Most Cliché Tourist Things To Do: Ilocos

Bonjour and welcome to a new edition of the most cliché tourist things to do!!! For this summer, we went to Ilocos which is one of northern regions from Manila. All pictures came from the official documenter of my life, Sarah hahaha kudos atey these are fabulous! To make sure that we got the ultimate tourist experience, we availed a tour package which included Laoag, Vigan, and Pagudpud. These places actually span Ilocos Norte and Ilocos Sur so there was a hefty amount of travelling involved. To get there, we rode a van for 10 hours more or less. By the time we got there, it was breakfast! We had Vigan longganisa, a classic must try when in the area.

1. Calye Crisologo
We strolled the streets of Calye Crisologo where there are stalls upon stalls of souvenirs. These shops are housed in these wonderful heritage houses and you really get a feel of our Spanish heritage. The roads are also authenitically Spanish and it is the only road in the city that still has brick roads like that.

With my bae Toneng werqin the streets

It was a bench with wheels. We had to!

This is called the most tourist-y things to do series sooo

2. Paoay Church
One of the oldest churches in the Philippines, Paoay Church is made of stone with carvings in the front. There is also a side garden where you can contemplate about life (or take nice pictures.... I know, where are my priorities right?)

Shoutout to Toneng for looking fierce albeit being cropped at the chest

                               

We have a thing for benches, don't we?

The church interior

3. Paoay Sand Dunes

Okay, this was officially my favorite part of the trip. We rented a 4 x 4 and to a ride through the sand dunes of Paoay and also took a break to sand board. There was an easy, medium, and death defying slope. I did the first two then chickened out in the last one because 1) I had sand in areas you should not have sand in and 2) the climb back up the sand dune is so tiring and we were under the blazing sun too so thanks but no thanks. 

4. Kabigan Falls

These falls are just divine. It is like nobody goes there! Well, maybe because the 1.5 km treck scared them away? Lol hahaha we went through it anyway, though not willingly. We had no idea we were uo for that long a walk when we started but the view and the cool water was completely worth it! This is definitely one of the falls that I would go back to, and I have been to quite a few so. :) 

5. Blue Lagoon
So we didn't really have a choice here. I personally prefer Saud beach (because I've been there before and the water is crystal clear I mean seriously you could see your feet in the water) but the Blue Lagoon wasn't that bad. For one, there's white sand and cool waves. Oh and henna tattoos.... that apparently I am very very allergic to...so I'm never trying that again. hahaha but there was admittedly more people there.

6. Bantay Bell Tower
This bell tower is pretty old and really has an eerie feel to it. We went up to the very top and got to ring the bells! If that was not hair-raising enough, we had a perfect view of their cemetery and we could see through the planks in the wood flooring. Hahaha but it was definitely life-affirming and magical at the same time.

7. Banaoang Bridge
This bridge was long and winding and you had the perfect view of the open seas as well as the green mountains.

8. Burgos Lighthouse
The lighthouse is pretty old, well so is most of Ilocos basically, but you can't go in. It was the end of the day when we were there and we had a front row seat to a picturesque sunset overlooking the plains and the seas of Ilocos Sur.

9. Juan Luna's Ancestral Home
We got a little taste of history as we got to tour Juna Luna, an esteamed Filipino painter. The house was in the middle of a residential area and it wasn't kept as well as I would have liked, since I have seen some preserved houses before.

10. Marcos' Mauseleum
It was a solemn place where we got to see former president Ferdinand Marcos' wax figure. It was creepy too, knowing that the frozen body is just hidden from sight underneath the surface (literally). Unfortunately, no pictures allowed!

11. Malacanang of the North
Here we saw where the first family lived in the summer times. The place has been converted to a mini-museum where the belongings, and old memorabilia of the first family are. The staircase and the chandeliers were like they were taken straight out of Beauty and the Beast. And no, no pictures as well......

12. Kapurpurawan Rock Formation
This rock formation is au naturale! Made by the errosion of the rocks due to the waves themselves. There was a trek going to the rock formation itself but it was worth it. It was early morning and a stroll in the morning air is always welcome.

13. Bangui Windmills
I think this was a favorite amongst us because we got A LOT of pictures here. These windmills provide electrictity so that's pretty cool.

That pretty much wraps up the tour! Of course, pictures of us eating (and there are a lot of them) are not included because we don't want to seem like pigs even though we really are hahaha! I can't wait for the next adventure we go on! It was definitely a great way to cap up the stressful non-summer that we had (ehem NMAT)

Abientot!
Cheska xoxo

Pieces of Poetry Online

So now you've seen a compilation of my favorite photos, I also have a secret stash of poetry and quotes from the internet that asre bursting with insight on life and love and everything in between. :)

On love lost...

On love's beauty...

On life and happiness...

