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That’s Roadtrip by the indie band 10 Story Fall. I caught one of their gigs last night at Mag:Net Katipunan, and this song right here would probably this blog’s theme song (if blogs had theme songs… which they should). I wish I could give a non-biased review, but they’re my friends, so all I can do is invite you all to take a listen… watch the video… attend a gig. For what it’s worth, I like they’re music, else I wouldn’t blog about them here.

That’s the band. From left to right: Angelo Borreo, drums; Altair Alonso, rhythm guitar/vocals; Shark Alonso, vocals/bass; and, Marlon Borreo, lead guitar/backup vocals. So please do check out my friends, and catch one of their gigs.

A Detour is a choice between two tasks, each with its own pros and– Oh wait, that’s The Amazing Race. On this blog, a Detour would be any short trips I’d be taking that don’t quite fall under an actual “vacation,” but do allow me to explore the area.

On a whim, I headed to Angono last Friday, November 21. It was an impromptu trip that came about because of the 5th Neo-Angono Artists Collective Public Art Festival. I wanted to check out the art, which I’d always heard was thriving in Angono.

I was completely unprepared for the trip. I wasn’t really sure what to expect, and the trip got off on the wrong foot when laziness took over and I ended up leaving for Angono in the afternoon. I went to Aurora Blvd. to figure out how to get there. After about 10-15 minutes of waiting, I hopped on a jeep that was headed straight to Angono.

The jeepney ride was approximately an hour long, and just my luck, it started to rain.

I really wasn’t sure where I was going, but I got off at the municipal hall. I figured that was a good place to start; besides, I saw a tarp advertising the art festival, so that was a good sign.

I also found out that it was the town fiesta that weekend, celebrating the feast of San Clemente (Saint Clement), the patron saint of Angono. Unfortunately for me, the festivities would take place on Saturday and Sunday, and I’d be missing everything. Oh well.

I decided to explore the muncipality on foot, trying to figure out where the art was. Luckily for me, I saw another spot with the tarp for the festival. I found myself on Dona Aurora St. Almost every wall fronting every house had a… I’m not quite sure what the word for it is. Carving? Etching? Either way, each house had a reproduction of a Botong Francisco painting on its wall. It was a really pretty sight.

The spot with the tarp for the festival was The Second Gallery, which is being run by Carlos “Totong” Francisco II, grandson of National Artist Carlos “Botong” Francisco. A new exhibit had just opened: Reconstruction Site. The gallery features art by Allan Alcantara, Aaron Bautista, Jon Santos, and of course, Carlos “Totong” Francisco II.

The artist himself was there, and he explained that the exhibition space was smaller than it normally was because his grandfather’s house was being renovated. It was nice seeing different styles of art, and equally gratifying to know that new artists are still churning out work these days.

The Second Gallery is located at 217 Dona Aurora St., Poblacion Itaas, Angono, Rizal. You can contact them at (02) 295-7864 or (0917) 953-1104, or email them at thesecondgallery@yahoo.com. Gallery hours are 10:00am to 5:00pm from Monday to Friday, and by appointment on Saturday and Sunday. Reconstruction Site runs until December 6.

I picked up a brochure from The Second Gallery and found that most of the main events were either in progress, or were done already. I decided to continue exploring on foot, and I found myself at Maysha Hotel. They were running an exhibit called A View from the Dark, featuring kinutkot paintings by Aga Francisco, another grandson of Botong Francisco. Kinutkot paintings involve coloring a canvass with a certain color, covering it with black paint, then etching out a design, revealing the color underneath. It was an amazing exhibit, and the style matched the tone of the images portrayed.

Rates for a Deluxe Queen room at the Maysha Hotel are 2,000pesos per night on weekdays, and 2,500pesos per night on weekends; cost is 500pesos more for a corner room. Rate includes breakfast for two persons, complimentary bottled mineral water and coffee in the room, free two bottles of beer at Club Inertia, and free parking. The exhibit runs until December 2008.

I headed back to the municipal hall, where I found myself viewing The Hive, a piece of installation art. The display was fascinating, and definitely, well, hive-like. The display itself was encased in walls of bubble wrap, and I spotted a few people popping the bubble wrap. There openings were small and low, and little kids would crawl inside. I guess that’s one way of introducing art to children.

After viewing the obligatory Jose Rizal monument, I discovered that fiesta time in Angono also means it’s time for the Higantes Festival. (Unfortunately for me, the actual festival was the next day, which I was going to miss because of a previous engagement.) The colorful paper mache giants were on display outside the municipal hall, each one seemingly sponsored by assorted companies. Heck, the Eveready cat was also in attendance!

