Today is the day when we are supposed to fly to Kota Kinabalu.
Unfortunately, (or fortunately depending on one's perspectives), the trip has been cancelled.
We have booked our round trip plane ticket at Php 2,061.96, last November 2012, though I couldn't remember what promo of Cebu Pacific it was.
By December and early January, I started to plan our itineraries by reading blogs and reviews, contacting hotels to make a reservation, and posting questions to forums. Initially, we decided to do this trip the backpacker style. So we made a booking for Masada Backpacker through hostel world. They seem to have positive reviews everywhere. We made an initial downpayment of 10.24 EUR or Php 300+. But then, when we found out that there was only shared bathroom even if we booked for the twin room, we changed our mind and looked for another place to stay (backpaacker daw ha!). I came upon Hotel Eden 54 in the forums, but it was fully booked for our travel dates. I've also reas about City Park Lodge, which we then contacted and were successful at booking a room, without any reservation fees!
As the days passed, and our travel dates come closer, our excitement starts to peak...only to be washed away with fear around two months before this date. There seems to be conflicts on going between Sabah and the Philippines over Sabah island. We then started to check over Twitter for any happenings. There were some cancelled trips too and rumors going on in KK, but nothing seems to be worth the worry. There wasn't really any travel ban. We even had to ask Ces Drilon (who was in Kota Kinabalu that time) if it was safe to travel, and she responded positive. However, on March 12 this year, we received a text and an e-mail from Cebu Pacific notifying us of the changes in our flight schedule.
The original schedule was ETD April 19, 2013 15:25, ETA 17:15. This was changed to April 19, 2013 ETD 23:40, ETA April 20, 2013 01:40. The schedule for going back to Manila was also changed from departure of April 22, 2013 17:50 to April 23, 2013 02:15 AM. We took this as a sign - so we chose the refund option and cancelled the flight. Haha!
But just for reference, this was supposed to be my planned itinerary.
4 Days/3Nights Itinerary for Kota Kinabalu:
Day 1
Arrival at 17:15
Check in at Hotel by 18:00
Dinner @ Filipino Night Market by 19:00
Day 2
Mt. Kinabalu and Poring Hot Springs (08:00 - 17:00)
Rest for an hour
Dinner
Day 3
Visit Gaya Sunday Market (08:00 - 10:00)
Island Hopping to Mamutik and Manukan Island with lunch on the island (10:00 - 15:00)
Rest
Dinner
Day 4
Quick City Tour inclusive of the Floating Mosque, Atkinson Clock Tower, Sabah State Museum, Puh Toh Tze Temple, and the Handicraft Market (08:00 - 12:00)
Lunch
Airport Check-in @ 15:00
My planned expense for the trip is around Php12,000 to Php15,000 per person, budgeted as follows:
Round trip plane ticket, travel taxes, terminal fees 4,000
Accomodation 3,500
Activities including Entrance Fees to Museum and Kinabalu Park, and Island Hopping 2,000
Transportation 1,000
Food 3,000
For the activities, I found these helpful sites:
http://oibtours.com/
http://borneoadventure.com/tour/sabah/
http://www.sabahtourism.com/sabah-malaysian-borneo/en/
Though, these are just mainly for reference. It's still cheaper to do it on your own.
For the meals, I have added Kota Kinabalu Eats in facebook for reference. I also checked out the ff. blogs regarding the best eats in KK:
http://www.ahbing.com/top-15-best-food-at-kota-kinabalu/
http://travelerfolio.com/filipino-night-market-kota-kinabalu/
Though we felt more safe, we're somehow sad that our travel to Kota Kinabalu didn't push through. Well, there's always a next time. I really do hope we can still visit Sabah sometime soon.
Friday, April 19, 2013
Tuesday, April 16, 2013
Adventures and Misadventures in Ilocos
The Adventure begins...
This trip was booked because my brother and sister-in-law had a membership in RCI (Resort Condominium International). There are certain points that are earned and redeemed via a 1 week stay in hotels that are also members of RCI.
Having always wanted to go to Ilocos, they looked for a hotel member of RCI up north. The hotel that was confirmed available for the travel dates they submitted was Green Nipa Hut Beach Resort.
And so does the Misadventures...
We brought our van (a Mitsubishi Delica) along. 2 hours after leaving Manila, we had our first misadventure - overheat. We paused for a while, refilled the car with water, then went on. After another hour, though, we experience another over heat. This was when we noticed that the radiator hose had a hole. We had to drive by some place in Pampanga, to buy a sealant. My dad did the work. And 13 hours after, we arrived at our destination! - A total of 16 hours on the road! ( Well, that includes an hour of lunch, an hour of dinner, and an hour or two of pause to refil water and gas, plus a 30 minute reroute as we got lost and had to go back =p!)
