Thousands of flowers have once again painted Baguio City on its annual Panagbenga Festival. The highlight and the grandest among the month-long series of events was held last February 28 – March 1, 2009.

Panagbenga, is a local (Ilocano) term which means “season of blossoming.” Because of its cold weather, Baguio is renowned for its spectacular blooms that are sold around the Philippines and are sometimes exported abroad.

The Grand Street Parade (Feb 28) featured street dances from students in Baguio and other sponsored groups. Most of the performers I have seen were kids and they were really good. The costumes were very beautiful, and some are even came dressed as a flowers.

The Grand Float Parade, the most awaited and most celebrated Panagbenga event was held last Sunday, March 1, 2009 at around 8am. It showcased like 20 floats with different themes and dressed up with lots and lots of flowers!

The street dancers interpreted one particular song- the Panagbenga theme song that gave me ear worms. I can still hear it!(Tenenen tenenen tenenen.. ahaha.) it sounded happy anyway.   oh gosh. earworms! i can’t resist humming the tune!!!

Some local celebrities also joined the parade which made the crowd cheer louder.

I think this year’s celebration must have been the grandest. reason is, aside from Panagbenga, Baguio is also celebrating its 100th year of inauguration as a city.

Just to give you some tips,  it’s better to arrive a day earlier so that you can come early to the parade and have a very good view especially if you are into photography. Also, tour around the city. Baguio has a lot of interesting places to go to.

Pagudpud, the farthest top point of Region 1, has one of the most beautiful beaches in the Philippines. It is by far my most enjoyable beach experience. It’s so calm, there isn’t any noise pollution. Ilocos is a progressive province but you will still be surprised how they have maintained the rural-kind of life, Ilocanos are already in bed by 9pm! It is fun to go to Ilocos, there are actually lots of good places around which would make your 12 hour drive worthwhile.

What I liked about Ilocos is that the roads are fully cemented and super clean. Ilocos is actually famous for their clean roads. I wish we have that here in Manila.

What to see:

When you say Pagudpud beach, you are likely referring to Saud Beach. White sands, clear water and sky, and a good view of the Bangui Windmills, whew!

It was a relaxing view you could just lie on a hammock and sleep under a vast number of coconut trees, sheesh it was so refreshing.

If beaches are normally aqua-blue, this Blue Lagoon is deep-blue in color. You will like its clean sea-bed and safe waters where you can swim.

Kayak and Banana Boat rides are some of the activities you might want to try there.

Kabigan Falls – Semi-trekking activity that you wouldn’t want to miss on your trip. It is a 2km walk passing three streams of cold water.

You have to pay 25/person for the tour guide which will guide you to the falls. It’s a cheap amount to maintain the Kabigan Trek site. They actually pick up the trash while walking plus they are very friendly: D the walk was worth it.

By the end of the trail, you would see the Kabigan falls which was beautiful. It’s not that grand but the water was so clear and it was freezing cold. It was like water from the fridge. The pressure from the falls was just right. You can stay right at the bottom to have a water massage but be sure you know how to swim. It was quite deep.

Bangui Windmills or the ‘Wind Farm” – it is one of Ilocos’ main source of energy. And a good scenery as well just like Sweden’s windmills. I wish we have a load of that view here. It’s a good alternative natural energy source.

It consists of 15 wind turbines, each one is 70 meters high (roughly equivalent to a 23 storey building), each blade is 41 meters long (just 9 meters shy of a Olympic sized pool)

Cape Bojeador Lighthouse – Built on 1892. This lights the bend that marks the northwestern corner of the Island of Luzon, separating it from the South China Sea and the Babuyan Channel.

It is still working and its very old architecture was well preserved. It was quite tiring to go up the light house but the view was simply breathtaking.

During our trip, we missed the Patapat Viaduct and National Park where Batanes could actually be seen on a bright sunny day!

How to get there:

I would suggest getting there by a private vehicle. There are places that are not accessible by public transportation. They’ll just drop you to the nearest point and you have to walk. I had my Ilocos experience during a company outing so we rented a mini-bus that toured us around.

But you can get there by bus and plane (Laoag City).

Bus that has Pagudpud Trip:

Florida Bus Line (Sampaloc near España)

Maria De Leon (at the Dapitan side of UST)

Partas Bus Line (Quezon Ave)

Where to stay:

We stayed at Polaris Beach Resort which is actually very clean and has a videoke machine at the dining area. It wasn’t the best there but if you’re on a budget, I’d recommend this resort because it’s decently clean and comfy. I didn’t like their cooking though.

Budget for resort costs around Php3,000.00 – Php 4,500.00 each room for 4-6 persons.

Be sure to bring your sun block, shades, umbrella or hat. It was really hot there on that summer day!