🇵🇭 LAOAG • Riverside Night Market in Ilocos Norte

I couldn't help but to also spend my last few hundreds for the week to purchase cheap pop jackets still with pricetags in dollars. Virgin.

✈ This is not a place for early birds and for early-bird-promo fanatics. This is a place where becoming a late-comer is the governing rule.

✈ The sun was still shining in this part of the hemisphere and we had no choice but to wait for the night to arrive.

[Laoag, Ilocos Norte Province, Ilocos Region, Luzon Island, Philippines]
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The Gilbert Bridge panorama that effortlessly owned the night view from my vantage point awakened my senses that were previously dampened by physiologic energy depletion and that lonely day. I was in the Laoag Night Market, along the Padsan River, under the consistently changing sky, near a historic square, between my personal expectations, and above my human pride.

Too Early

It was Friday. I was invited by a friend (who is also from

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, specifically form the town of

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) to join her. It's her first time to visit Laoag's night market. As far as my memory is concerned, it was also my first time.

| 1 | [LAOAG] ► NIGHT MARKETS, USUALLY, ARE NOT FOR EARLY BIRDS. SPOT THE PADSAN RIVER.

We rode a jeep from the Valdez Center in San Nicolas and I requested the jeep driver to drop us in a place along his jeep route that is nearest to the night market.

The night market opens as early as 5 in the afternoon. However, if you are early, there would be limited vendors and stalls so it's best to visit later. This is not a place for early birds and for early-bird-promo fanatics. This is a place where becoming a late-comer is the governing rule.

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| 2 | [LAOAG] ► There are lesser options for a night market shopper who arrives before nighttime.

LAOAG NIGHT MARKET

We were here too early, before 6 PM. The sun was still shining in this part of the hemisphere and we had no choice but to wait for the night to arrive. It's night market after all. It made sense.

One Hour of Break: McDonald's Laoag and the Cathedral

Vendors and stall owners started to dominate the space suited for them. Unfortunately, my friend Jovi wanted to purchase "ukay-ukay" clothes which were still very limited that time. She also wanted to choose the best dominating wear so we decided to wait for about an hour by joining some bystanders at the back of McDonald's Laoag in front of the Saint William Cathedral.

| 7 | [LAOAG] ► THE LAOAG CATHEDRAL HAD A FRESH NEW LOOK BEFORE MY EXPRESSIVE EYES.

I noticed that the façade was new. Some details became more prominent. I thought those silver accents were either a new addition or newly-highlighted. It wasn't so noticeable before. I think it is much better now. Whatever the case, I don't mind. I believe the result was cool. I, thank you.

While consuming my McFreeze, I was videoing my self for the vlog (check my vlog for this story above, under the YouTube tab) which made some waiting time productive while some people around think I was an Ilocano-Hawaiian vacationing back home (take note: Hawaii is an extension of Ilocos because of the big community of Ilocanos there [85% of Filipinos there are Ilocanos], one of them became a governor of Hawaii).

Equipped with stories to share, me and Jovi got no time to spare as I personally watched the sky turn from purple to blue over the Saint William Cathedral. We stayed at the back of McDonald's.

| 8 | [LAOAG] ► BACKDOOR, MCDONALD'S LAOAG

Previously in my memory, the façade of the Saint William Cathedral was undergoing some facelifts and I think this is the result now—beautiful! The McDonald's drive-thru has a beautiful background and that was the Laoag Cathedral.

After an hour, we decided to go back to the night market and the primary target of Jovi was the "ukay-ukay" section.

First Time to Shop Ukay-Ukay

No, not me. It was Jovi. Yes, it was Jovi's first time to shop an ukay-ukay and like a little kiddo who is about to taste a popsicle for the first time, she was amazed of what she saw; and on how cheap the items were.

| 9 | [LAOAG] ► JOVI SHOPPED AN UKAY-UKAY FOR THE FIRST TIME. SPOT THE GILBERT BRIDGE.

We turned to the other road and I was also somehow surprised to see the long array of ukay-ukay stalls. I never imagined that it could be like that.

Without too much plenty overthinking (verbose, I know), I was defeated by temptation. I couldn't help but to also spend my last few hundreds for the week to purchase cheap pop jackets still with pricetags in dollars. Virgin. My budget managed to purchase two brand-new-never-been-sold ukay-ukay. They were just lovely with the brand print over my chest.

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| 10 | [LAOAG] ► This is the ukay-ukay section of the Laoag Night Market.

Jovi was able to purchase four pairs of pants at 200 pesos. She couldn't believe what she got. She seemed satisfied—surprised that her two hundred pesos could make her appear an extravagant, compulsive shopper in no time.

About: Laoag Night Market

The Laoag Night Market is located at Juan Luna Street and is open from as early as 5:30 PM up to 10 PM twice a week (Wednesdays and Fridays). It opened in 2004 and said to have mimicked the night market in Hong Kong. | end |

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► FOOTNOTES, DISCLAIMERS, ACKNOWLEDGMENT, ETC

✈ This post was filed under the category "Night Markets." See more posts related to this below.

✈ The maps I used on this post are from maps.google.com.ph.

✈ All photos are mine.

✈ The insights, condition and name of places or properties I mentioned here are based on the facts and situation on the day of my visit. Take note that you may have a different experience when you try or see the properties or places mentioned here. Names of places and properties may also change by time so it's not my responsibility to update all the information on this blog because once published, I already consider it an archive and I won't update my narratives because I want them to become my references of what have happened in the past. I'm very particular of the dates because I want my amazing readers to understand that I am writing stories based on my perspective and insights on the day of my visit. You can see dates almost everywhere on this blog. Exempted from this rule are my travel guide posts that need to be updated.