flip'n travels

Ah the single life! I leave whenever I want, go home anytime I want and most importantly, travel anywhere I want. I value my alone time so much that when Ron and I and some friends from the office went to Ilocos, I stayed one more day while everybody went home. As was expected, I had a blast.

The morning of my alone day was spent in coffee and cigarettes while playing with our dog Coco in our house in Vintar. It was a was a Sunday and the flee market was alive at 5am. I decided to walk around before heading out to the Campo Santo to visit my lolo and lola’s grave.

tobacco leaves for sale at the Sunday baratillo in Vintar

After the brief reunion, I took my bag and headed out to Laoag to get a jeep back to Paoay to meet my cousin who’s managing a film supposedly commissioned by the president. While he ran around the set like a headless chicken, I decided to get comfortable inside Henrencia, the famous restaurant in front of Paoay church and ordered myself a Pinakbet pizza. I thought those two words cannot be joined together but there I was eating with gusto. The crust was crispy thin with no hint of oil. The toppings: eggplant, string beans, okra and longganisa bits. On the side, bagoong isda. It was weird, but a good kind of weird.

Pinakbet Pizza at Herencia Cafe

After the short stay in Paoay, I took a bus going back to Vigan. I got there with no idea what to do. Luckily, I saw one of the calesas we rode when we first got there. I went to the burnayan (pottery shop) where I met Fidel Go, third generation of one of the few potters left in the province. He let me try to make them pots that turned out to be a disaster.

no, that wasn’t the vase I made…

After visiting the ginormous brick oven where they bake the pots, the calesa driver took me to Chavit Singson’s Baluarte where anyone can go in for free. It was already late in the afternoon and I wasn’t able to take pictures with the tigers. Boohoo…

Rudolph, the red-lipped raindeer

After the mini-zoo tour, I asked the driver to take me to a hotel where I can stay for just a few hours. I wanted to take a bath and fix my bag before I go home. He took me back to Grandpa’s Inn and I was able to get a room for 300Php for 3 hours. Yes, yes… I know what those rooms are for.

Conversation between me and the receptionist:

Me:Meron po bakayong kwarto na pwedeng pag stayan? 3 hours lang po.
Receptionist:Meron ma’am. Ilan po sila? (Take note, I was alone when I entered the hotel)
Me:Isa lang. Maliligo lang ako chaka mag-aayos ng bag bago umuwi. Galing pa kasi ako ng Laoag at Paoay tapos umikot ikot pa dito.
Receptionist:Sige po, meron kami. Mag-isa lang po ba talaga kayo?
Me:Ako nga lang mag-isa.
Receptionist:Ay, wala pong susunod?
Me:Wala.
Receptionist:Ahhh… Weird naman…

After dodging glances from the staff at the hotel, I went inside my room and enjoyed a hot bath, changed my clothes and fixed my backpack. I decided to eat at Max’s where I had to endure being asked why I was alone.  Personally, I don’t know either…

First things first, there’s no airport in Vigan. The nearest airport is in Laoag, about 2 hours bus ride away. Cebu Pacific Air flies twice daily (to and from).  Vigan is a very small town, you can actually cover a complete itinerary in one day, so it’s a good idea to also check out other towns like Sta. Maria, Narvacan and probably some nearby beaches in La Union province.

For someone like me and Monette, this town is perfect to unleash the creative animals within us. She can just sit along the curb side, set on trans mode and start writing. As for me, I can walk around and be the clicker happy that I am.

It’s a town where everything moves slowly, so hurrying up to catch the pre-plotted itinerary isn’t exactly the fun way to enjoy the place.

WHERE TO STAY

Hotels and hostels within the blocks around the town center are mostly old houses. They decorate the house with all sorts of antique items ranging from flat iron converted to an ash tray to a make shift corner table out of an old sewing machine, and the list goes on. The interiors are basically colonial, they just put rooms and beds and a signage outside and voila! An antique thrift shop cum hostel. To some lone travelers who got wild imagination, you may want to look for a companion. Rooms resemble those that we see on classic horror films where you can expect to see Lilia Cuntapay materialize in the dark corner of your cold brick walled suite. Room rates are ranging form 700-1500 inclusive of Filipino breakfast. Grandpa’s Inn is where we stayed.

WHERE TO EAT

There are three ways to have a blast with your Vigan food trip.

Fine Dine at Cafe Leona where the perfect time to sit down and order would be at night where they have al fresco dining right at the end of Crisologo street. I never got the chance of eating out here during my recent trip, but a decade ago, the chokolate-E was 0h-so-wicked. I believe they also serve the good old Vigan faves like the bagnet (deep fried pork meat) and longanisa (Filipino garlic sausage).

