pagpinta ng mga layag ng mga paraw, dinagdagan na rin ng mga karagdagang activites ang nasabing pyesta. May sayawan ng samba, may fireworks display noong gabi bago ang fiesta at mga pakontest habang nasa kalagitnaan ng karera ang mga bangka.
Ang karera ngayon ay tila hinabaan at nagtagal ito ng mahigit 2 oras na umiikot mula sa Villa Beach ng Iloilo City, patungo sa Guimaras at pabalik.
Para sa mga hindi nakakaalam, ang paraw na marahil ang naging simbolo ng angking kagalingan ng mga Ilonggo pagdating sa industriya ng pandaragat o maritime industry. Kung tutuusin, dito mo rin matatagpuan ang kauna-unahang maritime university ng bansa at ang mismong Iloilo ay nagpapadala ng libo-libong mandaragat kada taon. Sa kasaysayan ng mga Ilonggo, pinaniniwalaang ito ang nagdala sa 10 datu na nanggaling pang Boreno (Malaysia na ngayon) na tumakas sa diktador nitong sultan, patungo sa Isla ng Panay ayon sa Maragtas. Dahil sa nakatira sa isla ang mga Panayanon, hindi maiiwasang gumamit at makipagsapalaran sa karagatan para manghuli ng isda, maglakbay at manakop ng ibang lugar. Ito ay naging tradisyon na nakamarka sa mga Ilonggo at pati na sa mga Panayanon.
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Posted by habagatcentral on February 22nd, 2008 at Iloilo, Road Trip, Travel Destinations
Pebrero 2. Ito na marahil ang pinaka-una kong pagkakataon na maranasan ang sinasabing pinakamalaking pyesta ng Iloilo, bago pa man sumulpot ang Dinagyang sa syudad. Ito na ang Pyesta ng Nuestra Señora de Candelaria ng Distrito ng Jaro sa Syudad ng Iloilo. Noong una, hindi ko maintindihan kung bakit parag grabe ang kasikatan nitong pyesta na to, na magdadala sa north part ng syudad sa grabeng trapik at di mahulugan ng karayom na namamanata sa Birhen.
Flashback muna tayo. Ang kasalukuyang Katedral ng Jaro (o Katedral ng Santa Elizabeth de Ungria) ay itinayo noong late 19th Century sa komisyon ni Padre Mariano Cuartero. Ang statwa mismo na tinitingala ng mga deboto ay meron ding misteryosong nakaraan. Sinasabing nakita raw ito sa tabi ng Ilog Jaro ng isang mangingisda, hindi raw ito mabuhat ng madla kahit 1 feet lang. Wow, bigat!
Nang mailuklok ang estatwa na ito sa Katedral, pinaniniwalaang lumalaki at lalong bumibigat ito kada taon. May mga araw rin daw na nawawala ang imahen na ito, sabay na nakikita ang isang magandang babae na may dalang anak na naliligo sa isang bukal sa ngayo’y Plaza Jaro.
Dahil sa taglay na mala-milagrosong katangi-an. Maraming naging deboto ang Candelaria…ang kanilang naging simbolo ng pag-asa.
Mismong si Pope John Paul II na mismo ang nagdeklara kay Birheng Candelaria bilang Patrona Santa ng Western Visayas, ng Arsodiosesis ng Jaro noong 1981 nang sya’y bumisita sa syudad.
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Posted by ka_edong on February 9th, 2008 at Pampanga, Road Trip
The Hot air balloons are back!
The annual Philippine International Hot Air Balloon Fiesta (PIHABF) is the country’s biggest aviation sports event today. Hot air balloon and airplane pilots from all over the world fly into the Philippines to join their local counterparts in this breathtaking event. In addition to daily flights of the hot air balloons, other activities include: skydiving, daily flag jumps (a skydiver jumps with the Philippine flag while the National Anthem is played to the start of the day’s activities); micro light demonstrations; small planes fly-bys and fly-ins; remote controlled airplanes exhibitions; aerobatics; light airplane balloon bursting competition; ultra-light formation flying and bomb dropping exhibitions; helicopter fly-ins and exhibitions; an air rally from Clark to Vigan; rocketry demonstrations; kite flying exhibitions; and races between ultra lights and motorcycles.
