What a day-ender!  We sneaked in some beach time to explore the area of Fort Ilocandia.  I documented my reaction whenI heard the waves.

The camera crew followed us and they were also there to capture that awesome moment.

Touchdown Laoag

Fort Ilocandia Lunch Buffet

Fort Ilocandia Room

St William Cathedral, Sinking Bell Tower, Tobacco Monument

La Moda Panceteria

Fort Ilocandia, Carabao, Waves, Pool, Beach

 

Touchdown Laoag

We met at the NAIA 2 Departure area at 7:30 am.  Our flight to Laoag was at 9:30 am.  We arrived in Laoag at around 10:30 (ish). I was heavily updating my facebook, twitter, plurk and foursquare.  I wanted to livestream ourselves via qik but I figured this would be much of a hassle for me.  Oh, and Direk won’t like cellphones around while filming.

That’s right, the Vaseline team had a production team to follow us around.  Cameras, boom mikes, lights etc.  Trust me, I felt like I was in a reality TV!  Or maybe I am… 😛

[flickr album=72157623995272231 num=10 size=Square]

Fort Ilocandia Lunch Buffet

Alas, we arrived at the 5-star luxury hotel in Laoag – Fort Ilocandia.  This hotel (it’s also a resort as you can say) has almost everything!  Let’s just say they have all the necessities of a 5-star hotel plus the pool, golf range – and the beach that has waves!  Please do check out my next blog post.  I will upload a video blog about surfability in this area.

Food is always good.  The lunch offered all Filipino food.  They served Pinakbet, Chicken Pork Adobo (CPA), Lengua (this was my fave dish served), and their famous native dish – Bagnet.

Bagnet is like lechon kawali to me.  I don’t know if there is any difference.  To me they taste the same.  Really oily dish though since it’s pork and it’s fried… But it’s yummy so what the heck 😛

[flickr album=72157623995035319 num=13 size=Square]

Fort Ilocandia Room

After a hearty lunch, I was so glad to come up to the room and finally have a quick rest (or so I thought).  I was planning initially sneak in a blog post, but we really lacked time.  Anyway, check out the gnarly rooms!  I wish I have my special someone here, or some friends… My, oh my, it could fit a lot of people here… If only I can host a party here lol.

[flickr album=72157623995076213 num=9 size=Square]

St William Cathedral, Sinking Bell Tower, Tobacco Monument

St. William’s Cathedral

St William’s Cathedral (or St. William Cathedral) is one of the largest Cathedrals in Asia.  Its bell tower is detached  50 meters away from the big dome of worship.  St. William, in whose name the Cathedral is named after, is an hermit.  That is probably the reason why this church is said to be so serene.

Sinking Bell Tower

This detached bell tower form St. William’s Cathedral is said to be sinking one-fourth of an inch every year.  It is one of the largest bell towers that the Spaniards ever built here in the Philippines.  You can see how chubby the tower looks as compared to the other bell towers you can see in different provinces of the Philippines.

Tobacco Monopoly Monument

This monument was built in honor of King Alfonzo XII.  Ilocos Norte is known for Tobacco production.  Back in the Spanish era, the Tobacco industry is monopolized by Spaniards.  King Alfonzo lifted this monopoly which made the people very happy.  Until today, the gratitude of the Filipinos is displayed in the humble city of Laoag.

[flickr album=72157624119839826 num=25 size=Square]

La Moda Panceteria

Refreshments!

I lost energy from the heat.  I’m glad we paused by to stop and recharge to the best Restaurant that offers Pancit Canton.  La Moda Panceteria was awarded as one of the best restaurants in Laoag last year.  What’s good about their noodles is that it has absolutely no preservatives.

For only Php 55, you can get one plate of their famous Pancit Canton.  It was enough for one happy tummy :)  The noodles had “Bagnet” toppings which really added to the uniqueness of the flavor.

[flickr album=72157624119831778 num=2 size=Square]

Fort Ilocandia, Carabao, Waves, Pool, Beach

The heat was really something this day and we were relieved to arrive at the hotel to recharge.  Fort Ilocandia looks like a big Spanish mansion.  Everything about it reminds me of my Philippine History books.  It’s overwhelming!  Especially that, you could see an old man wearing an old-school Filipino “magsasaka” (farmer) costume, and a Carabao.

I love animals… and I instantly fell in love with the Carabao.  You can see how sweet and hardworking it is.  It is just pretty quiet and it allowed people to ride on its back.

To end the day, Ada, Nikki and I decided to go out of the itinerary given to us and explored the beach in Fort Ilocandia.  We took quite a long walk to the beach.  While on our way, I could hear the waves crashing in… I got excited – SURF TIME!  I wish I brought with me my surf board.  Or at least they have surfboards for rent.

True enough… I found waves… I was at awe… I felt relaxed, revamped, calmed…

The camera crew followed us.  We didn’t mind.  I don’t mind my happiness being captured! 🙂

We just did some few jumpshots… then sat down.  We were just all silent as we all listen to the waves.

It was indeed one way to end the day 🙂

[flickr album=72157623995113303 num=27 size=Square]