Driving through San Fernando, La Union. We
headed out from the Ma-cho temple in search of Poro Point. As always with my
travel partners, we have to stop here and there for everything. Not only do I
have to worry about driving, but also finding safe places to park the van while
Mama and Grandma go take care of their needs. Lotto, donuts, phone cards,
drinks…. You name it and we probably stopped along the way for it.
This is a real time video from when we left the
Ma-cho Temple until we arrived Poro Point. As you can see, this mini vacation
we spent a lot of time on the road.
Chinese Temples have always seemed to be a
place where one can relax and have some quiet time no matter what your
religion. Hiding in the busy city of San Fernando, La Union is an old
Chinese temple built atop of the hill overlooking the vast South China Sea. The
Macho Temple is a Taoist Temple that was built in the 1970s and dedicated to
the Chinese deity Matzu, a powerful protector of the sea and a patron of the fishermen.
With that being the case, the temple was built high up on the hill and facing out
toward the sea.
The temple caregivers allow guest to walk
around and marvel in the beautiful structures. The place is very quiet and
every inch of the furnishings, statues and arks are wonderfully made. There are
many signs around the grounds that this is not a “dating” sight. They also have
a strict dress code if wanting to enter into the temple.
There are plenty of opportunities for selfies
and picture taking. You will not be alone in this adventure. There is always
plenty of people taking pictures throughout the grounds.
We hope you enjoy the ride. If you did, give us
a thumbs up and leave us a comment. We would love to have you share the video
as well! Invite someone else to come experience the Philippines through our
videos!
The majority of our time spent in La Union was
on the road or so it seemed. We did not find the best of places to stay at when
it came to being close to places to eat and sightsee.
As we left the Flotsam Restro Bar in the
northern part of San Juan, we had to head right back into town to get to our
next destination. This video is a moto vlog of our trip from San Juan back to
San Fernando along the MacArthur Highway. This is the main road and it stayed
packed with traffic it seemed. Since the hotel was also on this road, we had no
way to really avoid getting out and on it. The good thing was that most of the
places to go to were right along this highway as well. As far as finding
anything, that was rather simple.
Flotsam was a very cool place to hang out, enjoy the beach and have a good meal! It had an interesting concept of a surfer’s camp. There was a wooden deck with huge pillows and cushions or the small tables out in the yard where you could sit around them on pillows as well. It looked like a very relaxing place just to chill and hang out.
The service was rather quick and the food was really good! We had curry chicken, chicken tinola and a crab dish. Everything was really good and the food was served hot! Although they seemed a little crowded at times, they did a very good job of getting the food out to you. We did not have to wait too long.
If you like a relaxing place by the beach, this is the place for you to come. After your lunch, if the waves are not to bad, you can enjoy a swim or a surf! Be sure to pack your swim suits and surf board!
After a hard travel day, the day prior, the kids enjoyed the pool at Marand Resort and Spa. They had several pools for them to choose from. They could swim and play while Grandma, Mom and I enjoyed relaxing by the pool in the shade. They made the most of it as they usually do when we go to a place with a pool. They usually are the first ones in and the last ones to get out at night.
It took us several minutes before finally deciding on a place to eat. Maly and Anabel wanted seafoods since we were in La Union and close to the sea. We were having trouble in choosing where they wanted to go, so we let google maps help us to decide. We were immediately drawn to the good reviews of Patio Del Sol Seafood Restaurant. It was really easy to locate as it was not far off the main highway.
Once you enter Patio Del Sol you will notice the rustic ambiance of the place. There are no fancy tables, chairs or menus. You are seated at just a regular wooden table covered with a table cloth. All the tables are situated by large open-air windows where you get a great view of the beach.
We had their shrimp which was sautéed in a buttery garlic sauce and one that was supposed to be spicy. We also had their grilled tuna belly. To finish it off we had chop suey vegetables to go along with everything.
The food was actually really good. My only complaint was that the shrimp I feel would have been better brought out on a sizzling platter. The sautéed ones just got cold to soon. We still enjoyed them and nothing went to waste.
If you happen to be in San Fernando La Union, you might want to try the food at Patio Del Sol. I would highly recommend trying out their food. If you are traveling as a group you might want to try their group meals. They had several to choose from on their menu.