Be sure to be there early in the morning. Be there by 5am if you want to catch the Balloons being set up at dusk. It’s just awesome watching those balloons transform from flat pieces of linen to graceful and colorful flying balloons! The balloons are the real stars in the Fiesta. The sunrise and the morning sunlight is a show in itself as well! Thank you Lord!
There are other aviation highlights during the day. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted by ka_edong on February 7th, 2008 at Baguio, Travel Tips
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Here are some tips for a great Panagbenga 2008 experience in Baguio!
Update: Flower Festival photos 2009 – ka edong
1.) Know the schedules of the parades. There are two highlight parades at the Panagbenga.
The first is the grand parade of street dancing where schools compete on best marching band and street dancing performance.
The second is the parade of floats where different groups and commercial establishments flaunt their floats decorated with thousands of flowers.
The two parades happen on different days. Best to catch both of these parades. Here’s the schedule for Panagbenga 2008
2.) Find accommodations as close to the city center as possible. On parade days, traffic rolls to a halt. You don’t want to spend an hour in a car stuck in traffic trying to catch the parade at Session Road. Best to walk to the parade area, and easiest to do that if you’re staying near the city center. You can choose from the many hotels in Baguio, or you can try your luck finding a transient house close to the city center.
3.) Be mobile. Travel light so that you can walk around to see the parades from different vantage points. Wear comfortable shoes. Get used to walking, it’s a good way to see the beauty of the city center.
4.) Bring your camera and feast in the beautiful sights! Take close up shots (if you can) of the street dancers. Fill the frame with colors of flowers and costumes. Smile at the street dancers so that they will smile back at you for a great photo!
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Posted by ericd001 on January 29th, 2008 at Iloilo
I’m back here in Manila. Anyway the Dinagyang Festival 2008 in Iloilo City Philippines was a huge success. Thousands of locals, and foreign tourists flocked to Iloilo to witness the annual celebration of the Dinagyang Festival.
Anyway, here’s the list of winners of yesterday’s competition:
GRAND CHAMPION: Tribu Paghidaet
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Posted by ericd001 on January 21st, 2008 at Metro Manila
Yesterday, I went to Makati City, Philippines to witness the Caracol Festival. The first time I heard of these festival was in 2006, but I wasn’t able to witness it because I went to Bacolod then. Last year I also skipped this event for Cebu Sinulog Festival. Now, I no longer have any reasons for skipping this event. It’s actually my first time seeing this parade.
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Posted by karlaredor on January 14th, 2008 at Aklan, Summer Hot Spots
Together, with other bloggers, we spent 3 days and 2 nights in Microtel Boracay, a renowned brand of American chain of hotels. Their tagline, “The same great hotel everywhere you go!” speaks for the other Microtel hotels. They all look the same but not for Microtel Boracay. Microtel Boracay was conceptualized to be a resort-hotel. Likewise, the architectural design of Microtel Boracay is very different from the other Microtel hotels because it used the Mediterranean design. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted by Gloria Gamat on January 12th, 2008 at Bohol, Retreats, Travel Destinations
Raine (my son) and I don’t often go on a real vacation. Well, except for a quick trip to Manila and Los Baños to re-connect with friends.
I have included in my healthy new year’s resolution traveling out of town (if not out of the country!) at least once a year. My son and I need such bonding-retreats (be it just the two us or with a group of friends) away from our daily routine, every now and then.
I have discovered too that unplanned trips are the ones that eventually materialize.
Like we have been planning to visit Ruth in Singapore for half-a -year now but we haven’t gone to finally booking that ticket. Either I have not much money saved or something comes up that makes me use the money I was supposedly saving. 
And then suddenly, Ruth told me that her family is coming home to the Philippines and out of the blue said to me when we were chatting: tara sa bohol!
So, we’re going to join them. Yey!!
We are already booked at the Bohol Beach Club and thank God for the Cebu Pacific low fare rates.
