Vigan, Ilocos Sur (in English)

Note: to have an impression of the city and Viva Vigan festival, do go to foto's and click Vigan link.

From Laoag, Ilocos Norte, we rode Partas bus in going to Vigan, Ilocos Sur. The bus fare is 115 pesos. We arrived in Vigan on April 30, 2009. We already had a reservation at Gordion Hotel which is situated next to Calle Crisologo, a street which is a part of Unesco world heritage. We wanted to stay at a hotel in Calle Crisologo but it was fully booked. Looking back, it was better because we noticed that until very late at night, the street is crowded so it is not condusive for a good night sleep. The price of a room is 1,800 pesos including breakfast for two persons, a normal rate. There is one address which has probably a lower rate because of the use of common toilet and bath. It is called Socio-Pastoral Center beside the Archbishop Palace with tel.nr.: 077-7221442.

Vigan is a small city where we can see almost everything in a day. Every first week of May, Viva Vigan Festival of Arts is being held which makes the city alive. It features carabao painting contest, Binatbatan street dancing, santa cruzan procession, calesa parade, art contest using different kinds of seeds, exhibits, trade/food fairs, etc. That made Vigan more interesting for us that is why we decided to stay there for three nights coinciding with the festival. We opted to roam around Vigan on foot instead of riding a calesa/tricycle.

The points of interest where we went to are the following:

Plaza Salcedo, Plaza Burgos, St. Paul Metropolitan Cathedral (close to each other). The cathedral has a belfry tower adjacent to the church. The plazas cater to one's craving for foods. There are a lot of food stalls selling native delicacies.

Fr. Jose Burgos Museum (10 pesos) Opening hours: Tue-Sat (8:30am-11:30 am); 1:30 pm-4:30 pm. A tourist guide is assigned to visitors.

Crisologo museum (free entrance form Mon-Sun) Address: Liberation Blvd.

Pagburnayan. We are disappointed with this place because it is only surrounded with souvernir stalls with   a pile of clay jars and broken ones, too.

Simbaan a Bassit, a cemetery chapel situated at the end of Quezon Ave. André sat here for a while and ate grapes, ugh!

Calle Crisologo, a world heritage street with very old houses. This street is crowded so because we wanted to have a nice shot with few people, we had to wake up very early in the morning.

TOWN OF STA. MARIA, VIGAN:

We are interested in visiting old buildings that is why we went to Sta. Maria church which is almost an hour travel from Vigan by an ordinary bus. We rode a tricycle from Vigan proper which costs 10 pesos per person and asked the driver to drop us off at Bantay area where buses pass the town of Sta. Maria. The bus we took is in the direction of Dau. The fare is 40 pesos in an ordinary bus and 50 pesos in an airconditioned bus. The church of Sta. Maria is also a world heritage site and a national landmark. This was used as a fortress during the 1896 revolution. There is also a convent which is open to the public. There is a souvenir shop inside the convent. We had lunch in one of the carinderias a few meters away from the church. It consisted of pinakbet, adobong beans, rice and drnks for 110 pesos.

In going back to Vigan town proper, we made a side trip to Bantay church. Thisi s also a must-see church with a bellfry tower which is far from the church. The gate is closed leading to the tower so at first glance, it isn't possible to be near it. However, we noticed a hole in one of the gates on the other side of the street and we saw two young boys just sitting inside. We walked to the other side and soon enough, we were inside. The boys told us that the neighbours made that hole. The tower was open to the public before but a new priest has forbidden it hence the closed gates.

The restaurants where we ate:

Cafe Leona: situated at Calle Crisologo, with very delicious stone-baked pizza but don't order mixed vegetables and sizzling mushrooms. It has a too buttery taste and is salty, too.

Vigan Plaza hotel restaurant: fine dining but with good quality food. We ate dinuydoy (mashed squash with bits of bittergourd) at 160 pesos, fried salmon at 320 pesos, kani salad at 120 pesos.

A glass of red wine costs 90 pesos.

Cordillera Inn: it has a very delicious dinengdeng (ilocano dish with lots of veggies) except that the restaurant has lots of flies and it seems nobody is doing something to get rid of them.

At the plazas, there are fast foods like Chowking, Jollibee, etc.

For a good, strong coffee, we found Perfect Cup Coffee located at Calle Crisologo. One cup of cafe Americano and capuccino costs 45 pesos each. They serve vigan torta and biko-biko for 15 pesos each. The tea called hot brandy spice is also delicious. We also ordered egg and cheese sandwich for a quick snack at 35 pesos each.

On May 3, 2009, we left for Manila at 8 pm. That morning, we requested the hotel to keep our suitcase until we came bck in the evening. From the hotel, we asked the tricycle driver to bring us to Dominion lines terminal. There are however no food stalls in this terminal. Partas, another bus terminal, has access to food stalls. The last trip is at 9 pm for both terminals. The bus fare from Vigan to Cubao is 540 pesos per person. At around 4:30 am of May 4, we arrived at Cubao bus terminal.