Northern Hotspots What’s hot in Ilocos Norte, Ilocos Sur, and Clark SUMMER ISSUE INSIDE: SUMMER PROUDLY North Luzon map, TRAVEL TIPS PROMDI directory, and Stay hydrated and Bugnay and tapuey Clark festivals travel responsibly with make a name for tips from travel vets Adams Pagwanawanan Festival | Kanlahi Festival | panagbenga festival | Go Tours LimitedNorth Bound 1 NorthBound 21.indd 1 4/24/18 9:05 AM 2 NorthBound NorthBound 21.indd 2 4/24/18 9:05 AM NorthBound 3 NorthBound 21.indd 3 4/24/18 9:05 AM Northbound Issue 21 CONTENTS ON THIS ISSUE 7 TRAVELER RECOMMENDED Three vagabonds weigh in on their favorite attractions, eats, and stays in Ilocos Sur, Ilocos Norte, and Clark. 8 ON-THE-ROAD NARRATIVES Nicole Hernandez talks about sand dunes, sunsets, and surprising discoveries in Laoag. 10 SPECIAL FEATURE Proudly Promdi founder Ken Alonso talks about how bugnay and tapuey are making a name for Adams, Ilocos Norte. 13 WISER TRIPS Pro-mountaineer Christine Fernandez shares helpful tips on how to stay hydrated during summer trips. There is nothing like Environmentalist Celine traveling “far and ending Reyes Murillo tackles easy ways to travel responsibly. up somewhere close 4 NorthBound NorthBound 21.indd 4 4/24/18 9:05 AM ON THE COVER Laoag Sand Dunes, Ilocos Norte Photographed by Martin San Diego Models SEE: DIY GUIDES 14 Celine Murillo, Monique See, explore, and eat in locos Tendencia, Arrianne Norte and Clark with ease Guzman with our comprehensive travel guides. Special thanks to Laoag Eco-Adventure Development (LEAD) Movement 26 NEWS AND EVENTS Go Tours Limited launches first seat-in coach in Clark About Northbound Pagwanawanan Art Festival Magazine showcases La Union’s art and culture Northbound Magazine is a free quarterly travel Paniqui performers emerge magazine published by the North Philippines Visitors victorious in KanLAHI Bureau (NPVB), a non-stock, street dancing contest non-profit organization founded by the North NLEX Corporation rejoins Luzon Expressway (NLEX) Baguio’s Panagbenga Festival Corporation in 2006. NPVB’s primary thrust is to promote Northern Luzon destinations, culture, and events. NorthBound 5 NorthBound 21.indd 5 4/24/18 9:05 AM NORTH PHILIPPINES VISITORS BUREAU (NPVB) Publisher GRACE AYENTO President , NPVB AVP for Marketing, NLEX Corporation GRETCHEN FILART Editor-in-Chief GLENALUZ IMPERIAL Sales and marketing President’s Note Contributors here is nothing like traveling far and ending up CELINE MURILLO Tsomewhere close, be it on the road or in the heart. CHRISTINE FERNANDEZ In this issue, we opened ourselves up to both. NICOLE VILLALUZ We made our way to faraway Ilocos Norte and Writers experienced true Ilocano hospitality, from hotels and tourist favorites to dining holes. Despite its fame, MAIA IMPERIAL there is much to be unraveled in this coastal province: Photographer farms in Solsona, a heritage community in Currimao, the secret trails and cascades tucked deep within MACJANRY IMPERIO Dingras. As well, we rediscovered history through Layout artist popular ones, such as the province’s iconic windmills, a famous church in Paoay, and golden sand dunes in its neighboring municipality. NORTHBOUND MAGAZINE From Ilocos, we moved to the urban city of Clark, NLEX Compound, Balintawak, where child-friendly must-sees await thrill-seeking Caloocan City families. Driving through its modern roads, from one nature-packed adventure to the next, we were Mobile: reminded that in a bustling urban sprawl, the best (63) 916-6679857 therapy is one that is close to the raw and natural. (63) 917-5621331 This issue is one wherein we arrived at beautiful Email: revelations more than we could have ever imagined. northboundtravelmagazine We hope that by reading, you do too. @gmail.com Facebook: facebook.com/ northboundmagazineph President, North Philippines Visitors Bureau Instagram: AVP for Marketing, NLEX Corporation @northboundmagazineph Reproduction of this magazine in full or in part is prohibited unless permission is secured from the Executive Editor and the Publisher. Every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the information contained in the publication. However, NPVB cannot accept legal responsibility for any error or omission. Opinions expressed here are solely of the writers and not necessarily endorsed by NPVB. 6 NorthBound NorthBound 21.indd 6 4/24/18 9:05 AM TRAVELER RECOMMENDED Inveterate travelers share the best stays, eats, and activities in North Luzon. ILOCOS SUR ILOCOS NORTE CLARK Allandale Mirra Reyes Marky Antenero Ramone Go Travel blogger at Utopian Biyaheroes.com Co-founder Travel writer and blogger at Wanderer and contributing travel Nomadic Experiences writer at Out of Town Blog Explore Calle Crisologo’s A must-do when in Ilocos Watch a moving cobblestone streets and Norte are the Paoay sand documentary about the