We reach our supposed-to-be hotel at past 11pm - but as it turned out it became the third and worst misadventure - you can read up on it in Exposed.
And so the adventure continues...
Despite the fact that we've totally lost one whole day on travel, and were almost on the verge of sleeping on the road, these events actually lead to a much more fun trip...Blessing in disguise, ika nga...
Anyway, this is how our 4 days went...
Day 1 - From Manila to Currimao
7:30AM - Depart Manila
11:30PM - Arrival in Currimao
12:00AM - Check in at Playa Tropical Resort
Day 2 - Tour in Vigan
7:00AM - Breakfast at Playa Tropical Resort
8:00AM to 12:00PM - Free time for swimming in the pool or at the beach, picture takings =P, Massage, TV, or more sleep! Haha!
1:00PM - Check out at Playa Trocical Resort
1:30PM - 3:00PM - Ride back to Vigan
3:00PM - Late Lunch at Chowking, Vigan
4:00PM - Vigan Church, Kalesa ride to Burgos Museum, St. Augustin Church and Bantay Bell Tower, Pottery, and Kalye Crisologo
6:00PM - Early Dinner at KuboVille
8:00PM to 1:00AM - Ride to Pagudpod
1:30AM - Check-in at Hannah Lou's Homestay
Day 3 - Around Pagudpud
7:00AM - Sari-sariling Breakfast
9:00AM - Saud Beach via Polaris Beach Resort
12:00PM - Checkout at Hannah Lou's Homestay
2:00PM - Picture taking at Patapat Viaduct
2:30PM - Blue Lagoon
5:30PM - Bangui Windmills
7:00PM - Checkin at NorthView Hotel
Day 4 - Tour in Paoay and Batac
10:00AM - Checkout at Northview
11:00AM - Marcos Mausoleum, Shop for pasalubong
11:30AM - Paoay Church
12:00PM - Malacanang of the North
1:45PM - Checkin at the airport for SEAir Flight at 3PM
A Word on the Hotels/ Homestay
Playa Tropical
Barangay Victoria, Currimao, Ilocos Norte
The room we booked is good for 5 persons, which costs Php 3,800. We had to add 2 single beds (priced at Php 600 each) as there's 7 of us. So the total cost is Php 5,000. It's pretty expensive, but the room comes with 2 breakfast, and a 15 minute massage for two persons, plus free use of their swimming pool and facilities.
The breakfast has a number of choices - Tapsilog, Longsilog, Tosilog, Omelette and your choice of coffee, chocolate or tea. And since we got the 2 additional mattress, we were entitled to 2 additional breakfast!
The place was very clean and well maintained. The pool was clean too. They have small nipa huts situated in the middle of a small pond, and you can have your meal there. Other than the rooms, they also have a number of small houses. I was only able to peek at one, it has a sala with TV, and the room/s seem to be upstairs. The only thing I didn't like was the beach at Currimao as the water seemed black, not blue.
You can check out their website at www.playatropicalilocos.com/
Hanalou's Homestay
Pagudpud
Because the plan to stay at Nipa Hut in Currimao was scratched, and for efficiency purposes =P, we decided to book at Pagudpud next day as that's the next in out itinerary. It was like sort of a backpacker style room. I think it costs around 300 per head, but we got the whole room, with 4 large beds (each one good for two persons), at Php 1,800.
It was okay. But it wasn't what we expected. I had no idea what homestays are before. Now I do. Room was not that clean.There were even bits of sand on one of the beds. The aircon wasn't working at first, they had to open a switch somewhere outside to make it work. And the CR was even locked when we got there. And when it was opened, it was dirty, we even had to clean it ourselves.
I couldn't find any website, because it's just a homestay. But I found this ad in olx.com - http://pagudpud.olx.com.ph/cheap-tricycle-for-rent-in-pagudpud-homestay-in-pagudpud-accommodation-in-pagudpud-iid-67197385
Northview Hotel
Laoag City
The room we booked was priced at Php 2,600, with an additional mattress for Php 500, so a total of Php 3,100. The room was clean and big enough. It also has a small pool at the back and a restaurant at the front. We had our dinner here on our Day 3 and they cook good. The room rate also comes with 6 sets of breakfast. There are no choices provided though. We were served a plate of egg, rice, and Iloco longganisa, with 2 slices of yellow watermelon. They also had a do-it-your-own coffee, or you can ask to replace it with Iced Tea instead.
