dong ho's eskapo 3.0

caysasay church taal batangas

i.dongho@gmail.com (the donG) — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 14:23:00 +0000

a walk down one of the streets of Taal town leads to a church not so grand as the Taal church. yet miraculous stories about the image of the Lady of Caysasay makes it one of the most mysterious.some would call it Caysasay as others Casaysay. going back to my post on Taal church, i saw a bell with an encryption Casaysay which somehow made me wonder what really is its real name.if one looks at this church, it's small and a bit ordinary. plain flooring but with nice stone walls and beautiful altar ceiling paintings. a top view shot won't disappoint a photographer.expect kids to approach you for candles while some are just there to observe you and by chance even entertain you with their smile and questions. they will even convince you to visit the nearby church ruin and its miraculous spring.
a good stop when you visit the heritage town of Taal. it's just about 15minute walk from the plaza and about 10minutes from the Villavicencio house.

villavicencio ancestral house

i.dongho@gmail.com (the donG) — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 15:32:00 +0000

even from outside, this ancestral house in the town of Taal catches the attention of a passerby. among the many old structures in this street, it has the rarity of seeing one painted with cream and blue.unlike most of the ancestral houses that i've been to in Silay, Vigan and Boac, the Villavicencio house is nicely refurbished making it look modern yet still brings about the architectural value of how the houses during the Spanish colonization looked like.

the very beautiful verandas struck my attention the most. its pillars painted perfectly and that from almost any view it is attractive. a small roofing was also in place quite suitable for a tropical country like the Philippines.it was at first closed but when the owner of the house noticed us with our tripods and cameras, we were allowed inside. ironwulf who was also our guide also knew one of the caretakers.we were everywhere around the second level of the house with the room doors all open for viewing. today, the house still holds some of the most valuable items of the family.
though we didn't had the chance to dine in, this house is also a restaurant that caters great food according to the many who had their chance of tasting their specialties.

Villavicencio house is about 10-minute walk away from the town plaza. a walk along the streets of the town of Taal is highly recommended as other beautiful ancestral house were preserved.

taal church bell tower

i.dongho@gmail.com (the donG) — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 15:36:00 +0000

when i was approaching the small chapel beside the Taal church, one of the caretakers noticed me searching for a photo subject, he then approached and asked me if i would like to go to the church tower. why would i resist?i rarely have the chance to get to a church bell tower and so it was a great opportunity for me and the group of travel bloggers to get a view of the town from the biggest structure in the area.a guard guided us upstairs to a locked room that leads to the church balcony. no one without the permission of the church administrator is allowed in this area. you can see a wooden flooring, dusty cabinets, and old church statues are placed on the side. we entered into another door that leads to the tower's base area. small steps leading towards the church can be seen on one of the dark door entrance. the space was to small and the steps were slippery. more steps upward finally led us to the church belfry. filled with unused piece of wood and on the side, another set of steps that leads to the outer area. from this point, one can get a view of the heritage town of Taal. old ancestral houses surrounds the town plaza including the town hall. one can get a view of the bay on one side and a plain land area one the other side.i noticed that there were a number of bells in the vicinity. i've seen one on the rear side labeled Casaysay, which could be a bell from the other church in the town of Taal, which i'll be featuring soon. we spent some time on top while the guard patiently waited and enjoyed the nice view from the top. a view of the sunset could be great from this vantage but we have to leave the place as we only have the day to roam around the town of Taal.

taal church batangas

i.dongho@gmail.com (the donG) — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 13:18:00 +0000

the country's replica of the St. Peter's basilica facade in Rome is the church of San Martin de Tours in Taal Batangas. one would not expect a church this size in a relatively small town of Taal. three hours bus ride from Manila leads to this sleepy plaza and a church considered to be one of the biggest in the country, if not the biggest. built first in 1575 but was destroyed after the eruption of Mt. Taal and was rebuilt several times until 1876.when one gets to see its interior, one won't find it impressive as it has old red tile flooring. plain ceiling from the entrance. but not when you reach the main altar's ceiling. it is grand!in the Philippines, no church seems to be too big as the number of church goers fill the place on Sundays. not sure though with this one as a town relatively small for this big church. the twelve large and high pillars of its facade somehow symbolizes that its new structure will withstand earthquake. as it was destroyed by a a killer quake in 1849. one can easily find a good vantage point as the church facade is picturesque in many angles. when one zooms in their lens to the pillar holders, one will notice its intricate layers. St. Martin de Tours church or simply Taal church can be accessed via Cavite passing through Tagaytay or through the South Luzon Expressway via the town of Lipa and Cuenca. in this trip we took the bus bound for Lemery Batangas and just tell the bus conductor to drop you at the Taal plaza. expect vendors to be selling these peanuts and bucayo. not bad for a pasalubong.eskapo rate:
church facade: 4.5
church interior: 3.5
church plaza: 3.0
church location: 4.0
historical background: 4.0

