Destination: Laoag

At breakfast, I met Ate Judith, the eldest of the five sisters. I have almost completed the family tree: Si Inang na lang ang hindi ko pa nakikita! At this rate, it's a race between Pen and Kuya Heinz's family: which family tree will Mina complete first? HaHa!

I revised our plan again. Instead of hitting Laoag that morning, we went with the family to the beach nearby. En route to the beach, Ate Joy showed me Ate Len's newly bought sea-side property. My gulay, haciendera na si Ate Len! HeHe!

At the beach, I watched the kiddies play in the water. Ang kyut-kyut! Grabe! Sarap kainin! We could've served them alongside all the food! Again, I have seen one of these events in one of Pen's litratos! Since it was April 1 (Operation Bawas Timbang in full effect), I skipped the rice and concentrated on the ribs, singkamas, and guinataan. Yum, yum, yum!

I kept telling Ate Joy that I loved this place better than Boracay since there were no vendors lurking around. It was just a perfect place to bum around and enjoy the cool sea breezes. Promding-promdi ang atmosphere! Loved it!

By 2PM, we said our goodbyes to everyone. Ate Joy provided a car and driver to take us around Laoag, telling me that it would be hard to get around all the sites in Laoag because they were all far apart. Again, this was the same set-up that I had when I visited Tacloban in 2005 when Raissa's dad provided a car and driver for me, too. Mukhang humahaba na ang listahan ng guests ko in Seattle. HaHa!

Heading north, we came to Batac first, the birthplace of former President Ferdinand Marcos. There, we went to the Marcos Museum, which was surprisingly so small. For someone who was regarded as a hero in this part of the Philippines, I would think the museum would be huge and full of his memorabilia. Dinaig pa ng Crisologo Museum ito. But I guess, the highlight was supposed to be the Marcos Mausoleum, where the former president lies in state in a covered glass. Thanks to the eerie choral music and pitch black room (except for the ones lighting the body), this place is as spooky as it gets. I wouldn't want to be alone in the room at night.

The next stop was Paoay Church...which was closed on Sundays. Boo! The belltower was used as a lookout point for the Katipuneros. There was nothing to do, but take pictures.

We moved on to the Malacanang of the North, the former office of President Marcos whenever he was in Ilocos Norte. The place was typical of the houses we saw in Vigan: huge rooms with huge living rooms. What I noticed the most was all the airconditioners in each room. I'm sure the Marcoses racked up the electricity bills when they were in town. The backyard and veranda had a nice view of the Paoay Lake. Outside, there was a swimming pool, tennis court, volleyball court, and a dorm--now all unusable. Tsk.

Last December, Cebu Pacific had their Laoag flights on sale and I wanted to go, but the only place I could find on the internet to stay at was the Fort Ilocandia Resort with rooms going for Php5,000/night. I decided to check this place out this time around and see what I missed.

FIR was built for Irene Marcos’ wedding reception; now it's a huge resort with everything you could think of. They have a beach (with no people), go karts, swimming pools, fish pond (being built), restaurants, and of course, beautiful gardens. If I were getting married, I would want my wedding photos here. Ang ganda! I'm sure lots of money go into maintaining the beautiful flowers and lawns.

Our last stop was the St. William's Cathedral where a Palm Sunday mass was going on so we couldn't go inside. While getting in the car, I looked behind me and noticed someone familiar. Then it clicked: it was Governor Bong-Bong Marcos and Irene Marcos with husband. Maybe Doris is right: I have a "famous people magnet." HaHa! Their body guards were around them, but you wouldn't notice them at first because they were wearing civilian clothes. I've seen Imelda Marcos up close before, so now this is another family tree I can try to complete. HeHe.

The driver eventually dropped us off at Hotel Tiffany, a place I found on the internet. I would highly recommend the place. They have cable TV, hot water, clean facilities, and friendly staff. There's a diner downstairs, a Jollibee across the street, a Max's restaurant a block away, and a mini-mart near Jollibee (which sells overpriced bottled water and drinks!). The minibus and Partas bus stations are also within walking distance. You can't go wrong with the place!