You can check out their website here - www.northviewhotel.com/laoag-city
Since we always check-in late, we always asked for a little bit of extension. They were all very accommodating They didn't push back to tell us that they're strict with check-in and check-out times as other hotels may have done.
A Word on the Food
Since you're in Ilocos, it's a must to try out Bagnet, Longganisa, Coconut Crab, Puqui-puqui and Empanada. We all did. But because of lack of planning (and the unfortunate events that happened), I believe we were not able to try them out from the best places. Cost of our Coconut Crab is Php350 and Bagnet is around Php250-350.I'm just not sure how many kilos, but it seems to be the standard serving. Our meal expense is normally Php1,000-Php1,500/meal for a group of seven.
It would really pay to do research and plan the whole trip to include the must-try foods in your itinerary.
A Word on the Transport
The ride from our home to Currimao is around 475km. If we were riding at a constant speed of 60km/h, we should reach our destination at about 8 hours. But because of the numerous stops, and being new with the place that we somtimes go at speeds of 40-50km/h, it became almost a 12-hour drive. The fuel consumption was around 80liters, that is around Php 3,000 for a 2.4 engine diesel.
Our first agreement was that we'd trade place as drivers. But I only took the driver seat when we were already in Ilocos, doing the tour. It was my first time to drive in a provincial setting. Though I was nervous at first, I got the hang of it and realized how fun it is to drive along sort-of-zigzag roads. There was no traffic. The only stops we experienced are due to roads being repaired.
On our way back, we had to go first because of work deadlines (Boooo!) So me and my friend/office mate booked a plane back to Manila via SEAir. It cost us around Php 1,450, as we only booked a week before the travel date. It was my first time to ride in Tiger Airways SEAir. And so, I was kind of nervous. But, other than the slight feeling of swinging side to side before the plane took off, there was nothing during the ride that made me nervous at any rate. The landing was very smooth - much smoother than some Cebu Pacific flights I've had.
Because we brought our van, we didn't have a hard time going from one place to another... even late at night. I haven't seen much public transport so I'm not sure how to commute around Ilocos. There are package tours that could be availed though I think this includes the ride to and from Manila.
I suggest that the ride to Pagudpud be done early. Our drive there quite scared us. It felt like thriller movies, where a group of friends go to a very secluded area...... There weren't much houses along the way, nor are there lights. So the driver couldn't (SHOULDN'T) really drive at very high speeds.
But if there could be tours booked only around Ilocos, that might be the best option. Then take a plane from Manila to Laoag to save time then go down by bus, so you can also enjoy the scenery at dawn.
The Activities
Though there weren't much planning, (and even if we had, it would have been scratched out anyway), we still had fun as our days were filled with activities.
Among them are the Kalesa ride around Vigan city, which is worth Php150/hr. Though an hour of tour won't be enough. We had almost two hours. You can be brought to the pottery, Bantay Bell Tower (where Kampanerang Kuba was shot), Burgos Museum with entrance fee at Php 20/head, Kalye Crisologo. There could have been much more if you won't spend much time on any of the above. I think we spent a big bulk of our time was spent at Burgos Museum. The entrance already includes a tour guide who would explain the artifacts. Two facts that remain clear in my memory: 1- the way they once buried their dead; 2 - their women's culture on dressing up.
In Pagudpud, you can experience a Class A or Class B Boracay (haha!) in Saud Beach. You can enter via Saud Beach Resort and Hotel. I think the entrance there is at Php50/head. We went via the Polaris Beach Resort at Php 20/head. Then, you also had to visit the Patapat Viaduct, Blue Lagoon where Hanah's Resort is located, and Bangui Windmills (all for free).
In Laoag, we visited Marcos Mausoleum (free entrance), the famous Paoay Church, and of course the Malacanang of the North with an entrance fee of Php30/head. The tour here also includes a tour guide who will guide you through the different rooms and different plans/blueprints of Marcos. I admired him more after seeing these, though the thought of him forgetting some rooms (was it the kitchen?) in his house plan was quite ridiculous.
So... that is the summary of our trip to Currimano, Laoag, Vigan and Pagudpud -
It was indeed a very tiring trip, yet a very fruitful one!
This trip was booked because my brother and sister-in-law had a membership in RCI (Resort Condominium International). There are certain points that are earned and redeemed via a 1 week stay in hotels that are also members of RCI.
Having always wanted to go to Ilocos, they looked for a hotel member of RCI up north. The hotel that was confirmed available for the travel dates they submitted was Green Nipa Hut Beach Resort.
