Roadtrip in Ilocos (part 2)

March 21, 2010

Our second day started out early. We’re all well rested and ready for the long day ahead.

We scrapped plans of another roadtrip and opted for a laid back morning. We’re going to go beaching and Len has the perfect place for us. Badoc Island!

It took a 10 minute drive to get us to the coastline from our host’s place. From there, we had to ride a boat. I found it scary because it was a small boat and we had no lifevest. I opted to seat inside, on the boat’s floor instead of sitting on the side.

We literally had the whole island for ourselves and the water was crystal clear it was like being in a swimming pool. The only downside was that we were stung by jellies that morning. Water was safe past 10am though. hehehe

The underwater views in our country are always a sight to behold and the place was no exception. I’m glad I brought my snorkel gear along. :)

We brought food and had an impromptu picnic there. We were very hungry from all that swimming, our food was quickly finished!

Time flies when you’re having fun. It was all too soon that we had to head back because we still have Ilocos Sur’s Vigan in our list. ;)

The only down side that I can think of when traveling with a big group was that even if your host has a lot of bathroom, it will still take ages for everyone to get freshened up! Hmph! We walked around the town while waiting for our turn to shower hehehe

After everyone’s packed up and ready to head off to our next destination, we set aside a few minutes for group pictures. :)

We had to wait for almost 30 minutes to catch a bus headed for Ilocos Sur. No worries though because we were all busy munching on delicious empanadas sold on the street. That and taking pictures of course! We had to part ways with DJ though coz he’s headed back to Pagudpud (lucky guy!).

With DJ, before he boarded the bus for Pagudpud

Vigan is Ilocos Sur’s capital. A UNESCO World Heritage site, it is famed for its Spanish influenced colonial houses and cobblestone streets. A stroll in Crisologo Street is like a walk back in time. :)

Calle Crisologo

Unfortunately, we had limited time there coz it’s back to work the next morning for most of us. It was still enjoyable and is on my list of places to return to. ;)

2011
01/03
CATEGORY
Ilocos
Philippines
Trips
TAGS





Leave a comment

Roadtrip in Ilocos (day 1)

Len, a good friend who hails from Badoc in Ilocos Norte, hosted me along with 18 more from the world over in her hometown for a weekend. I had so much fun! I must say that Ilocos province is one of my favorite countryside. The view of the ride is very scenic; the mountains, plains, the sea, it all kept me enchanted with the province.


March 19, 2010

Our meeting place is at RCJ bus station in Sampaloc, Manila along España by 9pm. It’s opposite Florida bus line, almost directly in front of UST. Since it was a Friday night (again), traffic was heavy so our host Len along with few other joiners were late. She sent me an sms to get everyone organized. I introduced myself to the others joining us on the trip and collected 500php from them for the bus fare! hehe We were all seated at the bus when our wonderful host arrived. :D

The bus set off a few minutes past 9pm. We had two stops over the night and I learned from Len that you can claim some noodles and biscuits at one of the stop by just showing them your bus ticket. Cool! The ride took 9hours. A bright sunny morning woke us up. :)

Initial itinerary is to cover as many spot as we possibly could given our short stay there that’s why our first day is going to be a roadtrip!

1st stop: Paoay Church a.k.a. St. Augustine Church in Paoay

Paoay Church, a UNESCO World Heritage Site

The Church is a unique combination of Gothic, Baroque and Oriental designs. Its facade reveals Gothic affinity, its gables show Chinese elements, while the niches topping the walls suggest Javanese influence (reminiscent of the famous Boroboudur Temple). Known as the “Earthquake Baroque” church in the Philippines, Paoay church was built of baked bricks, coral rocks, salbot (tree sap) and lumber, and has 24 carved massive buttresses for support. – wikiPilipinas

When we got there, a wedding was about to take place, perfect timing for taking pictures! :D

Along with students nearby practicing some dance moves for a presentation.

