Laoag area and Nipa Resort

Laoag: 11 May 2012: Friday:
Our flight departed from Manila at 7PM and Clair, Lilly and driver Roily dropped Nori and I off at terminal 3. We got there early to get a seat together and grab a bite to eat at Kenny Rogers Chicken place. We got checked in and got to our gate # 117 and waited patiently for “de plane”. An elderly gentleman asked Nori if she was going to Cebu and she told him that this is the waiting area for Laoag. She checked his boarding pass and his gate was downstairs at #145. She noticed that his walk was slow and he was struggling with his carry-on.  I just returned from the comfort room (CR) and she tells me to get Lolo (grandfather) to his gate because it was announcing the boarding of his flight.  Off we went with bag in tow to go down the escalator and find his gate #145 which turned out to be the very last gate at the end of the terminal.  All worked out well and he shook my hand and said thank you.  I was glad to help!


I got back to realize that we were waiting in #118 waiting area and quickly moved to the right spot. I then noticed a lady who was wearing a shirt that said “Germany” so I had to ask if she had been there…of course, she (Precy) was married to a German who she met in Hong Kong and they live in Switzerland.  Her parents lived south of Laoag and she told us of some places to see…people are just so helpful.

The flight was only an hour and Nori slept while I read up about different locations to travel throughout the Philippines in an onboard magazine. We had arranged to be picked up and taken to the Nipa Beach Resort through the resort reception at the time of our reservation. Even though our flight was delayed over an hour, our driver was waiting for us. It was a 30 minute ride and the driver answered our questions about the area. A quick check in, ate and got to bed.

Nipa Beach Resort is located in Currimao, Ilocos Norte which is about a 30-40 minute car ride.
Our room was to be a studio that sleeps 2 and it’s a good size room with 2 queen beds. It was a cabin-like style with wood floor, walls and ceiling, not to mention the furniture.

We had a fried spicy shrimp diner with fried rice and a side of spicy red sauce. Sarap (taste good)!
The next day we walked around the facility and saw it in the daylight. WOW….nothing like the photos at the web site that I remember. It was in need of repair most everywhere and the activities for the most part were suspended. We were the only Americans that we could see, but there was a large number (80) of folks from Taiwan and a few Filipinos here. Apparently this resort was hit by a typhoon in 2009 and has yet to recover and even though it was closed for 2 years for repair…it still needs lots of work. One could tell that this “WAS” a great resort a number of years ago but has lost its luster.

The food has been good but even though the menu appears to be great…they are out of most items except fried spicy shrimp, which we had last night and squid and chicken. Six beef items on the menu and none are available nor were pork ribs.

We had to charge everything to the room that day because they do not have change for a 1000 pesos bill ($25) which is not really a large amount. We save and use the small amounts to give the servers as tips.

Sunday: They have change now! We had planned go to the nearby town after coffee and inquired to our server about the best way to get transportation to go to a large historical church that we passed by Friday night on the way to the resort. It turns out that Ramses (our server) got an hour break at 9:30 AM and runs a tricycle service as well. He took us to town to see a church and apparently we were talking about a different church in a different town so since he had to get back to work…he dropped us off at the tricycle station. We met Rey (ex-Philippine Army) who now too has a tricycle service and agreed to take us to Paoay Church / St. Augustine Church then a place to eat and a market to buy a straw hat and wait for us for the return trip all for 10 bucks.



This church was built of coral blocks and stucco-plastered bricks, the architecture are a unique combination of Gothic, Baroque and Oriental.  Construction of this church was started in 1704 and completed in 1894. A few feet away is the coral-stone bell tower which served as observation post of Katipuneros during the Philippine Revolution and again by guerillas during the Japanese occupation. The church was officially added to the Enesco’s World Heritage List in 1993.

We took photos inside and outside of this unusual looking place and then we went into the town square across the street. We then noticed that a movie shoot set up was being erected.




















