Ilocandia Adventures - (Part 1 - Laoag City)

Ilocandia is the term given to the traditional homeland of the Ilocano people.

From the original western strip of Northern Luzon (now known as the Region 1 or Ilocos Region), Ilocandia has spread throughout the Cagayan Valley, Cordillera Administrative Region, and some parts of Central Luzon.

Being in the Visayas, I have long heard of Vigan which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site as it few Hispanic towns left in the Philippines where its structures have remained intact, and is well known for its cobblestone streets and a unique architecture that fuses Philippine and Oriental building designs and construction, with colonial European architecture. It makes me want to go there so that I will have the experience to go back in time to the Spanish era. I was able to find a great seat sale that will allow me to and so I did! I came traveling with my friend/office mate that time so it was a lesser burden when it comes to expenses.

LAOG CITY

Laoag City is our jump-off point. The city is the province's political, commercial, and industrial hub and the location of the Ilocos Region's only commercial airport, the Laoag International Airport.

How I got there:

You can get to Laoag City from Manila in two ways -  by land or by air.  Taking the land route gives you a travel time of 10-13 hours. We are pressed for time so taking the plane is the best and time-saving option. The flight is about 45 minutes to an hour.

 CebuPacific and Philippine Airlines have routes there.

Where I stayed:

My friend and I stayed at Texicano Hotel. Texicano is ‘a bit old’. Yes, it’s not winning awards for, well, anything, but this is still a popular backpacker selection. As long as you don't expect much then it is good for a night's stay. We actually stayed her for two nights - the night we arrived from our flight from Manila and the night we arrived from Vigan city (check details about what happened).

*prices may change prior notice

For more a list of LAOAG ACCOMMODATION: Cheap Lodges, Pension Houses, Resorts and Luxury Hotels, visit this page.

The things I did and the places I went to:

The airport is in Laoag City so we decided to tour Laoag on our last day there. At least, we won't fret much on catching our flight. Flights to Laoag are usually at night time so when we arrived in Manila, we had to stay the night there and we stayed at Texicano Hotel. We were hungry by the time we arrived and the hotel has a restaurant but we opt to check if there are still places open that we can eat. We were lucky to find one, a Kampampangan restaurant in Laoag - Ravanden's. I haven't tried authentic Kampampangan dish so I can't compare it to anything else but it was satisfying. We went back to the hotel after as we had to be early the next day to catch the bus going to Pagudpud.

Inside Ravanden's

By the time we got back from Vigan, we stayed at Texicano Hotel once more. The kuya that we contacted for the Pagudpud tour referred his cousin for the trike tour in Laoag. We paid Php600 for the entire tour. By the next day, he was already waiting outside of the hotel. We were pressed for time as we had a flight schedule at 7PM bound for Manila so I asked  kuya driver if we can cover the places and be done by 5PM. He said that it can be done so and so we checked out of the hotel and brought our things with us during the tour. We first asked him to take us somewhere to eat and somehow requested that it should offer their dishes because we would like to try them. He took us I think to his favorite carenderia and it was what we need. I ordered Dinakdakan,  which is a twist to the regular grilled pork – it’s pork belly plus liver plus ears, covered in pig’s brain , and Sinanglaw, a dish made of the pig’s internal organs, whose broth is flavored by the pig’s bile. Those may sound gross but they were tasty. I am adventurous with food so I wasn't afraid of trying out locals' dishes. After that, we started our tour. Here are the places we went to:

Marcos Museum and Mausoleum

Paoay Church

Paoay Lake

Malacañang of the North

Museo Ilocos Norte

Fort Ilocandia Resort

St. William's Church And Laoag Sinking Bell Tower

La Paz Sand Dunes

The 4x4 experience that we had at the La Paz Sand dunes was awesome. It is a must try if you are in Laoag. It was not part of our tour package but our tour guide/driver agreed to take us there and wait for us. For a group of 4, the ride costs about Php2500 including  the sand boarding experience. But we were just a group of 2 but we were offered Php1500 for half an hour without sand boarding. It was an awesome deal for us so we took it and it was a really fun and exciting ride for us! I enjoyed it very much!

Laoag Sinking Bell Tower

St. William's Church

Paoay Church

Malacañang of the North

Fort Ilocandia Resort

A fountain inside Fort Ilocandia

Museo Ilocos Norte

Dinakdakan

Sinanglaw

What I want you to know:

1. Flights are usually at night, so better make the necessary arrangements with your late check in with the hotel of your choice and of your itinerary.
2. It will never hurt to ask and maybe you can get a good deal with that ;)
3. I had trouble with sand going inside my shoes at the sand dunes, I never expected to get of the 4x4 to take pictures and such so better put on the proper footwear and depends on the time you go there - sun glasses if you can.
4. Bring change with you as there are corresponding fees for museums which varies from Php30-Php120.

Check out my Pagudpud adventure on my next post!