For our 5th year we decided to drive in the Northern part of Luzon.
Hello Pagudpud!
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This is approximately 12 hours travel from Manila |
When we travel I make sure to do a research. A month before I asked my colleagues who had been there what resort they went. If they brought a car and more importantly how much they spent?
There are two beaches Pagudpud, Saud and Blue Lagoon. I have written down budget friendly hotels in my notebook in both beaches and made a research how much gas money we will spend.
My calculation is 8k for gas , 4k accommodations for 3 days 2 nights and 3k for food. It is too much for my usual budget but I brushed it off and thought, bahala na.
A day before our trip, I prepared our stuff. Made sure my list is all set. Slim, had our cars oil changed, wheels changed all preparations to make sure our ride is set then I got a call from my niece.
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| Mag wheels changed |
She was asking me why they're not coming, I told her they have classes he put his Dad on the phone who is my Kuya and told me they were coming. We have wanted to travel alone for some time now since for this year it has always been with the Family. But I wanted to share the expenses and they have been here last June I had to check with Slim first. He said its fine I guess he was thinking the same thing. I asked my Kuya how much they spent for gas last June and he said about 5000php, good enough. I told him my budget range since I know he is also on a budget but they can spend more if they want too.
At 4am we are on our way to Pagudpud. My Kuya, Ate in law, my 15 year old niece and 3 kids, Slim and I cramped up in Kuya's Avanza. The drive is smooth thanks to NLEX, SLEX and TPLEX.
First stop over is breakfast in Bauang. At 7am breakfast is just in time and who would have thought we would get here in 3 hours?! Thanks to these highways going North is fast.
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| Breakfast Selfie |
We drove past Vigan. We have been here before so we didn't bother stopping over. At 11am we were in Ilocos Norte. We visited Marcos Museum first ; then headed to Paoay.
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| Future President |
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| Another President |
Had lunch at Paoay in a restaurant called Rufino's then we strolled a bit. Rufino's is a bit expensive the meal is good and the interior has a classic, Spanish Aura.
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| Paoay church plus Google AutoAwesome |
We also checked Cape Bojeador in Burgos. They were rehabilitating it. And I can feel the strong winds here. Saw some cool Windmills too.
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| The view of the Ocean at Cape Bojeador |
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| Windmills beside the highway |
One of the places on my checklist is the Bangui Windmills so we also visited the site. I wanted to check Kapurpurawan but a friend told me in tagalog; isa lang siyang malaking bato so I decided to just go back on our way home. We bought our small Bangui Mills souvenir here.
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| Such a beautiful site. |
By 5pm ; Hello Pagudpud!
They stayed at Hannah's the last time and told my Brother my budget is low so we checked Saud. I didn't see the beach clearly because it was dark. I liked Evangeline because they were giving us 1 family room. It had 2 separate bedrooms, a kitchen and lounge all for 6k. I was okay with it but my Sister in law is hesitant. It felt like Boracay in the sense that the hotels are just beside each other. So we added this to our list and checked Blue Lagoon. We checked a home stay I forgot the name but they didn't like it because they have a bad feeling about it, it has a ghostly aura. They were giving it to us 2500 a day. We went to Hannah's instead my Kuya loved their last stay so we checked it again. It was fully book. There was a pageant on going so we had to go one hotel to the next. It was getting late, I am tired. I haven't got any sleep and got to Kapuluan Vista. My colleague recommended this and I have taken note of this as well so we checked it and they were offering a discount. We got the room for 5000 ; it was a family room with loft and they got an extra bed. Slim and I stayed in the loft. We had welcome drinks which I loveeee.
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| Alma's Margarita |
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| Minty, Fresh Margarita |
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| View of the Loft |
So after drinking I was knocked out.
The next day I didn't expect the resort to be this classy. It has a Zen Minimalist Design and apparently they are an Eco-Friendly Resort. They have their own garden at the back.That explains the outstanding taste of the welcome drink I ordered. It has a minty fresh taste, I had 3 haha.