It really is a beautiful church. :)

2nd stop: Bahay Ti Ili (Marcos’ ancestral house) in Batac

A property owned by the Marcos family, it features their ancestral house as well as a museum filled with the late president’s memorabilia and a mausoleum which houses his waxed remains. Taking pictures within the mausoleum isn’t allowed.

3rd stop: Cape Bojeador Lighthouse a.k.a. Faro Cabo Cape Bojeador a.k.a. Burgos Lighthouse in Burgos

Considered as a cultural heritage structure, its light marks the northwesternmost part of Luzon.

The view of Cape Bojeador from the top of the lighthouse is amazing!

That’s why it is popular with tourists. ;)

4th stop: Pagudpud

The place is known for its fine white sand that’s why it’s touted as Boracay of the north. We had our late lunch here and made some time for fun in the water and on the beach.

5th stop: NorthWind Bangui Bay Project a.k.a. Bangui windmills in Bangui

The first wind farm in the country and the the biggest in Southeast Asia. It is a good example of usage of renewable energy. :)

Since it was past sunset after our stop at Bangui, we went back to our host’s place for dinner and rest. :)

There were places that we weren’t able to go to like the sand dunes and rock formations since there were just so many interesting places to visit. But that gives me another reason to go back. ;)

Considered as a cultural heritage structure.
2010
12/30
CATEGORY
Ilocos
Philippines
Trips
TAGS










1 comment

DIY: Potipot Island Camping

shoreline of Potipot

Potipot is a tiny island off the coast of Uacon, Zambales. Potipot is so small  you can walk around it in about 30 minutes. The sands are a bit fine but I wouldn’t say it’s as fine as those in Boracay. A good place to relax and enjoy the beach, you can even do some snorkeling here.

To get there:

We rode a Victory Liner bus from Caloocan Station bound for Sta. Cruz, Zambales. It took us more or less 5 hours to get to Zambales by bus and from there a 10-15 minutes boat ride to reach this haven.

Don’t forget to:

  • Bring along stuff for your entertainment (frisbee, volleyball, a deck of cards, snorkel gear, a book) to keep boredom at bay.

do some snorkeling ;)

  • Be prepared for night time (bring a sleeping bag/tent, blanket, and a good flashlight).
  • If you are going to go camping, make sure you have enough food (for your meals and snacks to munch on too) and drinking water supply.

snacks! :D

Expenses:

island fee

  • bus fare – 436php one way (Mla-Sta.Cruz)
  • overnight fee – 200php
  • boat – 400php/boat (there were 4 of us in it)

 

Related Post:

Overnight in Potipot Island

2010
12/25
CATEGORY
Luzon
Philippines
Trips
Zambales
TAGS





2 comments

Overnight in Potipot Island

I made a lot of friends because of my love for traveling and there will always be those whom you share a special bond with. So we (I along with 3 more friends) hatched a plan to stay overnight in an island (qualifiers included: should be reached by land travel, not crowded, chill-out place) for some bonding time.

January 23-24, 2010

Meeting time’s supposed to be at 11pm because the last trip bound for Zambales is around midnight. It was a Friday and traffic was heavy. That was why even though Abby and I left Makati (we just had to attend a dinner on that night too ^_^) around 10, we were barely able to catch the last bus. We literally had to run for it!

and we're off for Caloocan bus terminal!

That bus ride was quite memorable. It was packed! Packed enough that not finding seats wasn’t enough. There was barely room for us to stand in. I seriously thought that I will have to stand for the whole 5-hour trip! Good thing it was for only 2 hours (!). The fact that I was catching up  stories with good friends sort of made the whole thing more bearable. After a couple more hours, it seemed like we were the only ones left when the bus conductor informed us that it was our stop, Dawal.

seeking shelter at a shed one early morning

It was still dark (4:30am-ish) and very cold (for which I was happy that I brought a jacket along) when we got off the bus.  We met a man whilst walking and he asked us if we’re going to Potipot Island. Turns out that he and his wife rent out their boat to travelers as well as provide cooking utensils if you ever need some. It was then agreed upon that he’ll bring us to  the island and fetch us the next day all for 400php with a pot of rice thrown in the deal. :D

