Unfettered and Alive: Visiting Vigan

Last February, I got a chance to visit Vigan, Ilocos Sur.

The time of my visit was perfect.
You see, I prefer greeting a place during off-peak seasons, when prices are humble & in their "purest" state, when the locals need not be disgruntled by the massive number of tourists invading their territory, when indigenous peoples need not wear their traditional attires (and many city dwellers are actually "fooled" that IP's still wear their traditional attire on a day-to-day basis, which for me is a symptom of what I'd like to call "Ignorant City Dweller Syndrome", or ICDS. [For instance, there were a few guys from Manila who visited Baguio during Panagbenga, asking, "asaan na ang mga Igorot?". Well, the lady in front of him, a Baguio local, snapped, "Lahat po kami dito, Igorot. Anong hinahanap mo, may buntot?"] No offense meant. I am a city dweller myself).

Simply put, when the place is in its most natural vibe. And yes, I bet you're thinking of the first scene in Beauty and the Beast wherein Belle goes about her regular routine and the bakers are all singing "bonjour, bonjour". How very natural, how very everyday.

I try my best not to be too tourist-y. Well, I try. (Though I can't help but take photos of everything! Maybe that's the reason why my cheap and only camera got snatched 9 months ago. The Universe was probably trying to tell me, "Ivee, stop taking too many photos and start seeing everything for real.")

Vigan has always been one of my dream Philippine destinations because people say it's like Paris (yes, I still fall for the "the-West-is-more-dominant" belief sometimes, and I am sorry. I am only human and weak). I, being a hopeless romantic moody Cancer who spends 200 pesos to watch chick flick movie cliches, grabbed the opportunity to take the 8-10-hour Dominion Bus ride to Vigan from Cubao.

So, after sitting and snoring in the bus from 10pm-7am, I jumped off it with much anticipation despite a horrible runny nose. The sun was saying good morning so I took the opportunity to shamelessly ask someone to take a photo of me. Yep. Shamelessly. With messy hair and no contact lenses (so technically all I could see was this Impressionist painting of Vigan, with my 400-degree myopia)

Prior to coming to Vigan, I Google Map'ed the place, researched about things to do and places to see (from helpful blogs and other online sources, as well as from friends who have been there), and figured that the central was compact enough to walk around. Well, it was.

My advice is this: simply print out a map of Vigan or get one from the Heritage Village office, and you're well on your way. Of course, you need a bit of map-reading skills (Thanks to the men in my family, I can read maps. I like boasting about it). Other than that, there's no real need to ride the tricycle unless for far destinatons like Baluarte and Hidden Garden, or even the kalesa (unless you really want to). Riding a kalesa in Vigan is a totally different experience from riding it in Manila. A kalesa in this city has a flat rate of 150 pesos per hour, so I suggest that you ride it after you have seen the tourist spots, so Manong Kalesa Driver need not offer to take you to the tourist spots, which can take hours and hours. Walking will spare you 20% of your budget.

The main street.

Now I won't be boring you with the blow-by-blow details of the itinerary. There was no laid out plan, and I love it that way. We simply allowed ourselves to openly experience and discover Vigan spontaneously, with only a map to rely on, a list of "places to see" from the Heritage Village tourism office, and a couple of "Agyamanak"s (Thank You's) and "Sagmamano Daytoy"s (How much is this?). My broken and long-forgotten Ilokano-speaking skills surely were to be tested.

Here are some Vigan discoveries:
(Thanks to my friend for lending me a camera. Because you know, mine was snatched in the atrocious Mall of Asia. Ugh I hate malls.)

Food

Tummy Talk Restaurant
along Calle Crisologo


Authentic Pinakbet! (or Pinakkkbutttt)

Never forget to try bagnet.

Empanada stall
along Calle Salcedo

So darn good!

Amazing how they make these empanadas.

Empanada Special, with eggs, togue, and beef.

Cafe Leona
along Calle Crisologo

A much-recommended restaurant. The food was so good, we ate here twice.

They have it al fresco-stye at night.

Seafoods, seaweeds, and eggplant.

Hello cholesterol.

Of course, I can't leave without trying their tablea de cacao. I am a tsokolate addict. I think I should go to rehab for this, seriously.

Old Houses and Mansions

I've always been in love with old houses. If you're just like me, who imagines the love stories abounding the walls of homes built way back the 1800's, who desires to keep these structures preserved for, well, forever, Vigan is the place for you. If Rome managed to preserve their structures, why can't we?