July 2012

🇵🇭 BATAC • City DIY Itinerary: One-Day Walking Tour to 5 Historical Sites

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Edmar del Castillo Guquib at Wednesday, July 25, 2012 13

Stories of town explorations.

If you happen to pass by the city of Batac in Ilocos Norte on your way up north, this post might be for you. If you have a passion of discovering the history and the heritage of a place while you travel, this post will give you an idea about a piece of Philippine history as seen in Batac City. These 5 historical destinations in Batac will surely make you dig your history books.

Marcos Presidential Center and Mausoleum

Marcos Presidential Center is a museum dedicated for the Philippines' former president, Ferdinand Marcos who ruled the country for more than 2 decades.

This museum houses some works, memorabilia, etc of Ferdinand Marcos. But the highlight of visiting this museum is the Marcos Mausoleum wherein the remains of Marcos' body is displayed for public viewing. You can experience it with a 50-peso entrace fee. Just a warning, no camera is allowed inside the mausoleum

World Peace Center

Just a walking distance away from the Marcos Presidential Center westward is the World Peace Center. If you are a fanatic of vintage pictures depicting the life of a great man, then the World Peace Center is the place for you. World Peace Center in Batac houses a large indoor photo collage.

World Peace Center is also known as the Marcos Photo Gallery. In here, you will appreciate how a picture speak a thousand words.

There are no written guides or tour guides inside. Everything are just photos and looking at those photos alone, you will learn how great Ferdinand Marcos was. This photo gallery will surely give you a dose of information about the history of the Philippines in photos!

The World Peace Center is located near Chowking and Jollibee in Batac.

Aglipay Shrine | Iglesia Filipina Independiente

Batac is also the home of the Aglipay Shrine, a remarkable landmark that gave rise to Aglipayanism, a separate denomination from Roman Catholic tradition born of revolution.

This church was co-founded by Msgr. Gregorio Aglipay, a former Catholic priest who was excommunicated due to his support to the Philippine revolution. The remains of Aglipay is burried inside this church.

Batac Church | Immaculate Conception Church

A walking distance away from the Philippine Independent Church (Aglipay Church) is the Batac Church or known as the Immaculate Conception Church.

Batac Church's present appearance is a reconstruction. It was destroyed in 1620 and rebuilt in 1692. Its facade has been renovated recently, white-washed, and plastered with the original palitada.

General Ricarte National Shrine

Another leisure walk away from the Batac Church is the General Ricarte National Shrine which also compose a park and a museum. To reach this site, walk northward from the Batac Church.

The General Ricarte National Shrine was built in Batac, Ilocos Norte in honor of General Artemio Ricarte, a native of the town, who was known for being a revolutionary hero and an important personality in World War II.

It has a library and museum which showcased Ricarte's life through a number of his photographs and relics, and a collection of American and Japanese guns used in WWII. Well folks, these historical sites featured will serve as a teaser. There will be more stories about these heritage structures, more feelings and more experiences to be told. A separate post will be provided for each structure so it is not yet final...

These are the 5 historical sites in Batac City, Ilocos Norte that you should not miss. It is absolutely doable for 1 day.

Travel Guide and Tips | How to go to Batac City?

1. From Laoag: Ride a Manila-bound bus from Laoag then drop at Batac City. That's it!

Travel time is around 20-30 minutes.
Fare will be around 30-55 pesos depending on your bus of choice.

2. From Manila (Land Travel): Ride into a Laoag-bound bus and drop at Batac City.

Travel time is around 8-9 hours.
Fare will be around 700-800 depending on your bus of choice and inflation (LOL!)

Notes: You can finish the walking tour before lunch if you will start it at 9 am. For the museums, they open at 9 am, and for weekend backpackers, visiting some museums may not be for you because they tend to be closed for public during weekends.

After finishing the walking tour, you may head up north to Laoag/Pagudpud or down south to Vigan to spend the remaining time and the whole night. /end

This walking tour is my official entry to the Pinoy Travel Bloggers' Blog Carnival for the month of October with the theme WALKING TOUR hosted by Glenn Martinez of Traveler on Foot

Please click the Carnival logo to see the previous topics.

Batac #TownExploration Series

Map showing the Location of #Batac

Click this map to view all posts about #Batac

NAGUSTUAM DIAY NABASAM/NAKITAM? MABALIN MO MET I-LIKE.