After a quick merienda, I was assaulted by the sound of drums beside the public market. A troop was soliciting donations for the ati-atihan (not quite sure if they meant the actual Kalibo festival, or just a local version), and they were going stall-to-stall, banging their drums and doing tricks (like eating fire). It was a nice little immersive experience, though my ears were ringing from the banging of the drums.

Exploring the streets of Angono led me to some peculiar sights. Remnants of installations in the river from the day before remained.

A banner with the word JACKASS in big red letters was raised proudly on one street.

I also found a big house with a golden replica of the Statue of Liberty in front of it.

Another house had a fish on display and “APONIBOYONG” written outside. Hmm.

I ended up back at Dona Aurora St., snapping more pictures. I found out that Carlos “Botong” Francisco was not the only National Artist that Angono produced. I saw the home of composer Lucio D. San Pedro, whose most famous composition was Sa Ugoy ng Duyan. (I’m sure you’ve all heard that song, and you can check out the lyrics here.) The walls of his house were painted with the notes to that composition.

Also along Dona Aurora St. was the barangay hall, which had more of the Botong recreations, including his costume designs for LVN Pictures. Further down the road was San Clemente Church, whose exterior was festooned with banderitas in preparation for the festival activities.

I headed back to the plaza trying to figure out my next move, and I saw that The Hive was lit up.

After a bit of more walking, I found myself along Manila East Road Highway, where I spotted Balaw-Balaw Restaurant. Balaw-Balaw – which means “fermented shrimp” – also doubles as an art gallery for artist Perdigon Vocalan. I was given a tour of the galleries, which included paintings and various sculptures (including a life-sized Last Supper). I even got to see his last – and unfinished – works.

Across the street from Balaw-Balaw was Tatay Mesio’s Inihaw at Binalot, which was hosting a gallery opening that, unfortunately, I couldn’t attend, because I had to head back home. Luckily for me, I was greeted by one more work of art before leaving: A decorated tricycle given the name ARTODA. A website URL on the trike reveals that it was decorated by the Anino Shadowplay Collective.

And so, I reluctantly went back home, disappointed that I missed most of the fun stuff, but with the resolve to return and explore more. There are other galleries I missed, and in a couple of months, new exhibits will be up.

To view all the photos full-size, check out my Multiply site, particularly these albums:

• Angono, Rizal (21-Nov-08)

For our final day in Vigan, we decided to check out the various museums in the area.

First on our list was the Syquia Mansion Museum. This was where President Quirino’s wife grew up in, and later became the home of Pres. Quirino and his wife. It was HUGE. The place itself was very well-kept, and the restoration – which was still ongoing, actually – was awesome. A lot of stuff back in the day was recreated, such as the Malacanang dining hall when Quirino was president, as well as bedrooms and libraries within the mansion. Quirino’s old clothes were on display, as were a lot of pictures. I learned that Quirino’s wife died during the war, and his eldest surviving daughter served as First Lady during his term as president. We also saw a painting that actually served as his campaign poster. The poster originally read “Quirino for President,” but after he won, they painted over the word “for.” Funny.

My personal favorite was the stables, not because they were the stables, but because they also housed two presidential vehicles: A kalesa which they used to go to Sunday Mass, and a car – a Chrysler Crown Imperial – which served as the presidential car. We were told that the car was actually donated to Malacanang after President Quirino’s term ended, but during the EDSA Revolution of 1986, the car was vandalized and destroyed because the people thought it was owned by the Marcoses. Tsk. There are plans for the car’s restoration, but apparently, it costs almost as much as the restoration of the entire house.

The next museum we checked out was the Crisologo Museum, dedicated to one of the families that ruled Vigan and Ilocos Sur back in the day. We learned that Cong. Floro Crisologo was a lawyer who also fought in the Vietnam War.

We also learned that he was assassinated inside Vigan Cathedral in the 1970s, and we even saw his blood-stained pants, shoes, and sunglasses. They had a lot of children, many of whom are now living abroad (and most married foreigners as well). They are a learned family, with family members studying and graduating from schools such as Yale. One of their children is Bingbong Crisologo, who is apparently an incumbent congressman here in Quezon City.