Street Food trip is also popular among tourists and locals alike. Grab your bag of chichacorn (fried corn kernels) of a small box of cheesy royal bibingka (rice cake). This is a perfect snack while walking around the old town or riding a Kalesa.

Eat Vigan empanada at the park. Shredded lettuce, longanisa and whole egg wrapped with a hand rolled soft dough, then deep fried to perfection.

WHAT TO DO

Get a private kalesa, it’s the horse drawn carriage and a very eco-friendly means of transportation which started during the colonial era. I always wanted to just chill and ride one. Manila still got these iconic road runners, but it’s definitely not a good idea. The very essence of riding a kalesa is to enjoy the picturesque town and fresh air is an important element.

Kalesa ride costs around PhP 150/hour. There is a city ordinance that sets the fare so even if you want to haggle, you can’t. One thing is for sure, the kutcheros (drivers) are friendly and they are not as adamant as those from tourist traps elsewhere. They will tour you around the city. They will take you to several spots like Bantay church and bell  tower, Baluarte and Burnayan.

Bantay Bell Tower

Old bell of Bantay Belfry

pottery of burnayan

WHAT TO BUY

Or what NOT? In the past, Vigan is the spot for antique collectors. They hold the biggest collection of colonial artifacts. Like their houses, the household knickknacks were perfectly preserved. But in recent decades, residents decided to just sell them to antique shops, foreign tourists and collectors. I’m not sure if I am fully against this trade, but it would be cool to leave these items in Vigan where they belong. I heard the number of antique items in this town is dwindling down.

Ilocos Sur skyline, view from the Bantay bell tower

From Manila, land transportation is one of the most economical, PhP 500-600 (one way). Travel time may vary depending on the traffic, it may take around 8 hours on a night trip and 10 hours on a day trip. Several bus companies are operating daily from Manila to Vigan:

Partas Transportation Co. (Cubao QC/Sampaloc Manila) – They can cut the travel time from 10 hours to 7. Drivers got a death wish.

Fariñas Transit Company (Lacson Sampaloc Manila) – Owned by a political family in Ilocos Norte, so people throwing stones is pretty normal, no worries, there’s no recorded casualties or injuries so far. The buses are pretty clean and brand new.

Florida Bus Line (Espana Manila) – Newest addition to the competing bus lines to the north. Known as the “Pink Bus”, obviously not owned by Bayani Fernando but the buses are pretty decent pretty girly decent.

Maria de Leon Bus (Dapitan Manila) – probably one of the oldest in the bunch. They got the friendliest staff but circulating rumors says: the drivers are as senile as the buses, they are really pros, however, the 10-hour trip may become 15 hours. The drivers tend to stop every 30 minutes to take a leak.

In a nutshell, Vigan is the place to visit if your life is moving faster than it should be, and you are dying to have a break. The place will help you recalibrate your pace with the universe, as you take your slow steps around this town of classic beauty and elegance, you will also get the chance to go back in time and enjoy the simple pleasures in life.

Ron

Vigan was one of the first few towns I visited during the genesis of my traveling advocacy. I can’t deny the fact that it was also one of the places that sparked my interest to see the world.

I was 20 years old when I first walked the cobbled stone streets of Crisologo. Back then, I felt like I was walking the streets of Italy. It even inspired me to sit along the pavement and start writing random poems and sketch the plethora of antique items on sale along the UNESCO heritage site.

We left manila at 3 PM, we reached Vigan around 1 AM, not a pretty good idea. Majority of establishments shuts off at around 9 PM. We could have just left at midnight and slept in the bus. So it was wee hours in the morning and we didn’t want to waste our time snoozing, waiting for the morning light. We bought a bottle of booze and drank in our hotel until the sun rose.

Sleepless and obviously attenuated by the alcohol in my head, I decided to walk aimlessly on the streets of Vigan with my hand ready to press the shutter.

my first shot of the street after 9 years.

closed weathered shop doors

I opted walking on my own while waiting for the break of dawn. It was cold and quiet. Perfect time to think, and try to look back to the years when I was young innocent, naive and unsure of what lies ahead of me. It’s been almost a decade. I couldn’t help but chuckle and smile a bit.

The sun kissed my cheeks and the street came to life.

stores opened their wooden doors, and arranged all sorts of knickknacks they are selling.

Kalesa, or horse drawn carriages started appearing on each corners of the old street

day has began

My life has been moving really fast, the last couple of years came and went in a break-neck speed. Time is taking a toll on my body. If only I can freeze time, like what happened to this small town. If only…

Ron