All Blog Carnival FEATURE POSTS Serious Post

FEATURE • The Journey that Gave Birth to 29 Travel Bloggers

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Edmar del Castillo Guquib at Friday, July 20, 2012 44

Stories of town explorations.

Different people, different style, armed with their nicknames with thirst for adventure and fun, they explore the lovely islands of the Philippines (and beyond). Some travel in tight budget while some embrace the concept of luxury travel. Others are born mountain climbers and divers while others just simply hang out the beach and that's it, they become happy and contented.

They seek for adventure and the most delectable food. Some sleep with strangers, some stay in expensive hotels. Others travel by land and sea while others love flying up above the clouds but they are all one at heart.

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For the month of July (2012), I am honored to host the most read and much awaited travel post every month in the Philippines' Travel Blogosphere.

I know every reader of these wonderful travel blogs is curious how their favorite travel blogs started or came into existence. For this very rare moment, they will share to you their much kept secrets, feelings, experiences and even misadventures that gave birth to your favorite travel blogs that are truly inspiring.

For this blog carnival, let me give the first spot to our travel bloggers who are going to join this edition for the first time.

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[1] Random Trippings ni Drew

Andrew Mamangun | Pasig City/Tagaytay City

"Starting this travel blog not only forced me to see places that I only read about but it has also brought me so much realizations... By a strange twist of faith, I boarded a plane ride back to my homeland for a very important mission. A mission that will require me to adapt a new and exciting, albeit temporary lifestyle."

"I dream and dare."

It's Drew's debut for the PTB Blog Carnival!

Drew boarded back to the Philippines from freezing cold Canada to savor the fun of the country he once left.

He said that he was constantly daydreaming of the tropical beaches of the Philippines as he spent a part of his life in Canada. It was a journey going back to his homeland that made him a travel blogger and embraced a lifestyle that gave him many realizations -- realizations that allowed him to find the meaning of his existence. For Drew, it was a mission. Read Drew's official entry and be blown away on how he has written his inspiring entry passionately! Enjoy his random trippings in his travel blog!

Official entry: When I morphed into a travel blogger: The beginning of my crazy travel life
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[2] Budget Biyahera

Mai Flores | Quezon City

"I whispered the words 'I miss you, dad. Wish you were here!' right when we set foot on this foreign country. But I was grateful for Kuya's sweet gesture. He knows my father would have done the same for me."

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines, sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” – Mark Twain

For Budget Biyahera, her PTB Blog Carnival Debut deserves a MMK episode, uh. My heart was pierced with million needles when I read her heart-tearing entry. After reading her entry, I immediately sent her a PM to give a virtual *hug*. Her passion to travel was molded by two men in her life, her father and her kuya. But when she was 11 years old, her dad passed away.

It was her Kuya who nurtured her like a delicate flower. Her Kuya served as her dad, treated Budget Biyahera for her first out-of-the-country trip, a thing that she believes her father would have done the same if only he was alive. With her kuya, they conceptualized Budget Biyahera, a blog where she documented her travels -- a blog born because of these two men in her life. Read Budget Biyahera's Official Entry!

Official Entry: It all started with my father's wandering feet

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[3] Franc Ramon | My Thoughts, My Travels, My Runs
Franc Ramon | Makati City

Travel and blogging came to me at different times. I was a writer. I was a blogger. I was a traveler. These were different versions of me and yet there came a time when the traveler in me met the blogger in me and I became a travel blogger.

"There's Always a Better Way."

It's Franc Ramon's first entry for the PTB Blog Carnival! For Franc, he knows himself he is a writer, a blogger, and a traveler but these elements were three different things before his travel blog was born.

He said he is workaholic being an auditor working on a top audit firm in the Philippines. But yeah, his work has made him to love traveling, how? Well saan ka pa! He was sent to Paris and Amsterdam due to his work and for that opportunity, how come you can not love traveling? Ikaw na Franc! Of course, Franc also traveled within the country and his journey to Marinduque fused the three different elements of writing, traveling and blogging into one - thus, he considered himself a travel blogger. How Marinduque made him a travel blogger? Read Franc's official entry.

Official Entry: When Traveler Met Blogger

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[4] Boy Palaboy: A Journal of Journeys

Rey Casia Idpalina | Davao City

"It does not limit on the first journey itself but a series of amazing and unforgettable trips I had that gave birth to Boy Palaboy travel blog."

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” - Mark Twain

Note: I apologize because some parts of this post is missing. We hope that we could fix this glitch very soon.