Stories Covering " [Luzon Island] "
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Stories of town explorations.
This is a travel blog feature, local travel guide, review, and curation dedicated to the Manila North Road as a subject matter.

• This article is an ongoing personal journal project. This page will be updated intermittently. My goal for this curation is to create stories, reviews, and documentation about the Manila North Road.

• To view more photo details and contexts (like location, date taken, and camera used), you may put your mouse cursor over the image if you are using a PC. If you are on a mobile browser, touch and hold the image until a window pops out.

• All photos included in this article are actual photos of the highway taken by yours truly (unless disclaimed). Photo thumbnails could be enlarged by tapping or clicking it.

🇵🇭 LUZON ISLAND
MANILA NORTH ROAD This article is divided into subsections, organized in separate tabs for context-based navigation. All of the subsections are works-in-progress. Once I get to gather more data and materials for specific topics, I will add additional tabs. I have actually collected various materials for this highway. They are stored in my hard drive since 2010. Hence, aside from writing updates about this highway, I will also write about my old travels covering the MacArthur Highway in their historical contexts.

▼ BLOGS ▼ FAQs ▼ HISTORY x CURRENT EVENTS ▼ MARKETS ▼ TOURIST ATTRACTIONS ▼ VIEWPOINTS

This subsection is where I will write the summary of my actual visits in covering the Manila North Road, arranged in chronological order (from latest to oldest).

 ►  2021-December-19

Context of visit: This visit happened when our province of ▼ ILOCOS SUR

LATEST STORIES COVERING ILOCOS SUR

 eased its CoVid restrictions. Me and my brother got so excited to break free from the community quarantine, so we decided to have a ride outside our hometown ▼ VIGAN

LATEST STORIES COVERING VIGAN

. It seemed quick and short, but it felt like the first time again due to the long community quarantine.

This road appeared almost empty at that time. All constructions stopped, and the view of nature as seen from this road looked so refreshing. The nature sent a message that it recovered a lot when human activity minimized its impact during the pandemic. Full story Here: ▼🇵🇭 SANTA • Pandemic Memories in the Manila North Road

🇵🇭 SANTA • Pandemic Memories in the Manila North Road

From the excruciating process of obtaining my travel documents in Makati to a private van ride back home in Ilocos, many of my significant pandemic stories are all in my hard drive.

MAGSAYSAY DISTRICT BEACH, SANTA, ILOCOS SUR
🇵🇭 SANTA • Magsaysay District beach can be seen directly from this segment of the Manila North Road.
FAQs Below are FAQs (frequently asked questions) about the MacArthur Highway.

What is the other name of MacArthur Highway?
• MacArthur Highway is also called the Manila North Road, MNR, or MaNor.

Where does the MacArthur Highway start and end?
• MacArthur Highway starts from Caloocan City in Metro Manila and ends in Aparri, Cagayan.

Where is the MacArthur Highway located??
• MacArthur Highway is located on Luzon island. It runs through the provinces of Bulacan, Pampanga, Tarlac, Pangasinan, La Union, Ilocos Sur, Ilocos Norte, and Cagayan—making this road the second longest in the Philippines after the Maharlika Highway (Pan-Philippine Highway).


HISTORY OF THE MANILA NORTH ROAD
(A TIMELINE OF EVENTS)



1928 • The construction of the MacArthur Highway started during the American occupation—which allowed enterprising Americans to buy swathes of land, including the over 3,000-hectare Malinta Estate (which was acquired in 1904). This road was built in sections [1].

BIBLIOGRAPHY
• [1] Layug, B. (2013, July 10). A window into Valenzuela City’s past. Business Mirror. https://archive.md/20140814084822/http://www.businessmirror.com.ph/index.php/en/lifestyle/life/16219-a-window-into-valenzuela-city-s-past Retrieved, November 11, 2024

This section covers public markets and other public shopping spaces that are located along the Manila North Road.

