"I've always envied the civil discipline you have. Tricycle drivers are honest. They do not overcharge. They are polite."

[LAOAG, ILOCOS NORTE, PHILIPPINES] ► Hey Laoag! It's been a while. I've visited you countless times but I rarely write stories about you. I don't know why I used to ditch writing the memories and experiences I've spent with you. Lately, I realized I need to add more space on my blog dedicated for you. You're my hometown's sister and its northern counterpart and I should've done this before. You'll consume more space on my travel diaries.

[LAOAG] ► HELLO! WELCOME TO LAOAG!

Why I'm here?

IT'S GOOD TO MEET YOU AGAIN LAOAG. I visited you because of a certain work assignment I accepted for the love of traveling. The assignment was to audit a brand product and the opportunity to visit you few weeks before we leave 2016 is one of the reasons why I accepted this task. The job was easy. In 30 minutes, it's done. The rest of the day could be spent exploring you.

However, I have another commitment at 3 PM. My duties as a professional nurse was calling me. Good thing, I could spend the morning with you.

But you know, I was crazy that day. I woke up late and left at 10 AM. I thought it would only take me less than 2 hours to reach you but I forgot I rode in a PUB (those generic PUBs, not branded). As we all know, these generic PUBs have many stopovers so it took me 3 hours before I could reach out to you again.

So I reached you at 1 in the afternoon and finished my task at 2 PM. So if I'm gonna ride a generic PUB again, it would mean I'll be late on my work, obviously.

After my task, I immediately went home so I had no chance to explore you more intimately. I know, I've explored you countless times but I was thinking there'd been changes in you that I could note down. Anyway, I was running out of time. And you know what? I reached Vigan at 6 PM. I was 3 hours late on my work.

The Umbrellas Around the City Hall

I FELT AMAZED WHEN I PASSED BY your city hall. How did you do that thing? You painted that air with colors, uh. It looked so charming and festive though and I felt good about it. Those umbrellas made the premises of the city hall fancy.

[LAOAG] ► IT'S CHRISTMAS SEASON BUT THIS JUST LOOKS LIKE SUMMER.

[LAOAG] ► THE UMBRELLAS AND THE TOBACCO MONOPOLY MONUMENT.

[LAOAG] ► UMBRELLAS OF DIFFERENT COLORS

[LAOAG] ► THE UMBRELLAS WITH THE TOBACCO MONOPOLY MONUMENT AND THE SINKING BELL TOWER

[LAOAG] ►THE CITY HALL FOUNTAIN AND THE UMBRELLAS

Actually, it's my first time to see you wearing a colorful get-up. That's one of the reasons why I blogged this. I would like to create a timeline of what you have done in the past. This is just the beginning, and like what I'm doing in your sister city Vigan, I'll note my insights and observations everytime I visit you for future reference.

There's More Conservation Efforts

You know what, I was impressed by the conservation efforts you're doing. You do not have an extensive inventory of ancestral and historical old houses but it seemed like you care about them a lot.

When I saw the Globe business center in front of the Caltex gas station few meters away from , it reminded me of the conservation efforts of my hometown Vigan. You know, in my hometown, many modern business centers and some fastfood chains were housed inside our ancestral houses. The set-up I saw is so similar with what we are doing in Vigan.

[LAOAG] ► THAT GLOBE CENTER INSIDE AN OLD STRUCTURE REMINDS ME OF VIGAN.

Ending Thoughts

I've always envied the civil discipline you have. Tricycle drivers are honest. They do not overcharge. They are polite. In my hometown, I've encountered many arrogant drivers. Many also do overcharging despite the fact that the city has an ordinance providing the schedule of fares. Well, I'm not generalizing all the tricycle drivers in Vigan because there are also many of them who are good-hearted but I can't deny the fact that I've been angered and disappointed many times. Kudos to the tricycle drivers of Laoag. They don't wait for their tricycle to get full. They will bring you to your destination even if you're alone with no overcharging. That has always been my experience each time I ride a trike there. I never got disappointed.

[LAOAG] ► AURORA PARK IN LAOAG WITH THE SINKING BELL TOWER NEARBY.

People in Laoag are also lovable. They speak sweetly. The Ilocano accent in Laoag is like Ilonggo, sweet and poetic.

Anyway, this Laoag visit was short yet sweet. | end |

29 NOVEMBER 2016
LAOAG, ILOCOS NORTE PROVINCE, PHILIPPINES
[LAOAG] ► HELLO! WELCOME TO LAOAG!

► FOOTNOTES, DISCLAIMERS, ACKNOWLEDGMENT, ETC

[1] This post was filed under the category "Special Features." There is a section below where you can see other related posts from this category.

[2] The maps I used on this post are from Google Maps and Mike Gonzalez (via Wikipedia).

[3] All photos are mine.

[4] The insights, condition and name of places or properties I mentioned here are based on the facts and situation on the day of my visit. Take note that you may have a different experience when you try or see the properties or places mentioned here. Names of places and properties may also change by time so it's not my responsibility to update all the information on this blog because once published, I already consider it an archive and I won't update my narratives because I want them to become my references of what have happened in the past. I'm very particular of the dates because I want my amazing readers to understand that I am writing stories based on my perspective and insights on the day of my visit. You can see dates almost everywhere on this blog. Exempted from this rule are my travel guide posts that need to be updated.