One of the reasons why I was so excited about this trip is because I would finally be reintroducing myself to my roots.

I am an Ilocano. Both my parents and most of my relatives from both sides are Ilocanos. But since I was raised in Davao, I never really got to know my roots. The only evident thing that would give away the Ilocano in me would be my skin and my love for gulay, suka, and bagoong.

When we booked this trip, I thought my Ilocano speaking skills would give me the upper hand to act like a local and haggle for prices and avoid being taken advantage of as a tourist. Alas, my accent just doesn't cut it and I sound so hilaw. Haha

Anyway, this post will not have a lot of details about the trip, but rather a summary of our adventures and mishaps. But don't worry guys, I'll also be sharing with you our DIY Itinerary. So please stay tuned for that. But for now, here's how our Ilocandia Trip went:

Calle Crisiologo

- Our flight to Laoag from Davao  and vice versa was a rather tiring one. It's my first time to sleep in an airport and I don't think I would want to do it again. But of course, if given the chance to travel again, I wouldn't really mind sleeping anywhere.

- We stayed at Ziur Inn in Laoag City. We paid around Php 2000+  for three nights, which includes aircon, tv, hot & cold shower, and wifi. You can only get free breakfast if you book directly with them. The inn was just located at the city proper which makes everything accessible by foot.

- Before we flew to Laoag, I kept on checking the weather forecast and I was quite worried that our trip wouldn't be as exciting as I thought it would be because the forecast kept giving scattered thunderstorms. But it only rained shortly twice in our entire trip. In fact, it was too sunny we just got our skins darker-er.

Bangui Wind Mills

- Nascam ata kami. Wait. Scratch that. Nascam kami. Transfer fee mo mukha mo. Fine. Charged to experience. Nilibre ka pa nga namin ng lunch tapos lolokohin mo pa kami. Di ka aasenso kung ganyan ka, manong driver.

- Kain lang kami ng kain.

- Lakad kami ng lakad. As much as possible we would avoid tricycle drivers who jack up their prices to travelers like us.

- I am ambidextrous. Hindi ako kaliwete. And Jan and the potters think otherwise.

Wala talaga akong poise.

- I pity the show animals in Baluarte. I pity the horses in Vigan. I pity the Vigan longganisa and sukang Iloko that didn't stand a chance against me.

Find Jan

- We enjoyed the 4x4 ride. But it wasn't as buwis-buhay as we thought it would be. Friends and some blogs told us how thrilling it was. But I guess, we have already set a high bar on what buwis-buhay is for us (read: we take it literally). Mas matindi pa rin siguro yung pagsakay namin sa isang Forward truck na punong puno ng tao na bumibigay ang tailgate na tumatakbo ng at least 100kph. But then, this 4x4 activity is one for the books and something you would not want to miss.

Dubai? No, it's Paoay!

- Jan and I are both good at sandboarding. It was our first time but never kami sumemplang. If only surfing was also that easy.

- I just realized how I missed traveling with Jan. I look forward to more adventures and travel further up north with him. :)

I really enjoyed this trip. And I can't wait to share it with you. So please, stay tuned for our detailed DIY Ilocandia trip.


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Ilocandia Trip:
Pagudpud Tour
Burgos Tour
Vigan Tour
4x4 and Sandboarding Experience