Ilocos Tour Series (Laoag City): 4x4 Off Road Ride Adventure @Sand Dunes and the Breakdown

Hello! I'm back. ^___^ Since I'm waiting for my cousin and my friend's time to get off from work, I decided to just sit down (at my cousin's internet shop) and do some blogging :)

First, let's start with our Day1 tour-Laoag City Tour since I already shared to you my first night (arrival) at Ilocos..^_^

A view from our window ;-) (CLICK IMAGES FOR A SIMPLER VIEW)

behold for the beautiful scenery upon waking up in the morning :) oh! I love sunrise =))\

wake up!

on the way to our first stop: Sand Dunes (but this isn't the place where we had our 4x4 ride)

warning: series of pics below ;-) 

SAND DUNES

The Ilocos Norte Sand Dunes (INSD), one of the Philippines' national geologic monuments, stretches along the coast from the Municipality of Currimao to the Municipality of Pasuquin in Ilocos Norte. It was declared a National Geological Monument on November 26, 1993. Though common in desert environment in higher latitudes, the INSD merited the title of a national monument because of its uniqueness in Philippine setting and its scientific and educational significance as a natural laboratory for geological studies. source here

 

Rhams, Janine, Casey, Mai

glasses on with my biatch Janine ;-)

Janine's moment

shoes off..

Casey

Mai Yang

 

View here: A video clip of the place ;-) 

Random pics ahead ;-) since I can no longer recall the name of the places we visited :D

lead the way..

 Fort Ilocandia Resort

Fort Ilocandia is a complex that houses a hotel (dubbed the only 5-star resort in Northern Luzon), a casino, a shopping complex, a collection of restaurants, and a mini zoo. There are also dining options outside of the hotel near the beach where you can dine in quaint cottages facing the sea. The sand dunes are also a great natural feature that is quite unlike most parts of the Philippines. For the tourist who would like to have every convenience that one place has to offer, Fort Ilocandia is the best lace to be. source here

 

 

 

Marcos Mausoleum and Muesum

Batac, Ilocos Norte is most famous for two things, the specialty empanada, and the Marcos Museum. South of Laoag City, Batac is fondly dubbed by Ilocanos as the home of great leaders because of the numerous iluustrous figures that hail from the town, including former President Marcos. The museum houses hundreds of memorabilia, and eerily enough, the body of the president himself, encased in wax in a dark room, available for the public to see. source here

 

Malacanang of the North

Malacanang is the presidential palace of the Philippines, located in Manila. However, during Ferdinand Marcoss presidency, he constructed a vacation house in his home province of Ilocos Norte dubbed Malacanang of the North. It is located in Paoay, overlooking Paoay Lake, and is a picture of the decadence and extravagance that the Marcoses were infamous for. The mansion is well-preserved, but is undeniably frozen in the past, giving the tourist a sense of how it was like during its heyday. source here

Paoay Church

Just a short ride from Paoay Church is the UNESCO world heritage site Paoay Church, famous for its oriental-gothic-baroque architecture, and contruction that dates back to 1694. The bell tower also has historical significance as it served as a lookout point for the Filipino guerillas called Katipuneros guarding against the Japanese forces. Be impressed by the thick walls and buttresses that were constructed to withstand the earthquakes the frequently shake the country. source here

Last but not the least =)) A ride of a lifetime =))

 

Videos here: these are just random videos I chose to show. you can still view some in my youtube channel =))

 

 

 Another pics ;-)

 Videos you don't wanna miss =)) sand surfing!!! yay =))

For the breakdown: 

Plane fare: Php631.oo (promo) bus fare of 600+ (Vigan to Manila for almost 10hours)

Terminal fee: P200.00 (plane)

Breakfast@homestay: 70x3(days)= Php210.00

Lunch Day1: Php85.00 (If I remember it correctly, haha)

Lunch day 2: around Php250.00

Lunch 3rd day @Greenwich Vigan: Php100.00

1st night dinner @Mang Inasal Robinson Laoag: Php100.00 

2nd night dinner @I can't remember the name: Php100.00

3rd night dinner@Cafe Uno Vigan: Php290.00(baby backribs)+rice+drinks=I paid around Php250.00 because the baby back ribs was split into 2: so I shared it with Janine

plus the package tour of Php2,250.00/pax (good for 6) visit this link--->Glenn Perdido Tolentino

and do the math guys if we overboard for our initial budget of Php5,000.00 since I'm running out of time now. lols =))

Anyway, saved Php1,000.00  for the souvenirs and stuff.