Kit Is It

Jackie and I decided to make a beeline for faraway Ilocos. We were up for an adventure in a relatively foreign place.

The plane ride

Laoag City in Ilocos Norte is the airline entry point to get to the region. I would have opted for a bus ride from Manila if not for the ~14-hour trip. So we took Cebu Pacific flights from Cebu–Manila and Manila–Laoag. We did not buy tickets for connecting flights as they weren’t part of the seat sale. Thank God we weren’t delayed on our flight to Manila, or else we’d have problems catching our flight to Laoag. The Laoag flight was delayed instead.

Touchdown Laoag

As our plane taxied to the tarmac the first thing that caught my eye was the simple terminal building of Laoag International Airport. Simple, but not nondescript. It looks like a brick house, a bit old-fashioned compared to what I was used to seeing in Manila, Cebu, and Davao. Ah, quaint Ilocos. I guess this is a prelude to the antique houses we came here for.

We were rather caught up with taking pictures and took our leisurely time talking to the lady at the Department of Tourism (DOT) desk. She gave us a tourism brochure of Ilocos Norte and directions as to how to get to Pagudpud.

Could have done better

Laoag has recently implemented a free shuttle service between the airport and city proper. We took our time and so we didn’t make the free ride. A tricycle waiting nearby took us to the city for ₱150. Ouch. We tried to haggle but unfortunately it was the normal fare for out-of-city trips.

Be sure to get these at the tourism desk

On the way to the bus terminal

The Sinking Bell Tower of St. William’s Cathedral

Riding the pimped and lowered sports sidecar

The first order of the trip is Pagudpud, so Laoag was just a brief stopover. Stay tuned for the next post.

• Part I — Getting There
• Part II — Pagudpud