day 4: laoag & paoay.... sa hapon

Back to that afternoon of day 4. The afternoon that was probably the longest.. ever.

Left Bangui before lunch then hopped on an hour or so bus ride to Loag. So what can you do in Laoag? Not much, but you can kick off the tour of this side of Ilocos Norte with where else but the Malacanang of the North. 

I don't know if they really use it for official business or for tourism purposes only. But as history will tell you this house was originally the official residence of the Marcos family. Official in a way that the kids really had their own rooms, Imelda had her own... not closet.. but room for her clothes and of course shoes. They practically lived, slept and partied there. I have to say though that I am really in awe of the house. It's a very Spanish themed house wherein everything is just airy breezy, with huge salas and caidas. I like it. Somehow it reminded me of the ancestral home we grew up in, except for the grand part. My mom would love it for sure. I was even thinking that if I get really rich, I'd build my house around that airy breezy concept, the natural source of light, ventilation and greenery galore is just very eco. 

It was very smart of Marcos to build his house that way. Well if you're president/ dictator for 20 years you have got to be smart on a lot of ways. Anyway the house, I think, was really meant for entertaining guests and VIPs, and it still continues to entertain up to the present. Except now we can't use the chairs. So what do the VIP guests like us do?...

  

Get comfy on our very own floor meeting. Act Imelda-ish. Flirt with our Ferdinand mannequin of choice. Go run crazy on the grounds like we were the Marcos brats.   

 

 Even the presidential guards are not exempted from our bratty goofs. But seriously, we just really don't have the museum etiquette. We were absent on the day it was taught it school. Excuse us.

***

30 later minutes we were already at ... 

UNESCO hertiage baby! gotta be proud of that. Unfortunately it was under renovation so that explains the scaffolding galore. But the renovation was temporarily stopped by none other than Mdm. Imelda Marcos. Why? because the workmanship didn't pass her aesthetic judgement. You have to give it to her though coz when it comes to handling centuries old structure you have just got to be delicate with the details. After all, Imelda still got that beauty thing down to the T.

 

Also in Paoay is the ancestral home of Ferdinand Marcos turned museum. After all that's been said and done, you still can't help but be amazed by his brilliance. Despite how history books wrote him, he still did a lot of great things for the country, and very visibly in the north. It's just unfortunate how things turned out for him.

 

 Quite eloquent too.

Beside the ancestral home lies the late dictator's waxed remains. Got to see it finally! Oddly enough, I didn't find it weird, except for the fact that he didn't have any shoes on. I don't know but somehow it's just ironic that this was the same man whose wife was a Guinness holder for her shoe collection. 

 Speaking of Imelda, romantically, she also built a house beside the museum to be near her husband. Call it undying loyal devotion for the waxed love. Imelda wasn't there, but we got to see and touch her ride. That should account for something (losers! haha).

 

Oh the poses you could with the church. So tell me, who posed it best? 

***

waited for the sun's blazing heat to cool down before we kicked off for our PANDAY moves at.....

the SAND DUNES baby!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

4x4 ride was SWELL!!!!!!! 

Probably the only time I was hanging on to my dear life with a big fat smile on my face! Gaaad I love that ride! was zeeee beeeest! ;)

In the hectares of endless sand and sand, sand boarding is a must. I got to admit this was my most looked forward to must do on the 10 day list. Giddy is me feeling...  

The first time was such a rush. The second time was a breeze. The third was a smug moment till.... 

The climb of shame was such an uphill battle. My lungs almost didn't make it. It's another story to be shameful and unhealthy by the way.




But all is well. Still got that happy memory stuck in my head.

Gotta pose with the big baby.
If only I could drive you baby, I'd take you on the adventure of my life.

***

10:00am - 11:00am Bus to LAoag = P50
Laoag trike tour with Kuya Jeremy (P600/trike x2) : P325 (with tip)
  malacanang of the north (marcos) : P30
lunch at Batac Turo2x
empanada: P35
lunch (P395/4) : P98
halo2x (P75/2) : P37.50
Sand duning and sand boarding (P2000/4): P500
  Marcos Museum: P50
6:45 pm - Bus to Vigan via cubao: P133

ROUGH INVESTMENT: 1,258