Off to La Union!

Today, I am traveling to La Union with our neighbor Ria. On Friday, we'd be going to Urbiztondo Beach in the town of San Juan to watch the Surfing Break. We will just be attending the first day of the festival, and the next day we will travel to Vigan City.

I won't be bringing my net book, so I am on a blog holiday 'til I get home on the 31st. See you all then!

*** Jenn ***

The Ma-Cho and Our Lady of Caysasay Connection

Ma-Cho Temple
San Fernando, La Union
30 October 2009


From Heroes Hill, us three then walked to Ma-Cho Temple. This would be my fourth or fifth visit to the place, but I was happy to re-visit it because I would be with my sister and cousin, who were there for the first time. As usual, we just stayed by the little ponds taking pictures of the lotus flower, trying to wind off time and enjoy the place.

Ma-Cho Temple was built in 1975, and is 70 feet above sea level. Skilled workers from Taiwan constructed this beautiful temple, designed by architect Diokno. This temple is said to be the largest Taoist temple in the world, outside China. It is also connected to the Our Lady of Caysasay, found in the Basilica of Saint Martin de Tours in the province of Batangas.

The temple is open to everyone, regardless of their faith.






Wall of Statues. Upon entering the grounds of the temple, one would see this row of statues. Whether it represents the gods or someone very significant in the Taoist faith, I really don't know.


Altar. Upstairs is where the main altar / prayer room is located. Unlike my previous visits, this was the very first time I was able to go inside; before, I would just set a tripod and try to take a picture of myself from the outside, but the care takers of the temple were glad to welcome us inside. We were a bit apprehensive because of our clothing, but they didn't really mind. They were very hospitable and kind to let us in as well as take pictures to our heart's content.


Dome. The temple's beauty isn't just seen from the eye's level - there were so much decorations and intricate works of art when you look up. This wasn't photographed real nice (I zoomed my camera to take this), but I guess you get the idea of how pretty it is.


Posts. Something I took while we were in the shade waiting for a few more minutes before heading back to the surf site.

The Ma-Cho Temple overlooks the South China Sea, and one could see a good view of it from the balcony. There were no fees to be paid, but visitors are most welcome to give some donation, if they wanted to.

If you want to visit this place, just go ride a tricyle from the plaza of San Fernando City, or if you want, you can just walk north. There's a street near Happy Tummy food place fronting a gas station that will take you to the temple. You will never miss the street, as there was a marker. All you have to do is turn right when you see it.

*** Jenn ***

A Tribute to the Heroes

Heroes Hill
San Fernando, La Union
30 October 2009

Whenever I travel to La Union, I always take notice of this sight as soon as the bus passed by. I have always wanted to visit it, and after my sister and I ate lunch with our cousin Mhai, I asked if we could walk to the area so I can take a picture.


Stairs and Heroes. As it was called, Heroes Hill is where one could find statues of nine Philippine heroes who made significance in the country's history. There were about 153 steps, but where the stairs lead to? That I don't know. This picture was taken somewhere in the middle, so I can get a much better view of the statues.


Us. I took the tripod with us, so just to make the effort of walking here from the plaza really worth it, I set up the camera so us three can have pictures in the area. That's me, my sis, and our cousin from left to right.

After here, we were supposed to walk back to the plaza, but I made a joke of us walking to the Ma-Cho Temple. My sister and my cousin hasn't visited the place yet, so from here we walked to the temple. I'd share the story and the pictures on my next post.

*** Jenn ***

Sister's First Visit

Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary of Manaoag Church
Manaoag, Pangasinan
+63 (075) 529-0132
28 October 2009


When sister and I arrived in La Union, our intention was to attend the Surfing Break and to visit our dad's grave in time for the undas. When Aunt told us she's planning to visit Manaoag Church, my sister was really ecstatic because she hasn't visited the church yet.

The bridge that connects Pangasinan to La Union was ruined because of typhoon Pepeng, so motorists passing the bridge would have to re-route. Thankfully, the bus would pass by the church, making traveling a lot faster. We were able to grab some snacks before hearing the mass.




Aisle. Masses in this church were celebrated every hour, and this was probably the first time that we were able to hear it an hour earlier. Normally, we would arrive just in time for the last mass. Well, masses here were short, but I do love listening to the priest's homily. During my few visits in this church, all of the homilies were all heart felt.