 ►  Santa Cruz (Ilocos Sur) Public Market

Santa Cruz Public Market is a public property located in the municipality of Santa Cruz, Ilocos Sur along the Manila North Road. See location on Google Local Guides: https://maps.app.goo.gl/C9HEcuHvUF4M7a1r9 . If you are driving along the MNR and was caught by a heavy rain, this public market is a safe haven to keep dry. It has wide parking space and spacious dry market atrium.

For more information, updates, history, reviews, and local guides about the Santa Cruz Public Market, check my other blog article here: ▼ 🇵🇭 STA CRUZ • (Ilocos Sur) Public Market: Local Guide and Review

🇵🇭 STA CRUZ • (Ilocos Sur) Public Market: Local Guide and Review

SANTA CRUZ, ILOCOS SUR PUBLIC MARKET
🇵🇭 SANTA CRUZ • The rain sprinkled the Santa Cruz public market wet one afternoon, as seen from the Manila North Road.

This section covers tourist attractions that could be accessed or seen directly from the highway. The list arrangement is based on their location (the topmost entry is also the northermost).

 ►  Magsaysay District Beach

▼ MAGSAYSAY DISTRICT BEACH

🇵🇭 SANTA • Magsaysay District Beach (Local Guide and Review)

 can be directly seen and accessed from the Manila North Road's segment in Magsaysay District Santa. There is also a part of the highway that runs directly alongside of this beach area separated by a seawall.

Check the Google Maps location here: https://maps.app.goo.gl/cdUw6WproUZatSYz7

MAGSAYSAY DISTRICT BEACH, SANTA, ILOCOS SUR
🇵🇭 SANTA • A portion of the Magsaysay District beach can be seen and sccessed directly from this Manila North Road's section in Santa.

This section covers parts of this highway that are good stopovers for scenery viewing.

 ►  Santa Seawall

The Santa Seawall is a well-known feature of the MacArthur Highway in Ilocos Sur. This segment of the road dissects the mountain and the sea. The road seats on top of the Santa Seawall that also serves to protect the road from storm surges and erosion. This site is a good viewpoint to watch the West Philippine Sea and the Sitio San Jose portion of the Magsaysay District beach. During "ipon" season, this viewpoing is also the best area to see the hundreds of fishing boats catching a priced local seasonal fish called "ipon."

Google Maps location: https://maps.app.goo.gl/cdUw6WproUZatSYz7

SANTA SEAWALL

▲ ▲ ▲
Scroll up to see more contents under each tab.

IMAGE GALLERY


This image gallery is arranged based on context. To see the town or city where the photo was taken, check the watermark. If you want to know additional details of a certain photo like the date it was taken, vantage point, and the camera used, put your mouse cursor over the photo (for PC) or tap and hold the photo (for smartphones).

Photos were arranged from northermost (top) to the southermost (below).

As seen from the Coast of Magsaysay District

MACARTHUR HIGHWAY MACARTHUR HIGHWAY MACARTHUR HIGHWAY

As seen in Magsaysay District (street-level)

MACARTHUR HIGHWAY MACARTHUR HIGHWAY MACARTHUR HIGHWAY MACARTHUR HIGHWAY




▬ END OF ARTICLE ▬



LATEST STORIES COVERING LUZON ISLAND • SEE ALL IN A SEPARATE WINDOW

MORE BLOGS YOU MIGHT LIKE. SEE TABS BELOW.

▼ LUZON ▼ ROADS AND HIGHWAYS ▼ INFRASTRUCTURE

 ►  More 'Luzon' Blogs



MORE STORIES COVERING 'LUZON' | SEE OLDER STORIES

 ►  More 'Roads and Highways' Blogs


MORE STORIES COVERING "ROADS AND HIGHWAYS" | SEE OLDER STORIES

 ►  More 'Infrastructure' Blogs


MORE STORIES COVERING "INFRASTRUCTURE" | SEE OLDER STORIES

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UPDATE HISTORY FOR THIS BLOG POST

2024-December-06
• New photo cover (#5) updated

2024-December-02
• New tab added (MARKETS).
• New entry (Santa Cruz Public Market) added under the MARKETS tab.

