First stop-> San Francisco to pick up my travel buddy (not to be confused with travel Buddha). See you all in SFO!
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Apr 06 2026
Little travel Buddha and I have begun our journey to the homeland…
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Apr 06 2026
Never seen anything like this in an airport! All these free seats and no one fighting! Let’s hope that SFO is just as relaxing
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Apr 07 2026
Just landed in SFO! That was a quick flight considering that we left late!
I think they made up the loss time. Now to find my baggage and find my family for some much needed rice! Haha
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Apr 08 2026
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Apr 08 2026
We finally landed in The Philippines!
But…
“Miles to go before we sleep;
Miles to go before we sleep.” -Robert Frost
Can we PLEASE have some halo-halo??
Breakfast at McD’s!
Auntie Fe was a bit peckish… so we stopped to eat
Weirdest bathroom lock I ever seen! Their loos require a lot of getting used to!
I can’t believe we made it out of the building but maybe we should have stayed inside! Haha
It was cooler in there. They’re duty free looked like a pop up in there but maybe it was only THAT side of the terminal. But look! We’re free!
Peeked inside 7-11 candy aisle
I usually take pix of weird signs I see
Heading to the province
Oh look! It’s my little dragon with me!! 🥰♥️
Ok… Kenny Roger‘a garlic fried rice will work
We successfully landed in PI and then we get stuck in immigration! We did not fill out this digital form and we were stuck there for nearly an hour!!
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Apr 08 2026
Made it to Taipei and just watching and waiting for planes to go by. One more stretch to go!
Until then… look at their airport
Check out all the flips waiting to board first! Ayo Apo!!
Taiwanese coffee tea latte! Interesting but I like it!
Sanrio airplane like Dina wanted! Hehe
Auntie Nona telling me where to snap a pic! Haha
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Apr 08 2026
We made it safely to the province! Phew!
The roads are similar to sylmar (pot hole city!) but overall, it’s not like I remembered! It’s more crowded! Haha
I guess this is the paddy wagon! 😳🫣
Grandma’s house! Can it be a little higher up!
See how nice the road is here? Well, that’s outside the province…
Look how thick this stair is! How big was the tree they
This is the kitty door! Haha
Hmmm… don’t need any explanation here
This is their newest child! Her name is Sampaguita! I say they change her name to Gandhi! Short for maganda! Haha
Water tower
Looks like this tree is pointing to something special
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Apr 09 2026
Aunties Nona and Paz in front of us
Going to San Juan market
A sign from Pop^
Our lovely hosts
Gramma’s house
In the bantay to feed the goats
Get ready to find cool and unusual things we do not have in the states
Longanisa + scrambled eggs on the beach
Auntie trying to call everyone to eat
Friendly cat looking for free grub
This is how small the doom buggies are here!!
Facing the wrong way in traffic
Another view of my death machine
Look at these JUMBO DEATH SHELLFISH!!
Also known as shrimps (or prawns??)
Fresh mango smoothies! Yummmm!
One of gramma’s decor outside
Apples seem the most expensive
If you don’t pay attention, you don’t realise how scary it is in this tricycle!
Auntie Nona gave this to me to ward off evil 👿
This goat is raout!
San Juan beach
Daing na bangus
Big house vs little house (ancestral)
The sisters! 🥰♥️
Freshly made tupig
The doom buggies
Look how much the fruit cost!
60 pesos = $1
Fresh buko juice
Auntie Fe and me
Ooh! A mall!!
Our faithful driver!
Interesting German name! Von Diaz
Yes!! That’s how big they are, compared to my hand
Leaving my ducks behind
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Apr 09 2026
We quickly stopped at the market place to get some grain/feed for the goats and I think Auntie Nona picked up some gulay for dinner.
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Apr 09 2026
I picked the closest point to the Bantay in back of the house. That way you can see the Auntie’s goats (part 1) from up there. There are supposed to be 3-4 levels but with Auntie’s knee acting up I stayed on level 1 with her. We just watched the goats and chickens eat.
And then we were offered fresh buko juice by a nice lady named Shirley who also makes tupig!!
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Apr 09 2026
So we took a field trip to the mall where it’s cooler than being outside
Always good to go to Starbucks to see what they offer locally. Check out the pandesal!
Beware of the Doom Buggies!!