note: winners of the contest in the previous post will be announced at the end of the Taal series.

taal series - contest

i.dongho@gmail.com (the donG) — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 15:08:00 +0000

in this series, it was the first time that travel bloggers and photographers erick, ironwulf, lagalog, lantaw, lawstude and dong ho went out together on a day trip to the beautiful town of Taal in Batangas.this month of December i'm giving out a series of contests as a way to thak the followers and readers of eskapo. to start the Taal series, you just have to arrange the three things from the list below as to which one i enjoyed the most in this series.

X. Eating Tawilis
Y. Climbing up the church tower
Z. Dropping by ancestral houses

as simple as that. one who gets to arrange it right, gets a surprise prize. contest runs from Dec 1 11:59pm until Dec 3 12:01am. first with what i like the most.

note: will be announced after the Taal series.

alegre guitar mactan cebu

i.dongho@gmail.com (the donG) — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 16:05:00 +0000

when i was along with my Singaporean counterparts in Cebu, i gave them a small guitar souvenir and one thing that immediately came into their mind is that Filipinos are so inclined to music. i agreed.one thing that makes Cebu city even more marketable to the tourists is its decades old guitar industry. from a time when the Spanish influenced the Cebuanos to a musical instrument that evolved and progressed.one of the many guitar factory is the Alegre Guitars. located in an almost hidden area of Abuno in the island of Mactan. owned by Fernando Bebbot Alegre who's a good guitarist himself.they have a showroom open to all where one can even see how each of the guitars are made intricately. from different types of wood forming the country's most loved and widely used instrument.from generation to generation, the guitars that they are making had evolved as well from the mere standard guitars to making yukaleles, mandolas, banjos, and bass guitars. Alegre Guitars is located in Abuno, Lapu Lapu City, Mactan island. i recommend that you take a cab going there. estimated travel time from the Mactan airport to this place is just about 30minutes or less.

yap san diego ancestral house cebu city

i.dongho@gmail.com (the donG) — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 13:12:00 +0000

on my way to the Casa Gorordo, what got my attention was this old wooden house with a series of sign posts. i should drop by. this should be something. not your usual Cebu stop spot.fortunate enough, it was another ancestral house. the Yap-San Diego heritage house along Lopez Jaena street just meters away from Casa Gorordo and the Heritage of Cebu monument.the many times i've been to Cebu, i never heard about this. yet i learned that it is one of the oldest ancestral house in the country believed to have built in the 17th century. owned by Dona Maria Yap.
it is one of the oldest and so i wondered why it did not gain people's attention? according to the guide, it remained as a boarding house for quite some time. until it was renovated little by little by Val, who inherited the house.today, like the Casa Gorordo house, it is considered as a house museum. filled with a great collection of antiques. at first look, one might even thought it's a big nipa house. to me, it's between being a bungalow and nipa house.the ground floor's walling is made up of coral stones while the second floor is made up of wood. sets of antique Chinese plates, well carved furniture, antique jars, a painting over a capiz window, age old Sto Nino figures makes it a house worth seeing.the most unusual thing i observed was the banca planter on one side of the house. this side of the house is a lot where the residents would usually stay and rest. i like how they controlled the access of the people at the second floor. one should wear a shoe cover to protect and preserve the original wooden flooring. it just needs improvement in the the way they arrange the items inside the house.the Yap-San Diego Heritage house and museum is located 155 Lopez Jaena street corner Mabini street in Parian. taking of photos is allowed inside while a minimal entrance fee helps support its preservation. thanks to the guide of the house for taking time bringing me around the house and for all those who planned and funded its preservation.

