After exploring the wanders of Northern Ilocos Region, it's time to rel-live the past in one of the most precious gems in the Philippines - Vigan City.
August 5, 2013, Monday. The sky was blue, the sun up and the temperature was extremely hot. But never did we miss to explore the beauty of Vigan.
Vigan City is the capital town of the province of Ilocos Sur. This is known to be the most well preserved Spanish village in Asia. One cannot argue with that when you step on the city itself.
We came all the way from Ilocos Norte by land via private van courtesy of Parana Travel and Tours. Travelling to Vigan was literally a pain in the ass. It took around 3-4 hours from Laoag City (Capital of Ilocos Norte) where one can catch a flight from and to Manila. You may also take the longer and bumpy road trip from Manila which is about 8-9 hours.
Since Day 1 of our Ilocos adventure, we already visited some of the famous places in Vigan like the St. Augustine church, Bantay Bell Tower, Hidden Garden, Burnayam Pottery, and Baluarte ni Chavit.
Now that we were back to Vigan, we only had to focus to Vigan proper. Here's a trivia we got from the Crisologo Museum care taker, the name Vigan came from the word "Bigaa" - a plant in the same species of gabi.
One interesting thing i noticed when i step on Vigan is its community. All establishments were built in one theme - Spanish architecture. From the restaurants, to the gift shoppes, to shopping stalls, all of them were designed and built in a Spanish look structure. One could hardly tell which ones were the real antiques and which ones were just cloned.
Enjoy the virtual tour below.
Photo Essay below ...
St. Paul Cathedral of Vigan
(Clockwise) Catherdal's bell tower, St Paul's Cathedral Facade, Interior of St Paul Cathedral
The above street was named after Floro Crisologo, a former congressman who authored Philippines Social Security System (SSS) who was assasinated inside the St Paul Cathedral in October 1970. He was shot in head by unknown perpetrators.
There were a number of gift shops along Calle Crisologo where one can buy souvernirs. I bought my "i ove Vigan" shirt at Php.100.00. Good bargain!
Was captivated by the beauty of Calle Crisologo. Living in the past indeed!
This famous house behind me was used by ABS-CBN's hit TV series "Maruja" and the Hollywood Movie "Born on the Fourth of July" which starred Tom Cruise in the late 1980's.
Another attraction a few meters away from the bustle Calle Crisologo is the Vigan's sunken bell tower. This sunk halfway the ground level due to weak foundation.
Vigan City being the Capital of Ilocos Sur also housed the Provincial Capitol of Southern Ilocos.
As what most of the tourists would say, your Vigan experience is never complete without getting a ride of the Philippine's old tranportation means - the Calesa!
The not so good experience with the Kutsero.
Before getting a ride, we were clearly given a rate of Php150.00 for an hour ride. While the Kutsero was polite he was not excused of takingnadvantage to tourists like us. We failed to notice the time had already elapsed one hour but he never told us so. We were busy strollinng along Calle Crisologo buying souvenirs and did some picture taking while the Kutsero was just sitting on his Calesa. Geez! the driver/kutsero was shameles to ask us Php250.00 for an hour and 20 minutes ride. Well, as far as i could remember, we did more of the strolling than the ride. So it was just a 30 -minute ride on his Calesa. The rest of time was his wait time.
I didn't mind paying Php250.00 after all this was just a small amount. The thought that i don't like was their using this tactic to earn more. They should have learned the art of setting expectation to tourists.
Bye Vigan! Overall, it was still a great experience!
"Traveling is all about the experience" - illustriousjosh!
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