From there, we headed to the National Museum, also known as Burgos Museum, formerly known as Ayala Museum, housed in Padre Burgos’ birthplace. This was more of a general history of Ilocos, and we learned about what early Ilocanos used (their boat was nothing more than a hollowed tree trunk). We learned about the famous Ilocanos, as well as important events in Ilocano (and Vigan) history, such as the basi revolt during Spanish times.

After that, we made one last sweep of the city proper, and I had my pictures taken with some of the landmarks, proof that I was actually there in the city. I did the whole toursit-y thing of standing beside a landmark and having my picture taken with it.

The last day of our trip was also the only day that it rained in Vigan, and it lasted no more than 30 minutes. Didang and I sat on the sidewalk beside the Girl Scouts of the Philippines building, waiting for the rain to stop.

Meanwhile, I decided to snap pictures of the passing vehicles. As you can see, tricycles and motorcycles dominate the streets of Vigan. It’s fascinating because I never realized that hardly anyone on those motorcycles actually wore a helmet, until I saw one motorcycle driver who was wearing one. Entire families even ride on those motorcycles. You can view the entire gallery of pictures I snapped in an album I call Transit.

After the rain, we did some last minute pasalubong shopping along Calle Crisologo, then we had dinner one last time at Cafe Leona. We then started looking for “Vigan nightlife.” We hoped to find it at Sitio Bar, but it was practically empty. We made the best of our happy hour bucket of San Mig Light, though.

We headed back to Grandpa’s Inn to pick up our bags, but not after sobering up at Cafe Uno, the coffee shop that was on the ground floor of Grandpa’s Inn. Heck, that coffee shop seemed to have more “nightlife” than Sitio Bar. We then got a tricycle near Sitio Bar, headed for the Partas bus station, and said goodbye to Vigan.

It was a wonderful and relaxing trip, and it made me appreciate the beauty that the Philippines had to offer. It also made me wish that we took care of our heritage buildings as well as Vigan has; it’s a shame that many old buildings in Metro Manila aren’t being maintained, or worse, are being demolished to make way for more malls and condos.

To view all the photos full-size, check out my Multiply site, particularly these albums:

• VIGAN! Day Four: Museums, Bars. and Tourist-y Pictures (07-Nov-08)
• VIGAN! Art Kuno Bonus Gallery: Transit

On the third day, we decided to go to Baluarte, a zoo located outside the city center that was created and funded by Gov. Chavit Singson. The zoo allowed most of the animals to roam freely, so if you’re unlucky, you might just get attacked by an ostrich.

For a zoo with free admission and is open to the public, it’s very well-maintained, and Didang even commented that it was more well-kept than Manila Zoo. We saw an assortment of birds, some camels, deer, alpacas, ostriches, ducks, peacocks, snakes, etc.

We had a field day taking pictures of the many different animals, and because they were generally allowed to roam free, it was fun to watch.

The ducks, for one, migrated from the little pond they were swimming in to the shaded area in the open field (where the ostriches, camels, and deer were). One poor duck was left behind in the pond and was quacking, presumably trying to find where his (or her) companions went to. Soon, the ducks were back in the pond, swimming.

And yes, it was yet another hot, hot day. The halo-halo we had at the zoo was the most welcome refreshment we had.

The zoo also had a butterfly farm, and Didang, fearing many flying things above her head, refused to enter. I went in, and it was both fun and scary inside. It was also monumentally difficult to take a picture of a butterfly, and I only had one good shot of it.

There were also several road signs pointing us to see the “Lion and Tiger.” Yes, singular, though later signs were leading to the “Lion and Tigers.” We assumed there was one lion and several tigers, and we were right. However, even after following the directional signs, we still couldn’t find the lion and tigers. We guessed (correctly) that the tigers were the ones in cages near the entrance, but we were still looking for that elusive lion. Finally, one of the zoo workers, probably overhearing us speculate about the whereabouts of this lion, told us that the one lion in the zoo had died a while back. Aww.

At least the tigers were still around, although they were asleep for most of our stay. They’re actually kinda cute and fuzzy, so I guess I understand Calvin’s fascination with Hobbes, but they’re also huge, and could probably eat us and still have room for dessert.

Perhaps one of the most puzzling details at Baluarte was the dinosaur replicas near the Baluarte sign inside the zoo. I didn’t understand why they needed to include that, but okay.

Also puzzling (and disappointing) was the actual Baluarte sign at the entrance, which promised zebras, elephants, and bears. None were in the zoo.