casa gorordo cebu city

i.dongho@gmail.com (the donG) — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 11:25:00 +0000

just recently i've been traveling to Cebu city regularly for a day trip. even with a short time, i still had the chance to drop by some of the historical city spots that i've never been to. one of this is the ancestral house, Casa Gorordo.now a museum that kept some of the furniture from the Spanish colonial period. rehabilitated in the early 1980s and has been open to the public by the Aboitiz. originally built by Alejandro Reynes y Rosales and was later bought by the first archbishop of Cebu Juan Isidro de Gorordo.located in Parian, one of Cebu's oldest districts, on a place where one won't expect a museum to be situated. a small and narrow street with crowded houses that one can actually get lost even when they go there with a map.but in contrast to its environ, is a beautiful two-floor house with a garden lawn and bricked walkways. a small well in the lawn adds attraction to its lawn. a balcony with a roof covered with vines coming from the ground floor.the first floor has large rooms with a flooring of red stones and big wooden pillars. the second floor displays sets of antique furniture on a long hallway. a number of rooms with beautiful beds, a rocking chair on one side and age old clocks.though it is not as elegant as the La Cocina de Tita Moning, it has kept its charm. a small showroom on the ground floor is used for exhibits and another structure stands inside its compound which serves as a souvenir shop.this is one of the few remaining ancestral house in Cebu city and among the few house museums in the country. sad though, that among the many ancestral houses in Parian, only a few was restored.it is open from Mondays to Saturdays 9:00am to 12:00nn and 2:00pm-5:00pm with an entrance fee of P50 (as of this post). located at Lopez Jaena street. to avoid getting lost, i recommend one to take a taxi. taking of photos inside the museum is not allowed.

join the trek to pinatubo

i.dongho@gmail.com (the donG) — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 13:50:00 +0000

inviting everyone to a trek to Mt. Pinatubo's cyan colored crater on December 6 (Sunday). just for a day trip trek to one of my favorite travel spot. this will be my third time there.experience the 4x4 and the dusty rough ride and trek the rocky areas to the crater. i rarely go to a place twice, but not when it's Mt. Pinatubo as it doesn't require experienced trekkers to see its crater.to those who are interested, just email me at i.dongho@gmail.com or just leave your email in the comment page. this is open to everyone. see you there!

the asian geographic contest

i.dongho@gmail.com (the donG) — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 15:34:00 +0000

the contest ended with no one able to guess my top three in the list of ten. many guessed two out of three and so to be fair, what i did was to rank my top ten and used the pointing system to pick the winner. here's my top ten ranking
[10] Thailand [9] Nepal [8] Japan [7] Laos
[6] Russia [5] Mongolia [4] India
[3] Turkey [2] Maldives
[1] China

if you have China in your list it will equate to 5points, Maldives with 3points and Turkey with 1point. so you can compute your score and whoever got the highest score gets the price. are you the highest? two got the highest answer and the first of the two to comment here will get the price. good luck to the two and thank you to all those who participated. watch out for weekly contest in December.even if you did not win, make sure you have this issue, it's too cheap for its price. you'll rarely find it but it's usually available in Fully Booked.

just guess - contest

i.dongho@gmail.com (the donG) — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 13:44:00 +0000

the Asian based magazine Asian Geographic is one of my favorite magazine. they just celebrated ten years featuring Asia's best stories on culture, travel, and photography. they featured the Philippines several times. this year, they featured the natural gems of Palawan, the pearls. for this contest, i'm listing down ten of the Asian countries that I wanted to visit. just guess my top three in this list and you'll win the 10th anniversary issue of Asian Geographic magazine. easy, right? here are the ten countries in Asia that i wanted to visit: Thailand, China, Laos, Maldives, India, Turkey, Nepal, Japan, Mongolia and Russia. again just list down my top three. if more than one gets it right, i'll just raffle the names and pick one. contest runs from Nov 16 12:01am until Nov 17 11:59pm.

world pyro olympics 2009

i.dongho@gmail.com (the donG) — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 12:49:00 +0000

the sky will again shine bright with the colorful display of lights from the world's prestige fireworks competition. the 4th World Pyro Olympics 2009 in Metro Manila.this year, expect something new as it happens at the booming Bonifacio Global City in Taguig. five Saturdays that will definitely highlight the best of fireworks display from the countries of Japan, South Korea, China, Germany, Australia, Italy, Canada and the United States of America. what will make it different this year? it will be the first time to feature a pyro-musical themed fireworks. expect drum and bugle competitions, great bazaars, play areas for kids, food booths, and other live entertainment. a great way to start the Advent season bringing the whole family.we already had a glimpse when we were invited to the press launch last November 10. don't forget to join the photo contest just visit World Pyro Olympics 2009.