That's where we noticed that a movie shoot set up was being erected. 
This young guy (Richie) comes up to Nori and asks how long are we going to be here and Nori says why are you asking? He says that they are filming a movie and that they need me as an extra. The romantic
movie is called “Suddenly Magic” and they want an foreigner in the wedding scenes as a guest (non-speaking) role.  I agreed and they are to film on Tuesday, we met the director and they said that they will contact us at our resort to confirm.  How cool! This was not even on my “bucket list” but hey, hey, hey, it can be.

Rey suggested that we take a look at the Playa Tropical resort just half a mile down the road and so we stopped on the way back to Nipa.




Rey worked there in the evenings as a security guard. We got a tour of the facilities, met owner Toni and her manager KG. It was quite nice but had American prices, at $90 a night for a 2 person room. Their pool was cleaner, menu look better, they offered reasonable prices for massages and the overall facility was nice. We arranged for Rey to pick us up at 6:30PM to take us back to Playa for diner.

Rey then dropped us off after our visit to Paoay and we went to the beach for a swim, showered and got ready for our diner date that evening.





The food plates in the Philippines are just like the American in size…we have learned to order one dish and share it and we still don’t always finish our meal. Nori and I shared a sizzling Salisbury steak and salad at a private table over a pond like canal. It was quite nice! Rey had gone to get air in his rear tire while we ate. He got his tricycle fixed and picked us up for the return trip to our Nipa bungalow.




The day before, I bought a bottle of Adams Bugnay (Wild Berry Wine) and it had been chilling.




I pour a glass for Nori and after a sip…the glass was now mine…it was not to her liking.  Now, being the true gentleman that I am, I took it upon myself to drink her half of the bottle and waste not!  We went to sit outside the resorts grand entrance and have our… (Remember ½ is really Nori’s) wine. A few moments later we meet Henry from Taiwan, who happens to be the manager of the Nipa Beach Resort. We had a nice conversation and he got his bottle of the same wine and we toasted several times and soon we both had none.

All the meals that we had eaten here at Nipa did taste good, but every time we went to the server’s station just outside of the kitchen, we both smelled a foul odor in that area. We had planned to eat future meals at Playa’s restaurant since we found the new location so close by and were beginning to question the sanitary conditions at where we were staying.  While Henry was called to the kitchen, Nori and I made a plan to make Henry an offer.
Our plan was to offer Henry a free health and safety inspection of Napa’s kitchen. Nori told him that one of her duties before she retired was perform health inspections for the military food court back home. We explained to Henry, that as a resort manager with little kitchen experience that he and the resort could benefit from Nori’s generous proposal and that the findings would only be reported directly to him.

Henry responded by telling us that he makes sure that all food brought into the kitchen is very fresh from the market and that they were still working on the kitchen to fix it. He never addressed our proposal and we never perused the issue. There may have been a misunderstanding of what was proposed because of the language barrier but still, that speaks volume, so therefore we will not take a chance with our health and eat all meals outside of the resort and only have morning coffee here.


Monday: The previous day we had arranged with Rey to hire his uncle’s SUV to take us to Vigan, which is famous for its Spanish style of architecture in a special part of town.  The uncle was not feeling well and another nephew named Wendell became our driver. Wendell was between jobs as a seaman with hopes to hook up with a Singapore company.

Since our arrival at the Nipa Resort, we have not had internet or phone service and it was hard to be without. The first stop was an Old Spanish Plaza surrounded with modern shops and eateries. We found an internet café and quickly got on-line. We did not bring our bulky transformer and were just using battery power and there was a lot to get done in a short time.

Before we flew to Laoag, the Philippine Coast Guard had an incident with a Chinese fishing boat off the coast of a small island that both countries laid claim to, which in turn caused a suspension of all charter flights from China to the Philippines.  We were a little concerned that our trip with Philippines Airlines to Beijing may be in jeopardy if things escalate and we needed the internet to find out.
 
We sent an e-mail to our travel agent Percy in Laguna to have her inform us if there would be any changes that would affect our trip. Percy responded right away and she will notify us if needed. I was able to check our e-mail and FB and post the San Fernando script and only got half of the photos loaded before the laptop battery power was too low.