2024-December-01
• New tab section added (Tourist Attractions)
• Magsaysay District Beach added under the tourist sttraction tab

2024-November-29
• Image Gallery repositioned below the tab sections.
• New tab section added (features) • New entry added under FEATURES tab (Santa Seawall).

2024-November-28
• Image Gallery 1 and 2 merged tab removed).

2024-November-07
• New tabs created: image gallery 1 and 2
• Added photos in image gallery 1 for photos dated 2021-12-19.
• Added photos street-level photos in image gallery 2 [as seen in Quezon District (street-level)]

2024-November-06:
This post was published.
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Stories of town explorations.
I thought twice. It was so expensive for me. I checked out the time and it was running so fast. I was tempted to go because of the time constraint but I tried to haggle down the prize again...

[Luzon Island, Philippines]
VIRON BUS TERMINAL, VIGAN

It was very early in the morning when I left home to catch the early-bird bus ride at the Viron Bus Station. My hometown ▼ #VIGAN
 was just waking up when I reached its poblacion. 
Vigan's Early Morning Charm
Vigan's main road was empty except for fellow early birds who need to wake up for different reasons. Me? My reason was to reach Cubao on or before 3 PM 'cause I have a flight at 07:20 in the evening.

SIMBAAN A BASSIT, VIGAN
VIGAN'S SIMBAAN-A-BASSIT LOOKS PEACEFUL AT 6 AM.
While waiting for the bus, I was able to see the face of Vigan that's not so familiar to me—its early morning look. I said it's not so familiar to me because I'm normally a nocturnal person that waking up early is a great achievement.

I discovered that the early morning charm of Vigan was the charm I used to see when I was a little kid—when tourists were not yet here, only us, locals.

QUEZON AVENUE, VIGAN
THIS IS QUEZON AVENUE, VIGAN'S MAIN (AND BUSIEST) STREET AT 6 AM. YEAH, 'BUSIEST' STREET.
Vigan's early morning charm was—it's a travel blogger cliché but—nostalgic. It brought back the good, sweet, old memories of being a kid and a dreamer.

Quezon Avenue, Vigan's main street was a deserted road lined with mid-rises. Stores were closed. No economic activity yet. It was like a ghost town. However, at 7 AM, this road transforms fast like a wildfire.

123
This is a typical scene in Vigan before the tourists came rushing in. Uh! Childhood memories also came rushing in this moment.

QUEZON AVENUE, VIGAN
This is Viron Bus Terminal located along Quezon Avenue.

VIRON BUS TERMINAL, VIGAN
Quezon Avenue is deserted at 6 AM.

QUEZON AVENUE, VIGAN

Fast forward, I reached Cubao 9 hours after.
The Cubao Drama
I reached ▼ #MANILA
 from Vigan 9 hours after. I asked the conductor of Viron how to go to ▼ #PASAY
. They suggested I'd take a taxi because I might get late for my flight. The time then was 4 pm and just thinking alone that I might be left by the plane was haunting me like a ghost, creepy.

I haggled with a taxi driver because I wanted a cheaper fare. It wasn't a good idea probably but my hope was high for a discount. He charged me with 500 pesos. I asked if his cab was metered but he answered me that if he would use the meter, I'd add 150 pesos. I thought twice. It was so expensive for me. I checked out the time and it was running so fast. I was tempted to go because of the time constraint but I tried to haggle down the prize again to 400 but to no avail. He reasoned out that the traffic would cost him more than what he would earn. Haaaay. Welcome to Manila!

A security guard from Viron asked me where I was going while haggling with the taxi driver. I said, "Pasay. NAIA."

Then he told me, "Just take a bus." He asked the time of my flight.

I said. "7:20 PM."

"You might get late. Take a cab instead." He replied. I asked him how much should be the justifiable fare for a taxi ride from Cubao to NAIA. He told me at least 300 pesos. So now I'm at least more confident to haggle more. I ditched the first cab.