Schedule of the World Pyro Olympics 2009:
Nov 21 - China and Germany
Nov 28 - Canada and Australia
Dec 5 - Japan and Italy
Dec 12 - South Korea and USA
Dec 19 - Fellowship of Fire Philippines
gates will be open as early as 3:00pm.
tickets: P1,500 VIP, special viewing area - P500, General viewing area - P200.

eleven things why i love the ilocos norte coast

i.dongho@gmail.com (the donG) — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 15:54:00 +0000

just to end this series, here i am again giving you enough reason why a trip to Ilocos Norte's coast is worth the long travel and even an unforgettable tricycle ride experience. maybe you've already explored it's heritage and historical sites and structures, try exploring it's majestic coastline.[11] fresh catch. living a city life, you'll get used to buying well preserved fishes sold on malls and market. but not in Ilocos Norte where one can actually anticipate for the small fishing boats docking early morning. fresh catch when cooked is proven tastier. [10] people. our country is known for hospitality but it's just simply different when you're in the far provinces. it's so easy to talk to people for directions and recommendations. you just have to initiate a conversation and from there, you'll get enough information to get around.
we thought it was just a series of unfortunate experience [9] sea bonsai of burgos. years or maybe even century old sea bonsais along the coast of burgos are exemplary. one factor would be its isolation from the people who would usually take out some of this natural sea treasures. here the bonsai can withstand strong storms that hits this part of Luzon. [8] rough terrain. after complaining that torturous rough road trip, you might wonder why it's one of the reason why i love this province. simply beacuse of its isolation, prevented it from being touristy and at the same time preserved the many natural coastal treasures.
one torturous ride [7] waves of pagudpud. a growing surfing community that involves foreign tourists are increasing this area. the waves at the Mairaira point are great. big waves coming from the South China Sea and a part from the Pacific ocean meets at this point. convincing? [6] bantay abot. not as gigantic as Kapurpurawan but the earth layers are clearly presented here. either side of the hole are great views of Pagudpud's coast. it's a worth short stop.
bantay abot coast [5] bangui wind farm. the windmills of Bangui became an instant tourist spot when it started its operation. now it has twenty and hopefully more will be built as it uses natural energy to provide power to the Northern towns. it's amazing to see how big each windmills are.
bangui windmills [4] pagudpud coastal view. among the best in the country i should say. the mountains here are really impressive and the view perfect! though we didn't reach the Patapat viaduct, anywhere along the Mairaira to Patapat coast are really scenic. white sand beaches seems ordinary here. [3] mairaira blue lagoon beach. not as impressive as it was way back but still it's one of the best beaches i've seen because of the great mountain backdrop. the central beach area is already a typical beach view but the Eastern and Western coast remains to be so beautiful.
mairaira beach blue lagoon
mairaira central beach
mairaira beach west coast

[2] burgos coast. the only thing that i didn't expect on this trip was the very rewarding Burgos coast view. very few have featured this part of the coast as they focus their attention to the great Kapurpurawan rock formation alone.
kapurpurawan and beyond
[1] kapurpurawan rock formation. undoubtedly is the best rock formation i've seen. through the years, the hammering waves changes its form. looks so fragile, since it is made up of sand sediments. it's stunning from any perspective.
kapurpurawan rock formation
we only visited the coastal areas and made stops on just four municipalities yet, it has convinced me of how great this province is in terms of its coastal views. i'm rating Ilocos Norte as 9.5/10.the photo above was taken by Lantaw while walking along the beautiful Mairaira coast. thanks to lantaw, lawstude, scud, fhei and jonee, my travel buddies during this trip. you made this trip more memorable.