Sta. Cruz talipapa

We then proceeded to the marketplace to buy some food, drinks, firewood and we had our first meal of the day there, freshly cooked arroz caldo. Yum!

mag-agahan muna tayo! :D

I thought Potipot Island was near Anawangin and Nagsasa Cove so I was sort of expecting a landscape similar to those two (think: pine trees, streams) that’s why when I saw the island, I turned to my friends and was like “Yan na yun? The usual tropical island with coconut trees?” I blame it on the fact that they’re both in Zambales which is no reason at all come to think of it. They laughingly answered “yes” but turns out it wasn’t just your usual island whatever that means. I hate not doing my research! :)

Potipot Island

There are huts for rent in the island but we opted to camp out. First agenda then is to choose our campsite  and to set up our tents.

campsite. :)

Afterwhich, we set out to do different things. They slept while I was enjoying having the island to myself (not counting the caretakers and my sleeping companions).

The day (more specifically the afternoon) was spent swimming, hanging out, lazing around, taking pics and trying to prepare for dinner and the night. Though we weren’t the best campers and we had some boo-boos, it was loads of fun! We even had a mini bonfire and ate burnt marshallows. hehe

mmmmm

The next day was special for us as we had an agenda even before going there: We were going to clean the island! Or at least try to pick up the litters along the coast. We ended up collecting around 2 garbage bags worth of plastic and other-trash-other-people-left-behind. The island’s caretakers were grateful for our help and we were more than happy to do our small part. :)

That being done, we did some last minute swim and photo op before heading back to the mainland and to metropolitan Manila. :)

Related Post:

Potipot Island Camping

2010
12/10
CATEGORY
Philippines
Trips
Zambales
TAGS




4 comments

DIY: Chinese Visa application

If you want to: visit Beijing’s Forbidden City and the Great Wall, see the terracotta warriors of Xi’an,  play with the pandas in Chengdu, visit Tibet, enjoy the scenery of Guilin, or do some shopping in Guangzhou just to name a few, then China is the country to visit for you. :)

Guilin's Li River viewed on top of a karst mountain


You may download the visa application form here:

Go to:

  • World Center (2nd Flr), 330 Sen. Gil J. Puyat Avenue, Makati City. Megaworld Bldg. Located in front of Mapua – Makati.  ;)

Office hours:

  • 9am-12nn but they open the embassy at 8am. There’s already a long queue by 7:30am.

Applying for a Chinese Visa is easy if you have all the requirements.

Category L

L/Tourist Visa Requirement for First-Timers (Filipinos):

  1. Passport. A photocopy of the first (bio) and last (with details of contact person in case of emergency) page. Also, passport must have blank pages and be valid for at least 6 months before expiration.
  2. Roundtrip plane ticket. If not coming back to the Philippines, must present an onward flight ticket.
  3. Hotel booking or letter of invitation (from friend or relative living in China)
  4. NBI Clearance. Original copy, valid for travel abroad.
  5. SSS ID or E-1. Photocopy. OR a static information or contributions info. May be a print out from SSS online
  6. TIN ID or ITR. Photocopy.
  7. Bank certificate. Should have at least 50k and not more than a week old. Bring the original receipt for the bank cert. To be safe, bring your bankbook too.
  8. Certificate of Employment AND a photocopy of your company ID.
  9. Accomplished visa application form (to be provided at the embassy, may be downloaded too) affixed with one passport-sized photo. Photo should be against a light background.

After submitting all the requirements, you will be given a pink slip which means you’ll be getting your visa in 4 days if you will not opt to have it rushed. Also, a single entry visa is usually given to first timers; a payment of 1400php is made on the day you’ll claim your visa/passport.

For more info Chinese visa application information:

APPLICATION FOR VISAS FOR MAINLAND OF CHINA

Hope this help guys!