Still, it was a fun morning spent at that zoo. I had pictures taken with the camel, which was bizarrely affectionate towards me at some point. There were also various standees of Gov. Chavit Singson posing with a tiger, and we couldn’t resist having our pictures taken with that as well. Anyway, it looked like more stuff was being built, so I can only assume they’re bringing more animals in. Hopefully, they’ll replace the one lion the zoo ever had.

From Baluarte, we took a tricycle that would take us home. However, we looked at the map and saw that the abel weavers at Barangay Camangaan was along the way, so we headed there first.

Our tricycle driver took us to Cristy’s Loomweaving, where we saw an assortment of abel stuff. These handwoven fabrics came in an assortment of colors, and I took this opportunity to buy a bag for one of my friends. We also got to see first-hand how these things were woven. It didn’t look easy. The “machine” used to create these was made of wood, and was powered by hand and foot (through pedals). One had to be sure that the strings were woven tight, else the fabric would fall apart.

From there, we asked our tricycle driver where we could buy longganiza, and he took us to one of the side streets in the city center. We went to a longganiza (and bagnet) processing house. In the mornings, apparently, one could watch how the longganiza was made. We bought our respective loads of longganiza and headed home.

That night, we did what many people (or tourists, at least) did for dinner: Dine outdoors at Cafe Leona, right beside the statue of Leona Florentino. Every night, Cafe Leona has a special menu, and on that particular night, they had grilled foods. I had blue marlin, and both Didang and I paired up our meals with the most appropriate drink: Beer!

It seemed to be the quintessential tourist dinner experience, as the tables were filled with various tourists the night before. That night looked like it was destined for the same.

We headed home to Grandpa’s Inn to sleep for the last time in Vigan.

To view all the photos full-size, check out my Multiply site, particularly these albums:

• VIGAN! Day Three, Part One: Baluarte! (06-Nov-08)
• VIGAN! Day Three, Part Two: Abel Weavers, Longganiza Makers, and Dinner at Cafe Leona (06-Nov-08)

On the second day of our trip, we decided to hit the beach. But first, after looking at the map, we decided to take a detour to Flores Pots and Hidden Garden, and Damili Village.

We trekked to the bus and jeepney station from Grandpa’s Inn after breakfast, thinking that there might be one that could take us to the beach. Once there, we found that the buses were mostly headed to Laoag or Abra, and the jeeps were headed to towns outside of Vigan. We went to one of the shops nearby to ask how we could get to the beach. We were then told to walk to Ergo Supermarket and hire a tricycle, as it would be cheaper to get trikes there (apparently, it’s where the trikes from that part of Vigan are stationed or something).

So we went there, as instructed, and got a trike. But before going to the beach, we went to Flores Pots and Hidden Garden. It’s a little tucked away place outside the city proper which sells, well, pots and assorted plants for gardens. They even offered landscaping services.

It was a nice place, and after a full tour of the grounds, you end up at a dining area, which offered, among others, fruit shakes (perfect for the hot weather), shots of basi (sugar cane wine), and bibingka, cooked the old way, which makes it sticky compared to the bibingka commonly served now. There’s was also a Lovers Corner, which… doesn’t really give you any privacy whatsoever.

After that, we decided to try and find Damili Village, where, according to the Vigan tourist brochure, one can “experience the unique art of molding terracotta in different forms literally by hand and foot!” We didn’t get to actually mold the terracotta, but we saw the many forms that the terracotta was, uhh, formed into.

From there, we finally made our way to the beach! The beach is known under different names: Mindoro Beach (because it’s located in Barangay Mindoro), Airport Beach (because of its proximity to Vigan Airport), and Playa de Oro Beach Resort (the name of the actual resort we went to).

To get to the beach we actually had to cross the runway of Vigan Airport. I guess it would be scary if we actually saw airplanes in the area, but we didn’t. The airport was actually small and grassy, and I’m guessing only small, private planes landed there… I could be wrong, though.

Anyway, the beach was BEAUTIFUL! And best of all, Didang and I were the only ones there! Plus there were very few clouds in the sky, so all that we found at the beach was sky, sea, and sand. We could see the horizon clearly; no pesky boats or errant islands blocking the view.

After paying for a room at the resort house, Didang and I changed into our swimwear, and headed for the beach! There was nobody there, except for a handful of local fishermen. The waves weren’t too high, but they were quite powerful. I enjoyed wading towards them to get hit by them. Didang also enjoyed taking lots of pictures at the beach. We ended up spending three hours under the sun on the beach, almost autistic in the way we barely interacted with each other. It was the most relaxing thing.