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| This is one of the rooms |
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| Massage area |
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| To the beach |
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| At the restaurant. |
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| Poolside rooms |
They have a lounge at the beach front with bean bags and mattresses that you can chill with a drink, watch the beach and feel the salty wind against you. It was very relaxing. I like the place so much that I want to stay here forever. We had free breakfast for 4
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| My niece is enjoying it too. |
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| Had to order this again. Happy hour! |
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| Watermelon margarita |
Lunch is good. It was expensive though and decided to get a separate room for us later.
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| Lunch at the back of our room |
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| AutoAwesome |
The kids swim at the pool and we went surfing in Hannah's well they went. Too bad the camera died so I didn't get to take any pictures. One thing I notice though is how itchy my skin felt after the swim. I know this is at the northern part of the Philippines so I'm sure it's clean, maybe it's too salty?
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| On our way to surf before the camera died |
By dinner we went to Casa Consuelo and checked their rates. The food is good. I really love the Ilocano dishes maybe my Ilocano roots is kicking in. We wanted to stay for one more night but were looking for a cheaper place. Casa Consuelo is a good place with average budget but since we are on a budget we didn't stay there and the owner is not keen with haggling. I know that you encounter different tourists but you should be accommodating despite how cheap we may be. We ask politely anyway so.... but the place looks nice and highly recommended.
We check the hotel beside it, I forgot the name it's simple reminds me of Aliyah in Baler. There are no guests and they are giving us the room for 2k. My brother didn't take it though not sure why.
On our second day we stayed on our own room. We had welcome drinks again.
The third day we went swimming. We had Lunch near Hannah's. There are carinderia's you can actually eat for a cheaper price and they give you the kubo's at the beach for free. My brother went home stay hunting and got one just in front of Blue Lagoon. We got the room for 4k.So we went back to Kapuluan Vista and checked out.
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| Simple meal but really satisfying |
The kids went swimming again while we chill and after awhile they were running towards us crying. Apparently they were stung by jelly fishes. We had to pour vinegar over the areas that were stung and quieted after awhile. We scanned the beach and found plastic like fishes that are lifeless.
The kids and Slim went back to swim and unfortunately were stung again. So we had to pack up.
We went home by 4pm and stopped by Patapat Viaduct. The highway is amazing, it is picture perfect. It feels good to know that we have highways like this. After a few shots we drove home.
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Somewhere in Ilocos Norte we bought Sukang Iloko that were in 1.5 liter coke for 60php and a sack of salt. This is good for a year/ I love the salt here, it's not that salty and I'm sure this is without any chemicals.
We also stopped by Pusuquin bakery for their best seller breads which I don't like. I didn't like it at all maybe my taste bud is looking for something more.
It was a tiring trip but it was fun. Ilocos is such a beautiful place.
Breakdown of Expenses:
Gas 6000 RT
Toll Fees 45 Mindanao
218 Nlex Sta Ines
272 SCTEX Tarlac
164 TPLEX Carmen
Hotel 5000 Family with Loft At Kapuluan Day 1
3000 Deluxe w/o Loft for them 3000 Day 2
2250 Standard for us Day 2
4000 Hotel near Hannah's Day 3
Food 3300 Day 1 Bfast Lunch Dinner
4000 Day 2 Free Bfast for 4, Lunch, Dinner
2100 Day 3 Free Bfast for 4, Lunch Dinner
700 Day 4 Bfast
800 Day 4 Lunch
Surf 1200 / 3 persons
Toll Fees Same
TOTAL 33748 ; 3 Nights and 4 days for 5 Adults, 2 Kids and a Baby
Slim and I spent ; 15849. I estimated 15000 for a 2 Night trip so this is good because of My brother's haggling skills.
Lesson learned for trips its really the food that you will be spending a lot. So in Pagudpud there are Kubo's in front of Hannah's that you can eat at your heart's/stomachs' content and spend only a few bucks.
