Malacanang of the North of Paoay, Ilocos Norte

Malacanang of the North also known as Malacañang ti Amianan, as the locals call it, is a 5-hectare property situated in Brgy. Suba, Paoay, Ilocos Norte. It is considered as one of the important landmark in the province of Ilocos as this has been the official residence/rest house of the late President Ferdinand Marcos and his family whenever they are in Ilocos. It's no acquaintance that the said foremer president is a famous son of Ilocos Norte as he was born and raised in Sarrat, Ilocos Norte.

The 2-storey mansion was said to be given to former Pres. Ferdinand Marcos by her wife and first lady then, Imelda Marcos, as a gift for his 60th birthday. This has been an extension for the office of the president and alternative venue to welcome local and foreign dignitaries.

How did we get there?
The hotel we stayed-in offers a complete Ilocandia tour (Ilocos Norte and Sur). As for our group of 5, we paid 2,990 pesos/pax (price varies depends on the number of head count) which includes a private aircon van transportation to Laoag-Vigan-Pagudpud, a hotel accommodation for 2 days and 2 nights, a daily set of breakfast, entrance fees, toll fees, driver's meal, and as well as airport transfers. Airfare is not included. Oops, before I forgot, the name of the hotel is UKL Ever Hotel and it is located in Laoag City. It is also 15 minutes away from the airport.

Moving forward, Malacanang of the North has been taken away from the Marcoses and put in the care of the government when the Marcos Regime ended. After 2 decades in the care of the government, the place was then given to the hands of the Provincial Government of Ilocos, Norte. And in January 2011, it has been converted into a museum which is open to view by the public.

It was designed in a Spanish and Old Ilocano architecture. The whole mansion is decorated by antique furniture and interesting art pieces. The grand look of Malacañang ti Amianan only reflects the luxurious life of the Marcos family during that era. The first floor holds the rooms of the Marcos' children. I am really impress how simple yet elegant the rooms and furniture in the mansion. I even imagine having a room like Bong Bong Marcos (the only son of Ferdinand Marcos) had.

The room of Senator Bong Bong Marcos

Another room on the first floor

The biggest room on the first floor has been converted into a museum. They divided it into three parts - the Diplomacy Gallery, the National Building Gallery and the Agriculture Room. The Diplomacy Gallery reflects the office or working area of President Marcos. It also holds some of the books owned by the president as well as books that talks about the life of the late president. The National Building Gallery features all the projects that have built during the Marcos government. I salute Ferdinand Marcos for all the structures he had accomplished during his presidency. He even connected the Major Islands of the Philippines with his projects. Just Wow. The next room is the Agriculture Room. It tells how rich the agriculture were during Pres. Marcos' time. Items used in agriculture are displayed in here with brief descriptions.

The Diplomacy Gallery

Books about the late President Ferdinand Marcos

The National Building Gallery

Zamboanga International Airport - One of the many projects of Pres. Marcos

The Agriculture Room

Let me now tour you on the second floor. Just like the first floor, expect more antique furniture on the second floor. I recommend you to visit the veranda where you can have a full view of the Paoay Lake. It is also where the master's bedroom is located. The size of the room is I believe too big for the couple but again, he's the president. There is also a room which features the life of Mrs. Marcos back then. I never thought that the former first lady was stunningly beautiful. She was a beauty queen during her days. Aside from that, you can also find vintage gadgets on that room.

I don't know if its antique but it looks old yet classy

I love this part of the room

I'm not sure whose collection these are

Another set of furniture on the floor

The Master's bedroom

One of the vintage gadget displayed in the room/gallery

It was a big privileged to see the former house of the Marcoses and have a glimpse on their life during their regime. If you are planning to visit Malacanang of the North, it is open on Tuesdays to Sundays from 9:00am to 4:00pm. There's also a P20 entrance fee.