On a side note: It was right before hitting the beach that Obama was declared winner of the US elections. The TV at the resort house was tuned in to CNN when we arrived, and the lady manning the place actually asked us, “Na-proclaim na ba si Obama?” He wasn’t yet at the time, but after changing into our swimsuits, the USA had made history. How’s THAT for a “where were you when…” story?

After our afternoon at the beach, the guard of the resort called a tricycle for us, and we headed back to the city proper.

That night, we somehow ended up at Max’s Restaurant for dinner, and we ordered bagnet, which is essentially deep-fried pork, sort of like lechon kawali. Didang and I shared the rather big order of bagnet, because one would be insane to finish all that deep-fried pork by himself.

After dinner, we decided to do the tourist-y thing, which is take pictures of Calle Crisologo at night. Didang has some amazing pictures of that. We encountered quite a few groups of tourists who were doing the same thing we were doing, so that was fun.

After more camwhoredom, we headed back to Grandpa’s Inn and called it a night. Coming up on Day Three: Baluarte!

To view all the photos full-size, check out my Multiply site, particularly these albums:

• VIGAN! Day Two, Part One: Hidden Gardens and Damili Village (05-Nov-08)
• VIGAN! Day Two, Part Two: Mindoro Beach, Bagnet, and Calle Crisologo at Night (05-Nov-08)

What do unemployed raketeers do while broke and between jobs?

Go on vacation, of course!

My friend Didang and I decided to go on a little adventure of Vigan in Ilocos Sur. We’d heard that the city was a UNESCO World Heritage Site, not to mention incredibly pretty. Didang and I met up at Gateway Mall at 8pm. After some last minute shopping for supplies at Rustan’s, we had dinner at the food court. We killed a little more time (and ended up buying a copy of ROAM – an awesome travel magazine y’all should check out), then took a taxi to cross Aurora and head to the Partas bus station. We bought tickets for the 11pm bus (545 bucks for Ordinary Aircon), but we left at around 10:40pm. Save for the choice of music, it was a pretty smooth ride, with a rest stop at around 2:00am.

We arrived at Vigan at around 5:40am, and we took a tricycle to Grandpa’s Inn, which would be our home for the duration of our visit. It’s a homey little place, an old ancestral home which was converted into an inn. For those interested, the rate for an airconditioned room for two is 1,580 per night; a fan-cooled room with private toilet and bath for two is 980 per night (which is what we got); a fan-cooled room with shared toilet and bath is 730 per night. Free breakfast is included. After paying for our first night’s stay (as well as an early check-in charge of 200 bucks), we waited for 6:30am, which was when our breakfast would be served. So we went to our rooms and unpacked.

Breakfast was served at the restaurant downstairs. Assorted -silog meals (priced at 85 pesos each, but free for patrons) were on the menu, and each order came with coffee or tea. For our first day, Didang had tapa, and I had the quintessential Vigan breakfast: longganiza. We both had coffee.

After breakfast, we decided to roam around and take snapshots of Vigan in the morning. One of the first things we noticed was that tricycles and motorcycles dominated the roads. There were cars, sure, but it looked like almost every household had at least one motorcycle.

We also got our first look at what made Vigan a World Heritage City. Many houses still retained the Spanish colonial architecture, and a lot of plaster seems to have given way, revealing the bricks used to build the house.

Many of the sidewalks were also paved with terracotta tiles which bore the city name, Vigan. These definitely added to the Spanish-era feel of the city.

As we resumed our walk around Vigan, we naturally headed for Calle Crisologo, where the cobblestone roads are still preserved, hence no cars, motorcycles, and tricycles are allowed to traverse. The only vehicle you can take is a kalesa. Most of the old houses along the road have either been preserved or restored, and some are still in the process of restoration. There’s one particular house – it’s kinda huge – that’s beautiful but run-down, and looks to be the subject of a court battle. I don’t really understand what’s going on there, but it’s a real pity.

Many of the ground floors of the houses have been converted into shops selling assorted knick-knacks, pasalubong, and “antiques.” One house was converted into the Cordillera Inn, one of many hotels and inns one can stay at in Vigan.

We stopped by the Heritage Village Administration Office along Calle Crisologo, so we could each get a map of the city. It’s quite helpful, because it notes down all the important landmarks and tourist spots (including some just outside the city proper), as well as the various inns and hotels, plus where the banks, restaurants, and other important commercial establishments were.