Altar, Up Close. After each mass, the priest would bless all church goers, and after, they had the option to go upstairs to touch the image of Our Lady of Manaoag. Of course, it was my sister's first time, so we let her experience that, and after, we went to the sides of the church - here, people not attending the mass, can offer a prayer to Our Lady of Manaoag. Here is also where people take close up pictures of the image.


Candle Stands. Part of the Manaoag Church experience is to light a candle and say a prayer. This was something we always do, and at times we would wait until the fire burns half of the candles before we leave.


Vendors. We brought some foods, so we just went to the picnic area to have early lunch. I took this picture while eating, it was just interesting to watch other people.

I hoped to revisit the Rosary Garden, but it was such a hot day, and Aunt wanted to go to Urdaneta City, so from there we hailed a tricycle to the city. My sister was really happy to have seen a new place.

You can also check my previous visit to the church HERE.

*** Jenn ***

Sunset Watching

Paratong Beach
Bacnotan, La Union
27 October 2009


My sister and I traveled to our paternal hometown of Bacnotan in La Union to have some vacation, and at the same time attend the annual Surfing Break in the town of San Juan, and visit our dad's grave in time for the All Saints/Souls Day. On our second day, we pretty much lazied the whole day - doing marathon of Grey's Anatomy and eating... and come late in the afternoon, seeing the sky turning orange made us decide to go sunset watching in Paratong Beach. We wanted to save our pocket money, so we just walked.


Lake. We were halfway through when we saw this sight, we just liked the reflection it made in the water that we stopped and took pictures. My sister brought the family camera, so both of us were taking pictures.


Tall Grasses. The sun was starting to go down pretty quick, so we had to hurry...


Just in Time. When we got to the beach, the sun was just nearly touching the horizon. Whew!


Jump, Sis! I told my sister I would like to make her my model for the day, but because there were some fishermen looking at as, my sister could only do jumpshots. She was shy to pose in the beach. :(




Walking. Changing the white balance to tungsten to single out the sun the orange-y sky, my sister was just enjoying the view walking, while I was enjoying the view sitting the gray sands.


Fishing Village. Paratong Beach wasn't really that much of a picturesque beach; the water wasn't really that clean because there was a fishing village nearby, so most of the time we just watch the sunset here. At times though, we take the time to dip in the water and just enjoy.

We didn't want to greet the night in the beach, so upon seeing the horizon partly "ate up" the sun, we decided that it was the time to leave. Despite feeling lazy throughout the day, we did enjoy it, and seeing a good sunset was just a great way to end the day.

*** Jenn ***

Snacks Before We Parted Ways

Shakey's Port Area
G/F Delgado Bldg. Bonifacio Drive Cor. 25th Street
Port Area, Manila
+63 (02)585-8943 / +63 (02)526-2053

I never knew how hectic the port was until we disembarked after our trip from Coron, Palawan. When we got out of the Superferry lot, there were just a lot of people - passengers, vendors, and taxi drivers trying to get people to ride on their taxis. There were six of us, and we still had to talk about different matters. We didn't want to lose each other in the mix of different people, so we told each other to just keep walking, until we reach a place away from all the commotion.


When we saw Shakey's near Manila Hotel, we decided to just enter and have snacks while we talk about things. It never entered my mind to take a picture of the dining area, so this was what I had - the facade.

Anyway, we just dropped our bags, and tried to fit in the table that was supposedly for four people. Well, it was much better than having separate tables! As we were handed the menu, we quickly chose what we wanted:




Strawberry Milk Shake. Kei and I only wanted to have something sweet and refreshing; so seeing this in the menu made us go for it. I do love strawberry flavored foods, so I went with this. So creamy and so good, this was a very great milkshake that wasn't too expensive.


Carbonara. Some of our friends went for the carbonara, and seeing their plate really made Kei and I drool, so we called in the staff to order a plate each, too. It was one of the better tasting lasagna I had - bacon was cooked to my liking (not too crispy), and I loved that they used shiitake mushrooms in this. Most carbonara I have eaten used sliced up button mushrooms, and while that was just fine, tasting a different kind of carbonara was a great change.

In between eating, we were talking about our trip. Erick shouldered most of our expenses while in Coron, so our "auditor" Lei just laid out all the expenses we had and divided the cost equally.

After all was settled, it was time for us to come home. Us girls took a cab to Ortigas, where Lei went on her way, while the other three of us (Kei, Dianne, and I) took a bus to Fairview (we lived relatively close to each other). The boys? Well, we didn't know - they let us leave the area first.

It has been a great trip. I was really, really blessed that I was able to do it with them.

*** Jenn ***