Next stop was to change some US dollars to Philippine pesos at a bank. Can you imagine to our surprise to find out that the Land Bank does not exchange currency and we were told to go down the street to “Two Brothers” grocery store to exchange our US dollars?  That did the trick and it was at the Western Union window in the grocer.

Vigan still used old horse drawn carriages called calesa for transportation as well as motorized forms. I thought that I would take my sweetie for an hour tour of the old part of the city while our driver waited for us to return.

I guess you could say that it was another bucket list item completed.


We were taken to a place where pottery was made and local handcrafted items were for sale along with the usual “T” shirts.










We also went to an old church with bell tower similar to the one in Paoay. The last part of our buggy ride was the best.







The very narrow cobble stone street that stretched for two blocks with shops on both sides selling mostly handmade woven materials and wooden products including furniture and could only be traversed by foot or calesa.




















Nori and I only had small pieces of luggage going to Laoag, so our purchases had to be small and light.  We bought a string of 12 place mats that you cut out the sections when you get home.
















After our nice horse drawn adventure, we met up with Wendell and went to Mickey D’s for a Big Mac and fries.








After a nice day, we headed back to the cabin with a planned stop to at a fruits and veggie market that we saw on the way to Vigan. Come to find out that these types of farmer markets are only on Mondays and you have to go early.  All the vendors had left by the time we got there but we did find three vendors that had not packed up yet. While Nori was negotiating the fees for mangos and lacatan bananas, I went across the street to a fishing supply store where I bought some brightly colored plastic squids to be used for some future fishing excursion somewhere in the world. (It’s a man thing)

We made it back to the resort to pick up my white dress shirt for a wedding scene that had been washed and ironed, only to find out that I did not receive my call for the movie shoot. We retired to the room to watch HBO and write in the blog.
At 8:30 PM a knock at the door hails me to receive a phone call at the main reception desk and it was Richie calling. He called to make sure that I was still available and to be on the set at 7 AM next morning. He said that he would call back for the exact location of the shoot somewhere close to where they were the day before. We go back to our room to await the call, which then comes at 10 PM and not only does the location change but my time is much better at 9:30 AM instead.

It was definitely my lucky day because the shoot was only a 5 minute walk from our Nipa Beach Resort, only two resorts down and we can sleep in. I was told that it was a casual shoot day but bring my dress pants and shirt with me just in case.  After two phone calls from Star Cinema Productions for me…the word was out that I was to have a roll in the movie just 2 resorts over.

The next day we arrive by tricycle to the set with my change of clothing in Nori’s big black carry on purse. We were shown to an A/C room at the Sitio Remedios Resort which had 5 beds to sit and wait for my queue and that Nori could wait with me too.





The room was full of male actors and one female of which some were veterans and others were there as an extra for the first time like moi (French for me). There was another room across the hallway for the women to stay in too.







Dino is in the white "T" Shirt above.




We got to know a number of actors like Dino who befriended us and he was a 7 year vet who was 61 years of age…and most of the others were in there 20’s. While we waited, movie folks come in the room and identified the character needed for the next scene and those folks leave the room. My role is classified as a foreigner.






At 12:30 PM we get word that lunch is ready for everyone….wow Nori and I got fed as well and I haven’t even acted yet…that good so far.

Finally at 2 PM I’m told that Dino and I are needed on the set with a dark shirt…oops! I was wearing a light gray breathable no collar shirt that I normally use for tennis or badminton because I was told to dress casual and the shirt that I brought was white for a wedding scene and did not have a dark shirt with me. Dino came to my rescue and loaned me his short sleeve brown plaid shirt.

They tell us to hurry towards the back to the beach café set. We both have a non speaking role as patrons at the café having a sandwich with chips and coffee and just talking.









I sat in the chair that is closest to you for my part.










 In reality we were supposed to be having a conversation and then react with surprise to a verbal outburst by leading lady Erich (Erica) Gonzales who is a well known and well liked young actress here in the Philippines and leading man Mario (?) who is a famous singer in Thailand.