kapurpurawan and beyond

i.dongho@gmail.com (the donG) — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 16:09:00 +0000

looking at the great Kapurpurawan rock formation draw us in awe but beyond its grandeur is another extraordinary view. this we didn't expect.the Philippine archipelago is popular for the beautiful white sand island beaches and the grand rice terraces of Ifugao yet every time i explore the many provinces, i discovered that we too have so many great coastal landscape.one that i'll highly recommend would be this Northern part of Luzon island. about 12 hours from Manila by bus and about an hour by plane, can be considered as one of the farthest that one can go from Manila by land. yet it's really worth it.when we climbed one of Kapurpurawan's elevated area to take a good vantage point, we discovered another hidden and less featured coastal rock formation. reddish and grand.
the same sea and wind hammers this area, yet it is quite odd to see how this coast displays a variety of beautiful rock formations. i should say that it has one of the archipelago's best landscape view.it just proves how awesome Ilocos Norte is. how awesome Philippines is.

kapurpurawan rock formation ilocos norte

i.dongho@gmail.com (the donG) — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 15:48:00 +0000

its intense form is unbelievably extraordinary as it rises meters high above sea level. the formation changes according to the locals as years pass yet it retains its splendor.seeing this great cream colored coastal rock formation of Kapurpurawan in Ilocos Norte in the photos is far from being there. where you will be forced to climb on some areas to be on top of its main flat area.Ilocos Norte has a long coastal area, yet it's only this rock formed in such a way that it combines great curves and cuts with a cream colored surface. thus the name Kapurpurawan, which means "white" in the local dialect of Ilocano.a closer look at its texture shows that it is rough in contrast to how it looks from a long distance shot. but no matter, where you shoot from, it's quite easy to find a nice photo perspective because it is picturesque.a pinnacle, partly carved like its major part, towers at the end of the rock formation adds a great view. for geologists, each curve can actually help explain how this rock was formed this way. the rough terrain and the trek to its rocky coast seems to have protected this place from overcrowding and from people who would usually abuse a natural wonder.i just hope that the locals will be able to maintain this. i would even recommend a minimal entrance fee be charged to visitors to protect and preserve it.Kapurpurawan rock formation is located West of the town of Burgos, accessible by a rough tricycle ride and a short trek of the great Burgos coast.the photo below was taken by fellow travel blogger lantaw, who's also in the photo along with the whole group including lawstude, scud, jonee and fhei. watch out for their posts for great shots and feature of Kapurpurawan.

burgos coast - ilocos norte

i.dongho@gmail.com (the donG) — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 15:58:00 +0000

it seemed to me like a place of an unifinished artwork and great rock carvings. it looks denuded but majestic. Ilocos Norte's coastlines are among the most beautiful in Luzon.just right after that rough road ride, we have to trek along Burgos coastal area to reach the Kapurpurawan rock formation. walking downhill was already easy as they already made cemented walkway down.a mere15-minute walk will actually be longer, as one can't resist stopping and be awed by its great topography. so rugged and remote. similar to the ones seen in the island of Capones.sea bonsais all around the place, typical sea rock formations holding small bodies of water with weird foamy materials that looks so much like the ones in the Death Marshes in the Lord of the Rings.rocks formed by nature through time makes this place one of my favorite. a haven for landscape photographers. there was more to explore around but we were so eager to be at the white rock wonder which was a view away from where we were.up next the Kapurpurawan rock formations. Ilocos Norte's own natural wonder.

one torturous road trip

i.dongho@gmail.com (the donG) — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 13:58:00 +0000

the tricycle driver said, "dalawa dalawa lang po ang sakay" meaning only two persons should occupy each tricycle, comparing the ones in Manila where a tricycle can carry five people. from there i wondered what kind of road was ahead of us. right after a our last stop, Bangui's wind farm we again rode a bus to the nearby town of Burgos. drop by a small shop and bought some chips and cold softdrinks to quench the thirst. from here, we have to take a tricycle ride to the drop off point off to Kapurpurawan rock formation. our last stop in this Ilocos coastal adventure.my worst tricycle ride was this trip. can't even remember the number of times i hit the sides of the tricycle. one would really think that this place that we're going should be worth this torturous road trip.i don't have photos of parts where it was really rough as we kept our heads safe. after about 20minutes of that trip, we finally saw the beautiful coast and a part of what we were here for.the Philippines will have a long weekend break starting tomorrow as we go and visit some of our dearly departed.

bangui windmills ilocos norte

i.dongho@gmail.com (the donG) — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 16:05:00 +0000

