VIGAN CITY
Vigan City is known
for its well-preserved Spanish colonial and Asian architecture. As per UNESCO,
Vigan is the best-preserved example of a planned Spanish colonial town in Asia.
The city I longed to visit and experience a blast from the past. It surely is
one of the unique places in the Philippines.
How I got there:
From Pagudpud, we
asked our guide if there is a bus that directly goes to Vigan from Pagudpud
since originally, we plan on going back to Laoag and the go to Vigan from
there. Our guide said there is but it is a bus going to Baguio City and will
just pass by Vigan. He kindly waited with us for the bus until we were able to
catch one. It is purely luck to catch one early, we waited for nearly an hour.
Our guide does have a contact from somewhere up north and said that there is a
bus going our way. The journey takes about 3-4
hours.
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| A hotel built like it was in the Spanish era but in modern times. |
The things I did and the places I went to:
We arrived around 1
o'clock in the afternoon in Vigan and asked the trike driver to take us to a
place where we can eat Vigan food. He took us to a carenderia but it is somehow
crowded so it seems like it is a popular place to go. Our main goal to is to go
to Calle Crisologo where the heritage are is. Only kalesas are allowed to pass through the entire strip due to the
preserved cobblestone path and the entire street has European influenced
architecture. We didn't spend a night of sleep at Vigan because our flight
schedule is tomorrow evening so we need to be in Laoag by tomorrow. It was also
1PM that time and the museums where still close as they will reopen at around
1:30PM. We just decided to walk to Calle Crisologo so to see the buildings that
we will pass by as they are as interesting as the ones in Calle Crisologo.
There are a lot of souvenir stores located at Calle Crisologo so you have lots
to choose from. After that we, went to the Baluarte - Vigan's Zoo. We took a
package so that we can have our pictures taken with 5 of their show animals.
The package is Php500 and you will have 5
different animals to get selfies with. We didn't have time to go to the museums
as it was around 4PM or 5PM that we were at the zoo. They have deers walking
around freely and they were white deers. I have heard that Café Uno is a must
visit place if you are in Vigan so to kill time, we hang out there and order
their carrot cake and my, it was delicious! Vigan is also known for their
dancing fountain and that was one of the things we need to witness. It occurs
every night at 7PM at their plaza. I recommend you to see it for yourself to
see how amazing it was.
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| Kalesa @ Calle Crisologo |
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| McDonald's @ Vigan City - Combining old and new. |
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| Cafe Uno's carrot cake. Yum! |
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| Vigan's Dancing Fountain lights |
What I want you to know:
- There is a kalesa tour that can take you to their spots for Php150-Php300. Just ask about it and don't forget to check the places covered by the tour, if it sounds like a great deal then take it.
- There is a bus going that comes from Manila to stop over Vigan and goes to Laoag at night. We were able to catch one at around 9:30PM. Be sure to ask by the time you arrive in Vigan if there is one that day if in case that you don't plan on staying for the night.
Feel free to ask me questions! Leave me a message :)
