Ilocos Sur

There would be two words that would perfectly describe Ilocos: Hot and Humid. Protected by the Cordillera Mountains from tropical storms or any ounce of rain, Ilocos was dusty, hot, sticky and definitely restless and at the same time lethargic. Funny that.

At 5:30am, we left for Vigan, the capital of Ilocos Sur. Arriving at about 9:30 in the morning; we were greeted by a stranger as we stepped off the bus. We later found out that his name was Manong Chris, a local tricycle driver. Naïve and excited as we were, we trusted him as he offered his services as our personal chauffer around town as the sights were far between and walking around in this weather is practically heat stroke waiting to happen.

I couldn’t speak for everyone’s experience for Ilocos Sur and/or speak about everyone from that province but for some reason, people there looked at us, tourists, as walking peso signs.

We asked for his advice on where to stay for the night and he eagerly dropped us off at this motel. Checking into a twin share worth PhP800.00 per night, we hopped onto Manong Chris’ tricycle as we trusted him thinking that as a local, he would tour us around his city with great efficiency.

You might be wondering why I decided to not mention the motel’s name. You will find out a little bit later.

Back to the story, Manong Chris’ first stop was this relatively obscure place called “Hidden Garden”. Nothing much is to be found here but if you appreciate landscaping, it will tickle a special spot as they were quite creative with how they were able to sculpt some of the plants into things interesting. After, we went off to a place called Baluarte. I really don’t know much about Philippine politics but apparently, this place is owned by a local governor (unsure of his name so might as well not mention it). In Baluarte, what greeted us was some sort of a Xanadu from “Citizen Kane”: the place is practically his personal zoo featuring lionesses, tigers and other animals like donkeys, which would pull a small cart with you in it. As cute as that may come off, it didn’t really tickly my appetite…but boy, the crowd sure did love it.

Manong Chris assumed that we were here for the beaches. He delivered us straight to several cottages which were either closed, uninteresting or has a paid entrance fee. After about 30 minutes, we later reminded him why we were here in the first place: the Colonial Houses of Vigan. A World Heritage Site by UNESCO and touted as the only preserved Spanish Colonial street in South East Asia, this place tries to impress. And I think it does. What came into my head first was it wasn’t really preserved. It’s run down as if it were a construction version of the Body Works display as the houses show drastic wear and tear. For the typical tourist, this may not impress… but for me, I kind of liked it. It was run down, it was as authentic as it can get and in retrospect, I appreciated how it featured its natural decay. In a sense, it was honestly kind of more an appreciation of the past rather than an intention to travel through time.

Next, we went to Vigan’s Bell Tower. Manong Chris was able to borrow the keys from the priest for the doors so we had the privilege (or so we were told) of going up the steps to the main chamber. It featured impressive views of Vigan and at one point; I could really imagine myself hanging out there – as what Manong Chris indulged into when he was younger. We then went to Crisologo Museum. At a certain degree, it kind of sparked some interest as the place defines ornate and rundown: the same charm as of the Colonial Houses.

After that, nothing much really happened. And I really think that after a long day like that, I would assume that our enthusiasm levels have completely been demolished.

That night, I suddenly had this flashback: motels in the Philippines only mean one thing – short time users. While we were hanging out at the courtyard, we counted about 6 eager couples who would go into a room and come out after about an hour or so. Even impressive was this old man who was about 60-something, coming out with a girl who would be around 25 years old. At first, it kind of questioned how clean our rooms really were but then after about a few minutes, these two youngish couples went into separate rooms and to pass the time, we waged a bet on which couple would finish first. Talk about making the most of it, eh? For the interested, I lost.

I couldn’t speak for everyone’s experience for Ilocos Sur and/or speak about everyone from that province but for some reason, people there looked at us, tourists, as walking peso signs. First, there was Manong Chris. At first, he came off as someone who was pretty cool and really was into looking after his customers. Earlier that morning, he exuded the idea that his services would be about PhP500.00 and at the end of the day, I gave him PhP600.00. Thinking it was a generous payment for his services, the next day, he kind of hinted the fact that we should have paid him what the total amount he earned the day before, which was PhP1500.00. We then gave him another PhP80.00 that day thinking it was (and should have been) enough. It was kind of disappointing as it sort of made me feel that I cheated him but as a matter of fact, the initial offer should have been standing. So, advice to anyone going there: before anything else, you should settle and sort out a price and the boundaries of the service. I kind of get what he was complaining about because he had three customers the day before but I believe everything should have been made crystal clear.

Next was this small sidewalk restaurant Manong Chris recommended. According to the lady that was working, she said that each small serving was worth PhP30.00. We ordered four servings and a few other extras which added up to somewhere about PhP200.00. What sort of made me weary was that when the other table asked for how much they owed, the same lady couldn’t blurt out how much and she had to go though this frantic dialing on her mobile phone and showed them the price on the screen. I’m not normally a stingy person but that kind of behavior bothered me because it’s as if someone’s stealing money from you eyes wide open.

Well, that’s about it. On my next block, I’ll post something on Ilocos Norte.