Southeast Asia's largest wind farm today are found in the Philippines. with twenty white giant turbines along the 3-kilometer Ilocos coastline, it looked like a place for the giants to me.one can get there by either bringing their own vehicles or jeepneys, but a short tricycle ride from the Bangui drop off point will do. even along the highway from Pagudpud, you can already view those giant wind turbines. many would refer to it as a windmill but when a number of these wind turbines are located in a certain area, it is referred to as a wind farm. the Bangui wind farm has as of this posting has 20 wind turbines. the Northwind Bangui Bay project provides a significant percent of electricity to the province of Ilocos Norte. with today's issue on climate change, this is one of the ways where we use the natural source to produce energy. in this case, Ilocos strong coastal winds.beyond being a great electromechanical source of electricity, it has been one of the famous stops in North Luzon. one can really be amazed by the size of these turbines. look at the people below the turbine in the photo below.i tried to measure it by stretching my arms and made one round on one of the windmill. believe it or not, it is actually 8 dong ho arm stretch!another one worth sight. one worth stop in the North Luzon island. to get there, just ride a bus from Laoag that goes to Pagudpud and tell the bus driver to drop you at the Bangui town. around an hour and a half drive from Laoag, Ilocos Norte's capital town.

bantay abot ilocos norte

i.dongho@gmail.com (the donG) — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 02:28:00 +0000

we never saw this great scenic landscape of Ilocos' until the next day when we were heading back to the highway. the only time when we had the chance to see it by day time. it was comparable to Hawaii's mountainous islands.leaving Mairaira blue lagoon on that day seemed like there's something else this province is boasting. we had all our things packed and took a tricycle back to continue our coastal route to Burgos.we realized that what we thought was just a dull view, when we were traveling our way to Mairaira was a actually a wonder that we could have missed if we decided to go home by night time.the Bantay Abot rock formation was worth a stop, from the road, it was just like an ordinary small hill along the coast. good that some of our companions insisted to go down the coast to take a closer look.only from there did i realize that there's a hole on that small hilly-like land. one would appreciate the rock and earth layers formed from years of waves hammering this coast.a majestic view of the beach can be seen from both side including a part of the Patapat coastal road. thus, i highly recommend Ilocos Norte to the beach explorers. dong ho congratulates fellow Pinoy travel blogger and friend ironwulf for winning the Nuffnang Best Travel Blog held in Singapore over other Asian travel blogs.

mairaira blue lagoon pagudpud ilocos

i.dongho@gmail.com (the donG) — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 14:34:00 +0000

isolated yet so safe. hidden behind the the lush green coastal hills of Pagudpud in Ilocos Norte, Luzon island's northern tip.
the Eastern coast of Mairaira beach reveals an exotic experience of being in a beach. where the green still dominates the backdrop and a few nipa houses that seemed abandonded.it was night time when we arrived in this beach and as we were looking for a place to stay for the night, we seem to can't find a place where we can set our tents. so we decided to look for a homestay accommodation.our guide though was pointing out on a direction with just one light as seen from afar. we resisted as the area seemed too isolated. not knowing that the place that he was pointing at was the eastern coast of Mairaira.if we only knew that it was this area, we could have chosen pitching up a tent on this coast. if there's a reason why i should go back to this place, it would be to camp overnight in this coast.Mairaira beach is about 2hours away from the town of Laoag. take a bus that goes to Pagudpud and tell them to drop you at the Mairaira area where you can take a short tricycle ride with a great view of the Patapat coastal road going to this beach. this is just about 30minutes away from the more popular Saud beach of Pagudpud.

mairaira blue lagoon central beach

i.dongho@gmail.com (the donG) — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 16:04:00 +0000

when you're at the central beach area, you can immediately observe that the place is transforming from what it was known for years back. a big villa type resort has risen while a number of homestay cottages are along the coast.

an unpaved road going to the west coast area has beautiful coconut trees lined up with few nipa houses alongside. on one side one can see the beach while on the other Mairaira's hills.

fishing and poultry remains to be the local's main way of living while tourism builds up during summer and on long weekends. staying on homestay nipa houses like the one we've stayed would be a good choice.

though the area seems to have managed the building of resorts and houses along the shoreline, the development of a big villa type resort has somehow dismayed me. it was not the size of the structure that i didn't like, it was more of the type of structure.

it could have retained a tropical look so as to preserve a laid-back kind of feel of the beach. i believe, even with modern materials, one can still retain a more suitable design of structure.

