Warning: Image heavy post!
OKAY. Finally gonna continue from the first post about Philippines. Mad load of photos I photoshopped today!
So after lunch at Fort Ilocandia Resort, we went to the brand new convention center to do tree-planting!
Armed with our sunhats, we walk to our nearby destination where our trees wait for us. Haha.
Remember, if it’s nearby, dont pollute the environment by travelling in a vehicle, WALK!
Following our guides.
Waiting to go to our trees. We hide under some umbrella shade. It is MAD glaring and hot judging by our shades, umbrella AND hat. Haha.
Miss Northen Ireland goes first.
My turn to plant!
Plant tree until glasses all crooked.
A much better picture.
YAY! We did it! Save the Earth!
Taking a breather after HOT work by the cool and relaxing pool in the new convention center.
It wasnt too long after that, we zipped off in our bus to visit some beautiful sites in Ilocos Norte. Paoay Church was our first destination. The church is built of coral blocks and stucco-plastered bricks. It’s architecture is a unique combination of Gothic, Baroque and Oriental. What’s really fascinating about the church is the bricks of the church were said to have been made by mixing sand and lime with sugarcane juice! These were boiled with mango leaves, leather and rice straw. Talk about being environmentally friendly. Haha.
Interior of the church
The main religion in Philippines is Roman Catholic.
When we came out, guess what greeted us?
A HUGE SWARM OF PEOPLE!
No, more like MASSIVE SWARM. They were already gathering when we were preparing to enter the church.
But when we came out, it was just….. PHWOAR!
We had to fight thru the massive swarm of people screaming, pushing and trying to shake our hands to eventually get to the cafe where we were supposed to have a rest. Of course, in the local province, you could never do without tasting local fare. We thus had a snack at Herenia Cafe and got to sample their famous Pinakbet Pizza and Empanada (like a big curry puff).
Here’s the pizza with your usual pinakbet veggies. It was SOOO GOOOD! Om nom nom.
And we had this fried corn thing that is apparently dried first before it’s fried. Crispy, crunchy and salty, it would make a perfect snack for any time of day.
I stuff myself silly while Kayleigh looks on in disgust. Haha!
Even when we’re eating, THEY NEVER STOP HOUNDING US! Look at the camera pointing inside.
By this time, it was already evening. We had to go back on the bus and return to our hotel to shower, get dressed and go for a welcome dinner hosted by the Govenor. It was a welcome dinner with cultural presentation.
So although we were told the dress code was cocktail dress, everyone really dressed up to the nines.
When the event started, it began with a cultural presentation alongside some yummylicious Chinese cuisine.
The final item was the traditional bamboo dance.
And we got to try our hand at doing it! It may look really simple but it’s actually quite hard. I, however, managed to get the choreographed sets right! Yay!!!
The end of the dinner marked the end of a very busy and packed first day. However, day 2 in Ilocos Norte was even more exciting and we visited even more beautiful places.