And so does the Misadventures...
We brought our van (a Mitsubishi Delica) along. 2 hours after leaving Manila, we had our first misadventure - overheat. We paused for a while, refilled the car with water, then went on. After another hour, though, we experience another over heat. This was when we noticed that the radiator hose had a hole. We had to drive by some place in Pampanga, to buy a sealant. My dad did the work. And 13 hours after, we arrived at our destination! - A total of 16 hours on the road! ( Well, that includes an hour of lunch, an hour of dinner, and an hour or two of pause to refil water and gas, plus a 30 minute reroute as we got lost and had to go back =p!)
We reach our supposed-to-be hotel at past 11pm - but as it turned out it became the third and worst misadventure - you can read up on it in Exposed.
And so the adventure continues...
Despite the fact that we've totally lost one whole day on travel, and were almost on the verge of sleeping on the road, these events actually lead to a much more fun trip...Blessing in disguise, ika nga...
Anyway, this is how our 4 days went...
Day 1 - From Manila to Currimao
7:30AM - Depart Manila
11:30PM - Arrival in Currimao
12:00AM - Check in at Playa Tropical Resort
Day 2 - Tour in Vigan
7:00AM - Breakfast at Playa Tropical Resort
8:00AM to 12:00PM - Free time for swimming in the pool or at the beach, picture takings =P, Massage, TV, or more sleep! Haha!
1:00PM - Check out at Playa Trocical Resort
1:30PM - 3:00PM - Ride back to Vigan
3:00PM - Late Lunch at Chowking, Vigan
4:00PM - Vigan Church, Kalesa ride to Burgos Museum, St. Augustin Church and Bantay Bell Tower, Pottery, and Kalye Crisologo
6:00PM - Early Dinner at KuboVille
8:00PM to 1:00AM - Ride to Pagudpod
1:30AM - Check-in at Hannah Lou's Homestay
Day 3 - Around Pagudpud
7:00AM - Sari-sariling Breakfast
9:00AM - Saud Beach via Polaris Beach Resort
12:00PM - Checkout at Hannah Lou's Homestay
2:00PM - Picture taking at Patapat Viaduct
2:30PM - Blue Lagoon
5:30PM - Bangui Windmills
7:00PM - Checkin at NorthView Hotel
Day 4 - Tour in Paoay and Batac
10:00AM - Checkout at Northview
11:00AM - Marcos Mausoleum, Shop for pasalubong
11:30AM - Paoay Church
12:00PM - Malacanang of the North
1:45PM - Checkin at the airport for SEAir Flight at 3PM
Playa Tropical
Barangay Victoria, Currimao, Ilocos Norte
The room we booked is good for 5 persons, which costs Php 3,800. We had to add 2 single beds (priced at Php 600 each) as there's 7 of us. So the total cost is Php 5,000. It's pretty expensive, but the room comes with 2 breakfast, and a 15 minute massage for two persons, plus free use of their swimming pool and facilities.
The breakfast has a number of choices - Tapsilog, Longsilog, Tosilog, Omelette and your choice of coffee, chocolate or tea. And since we got the 2 additional mattress, we were entitled to 2 additional breakfast!
The place was very clean and well maintained. The pool was clean too. They have small nipa huts situated in the middle of a small pond, and you can have your meal there. Other than the rooms, they also have a number of small houses. I was only able to peek at one, it has a sala with TV, and the room/s seem to be upstairs. The only thing I didn't like was the beach at Currimao as the water seemed black, not blue.
You can check out their website at www.playatropicalilocos.com/
Hanalou's Homestay
Pagudpud
Because the plan to stay at Nipa Hut in Currimao was scratched, and for efficiency purposes =P, we decided to book at Pagudpud next day as that's the next in out itinerary. It was like sort of a backpacker style room. I think it costs around 300 per head, but we got the whole room, with 4 large beds (each one good for two persons), at Php 1,800.
It was okay. But it wasn't what we expected. I had no idea what homestays are before. Now I do. Room was not that clean.There were even bits of sand on one of the beds. The aircon wasn't working at first, they had to open a switch somewhere outside to make it work. And the CR was even locked when we got there. And when it was opened, it was dirty, we even had to clean it ourselves.
