Vigan Beckons

The first challenge was finding a place to stay, in a town I had not been to in over 27 years. My Lonely Planet guidebook was missing, and I had no idea where to begin.

I searched for "Vigan hotels" on Google and made a few initial phone calls, only to be rudely surprised by the skyhigh prices of Vigan hotels. I should've expected it; after all, Vigan was a UNESCO Heritage site and had recently been upgraded to a city, and therefore it should have touristy prices to match. But I suppose I had expected Vigan to be a sleepy little town with corresponding sleeply little prices.

Hotel rooms of the inns listed on the Internet were in the P1500 to P3000 range, the kind of prices I would expect in the most touristy places of the Philippines. That price would've gotten us a room in one of the restored colonial houses either along or within walking distance of VIgan's main attraction, Crisologo Street, the beautifully preserved Spanish-era colonial street. Rooms in those inns are appointed with antique furniture but modern amenities (hot and cold water, cable TV, etc.). Staying in a restored colonial house should be for most people an experience unto itself.

But I've stayed in old houses before, growing up, and my concern was price more than anything. I hunted around a little more to find out if I could find an air-conditioned room that was cheaper.

I finally found Playa del Oro, a city-owned beach-front resort, around five kilometers (a 7-minute drive) from the city center. The prices were half of the price in the city center: our air-conditioned double room with a window facing the beach was only P900 (cable TV, but no hot water). The resort also has twin rooms and larger rooms that sleep six (and in which you can also add an extra bed).

The room we stayed in was basic (concrete instead of tiled floors) but clean. The beach, by Philippine standards (which are high standards, I should say), wasn't a swimming beach, but it afforded us a view of the sunset. Both evenings, we opened our windows to watch and listen to the beautiful waves crashing on the shore and to enjoy the sea breeze.

One fantastic thing about Playa del Oro is the Vigan longaniza that they serve for breakfast (P75/meal). Unlike a lot of Vigan longaniza that you buy in supermarkets, the longaniza at the resort was very lean; not a lot of fat at all. My aunt surmised that they probably had their longaniza especially made for them at the Vigan slaughterhouse.

The resort would be inconvenient for people who don't have their own car, as they'd have to take a tricycle to get into the city center and back, and it isn't easy waiting for a tricycle in that area. (You could, however, talk to a tricycle driver as soon as you arrive in Vigan, get his cell phone number, and make arrangements for him to come pick you up each morning.) But if you have your own vehicle, it isn't a problem at all.

If you're looking for a basic, cheap place to rest your head at night, and you're bringing your own vehicle to Vigan, this is not a bad place to stay.

Vigan, the capital of Ilocos Sur, is my father's birthplace, and the hometown of my paternal ancestors. The last time I had been to Vigan was when I was three, and the only things I remember about the trip are waking up in the car (after sleeping for several hours) and stopping at a little store for ice cream.

But Vigan remained mystical and beautiful in my mind's eye, all the years I was growing up. I often saw photographs of the carefully preserved Crisologo Street, the most well-preserved Spanish-era colonial area in all of the Philippines (and a UNESCO heritage site because of that), but in my imagination those photographs came to life, and I imagined my fellow-Ilocanos, dark-skinned and tough, like myself and my paternal relatives, trudging the cobble stones of a town caught in a bygone century, where the modernity of the 20th and 21st century had been barred from entering. Someday, I told myself, I was going to visit Vigan again.

A telephone call from an uncle made me deliver on that promise. I had to go to Vigan to attend to some family matters. At first I was reluctant, because the trip demanded that I take a leave from work during one of the busiest parts of the year. But then ... I figured, it's an excuse to make the 8-hour trip to Vigan. Vigan was beckoning to me. It was time for this granddaughter of Vigan to return to her roots.