(updated on January 21, 2011)

Related Posts:

First time in Mainland China

To Guilin by Train

Cruising the Li River

The Quaint Town of Xingping

Trekking a Karst Mountain

Arrival in Yangshuo

2010
11/24
CATEGORY
China
Trips
TAGS


8 comments

DIY: Trek Pinatubo for a day

The largest volcanic eruption that occurred in living memory was that of Mt. Pinatubo in June 1991. Its effect was felt worldwide; bringing down the global temperature by about 0.5 °C and with ashfall reaching countries like Cambodia, Malaysia & Vietnam.

An early eruption picture of Mt. Pinatubo


The eruption blasted the volcano’s summit and it is now replaced with a caldera that’s 2.5kms wide. Of which, a crater lake was formed. Initially, the lake was small, hot and highly acidic, with a minimum pH of 2 and a temperature of about 40 °C. Abundant rainfall cooled and diluted the lake, lowering the temperature to 26 °C and raising the pH to 5.5 by 2003.


For those of the adventurous spirit who would like to go to this historic & beautiful place…

Ride a bus going to Pangasinan, Baguio or Ilocos Provinces (Five Star Bus, Fariñas Transit, Victory Liner) or catch a direct bus to Tarlac and ask  to be dropped off at Capas Public Market. Fare is more or less P200.00 and travel time is around 3 hours.

From the market, catch a jeepney or tricycle to bring you to Pinatubo Spa Town in Sta. Juliana where the Tourism Office and the base camp of Capas Pinatubo Four Wheelers Club Association are situated. You need to pay the environmental fee in the Tourism Office and rent a 4×4 here, they can assign one for you or you may contact any 4×4 driver you know in advance.

Alternatively, you may want to rent a van for a day for a less-hassle travel though you will still have to ride that 4×4 once you arrive in Capas. :)

The lake formed after the volcano's eruption

TAKE NOTHING BUT PICTURES, LEAVE NOTHING BUT FOOTPRINTS,

KILL NOTHING BUT TIME

Expenses:

  • 3750php for 4wheeldrive capacity is 4 – 5 persons (max)
  • 500php tourist guide per 4wheeldrive
  • 50php conservation fee per head
  • 500php skyway toll fee per 4wheeldrive
  • *rates will be slightly different for foreigners

To summarize:

If you’re a group of 5,  you will spend a total of 5000php or 1000php/person. There are also optional relaxing packages like boat riding at 350php per head; massage, volcanic ash, mudpack at 500php per category good for one person.

Optional Expenses:

  • Shower fee – P20.00 at Baranggay Hall/P100.00 at Mt. Pinatubo Town Spa
  • Tent rental – P100.00 (if you’re planning on staying for the night)

Sample Itinerary:

03:00am – Departure for Barangay Sta. Juliana, Capaz, Tarlac

06:00am – Arrival at Tourism Office, Capaz, Tarlac for Registration

06:30am – 4×4 skyway ride to jump-off point

07:30am – Trek from jump-off point to crater

08:00am – Arrival at the crater, explore, photo ops

11:30nn – Lunch

01:30pm – Departure from crater to jump off point

02:00pm – Arrival at jump off point, 4 x 4 ride back to Tourism Office

03:00pm – Arrival at Tourism Office

05:00pm – Departure for Manila

Contact Info:

  • 4x4s: Wendell Mercado (president of the Wheeler’s Club) 0919 608 4313

Things to bring:

  • bring your own lunch (there are no restaurants on the crater)
  • camera (for souvenirs)
  • cap/ hat/ shades
  • sunblock
  • water/ drinks
  • swimwear
  • change of clothing (better to change at the Spa since you’ll just get covered by dust on the way back)

Have fun guys! Stay safe!!! :D

 

Related Post:

Trekking Pinatubo

2010
11/20
CATEGORY
Luzon
Philippines
Trips
Zambales
TAGS





3 comments

Trekking Pinatubo

A friend suggested a grand entrance for my first blog entry. I asked him what he had in mind. He told me to post my first blog to coincide with my birthday so that it would be more dramatic. And here I am actually doing what he said!

