Pagudpud To Go

Warning: this page is loaded with pictures.

Few days before we turn five, fiance and I hardly know where to celebrate our anniversary. Since Davao was cancelled due to the weather and the situation in the south, we looked for several places to go to. Among the list were Caramoan, Ilocos and Villa Escudero in Quezon. Both Caramoan and Ilocos were a 12-hour drive which Prince do not want and the latter was just declared under the state of calamity from the typhoon. Just when he's about to book a reservation in Villa Escudero, we found Pagudpod. Well there's this friend who went there and said that the weather was good and your honor envied. LOLs. So our destination: PAGUDPUD, ILOCOS NORTE. 

We booked on Friday and headed to our destination Saturday evening. It was a 10-hour trip via Florida. We left Manila at eight in the evening, arrived in Baloi at around 6am on Sunday, and checked-in at Hannah's Beach Resort after a 10-minute tricycle ride. Good thing there were vacant rooms to accommodate us that early. We just paid an additional fre for the early check in. We slept a little more before we roam around to discover more of the villas and the beach.

Day 1.

Got up at around 11 in the morning, we headed out to take a walk by the beach. Since it's lunch time, we also looked for a place to eat since the resto is expensive. We found a palutuan and asked for Grilled Tilapia and Sinigang na Hipon. Less costly but tastier that we even asked for an extra rice. We're not really hungry... The foods are just delicious. After lunch, just when we are about to prepare to soak in the waters, the rain started to fall down sonwe were forced to stay inside the villa and.. Sleep! It's almost dark when we woke up and the rain stopped so we took the chance to try the beach and enjoy the infinity pool.

We had dinner in the resto. We tried their special Chicken BBQ and Pork Liempoz and just as I said I won't eat that much for dinner (because I had a lot for lunch), I just can't help but to finish the meal that was served in front of me because it's just heavenly delicious.

We waited for the change of date before we got to sleep. Hey hey, it's our fifth year anniversary!

DAY 2.

Hooray for our Five years together! As part of our anniversary special, we decided to have a tour on the day of our anniversary, the second day of our stay. Good thing we had kuya Paul, the tricycle driver who took us to the resort on our first day. He’s also a tour guide so we entrusted our second day to him. We went to several spots on the Southern part. And we only opted to see the Bangui Windmills from the North.

Our first stop: Bantay Abot Cave

Kabigan Falls

It was a 30-minute walk to Kabigan Falls but once you get there, believe me, you’ll forget all the sweat and the warmth of sun while you walk. The water is cold and you’ll be amazed of the picturesque. Unfortunately, we did not bring extra clothes so we deprived ourselves from showering our bodies with the water from the falls.  It was ate Remed who walked us to the falls and took most of the pictures of us.

Bangui Windmills

Before we headed to the bus station, I took a time to watch GMA’s Byahe ni Drew in Pagudpud. I was amazed when I watched him visited Bangui Windmills. That triggers the excitement in me. Told myself I should not leave Ilocos until I set foot and see the windmills with my own eyes. To see is to believe, as they say. Didn’t know it is laid by the shore. I’d admit, I got a little scared upon seeing the windmills as they’re a thousand feet (maybe) bigger than me. And honestly, I thought there were just four, but hey, there’s… MANY! J

Patapat Viaduct

Paraiso ni Anton

According to kuya Paul, the place used to be a tourist attraction until there was a landslide that almost ruined the place. However, the grotto was still there and the water,said kuya Paul, that comes from the mountains can still be drinked.

Agua Grande

Agua Grande, if not destroyed by a landslide, was indeed a wonderful place to see.

Timmangtang Rock

Lastly, Timmangtang is a perfect place to take a picture. On the other side, you’ll find beautiful hills where Coco Martin and Julia Montes is said to shoot for the last scene of “Walang Hanggan”.