ancestral houses by walking dunes. It’s incredible! Mt. Pinatubo eruption at or on a kalesa. Climb up Being on top of a 4x4 the state-of-the-art 4D the Bantay Bell Tower for a that’s running on top theater. Take your kids to 360-degree view of the city. speed and moving its way Hansa Toys factory, which Learn to make pots at the around a barren landscape manufactures stuffed iconic Pagburnayan pottery is both liberating and animals used in Hollywood making facility. See antique exhilarating. Best to do it movie sets. Nearby Nayong collections and art exhibits right before the sun sets. Pilipino presents daily at the National Museum It usually comes with free cultural shows. Don’t miss of the Philippines Ilocos sandboarding sessions, too! Aqua Planet, which features Complex. 25 water attractions. Taste bagnet in Narvacan Laoag empanada! A Go to Commercio Central and the best Vigan empana- common misconception is at Clark Field to get a taste da in Irene’s Empanada. that there is only one kind of sumptuous Kapampan- Sample Cafe Leona’s delec- of empanada in Ilocos. gan cuisine from various table longganisa. Sinanglao, Vigan and Laoag eachhas food stalls. a beef innards stew, is a its own version of this must-try at Kusina Felicitas. delectable snack. Have a wonderful stay in a Casa Rica is in Calle Stay in Widus Hotel for a the most respected hotel in Crisologo itself, and cozy and modern vibe. Vigan City: Gordion Hotel. it’s simple with vintage furnishings. NorthBound 7 NorthBound 21.indd 7 4/24/18 9:05 AM ON-THE-ROAD NARRATIVES Sandy Slopes and Sunset Rides at LA PAZ SAND DUNES Words by Nicole Villaluz / Images by Maia Imperial unset. I jumped off the back of the all over the Philippines and the world. It 4x4 we were riding, both my hands is a magnificent sight, after all. The kind on my forehead, eyes wide from that needs to be seen in the flesh. I was Sbewilderment. Our driver took us to the completely dazed. The travel to Ilocos is edge of the sand dunes, toward the beach, not an easy one, but standing there in what where we spent moments in silence, awed I can say is the province’s best attraction in the sheer beauty of it all. made the trip so worth it. I walked across the beach, toward the Rugged 4x4 vehicles are lined up for rent raging waves. Warm, powdery yellow sand in the park. Trucks of varying bright colors filling the insides of my cherry-colored pop out from the vast field of yellow sand. sneakers. The sun, slowly descending into Stand on top of one of the sandy hills and the ocean, was burning with such intensity you can see speeding trucks dipping in and at a distance that seemed so close, I could out of view between the sloping sand dunes almost reach my hands out and grab it – at - some up to 30 meters high- as passengers least it felt that way. yell in delight and the adrenaline rush. In I have never seen the sun that bright and another area, tourists slide down a steep massive before. There is something about slope on sandboards, many landing on their Ilocos sunsets. They are never as warm and sides and laughing like it is the happiest day golden elsewhere in the Philippines. in their lives. Although such surreality made it feel I stood there observing everyone and like we were at the edge of the world, everything and wondered how a busy this only took place at the edge of the La tourist attraction like this one could still Paz Sand Dunes (also called Laoag Sand keep its magic. There is certainly something Dunes) in Laoag, Ilocos Norte. Famous special about this place. What that is for its hilly desert terrain, the 85-square though, I guess, is something each of us has kilometer coastal area attracts tourists from to discover for ourselves. 8 NorthBound NorthBound 21.indd 8 4/24/18 9:05 AM NorthBound 9 NorthBound 21.indd 9 4/24/18 9:05 AM SPECIAL FEATURE From Promdi to City: The Story of Adams’ Tapuey and Bugnay Interview by Gretchen Filart / Images from Ken Alonso ack in 2012, Adams was just a sleepy, remote Bugnay wine takes longer to make. During the town in Ilocos Norte. Every once in a while, it months of June and July, locals harvest the bugnay fruit, would receive tourists seeking its majestic falls then painstakingly segregate the ripe from unripe ones. Band mountains, but beyond that, it remained relatively The fruit extract is manually handpressed, diluted, and off the map. aged in a jar for eight to 12 months. All that is but a memory now. Today, Adams stands While other similar winemakers use additives to as one of the most productive towns in the province, reduce the fermentation process to merely two months, thanks to the thousands of bugnay and tapuey – local Adams’ winemakers have learned that waiting means wines made from fruit and rice – that its townfolk a full-bodied taste – quality that can only equate to produce annually.