We left the house in Cauayan, Isabela around 10 in the morning on a trip south this time. We wanted to go check out La Union and see what there was down that way. As per Google, it is about a 7 to 8-hour trip for us. In the States I like to test Google and see if I can beat their times. You are not going to that in the Philippines. It will take you much longer to travel than what it says. I lost all the video from earlier in the day, but I hope you enjoy the night ride up through La Union along the TPLEX and MacArthur Highway.
The TPLEX had opened a new section of road and we got to try that out. The Rosario - Sison section is 5.93 km long. Does not seem like much, but it cuts out a lot of traffic issues. The Junction of Pugo Rosario Rd and MacArthur Highway was transformed into a round-a-bout once we came off the TPLEX. It seemed that area was still under construction as well.
Once we were back on the MacArthur Highway is was single lane traffic for much of the way. We moved along pretty good as we came through Rosario, but as we got further north the traffic picked up. As we were entering Bauang, we came to a standstill almost. There was construction, but that really was not the issue. There was a major intersection in Bauang that turned off towards Baguio. I think with the amount of traffic going to and coming from Baguio, it clogged up this part of the road. We had less than 8KM to go and it took us over one and a half hours to complete that.
Finally, 11 hours after departing the house, we made it to our destination. We stayed right along the highway at a little resort called the Marmand Resort and Spa.
Pick a money blindfold challenge! We
had noticed a video on FB of this game where they blindfold someone and then
they have to pick through bills in a bowl to see what they get. It looked
really fun and interesting to play, so we just had to try it.
We added several 20, 50, 100, 500
and a 1,000-peso bill to the pot. To make it a little more interesting, we also
added some fake 1,000-peso bills. We also had a few sheets of paper added with
things like 1 shot of vinegar, 1 packet of pepper and other little notes
written on it.
There were some funny moments to say
the least. It was a very fun and interesting way to spend some of our day. I
don’t think anyone walked away poorer than they started, but some walked away
with a little more than they thought they would have today!
If you like our videos and the
Filipino lifestyle, please like and share our videos. We would love to see more
viewers enjoying our channel. Also leave us a comment.
'Twas the Night before Christmas, and all
through the house, not a creature was sleepin’, not even the mouse. Their
stockings were hangin’ from here and from there, with hope that their karaoke singin’
Saint Nick could bear!
The children were all runnin’, not one in their bed, while visions of X-Box and
Pikachu danced in their heads. And then there was Ma with friends and family, they
just settled down to eat pork belly! I rushed for my camera as I recall, maybe
a video could explain it all!
Christmas in the Philippines! It is
an experience you are not likely soon to forget! Carolers singing at your gate,
family gathering from miles around, meals at midnight, friends and neighbors
showing up early in the morning, gifts to be handed out and more food than anyone
really needs!
If you were up tracking Santa on the
NORAD site Christmas eve, you might have noticed a little delay when he reached
the Philippines! Upon approach, I am sure he was caught off guard by the
karaoke and other noises coming from our house. He had very little time to get
his sleigh unloaded at the house, but he did manage somehow! Mrs Claus was very
busy helping make sure everything was ready to go the next morning! Since the
party did not start until midnight, this lasted way into the wee hours of the
morning.
It seemed I had just laid down when
I heard such a clatter! Was that Saint Nick back on our tin roof? No, it was
neighbors and friends waiting at our back gate. You see as a Nino or Ninong, a
Tito or Tita or a Lolo and Lola, we have a tradition at the house that the kids
come from the neighborhood to receive their “treats” from us! It is really a
blessing for us to see all the smiles, hear the joyful voices and see the
excitement on all the faces.
Even the adults get a special treat
when they come by. Usually a store or an establishment will give out calendars
to their customers. This year Maly had t-shirts made and some coffee mugs to
hand out to those special customers that make Maly’s Store and Eatery what it
is!
We eventually went back inside to
have our own little bit of Christmas. Everyone had gifts to open! All the kids
enjoyed being able to get their gifts and play with them! We even had a special
package that arrived from a very special Aunt in the States. Aunt Carolyn’s
gifts were really appreciated from this crowd! It gave the cousins some board
games to enjoy on a wet afternoon!
We hope you enjoyed spending
Christmas with This Is Our Philippines. Sorry to have extended it out another
month! Just think only 7 more to go until it is Christmas time in the
Philippines again!
If you like our videos and the
Filipino lifestyle, please like and share our videos. We would love to see more
viewers enjoying our channel. Also leave us a comment.
