Vigan with Richard Poon

(Wednesday, February 25, 2009 at 5:20pm)

As said in the movie "My Best Friend's wedding", "when you love someone... you say it... otherwise the moment just passes you by"... the same is true when traveling (I'm sorry to disappoint those who thought I'm about to write a love story.. haha).
Since I've worked in Cornerstone (a talent management company spearheaded by His excellency, wondrous supremacy, PR Guru Erickson Raymundo... I can feel my salary going up after this article), i was given the privilege to travel around the country which before i never had the opportunity to do so. Partnered with my stoic views against excessive picture takings and writing diaries, i wasn't able to document most of my travels making those memories in danger of being lost to the wind.
As such, I have resolved to change my ways.
Beginning today, I will strive to put into writing and capture in film my adventures on the road starting with the beautiful city of:

VIGAN

February 1 Sunday. Richard Poon was slated to serenade the candidates at Ms. Ilocos Sur. So after ASAP, we had to take an almost 9 hour drive to Vigan. I said to myself.. Good thing I've got lots of stocked music in my James Bond Phone "C902 Sony Ericsson"- or so I thought (it turned out even a James Bond phone is no match when faced by an ancient monster called Boredom). And as minutes turned into hours and hours seemed like eternity... We finally arrived at the wonderful city of Vigan... The moment we stepped out of the car, its as if we had a time travel to the past. Old Spanish homes are still intact... Walking around you'll see seats in front of old colonial buildings fashioned after Kalesas. The yellow lights illuminating the streets reminiscent of the ones used during Spanish times.
Too bad we only had roughly 4 hours to stay there- and its night time.
The hotel that we stayed in... owned by the very generous Mrs. Vicky Cu... was a mansion fit for a Governor General during the time of Rizal... Every room has its own name... In the hallway, the long wooden dining table reigned supreme with family paintings adorning the walls left and right.
Outside, the garden was alive with people excited with the festivities of the week, surrounded by the stone walls that stood there since Lord knows when.
The place was magical.
To make the long story short, Richard sang at Ms. Ilocos Sur which was staged in front of the Municipal Hall. The crowds cheered. The contestants became excited at the sight of a celebrity. And then we exit (now this is the time when the excitement becomes mine).
When we went back to the hotel to prepare for our long drive back to Manila we manage to take some pictures of ourselves so we can have a souvenir of that place.
Then another 9 hour trip back to Manila.
Good thing I slept for the most part of the journey. And when i woke up, I saw the sight of buses, cars and trucks sheepishly moving side by side in the morning traffic, surrounded by over-sized billboards and semi-majestic skyscrapers... And It dawned on me... I'm back home.