this though gave way to more beach activities like beach volley, kayaking and banana boats. as for swimming, the main beach area is still a great place. that we did not miss doing.so is it still worth the long travel from Manila to this beach? let me answer that on my next post.

mairaira beach pagudpud - west coast

i.dongho@gmail.com (the donG) — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 16:04:00 +0000

in this area, no one seems to rake the sands clean. coral remains, rocks, pebbles and shells of sorts abound this part of Mairaira's shoreline. west of the main beach area.

when i was a kid, after hours of swimming, we would always end the day by picking shells. but for the locals here, it seems like these sea jewels are too ordinary for them to keep.

this side of the beach is also the surfer's haven because of the break water. they say the nearby Kapuluan resort house a lot of surfers both locals and foreigners. if you zoom the photo here, you can see some of the surfers.

a great view of the Dos Hermanos islands or the Two Brothers islands can be seen from this point. if the weather would have been better, we could have crossed and explored the island. another reason for us to return to this beach.

what's good about this shoreline, is it's too accessible from the main beach area. just a short walk either along the shore or through the unpaved road, you can easily reach this area.i dedicate this series to the locals of Ilocos Norte who were largely affected by the tropical storm Pepeng. we were there two weeks before it hit Northern Luzon.

we thought it was just a series of unfortunate events - mairaira blue lagoon

i.dongho@gmail.com (the donG) — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 21:11:00 +0000

we were supposed to be on the bus from Manila to Laoag at around 11:00pm but ended up riding the 4:00am bus. it was Friday night on a long weekend and a crowd of people were all there eagerly waiting for their tickets.

we spent the night chatting, waiting and hoping that the earliest bus from Laoag arrives early. the bus left at around 4:20am and so we were still hopeful that we will arrive mid afternoon in Ilocos Norte. but not when we learned that our bus needs repair and so we have to transfer to another bus without the bus operators informing us. we then transferred to another bus whose air condition system was not working.

when we reached the boarder of Ilocos Sur and Ilocos Norte, we stopped for about 30minutes because the bridge was under repair and so we ended up arriving in Laoag by 5:00pm good enough to catch the last bus to Pagudpud.

we rode a tricycle down to Mairaira beach and arrived just in time for dinner. we found a hut owned by one of the locals and enjoyed the night sharing all what we've experienced in this trip. the next day we woke up 4:30am expecting a beautiful sunrise but it rained. so we just lied down and rested again.

before 6:00am, we noticed that the rain stopped and so we went out set our cameras. then we realized that this wasn't a series of unfortunate experience.

the norte series - ilocos

i.dongho@gmail.com (the donG) — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 11:34:00 +0000

the North of Luzon island has so much in store for backpackers, whether it would be historical landmarks or great scenic views. given a short period of time over a long weekend, i decided to just focus on the great coastal sights.hopping from one part of the coast to the other was a bit challenging but traveling along with some of my travel buddies scud, lawstude, lantaw, jonee and fhei made it one of my most memorable trip this year.join us as we feature Ilocos Norte in the norte series. photos here were taken when the sun was rising over a moody morning.

morong church rizal - great facade

i.dongho@gmail.com (the donG) — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 13:07:00 +0000

magnificent architectural structure in the Philippines are numerous influenced by the great diversity of cultures. i was really impressed when i saw the church of Morong located far East of Manila.i've been longing to see this church which made me decide to set a half day trip just to get a view of its impressive facade. an hour to about an hour and a half trip to the province of Rizal. the way there can be boring but wait till you reach the town of Cardona, where you get to see a nice view of Laguna de Bay, the country's largest lake. upon reaching the town of Morong, there stands this four floor high church facade and bell tower. first built in 1615 but was destroyed and rebuilt several times. but was finally renovated during the 1850s.it is in the town of Paete, home to many carvers and painters, where the Franciscan order commissioned to find a person to renovate the church facade and bell tower as to what it is today. behind this really impressive vertical facade is the local artist Bartolome Palatino. a usual church in the Philippines would have the church main facade separately from the bell tower which stands on one side or on both. quite different for this church as the bell tower is in the center of the vertical facade. the long pillars somehow resembles those of big palaces. symbolizing our creator's authority and kingship. its interior is plain and i didn't have the chance to take a shot because there was a wedding during that time. if you decide to do the Rizal - Laguna church visit, don't miss out this one.