Road Trip

How can Scud be rewarded for enduring a 6-hour wait on a bus terminal plus a 16-hour bus ride including at least 4 stopovers and 2 bus transfers? How can Scud be rewarded for enduring a day of travel without a decent meal? How can Scud be rewarded for sustaining himself with junk food, which he has not done in years, while waiting patiently for bus rides in waiting sheds?

Well, he only gets to ride on a tricycle driven by a drunk driver on a dark, curvy and sloping road to a parabolic-shaped beach. He only gets to hop on and off buses to get to the next destination just like in the movies. He only gets to have himself photographed with waves almost as tall as him. He only gets to gawk at imposing three-pointed windmills. He only gets on a rocky tricycle ride to an I-can’t-believe-this-exists-in-the-Philippines rock formation eroded and sculpted by time. He only gets to walk the dark and damp streets of Vigan at night searching for the Heritage Village .

In short, Scud gets to explore five awesome sites on a single Sunday in September. He is rewarded with what he now calls his best road trip experience of the year. No, scrap that. Make it of his twenty-something life. That feat is no small thanks to Dong Ho, Lawstude, and Lantaw who know the best places to visit in Ilocos Norte, the province located right smack on the northern tip of the Philippine map.

For the next few weeks Scud will be featuring a series on Ilocos Norte. He actually has written rough drafts but it will take him days to edit and rewrite. He may segue a few times in between posts to write on other stuff since his blog thrives on unpredictability, a hodgepodge of topics.

Here is a sneak preview.