Well, those ar ethe ones I love so far... I'll edit this post to add more! So i never lose them. :)

Washing Hands on the RH Bill

http://www.rappler.com/nation/54946-supreme-court-rh-law-constitutional

Please refer to the article linked above for the basis of this rant post. I don't normally voice out my opinions on public issues as I try to maintain as neutral as I can but this is just carzy. Just to get it out there, yes, I am an RH Bill supporter. Everybody should have access to reproductive health services - particularly the poor and the the women of our country. These are not mere band aid solutions but are actually long-term solutions that can better maternal health and the health of Filipinos in general, not to mention the inflation in our population. There has already been much debate about this and the poor are being stuck in the middle because politicians aren't even prioritizing their needs. The poor are asking for reproductive health services. They need family planning and contaception. This could be the way to actually help our society. You shouldn't be allowed to bring someone in the world and not be able to provide for him/her. It just isn't fair to label the RH Bill as Anti-life because it has its grounds in preserving life. If a child is t be brought up into this world, he/she should be able to live and not just subsist. That means allowing the child to have a family that can provide for his/her needs and allow him/her to grow. After seeing the ammendments made to the bill, I just couldn't stand it anymore. Ano pa ang pinaglalaban nitong bill na ito? Tinanggal na ang mga kinakailangan upang ito'y maging isang epektibong sangkap sa pag-unlad ng ating lipunan. 

Section 7-B provides access to family planning and RH services to minors who have been pregnant or had a miscarriage without a parental consent -- pero minors nga ang pinaka nangangailangan nito. nakita nyo na ba ang teenage pregnancy? isn't it about time that the youth take responsibility into their own hands? especially since they are directly involved in this?

Section 23-A-1, which punishes RH providers regardless of their religious belief who fail or refuse to dissiminate information regarding RH services and programs. -- therefore pwedeng hindi nila ibigay and walang penalty for it? everybody should have a right to these services and it is not one man's place to take that information away.

Section 23-A-2-i, which allows a married individual not in a life-threatening case to access RH procedures without the consent of the spouse. -- daheck they're two individuals, they are mature adults who can make decisions for themselves and p.s. hindi mo katawan yung sa asawa mo pls lang

Section 23-A-3, insofar as it punishes an RH provider who fails to refer any non-life-threatening case to another RH provider -- so you can not give that person RH services? edi ano pa point? wala nang magbibigay kasi 1) magastos 2) hindi naman nila pinaniniwalaan in the first place.

Section 23-B, insofar as it punishes any public officer who refuses to support RH programs -- that basically takes all the opportunities from the poor who actually need it because their local government units are the ones who are supposed to fund for these in the first place. ano na ngayon incentive ng pulitiko mamigay ng RH services? hindi na nga ito priyoridad ng karamihan, kinukunsinte pa ito ng gubyerno na siyang pangunahing dapat pinaglalabanan ang mga karapatan ng kanilang sinasakupan

BASICALLY HUGAS KAMAY LANG LAHAT ITO. IPAPASA NYO FOR THE SAKE OF PASSING IT SO THAT THE ISSUE COULD BE LAID TO REST BUT THERE IS ABSOLUTELY NO DEVELOPMENT EVEN AFTER SO MANY PEOPLE HAVE LOBBIED FOR THIS BILL. IT IS DIFFICULT TO REASON WITH PEOPLE WHO CANNOT SEE PAST THE TIP OF THEIR NOSES. HINDI KAHIT KAILAN UUNLAD ANG BANSANG ITO HANGGANG MATUTUNAN NG PULITIKONG UNAHIN ANG PANGANGAILANGAN NG KANIYANG NASASAKUPAN. THE WHOLE POINT OF GOOD GOVERNANCE IS LOST IN THIS. THE PEOPLE WHO ARE IN POWER NOW HAVE NO BACKBONE ENOUGH TO FIGHT FOR WHAT IS RIGHT, TO FIGHT FOR WHAT IS JUST. THERE IS SO MUCH INEQUALITY IN THIS COUNTRY AND STUNTS LIKE THIS ONLY MAKE THE RIFT THAT MUCH HARDER TO BRIDGE. -_-

I am very annoyed if it isn't obvious enough. -_-

Snapshots from all over the web

I've been browsing the web recently and I found some pretty neat pictures that I just had to compile and share. These first ones are my favorites from Katerina Plotnikova and she mixes surrealist and naturalist perfectly. The choice of models and the costume design behind it is simple yet strong enough to contrast the animals featured in them. 

These next ones are actually from Nat Geo and they're all animals in motion. The use of natural lighting and capturing the animals in perfect timing is just amazing. 

Lastly, these are from a post I saw recently which is a collection of pictures with creative use of lighting and how lighting really is definietly the photographer's best friend. 

These photographs are fabulous and all if only I could take them too.... But I can't take these kinds of pictures to save my life. Hahaha if it isn't a poitn and shoot camera or a selfie, then I am completely clueless. I would seriously love to learn how though. I bet it would be a fun learning experience. For now, I'll keep filling up my pinterest account and my desktop with photos I love (and maybe share them here, maybe) :)

Abientot, 

Cheska xoxo