When a new cab arrived, the kind guard assisted me to deal with the driver. The driver charged me with 450 pesos. The guard haggled for me down to 350 pesos. The driver didn't agree. "I said 400 please", while I put my palms together in front of my chest and took a bow as if I was begging. The driver agreed. I thought it was already a good deal. Yey!
EDSA Notes
On the road, I asked the driver how far NAIA is when there is no traffic. He told me it's normally 1 hour. Wow! For me, that was still a slow drive considering Cubao is two cities away (Pasig, Makati) from Pasay via EDSA (I hope I was right). I was thinking that the Vigan to Laoag route which are 12 towns away via the Manila North Road could only cost me an hour if there is no traffic so I concluded that EDSA would always be a traffic-congested road, at least for now. I asked the driver if we could reach NAIA by 7 PM. He shook his head sideways. Oh no! Creepy.

He didn't answer me instead he made a way to make it faster by using his driving skills in EDSA. I didn't talk. I didn't want to think negative. OMG, I didn't want to be left in NAIA. But you know what, when we were in Ortigas, EDSA cleared. Miracle! Thanks universe! Thank God! On the road, I saw the Newport City performing center and it was my first time to see it. I knew it because I saw it on TV. Then I noticed this Marriott Hotel and Solaire. The latter is famous because it is the venue of some ABS-CBN shows that I watch at home. OMG, I'm so promdi, so overwhelmed to see landmarks that are so "normal" for Manila residents. Newport city looked elegant and neat. I love the building designs. They were so Romanesque.
Reaching NAIA
I finally reached NAIA. A security guard asked me which airline. So I told him the airline where I booked a very cheap flight. It was 5 PM! If I should have known it could be that fast, I should have taken a bus so that I could limit my expenses. 400 as fare was expensive for me. But what could I do? I've done the deal. Anyway, at least I arrived safe. So I have to wait for more than two hours more which I could have used to commute the cheaper way.

This was my first solo backpacking using an airplane. My previous solo backpacking trips were all land trips so this one is a bit different. Did my promdi-ness made me stupid inside the airport? Was I able to follow the airport procedures (first time to do it by myself)? What happened inside the airport while I was waiting? | to be continued...

This is the Episode 01 of Blogserye 05.

✈ BLOGSERYE 05: MY FIRST SOLO BACKPACKING USING AN AIRPLANE

My 20-something spirit wanted to explore the Philippines without riding an airplane. I wanted to visit as many towns as possible in the Philippines via land and sea travel only. However, some airlines' cheap fares were just irresistible, hence, I traveled solo for the first time by flying. Blogserye 05 is a series of narratives and stories about my first solo backpacking using an airplane.

Chapter 01Chapter 02
Chapter 01: Flying Solo for the First Time

This chapter is a series of narratives and stories about my experience of flying solo for the first time.

✈ EPISODE 01: ► Bus Ride Diaries: From Vigan to Cubao to NAIA

✈ EPISODE 02: ▼ Ninoy Aquino International Airport: Notes From My First Solo FlightNAIA TERMINAL 3
▼
I learned from them that physical deficiencies are practically non-existent. It's all about how you maximize your life to the fullest. No one is really handicapped. We could live as a normal being if we choose to.



✈ EPISODE 03: (Up Next)
Coming soon!

✈ BLOGSERYE 05: MY FIRST SOLO BACKPACKING USING AN AIRPLANE

◄ BLOGSERYE 04BLOGSERYE 05

Map Showing the Location of Luzon Island

MAP LUZON ISLAND
► FOOTNOTES, DISCLAIMERS, ACKNOWLEDGMENT, ETC

[1] The above story is the Episode 01 of Blogserye 05. You can bookmark this if you wish to follow this series..

[2] This post was filed under the category "En Route Stories." See more posts related to this below.

[3] The maps I used on this post are from maps.google.com.ph.

[4] All photos are mine.

[5] 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.

LATEST STORIES COVERING LUZON ISLAND | SEE ALL LUZON ISLAND STORIES »

MORE STORIES COVERING LUZON | SEE OLDER STORIES »

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