Paoay, Ilocos Norte: Sand Boarding and 4x4 Ride in Sand Dunes

The province of Ilocos is not only about the different historical sites and/or wonders of nature as it also offers extreme activities for adventure/thrill seekers. La Paz Sand Dunes in Paoay, Ilocos Norte is a known site where the extreme 4x4 ride and sand boarding are being held. Sand Dunes already gained popularity as one of the must visit place when in Ilocos Norte. It has been featured to different blog sites as well as on television and films. In fact, some scenes taken from the local movie, Panday (FPJ version) were shot in Sand Dunes.

How did we there?

The hotel we stayed-in offers a complete Ilocandia tour (Ilocos Norte and Sur). As for our group of 5, we paid 2,990 pesos/pax (price varies depends on the number of head count) which includes a private aircon van transportation to Laoag-Vigan-Pagudpud, a hotel accommodation for 2 days and 2 nights, a daily set of breakfast, entrance fees, toll fees, driver's meal, and as well as airport transfers. Airfare is not included. Oops, before I forgot, the name of the hotel is UKL Ever Hotel and it is located in Laoag City. It is also 15 minutes away from the airport. A trip to Sand Dunes is not included in the package above. We avail it separately from UKL. We paid 500 pesos per head to experience it. It includes transfer from UKL to La Paz Sand Dunes (two-way), 30 minutes 4x4 ride, and unlimited sand boarding experience!

Welcome sign at La Paz Sand Dunes

Registration Area

The "4x4 Ride"

I've jump to a lot cliffs, crossed the longest zipline in asia, tried to walk in the edge of a building, and passed through tunnels under the sea but I never thought a jeep ride would shake the hell out of me. Yeah, I'm not kidding here. This activity really weakened my knees at the end of the ride! The idea of this activity is simple. You have to stand at the back of the jeep, hold on tight and survive until you reach the last level of the ride without falling or fading out. Easy? Hmmm, not sure of that. You'll be going to different obstacles and big slopes. And what makes this activity more extreme is, there are no harness, knee pads, elbow pads, and even helmet. You will also have to sign a waiver before you do the activity. Still thinking it's easy?

Sand Dunes, Ilocos Norte

The whole area of La Paz Sand Dunes serves as the trail for the 4x4 activity. There are 3 levels as far as I can remember. The easy, medium and hard. The easy trail is just a warm up on what to expect on the ride. The road is pretty rough and designed that when the jeep passed through it, it will be really bumpy. Then next is the medium trail. You'll be heading on a bigger area where there are big slopes. You will be brought on top of a platform then your the jeep will stop on the edge of it (this is the time where you'll go crazy) then the driver will step on the gas so hard and drive you down! It was like you're being drop on a 45 degree platform. 

Then we reached the hard trail. Oh shoot. I can still remember the adrenaline rush it gave me. I never thought that I'd scream like that as if I am on a roller coaster ride. Well, its almost the same. The difference is that you have safety gears when in roller coaster. If in medium trail the slopes is in 45 degrees... in the hard trail, it feels like you'll be drop at 90 degrees platform. I couldn't see at the back of the jeep the trail anymore. Every time we stop at the edge of the slope (before dropping), I cursed our driver for dragging us. Well, I apologize afterward to them. It was just a burst of emotion and nothing personal. Hahaha. I knew as well that these are professional drivers and know the trail very well. If not, they will not be issued a permit/license to drive in Sand Dunes.

The easy trail area

Highest point in Sand Dunes

Our jeep. Thanks for not dropping us off you! 

Sand Boarding

Sand boarding is also held on the same place where the 4x4 ride is being conducted. It is the same slope that I am referring earlier you'll used in sand boarding. The driver who droves us in the 4x4 ride is also our instructor in this activity. They brought kinds of 2 boards. One is for the sitting position and the other one is for the standing position. Again, no protective gears for this activity so take extra careful guys! As a starter, we started on a sitting position as it seems much easier than the standing. At first, everyone were hesitant to try this activity. I guess it was because we're still in the recovery phase from the jeep ride. Since I am the guy on the trip, everyone point at me to try it first. Do I have a choice? I wish.

So I sit down on the board then the instructor led the board at the edge of the slope. Then off I go! It didn't took me 10 seconds to reach the ground! That was one great ride and I really enjoyed it. Minus the sand that got into my face due to the speed. Tip: Don't open your mouth during the ride. Lol.