I couldn't find any website, because it's just a homestay. But I found this ad in olx.com - http://pagudpud.olx.com.ph/cheap-tricycle-for-rent-in-pagudpud-homestay-in-pagudpud-accommodation-in-pagudpud-iid-67197385
Northview Hotel
Laoag City
The room we booked was priced at Php 2,600, with an additional mattress for Php 500, so a total of Php 3,100. The room was clean and big enough. It also has a small pool at the back and a restaurant at the front. We had our dinner here on our Day 3 and they cook good. The room rate also comes with 6 sets of breakfast. There are no choices provided though. We were served a plate of egg, rice, and Iloco longganisa, with 2 slices of yellow watermelon. They also had a do-it-your-own coffee, or you can ask to replace it with Iced Tea instead.
You can check out their website here - www.northviewhotel.com/laoag-city
Since we always check-in late, we always asked for a little bit of extension. They were all very accommodating They didn't push back to tell us that they're strict with check-in and check-out times as other hotels may have done.
A Word on the Food
Since you're in Ilocos, it's a must to try out Bagnet, Longganisa, Coconut Crab, Puqui-puqui and Empanada. We all did. But because of lack of planning (and the unfortunate events that happened), I believe we were not able to try them out from the best places. Cost of our Coconut Crab is Php350 and Bagnet is around Php250-350.I'm just not sure how many kilos, but it seems to be the standard serving. Our meal expense is normally Php1,000-Php1,500/meal for a group of seven.
It would really pay to do research and plan the whole trip to include the must-try foods in your itinerary.
A Word on the Transport
The ride from our home to Currimao is around 475km. If we were riding at a constant speed of 60km/h, we should reach our destination at about 8 hours. But because of the numerous stops, and being new with the place that we somtimes go at speeds of 40-50km/h, it became almost a 12-hour drive. The fuel consumption was around 80liters, that is around Php 3,000 for a 2.4 engine diesel.
Our first agreement was that we'd trade place as drivers. But I only took the driver seat when we were already in Ilocos, doing the tour. It was my first time to drive in a provincial setting. Though I was nervous at first, I got the hang of it and realized how fun it is to drive along sort-of-zigzag roads. There was no traffic. The only stops we experienced are due to roads being repaired.
On our way back, we had to go first because of work deadlines (Boooo!) So me and my friend/office mate booked a plane back to Manila via SEAir. It cost us around Php 1,450, as we only booked a week before the travel date. It was my first time to ride in Tiger Airways SEAir. And so, I was kind of nervous. But, other than the slight feeling of swinging side to side before the plane took off, there was nothing during the ride that made me nervous at any rate. The landing was very smooth - much smoother than some Cebu Pacific flights I've had.
Because we brought our van, we didn't have a hard time going from one place to another... even late at night. I haven't seen much public transport so I'm not sure how to commute around Ilocos. There are package tours that could be availed though I think this includes the ride to and from Manila.
I suggest that the ride to Pagudpud be done early. Our drive there quite scared us. It felt like thriller movies, where a group of friends go to a very secluded area...... There weren't much houses along the way, nor are there lights. So the driver couldn't (SHOULDN'T) really drive at very high speeds.
But if there could be tours booked only around Ilocos, that might be the best option. Then take a plane from Manila to Laoag to save time then go down by bus, so you can also enjoy the scenery at dawn.
The Activities
Though there weren't much planning, (and even if we had, it would have been scratched out anyway), we still had fun as our days were filled with activities.
Among them are the Kalesa ride around Vigan city, which is worth Php150/hr. Though an hour of tour won't be enough. We had almost two hours. You can be brought to the pottery, Bantay Bell Tower (where Kampanerang Kuba was shot), Burgos Museum with entrance fee at Php 20/head, Kalye Crisologo. There could have been much more if you won't spend much time on any of the above. I think we spent a big bulk of our time was spent at Burgos Museum. The entrance already includes a tour guide who would explain the artifacts. Two facts that remain clear in my memory: 1- the way they once buried their dead; 2 - their women's culture on dressing up.
In Pagudpud, you can experience a Class A or Class B Boracay (haha!) in Saud Beach. You can enter via Saud Beach Resort and Hotel. I think the entrance there is at Php50/head. We went via the Polaris Beach Resort at Php 20/head. Then, you also had to visit the Patapat Viaduct, Blue Lagoon where Hanah's Resort is located, and Bangui Windmills (all for free).
In Laoag, we visited Marcos Mausoleum (free entrance), the famous Paoay Church, and of course the Malacanang of the North with an entrance fee of Php30/head. The tour here also includes a tour guide who will guide you through the different rooms and different plans/blueprints of Marcos. I admired him more after seeing these, though the thought of him forgetting some rooms (was it the kitchen?) in his house plan was quite ridiculous.
So... that is the summary of our trip to Currimano, Laoag, Vigan and Pagudpud -
It was indeed a very tiring trip, yet a very fruitful one!
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