Before I know it, Nori is sitting at a table to my right rear getting her hair done and makeup applied. The director had noticed her sitting far outside the scene and sent her assistant to fetch her and now not only is she in the movie but has a speaking role! I told you that she was special!

The first scene is when Nori is seated and has a cupcake brought to her table and Nori says ag yaman ak (thank you) in Ilocano dialect.

The next scene is about Erica delivering more cupcakes from her bakery to the Café and Mario tasting one and complaining that it tasted bad. An outburst ensues, at which time Dino and I stop our dialog and act with surprise to the commotion while Erica goes from table #1 where Nori sits and picks up her cupcake, takes a bite to show the leading man that there was nothing wrong with her cupcakes. She then runs to my table and picks up my cupcake, takes a bite and repeats to Mario that it tastes good and lastly to another table that sits two younger ladies and picks up a third cupcakes and does it all over again. At this point she is supposed to gag and all of the actors are to react with panic and I go to the exit and call out for help, Dino goes to the counter to ask for water, while Mario rushes to Erica’s aid to attempt the Heimlich maneuver. In doing so she spits out the cupcake on the third try but somehow Mario is holding her breast in the end and when Erica realizes it she turns and slaps him (real slap) and runs off.

It took about 4 hours to shoot this entire scene in parts and it was “HOT”. The sun was just to set when we were told that this scene was done and that all of us “actors/extras could go back to the waiting room.

This was a chance for the “hired help” to ask the “stars” to get a photo with them. Erica was very friendly and was glad to do it.

                                     This was the famous scene shirt that Dino loaned me.




Erica even went to the beach barricade to let her fans (and there were many) get to see her up close. In all the commotion Mario was rushed to his dressing room by his manager/mother but I had introduced myself to Mario earlier when I found myself standing next to him while the director was busy with Erica’s dialog.

While waiting to get word on whether we are needed again that evening or the next day, it’s announced that dinner is served…so we all go eat again. After dinner there was still one more shoot but Nori and I were not in it but Dino’s wife Tess was. When that scene was done we waited to find out what happens next and we are all getting tired. Finally, a runner named Ace tells Nori and I “thank you” and hands us our salary for the day and says that we are done. I won’t tell you how much we got paid unless you ask us in person. It’s my way to know if you have been following our blog. I will tell you this; foreigners get paid 3 times the amount of local Filipinos.
 
We both had a great time being actor/actress for a day and I can attest that it’s not that easy but was fun.
Now that Nori and I are officially actors…we have decided to retire from the business while we are on top….unless a really good role comes around…we may then need an agent!

We say goodbye to our new co-workers and just walk back to our bungalow since it was 8:30 PM already.

While we were at the movie shoot, housekeeping came to do their thing and shut off the A/C. We get it turned back on and Nori wants to stay inside to cool off and I want to go get a cold beer to cool off.  Did we mention that it was a “HOT”shoot? Hot-Hot-Hot!

Wednesday: I woke up and realized that I was sleeping with a movie star (Nori) and I had another bucket list item to check off.  It don’t make this stuff up…I just tell the story.

I then downloaded the photos taken at our movie shoot on to our laptop so I could show to the Nipa staff.  All the employees wanted to know what happened and see pictures of us with their favorite female movie star. I showed all the shifts the pictures that I had taken and they were happy to see them.

We went to lunch at Playa and since my sinuses were stuffed up, I thought that I would try a spicy dish.

The dish was supposed to have some heat but so far everything spicy that I tried here still can’t measure up to New Mexico chilies. We chilled out and wrote on the blog for the most part of the day. Our trip to the beach was different this time because it was stormy and the waves were much bigger and we got to body surf. It was great fun for 2 old farts.

Later that evening while watching a movie, the staff knocked on our door to ask if we wanted to see the elusive rare large lizard called Toko.

Henry, the manager caught one and put it in a cage. The unusual lizard has a great looking colors but the odd thing that was noticed was that its right eye looked like a reptile/cat and the left was a solid black color.