Grand, dramatic, explosive… the one thing that comes to my mind is Mt. Pinatubo and the day trip I made there with 35 other people! :D


December 13, 2009

We had to be up and ready to leave very early in the morning (take that to mean as 3am). There were two assembly point for the group, one van’s in Southmall for those joining from the South (Las Piñas, Parañaque, Muntinlupa) which will then proceed to the next stop, McDonald’s parking lot in Quezon Avenue, where 2 more vans were waiting. After some delays (waiting for some people/ last minute food shopping/ seating arrangement problems), the group then left for a 3-hour travel to Tarlac.

Before shot: people from all over (Philippines, Australia, Spain, Portugal, Taiwan) joining me in this trip

Pinatubo Spa Town in Sta. Juliana is our first destination. This is the place where you will have to register at the Tourism Office and pay the required conservation/ environmental fee. The Capas Pinatubo Four Wheelers Association is also based here. The last part of your journey to reach the famed volcano is an hour long ride in rough terrain hence the need for the 4×4 wheels rental. One will be assigned to you on the spot or if you know any of the drivers, you may contact him in advance. We had to rent 7 of those coz there where 36 of us. They implement a strict-5 people per vehicle rule (we tried to convince them that we’d be needing only 6 coz to rent one more will add an additional 3750php to our expenses to no avail! hehe).

Are you guys having fun? :D

The ride will begin with at least 3 check point then it will take you over a vast land area that’s covered deep in lahar (lahar canyons), over streams, hills that were formed from the volcano’s eruption, and you will meet a small Aeta community along the way. It was a fun & scenic ride!

Traversing lahar canyons

At the jump off point is where the “trekking” will begin. I originally thought that it’s at least two hours of walking but since they want the volcano to be easily accessible to visitors, they’re creating paths to even shorten the current 20-minute trek! Where’s the fun in that guys?! ;)

What's your age? ;)

The most difficult part of that short walk for us “not active” people (yes, i’m avoiding the word sedentary here ^_^) was the climb up towards the volcano’s crater. The “fit” ones were still chatting away while the others were starting to catch their breaths. :D

Chris and Archie walking

Anyways, all the effort was worth it coz once you get to the top of that step, you’ll have your first glimpse of the Pinatubo Lake in all its rich aquamarine colors within the volcano’s caldera. The lake is huge! Mt. Pinatubo is within the borders of 3 province: Zamabales, Tarlac and Pampanga.

Pinatubo Crater Lake

The day was spent swimming (okay, so it was mostly wading in the waters for the non swimmers which is to say almost half of the group haha), cam whoring (!), eating (best to bring finger foods) and lazing around.You have to be careful if you’re not a good swimmer coz there’s a steep decline a few feet (5?) away from the edge of the water. Everyone’s reminded to be careful because the actual depth of the lake is yet to be measured.

Since we don't really swim, we'll take pictures instead!

Time passed quickly that soon it was time to pack up and leave. The ride back was the same but coz of the activities done, the roughness of the ride lulled a number of people to sleep which caused at least (I wasn’t sure how it was in the other cars) one to almost fall off the vehicle. hehehe

I can guarantee that you’ll arrive back at the Spa covered in dust (unless you wrapped yourself up in some shawl) that the best option after swimming in the lake and drying up is to just wait ’til you get to the spa before changing into your usual clothing coz you definitely need to shower after. ;)

After shot: CS Philippines Conquers Mt. Pinatubo

Related Post:

DIY: Trek Pinatubo for a day

2010
11/20
CATEGORY
Philippines
Trips
Zambales
TAGS



4 comments

testing the waters

Hi everyone! I’m Catherine, 24 years old (turning  a year older in a few days), a nurse and a definite travel enthusiast! I’m not much of a writer though but I’m giving blogging a shot. I guess it’s kinda inevitable for someone who has a passion like mine and who finds joy in sharing that love with others to not start something like this.  ;)

2010
11/11
CATEGORY
writings
4 comments