Back at Hannah’s by 5 in the afternoon. Our anniversary tour is indeed worth spending the time plus it was exclusive to the two of us. We ran to the beach after the tour. That’s the only time we will be enjoying the waves as the whole day was sunny and there was not a single drop of rain. After hitting the waves, we went back to the infinity pool before finally having our dinner.

Again, we had our dinner at around eight in the resto. This time, we ordered Pork Sinigang. The taste is good but I must say Palutuan’s Sinigang na Hipon stays at number 1 spot. *wink*

DAY 3.

Clock ticks so fast. It’s Monday already and in a few hours, we had to leave to go back to Manila. May be tired from yesterday’s tour, we woke up at around 9am on the third and last day of our stay. There were raindrops as well so we cannot roam around before we checked out. So all we did was to wait for 12noon for our check out time.

Upon check out, we rode a bus going to Laoag. Buses to Manila start passing by at 3 in the afternoon and we decided to take a sidetrip in Laoag while waiting. It was an ordinary bus filled with luggages of locals. There were sacks of grains (rice, feeds, etc), and I cannot understand everyone as they all speak in their local language that is completely a foreign language to me. I only know a few Ilocano words and you can count them with your fingers. LOLs.

Laoag is almost two hours away from Balaoi but the byahe is not boring and irritating at all. Even when the heat of the sun is directed to me, I opted to open the windows to see the beauty of places we are passing by and feel the freshness of the winds.

Upon getting to Laoag, we had lunch at Ineng’s restaurant then headed to a local market to buy some pasalubong. After that, we went to the bus station for another 10-hour travel time back to the metro.

Jhem is my name and travelling is my game. Oha! J Well, it’s all worth the wait, leave from work and money. Hannah’s Beach Resort is a bit costly but maybe, as Drew said in the show, what you are paying is the totality of the place. I mean, the ambience, it’s too cozy and relaxing and the place is really big. Plus the breath taking view from the infinity pool. The room is very comfortable although there’s no closet but there’s an empty ref. Maybe they put priority on the foods you may be bringing inside or the drinks than the clothes you bring. Air conditioned room, the bed is comfy and the comfort room is clean and big enough, compared to the other hotels we stayed in our previous trips. They also offer the best amenities. They have four swimming pools including the ‘Banga’, and one kiddie pool. They also have a theme park with giant statues like that of Amana, a basketball court, grotto, and they also have spa center and gym though I wasn’t able to see them. They also offer ATV and a kilometer zipline over the sea, though we didn’t try as well. They have a 24-hour housekeeping. I enjoyed calling for help when the floor gets wet or dirty. Hehe. The staffs were friendly and accommodating, by the way. One thing that disappointed me is that they do not offer complimentary breakfast. You need to order from the resto or simply take an effort to roam around and look for other options for foods. There were small sari sari stores and carinderias and palutuans around. You just need to take a few more steps. If you want chips, I suggest you bring them with you beforehand. Items being sold in the area were too expensive. One cup of rice costs 15php. That’s tantamount to a cup of rice in Jollibee or KFC in Manila. Ubos budget! LOLs. But all in all, given the chance, I’d love to stay at Hannah’s again.

But if you are really budget-conscious, there are many other resorts in the area. There’s actually a pile of them, and other homestays or transient houses. Didn’t dare to ask but I think it’s far affordable than Hannah’s. The only thing is you have to pay Hannah’s entrance of 50php if you want to use their amenities. And if you are bringing a vehicle of your own, it would help save time and budget plus you’ll get to every place you want to go to, since most of the spots were free of entrance fee. I think during our tour, we only pay for the Kabigan Falls tour since you need to have a tourist guide and pay for the environmental fee. And of course, bring as much company with you for more enjoyable tour. J

Guess, I was born a nature-lover, although I am not into those activities and advocacies for nature. I love to see the beauty of nature; it fills my heart and takes my breath away. I love to take pictures so that I can bring them with me. And I love going back to fill my eyes with the beauty of nature.

And one more thing, you know why I love to travel with my fiancé? I got the chance to bond with my love and Mother Nature.

- ymhej - 

10.02.2013