When I Went Loco in Ilocos, Part 4 (Laoag Leg)
We're still on the first day of our Ilocos trip. After Vigan, our next destination was Laoag. We had to take a bus on an approximately two-hour drive. We were supposed to stop by Paoay and Batac (our itinerary included Fort Ilocandia, Paoay Church, and Marcos Museum) but for some reason, we decided against that idea. It was around lunch time when we reached Laoag City. A trike took us to the town proper. We happened to mention to the driver that we wanted to go to Batac, and he said he could take us there for a certain fee. I cannot remember anymore how much he was going to charge us, but it's probably a costly one because we didn't bother calling him on the number he had left us. Sorry! :(
We were starving, so we immediately looked for Macy's, a popular diner frequently talked about in blogs and travel advisories. While traveling from Vigan, we already had our minds (and tummies) set on eating bagnet, and so we ordered one and Yangchow fried rice.
We were quite disappointed with our meal. The bagnet wasn't so tender and crispy, not the kind we had expected since we were in Ilocos no less. It could be worth another try but maybe next time we'll go for the burger and fries. Besides, Macy's is actually an American diner.
In Laoag, we had a huge dilemma: stay in Hotel Tiffany for the night (worth around P1300) or head off straight to Pagudpud, the last leg of our tour. But we were dead tired, so we decided to stay. Luckily, we chanced upon Hotel del Norte, where we got a decent and a fairly reasonable accommodation. Kudos! Once we were sure that everything was all right with our accommodation, we went out for a stroll and then munched on a special Ilocos empanada. We enjoyed it a lot!
Our next order or business was to go to Fariñas bus terminal. Apparently, the Fariñas bus we took from Manila to Vigan owed us some change worth around P300. I think I mentioned that we reached Vigan in the wee hours of the morning, and we have to thank the bus conductor who woke us up from our sleep. But no thanks to that same conductor, who failed to give us our change. We only came to realize it by mid-morning. Personally, I felt deceived by it. While it's a mere P300, I really dislike it when my consumer rights are compromised. So, when I told Richie about it, we agreed to go to the Fariñas terminal in Laoag to get our money back.
When we got there, we told our story to the lady dispatcher who was manning the station at that time. Fortunately, we were able to keep our tickets and showed them to her. Apparently, the amount to be returned to us was written at the back. The lady asked us to wait while she called the bus conductor on his cell phone. We could hear the lady describing us, " . . . yung lalaking mahaba yung buhok saka yung babae . . ." Richie and I looked at each other, sensing some positive results in the offing. Finally, the lady turned to us, gave us our money, and stamped the tickets we had given her. Mission accomplished. :))
When we returned to the hotel, we asked the receptionist to teach us how to to go to Pagudpud the following day. It turns out that one of the guests in the hotel was also staying for the night in Hotel del Norte but was going back home to Pagudpud at the same time that we would. Talk about coincidence hehe. We agreed to come along with him when he takes the shuttle in the morning. But the better part of the deal was his offer to take us on a tour in Pagudpud and other destinations (such as the lovely Bangui windmills) on his tricycle for a very reasonable price of P1000! That was just what we needed! So, we agreed to meet at the hotel lobby at around eight o'clock the next day. Gee, we were so excited!
In the evening, we headed to La Preciosa restaurant, which was recommended by the hotel and which was also part of our itinerary. We spent a lovely evening eating some really good food. We even saw Ilocos Norte Governor Imee Marcos along with an entourage. Here are pictures taken in Laoag (sans the Governor hehehe):
Thank you, Laoag! :) Next destination: P-a-g-u-d-p-u-d!!! ♥
We were starving, so we immediately looked for Macy's, a popular diner frequently talked about in blogs and travel advisories. While traveling from Vigan, we already had our minds (and tummies) set on eating bagnet, and so we ordered one and Yangchow fried rice.
We were quite disappointed with our meal. The bagnet wasn't so tender and crispy, not the kind we had expected since we were in Ilocos no less. It could be worth another try but maybe next time we'll go for the burger and fries. Besides, Macy's is actually an American diner.
In Laoag, we had a huge dilemma: stay in Hotel Tiffany for the night (worth around P1300) or head off straight to Pagudpud, the last leg of our tour. But we were dead tired, so we decided to stay. Luckily, we chanced upon Hotel del Norte, where we got a decent and a fairly reasonable accommodation. Kudos! Once we were sure that everything was all right with our accommodation, we went out for a stroll and then munched on a special Ilocos empanada. We enjoyed it a lot!
Our next order or business was to go to Fariñas bus terminal. Apparently, the Fariñas bus we took from Manila to Vigan owed us some change worth around P300. I think I mentioned that we reached Vigan in the wee hours of the morning, and we have to thank the bus conductor who woke us up from our sleep. But no thanks to that same conductor, who failed to give us our change. We only came to realize it by mid-morning. Personally, I felt deceived by it. While it's a mere P300, I really dislike it when my consumer rights are compromised. So, when I told Richie about it, we agreed to go to the Fariñas terminal in Laoag to get our money back.
When we got there, we told our story to the lady dispatcher who was manning the station at that time. Fortunately, we were able to keep our tickets and showed them to her. Apparently, the amount to be returned to us was written at the back. The lady asked us to wait while she called the bus conductor on his cell phone. We could hear the lady describing us, " . . . yung lalaking mahaba yung buhok saka yung babae . . ." Richie and I looked at each other, sensing some positive results in the offing. Finally, the lady turned to us, gave us our money, and stamped the tickets we had given her. Mission accomplished. :))
When we returned to the hotel, we asked the receptionist to teach us how to to go to Pagudpud the following day. It turns out that one of the guests in the hotel was also staying for the night in Hotel del Norte but was going back home to Pagudpud at the same time that we would. Talk about coincidence hehe. We agreed to come along with him when he takes the shuttle in the morning. But the better part of the deal was his offer to take us on a tour in Pagudpud and other destinations (such as the lovely Bangui windmills) on his tricycle for a very reasonable price of P1000! That was just what we needed! So, we agreed to meet at the hotel lobby at around eight o'clock the next day. Gee, we were so excited!
In the evening, we headed to La Preciosa restaurant, which was recommended by the hotel and which was also part of our itinerary. We spent a lovely evening eating some really good food. We even saw Ilocos Norte Governor Imee Marcos along with an entourage. Here are pictures taken in Laoag (sans the Governor hehehe):
Thank you, Laoag! :) Next destination: P-a-g-u-d-p-u-d!!! ♥
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