At the end of Calle Crisologo was a Max’s Restaurant, and right in front of it was a statue for Leona Florentino, who was apparently an important poet in Spanish times. Beside the statue is the old Florentino house, which has been converted into a restaurant, Cafe Leona.

Meanwhile, just a stone’s throw away from the statue is the city center itself, Plaza Burgos. It’s named after Padre Burgos, one-third of the GomBurZa martyrs who were executed during Spanish times. There’s a small monument, a statue, a basketball court and stage, and a playground. Plaza Burgos is definitely the center of the city; surrounding it are some, uhh, lesser plazas, a few business establishments (like Greenwich Pizza and Red Ribbon), and the Vigan Cathedral.

One of the newer establishments is Vigan’s version of the mall, Plaza Maestro. It’s a cluster of new buildings that look like they belong in Rodeo Drive, but are built with the same Spanish-era architecture of the surrounding buildings. (Good effort.) There’s McDonald’s, Jollibee, Chowking, National Bookstore, and, strangely enough, Guess.

After walking around Calle Crisologo and Plaza Burgos, we went to the Empanadaan, which was right beside Plaza Burgos. It was sort of like a fastfood of various stalls selling empanada. The special empanada was 30 pesos, and it had shredded papaya and carrots, shredded longganiza, and one whole egg. It was delicious! It was to be the first of many empanadas I would have during the entire trip.

We then continued our exploration of Vigan on foot. The first thing we checked out was the Vigan Cathedral, also known as St. Paul’s Cathedral, which was right beside Plaza Burgos. It’s a very old church, and very historic. It survived a few fires, earthquakes, wars, and even the site of an assassination.

It was actually quite overwhelming inside, seeing all those religious relics and, of course, the architecture. The old grave markers from the late 1800s to the early 1900s were also quite haunting.

From there, it was a quick walk to the Arzobispado de Nueva Segovia, or the Archbishop’s house. Vigan is the seat of the archdiocese of Nueva Segovia, which covers pretty much all of Northern Luzon. The house has been around since Spanish colonial times, just like much of Vigan. It also hosts the Museum of Nueva Segovia, but it was closed when we got there. The Arzobispado faces another plaza, Plaza Salcedo. Beside that is the Vigan City Hall, and beside that is the UNESCO World Heritage Site marker.

We’d been walking nonstop since our arrival in Vigan, so we headed back to Grandpa’s Inn for a shower and siesta. After lunch, we resumed our walking tour of Vigan, turning down yet another barrage of offers from tricycle and kalesa drivers.

We made our way to the National Museum, also known as the Burgos Museum, formerly known as the Ayala Museum. It is located in the house where Padre Burgos was born and grew up in. The museum was closed when we got there, but we would return there on the last day of our trip.

The street in front of the museum lead to the Provincial Jail, which had a bright sign announcing that it was, indeed, the Provincial Jail. The marker looked more like a sign announcing the town fiesta rather than the marker for the jail, so it was amusing to both of us. Needless to say, we didn’t go to jail.

We walked through the busy streets of the city proper during rush hour, and while there were quite a few cars, tricycles and motorcycles still dominated the roads. There weren’t many traffic lights, but traffic wasn’t as heavy as it would be back in Manila. Didang and I walked through Quezon Avenue, where most banks and business establishments were located.

At the end of Quezon Avenue was Simbaan a Bassit, or Camposanto, the other church in Vigan. Didang remarked that it looked like a Mexican church, and given our country’s history, I guess that’s not too surprising.

The church itself, unfortunately, was closed by the time we got there, but the gate leading to the cemetery right beside the church was open. Naturally we took some pictures in the creepy cemetery.

That was officially our last stop of the night. We headed back to Grandpa’s Inn to rest and recuperate before hunting for our dinner. We found ourselves back at the empanadaan, where I consumed two empanadas for dinner. Plaza Salcedo was lit up by various red lanterns which were really quite pretty. The Vigan City Hall had a large belen outside. Vigan at night isn’t as bright or loud as Manila, but that was just perfect for us.

We headed home and decided that the next day, we would be going to the beach!

To view all the photos full-size, check out my Multiply site, particularly these albums:

• VIGAN! Day One, Part One: Breakfast, and Random Walking (04-Nov-08)
• VIGAN! Day One, Part Two: Calle Crisologo, Burgos Plaza, Etc. (04-Nov-08)
• VIGAN! Day One, Part Three: Empanadaan, Two Churches, Etc. (04-Nov-08)