The Tokay Gecko is the second largest Gecko species, attaining lengths of about 11–20 inches for males, and 7–19 inches for females, with weights of only 150–400g. They are distinctive in appearance, with a bluish or grayish body, sporting spots ranging from light yellow to bright red. The male is more brightly colored than the female. They have large eyes with a vertical slit pupil. Eyes are brown to greenish brown and can be orange or yellow.
Males are very territorial, and will attack other male Tokays as well as other Gecko species, as well as anything else in their territory. They are solitary and only meet during the mating season. Females lay clutches of one or two hard shelled eggs which are guarded until they hatch.
The Tokay Gecko is known as a Tuko or Toko in the Philippines. Their mating call, a loud croak, is variously described as sounding like token.



Thursday: Before waking up, the electricity went off and so we decided to get up early and go to Playa for breakfast and say goodbye to Rey who was ready to get off at 7 AM from his Security Guard job. The area here is known for their tasty longganisa, which is a kind of link sausage so we both ordered the special breakfast. It was sooooo good that I ordered a side dish of two more longganisas. These delights are served with a garlic and vinegar dip to put on the sausages.  When we walked back to Nipa we found out that the power outage is called a “brown out”, which means that it was a scheduled 12 hour power outage for the entire province of Ilocos Norte. Unfortunately our resorts backup generator fails to work and we realize that we are in for a hot day.

The entire northern Luzon is without power and there is no point going anywhere but the beach. The only cool place was either in the water or at the beach where it’s the only place to get a breeze.  Showers are also a great place to cool off.  We just tried to stay cool and then went back to Playa for an early dinner before sunset. Even though Playa’s generator was working, their eating area is outside but shaded.  Before we knew it darkness was setting in and the Nipa staff went shop for candles. Most of the candles are used for the special events dinner at the rear restaurant and the rest of the patrons are outside using flashlights, and cell phones for light. The resort sends over a candle so Nori and I sit on our outside porch with a glass of Bugnay wine and make the best of it. About 20 minutes later the power finally comes back on. Our room was still hot so we stayed outside for a while longer as it cooled.


Friday: At 5:09 AM our power goes out again…crap! It is also our day of departure to fly back to Manila for 2 days before we fly onward to China. We are up early and walk to Playa for our last breakfast and get an omelet with more longganisas and real coffee rather than the instant that Nipa was serving. Each trip to go eat; we meet local fishermen and children playing in the water.





















Most of the Bangka boats on the beach are motorized, very colorful with female names and registration numbers painted on their sides.












There are also a few small paddle skiffs that fishermen use with long nets.










After breakfast we stop by hotel registration to snoop at their gift shop and I noticed a small bottle of Duhat wine, which is made from the dark purple Jambolan fruit.

There just so happened to be a large Duhat tree close to the Nipa entrance and so I buy 2 bottles for a total of 3 dollars.















One bottle is given to Henry as a gift and the other for our consumption. Again, Nori does not like it…so it’s all mine for lunch. I like both of the local red wines and think that there very tasty. That’s more for me! Speaking of local products, we have been snacking on some great tasting small sweet bananas that Nori had bought the other day.

There was a wedding reception at the old outside dancing hall by the beach being set up and a group of physically challenged children enjoying their selves on the restaurant patio. Everyone is super friendly towards foreigners and if you say hi or hello or good morning or good afternoon, there is always a polite response and many times we are invited to join their group and share either their food or activities.  The Philippines is such a great! Most folks speak English but may by shy. For some reason, the big tourism companies to not promote tourism to this wonderful country but instead try to get tourist to go to all the other non English speaking Asian countries and I don’t know why? Maybe we should start our own tour company?
I paid our bill in cash so we don’t incur a transaction fee from the bank which can be costly and order a tricycle pick up to do to an early dinner at the Playa Resort for our last meal in Ilocos Norte. Our arranged transport is paid and scheduled for 5:30 to take us to the airport via A/C van.