Are you ready to slide down?

Dona doing the siting position

And when all were tired with the sitting position, we then gone up a level. Standing position it is. As usual, I became a guinea pig again. I got to try it first. Well, it is more challenging than the sitting position. One reason is that, the board is more narrow than the one being used in the sitting position. Another reason is, it will be about balancing. I was hesitant at first as well. I imagined the things that may go wrong... like throwing myself in the mid-air, finding myself rolling on the sand, hitting the ground with my face first and other stuff. But I want to complete this experience. So I drag the board on the edge of the slope, prayed, took a deep breath, then slide down. Result, I fell off the board but... I was fine. I wasn't hurt at all and the sand were soft. Then we went all on a standing position!

At the latter part, I've noticed that it is somehow similar to water surfing. You have to bent your knees for better balance, used your arms to help you on balancing and also, put weight on the back of the board to reduce your speed.

Ferdie sand boarding like a pro

Dona dancing through the sand

And this is me :)

Touchdown!

Then after more than an hour of sand boarding, we called for a time out. We were satisfied and decided to end the activity as the sun is starting to set high. If you are planning to try this activity, I suggest you schedule it early in the morning or late in the afternoon to avoid burning you by the sun. We started the activity at 7:30 am and call it off at around 9:30 am. It was a great experience! I recommend this activity for thrill seekers and adventurers! Also, this is a good bonding activity for friends and even to families. 

Breakdown of Expenses:

Sand Dunes Experience - 2,500 Pesos / 5 pax = 500 Pesos 

The Church of Saint Augustine of Paoay, Ilocos Norte

The Church of Saint Augustine, commonly known as the Paoay Church, started its constructions in the year 1694 and was completed in 1710 in the province of Ilocos Norte. It is a supreme model of an Earthquake Baroque church which is designed to withstand earthquakes as Philippines’ has a reputation of an earthquake-prone country during that time.

Ever since I've been stung by the travel bug, I have been wanting to see Paoay Church. Just seeing the photos of this church in the internet and different SNS makes me wonder what more does it looks like up close and in-person. That's why when me and my friends booked a flight to this province, Paoay Church is one of the spots I've been looking forward to see. And when I was there already, it doesn't disappoint me. The beautiful structure and the mix of Gothic, Baroque and Oriental designs of this church makes me fall in love with it. This is by far the number 1 church on my list.

How did I get here?
The hotel we stayed-in offers a complete Ilocandia tour (Ilocos Norte and Sur). As for our group of 5, we paid 2,990 pesos/pax (price varies depending on the head count) which includes a private aircon van transportation to Laoag-Vigan-Pagudpud, a hotel accommodation for 2 days and 2 nights, a daily set of breakfast, entrance fees, toll fees, driver's meal, and as well as airport transfers. Airfare is not included. Oops, before I forgot, the name of the hotel is UKL Ever Hotel and it is located in Laoag City. It is also 15 minutes away from the airport.

Full view of Paoay Church

Inside Paoay Church. Just plain and simple

Paoay church was built using bricks, tree sap, and lumbers but what makes it special and strong is, it is mainly built using coral stones/rocks. Huge coral stones were used in the lower portion of the church to have a great hold of its weight. Its bell tower, although it is separated from the main building, is also made in coral stones. With its striking look and architectural design, Paoay Church was proclaimed as one of UNESCO World Heritage Site in the Philippines which took part in 1993. Other Baroque Churches in the Philippines which are recognized by UNESCO are the following: Nuestra Señora dela Asunción in Santa Maria, Ilocos Sur, San Agustin Church in Intramuros, Manila, and Santo Tomas de Villanueva Church in Miag-ao, Iloilo.

Rains stop. Cameras out. #groupfie

Though it was raining when we visited the Church of Saint Augustine due to a low pressure area (LPA), I am still thankful that I have given the chance to see this beautiful church in person and have a selfie and groupfie as well (as the rain stops in about 20 minutes).