Below are some things we cannot find back home
SM Mall San Fernando City
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Apr 10 2026
I don’t have reception outside this house so… you won’t see a lot of action on my map but I will post pix as the day progresses. It’s still early here.
Waiting to head out to San Fernando …
Here is the Coke bottling place where Pop used to bring an empty bottle in exchange for a full one
Auntie Nona has a restaurant!!
Found a Doom Buggy…
Look how dangerously low we are to the ground!
Stuff I saw through my “lens” as we zipped by on the street
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Apr 10 2026
Made it here in our doom buggy!
Trying this place… give you review in a little bit
Pandan coconut pie (we shared 1 slice)
The we got ditched to explore the mall on our own and hopefully make it back to Panicsican in one piece!
We went in search for face wash at their pharmacy (Watson) and then bookstore (National Book Store) \240but came out empty handed.
Then we explored the grocery and afterwards ran out of energy (heat + humidity = running on empty) so we stopped at “Mary Grace” at the recommendation of Auntie Fe.
Valencia Hot Chocolate
This is what we ended up with…
Mary Grace Hot Chocolate
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Apr 10 2026
Why does the rooster wake up BEFORE the sun comes up!
Stupid thing!!
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Apr 11 2026
We are on our way to Luna, La Union to see a place called “Bahay na Bato”. It translates to House of Stone. It was built near Peeble Beach and the only beach in the North that has rocks/pebbles instead of sand.
Hidden in the mangrove
This looks like my parents
I just missed her looking at me
Translation: “Not all food goes to the stomach, some go to your thighs and chin”
Short video of the last room of curiosity
Mangrove plants
Peeble Beach
You can somewhat see little seats down below from the house to admire the beach….but you’ll be fooled that those seats are cool and refreshing! I think you’re casted in bronze!
Looks like we made it!
Close up of the walkway to the beach
What a beautiful smile you have, Auntie!!
View of some things I saw on the way to Luna
Entrance to the house
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Apr 11 2026
The auntie twins took me out for a cool adventure! They introduced me to Auntie Bella! She is sooo cool!
Stairway to Heaven
These stairs lead nowhere. So… for now, I am dubbing it stairway to heaven.
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Apr 11 2026
I went to 97 MacArthur Hwy (ancestral house) this morning…
One of the buckets left behind from the the typhoon last year.
Throughout the house you will see pictures of the windows with little squares. Those are all really old windows! They are the ancestral windows made of capiz shells but the previous residents had painted over them. Oooh! Gramma must be livid
I don’t know what happened to the previous residents. I know they were NOT the twins or anyone belonging to the Marta Padua line. Someone from our family but not someone from our branch.
Going up to the second floor
Jumbo spider 🕷️ you have to look out for.
Another sample of the capiz windows.
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Apr 12 2026
We are on our way to see Auntie Greg… we should have stopped at the Basilica but we kept going on…
We got a ride with Auntie Blanca and Uncle JR.
They actually fill your car up for you!!
Some pictures of our trip to Auntie Greg’s place.
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Apr 12 2026
We made it Auntie Greg’s place.
We were met by Auntie Emily (I don’t know how we’re related but some of these people I will just add the customary Auntie/Uncle until I clarify). And their vicious looking dogs.
One of their dogs looked like he had Parkinson’s but I later found out that he caught some virus and it left him having seizures. They had another dog that caught the same viral infection but that dog is not as bad but has some minor twitching. I think that dog is named Jack.
I also met Uncle Alphonso the hubby of Auntie Natty (short for Natividad). He was so nice! Since retiring from the navy he had don’t some restoration work on his humble abode.
Orange soda for Pooh! Haha
This is his version of a weedwhacker!
He was telling me that during the wet months the grass grows quite quick and tall as if overnight! So his weed whacker needed to be more like a mini lawnmower.
Shower head he put outside in his homemade outdoor loo.
Special fish for the area.
Pakbet (Ilocano style!)
Here is Auntie Greg!
That little bungalow is auntie natty’s project. It’s a 2bd house and a starfruit tree in the background
Everyone seems to have a cal like this all over the place. Auntie Nona said they’re twins
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Apr 12 2026
On the way back to Panicsican…
This looks like something you should see in a dispensary
Each town has their own name plate + 10 commandments posted. I have no clue why.
Auntie Paz said that we could stop for halo halo! Yippee!! \240So we made a stop at Chow King in San Fernando City.
Should have gotten the coco mango halo halo
Ilocos training and rehabilitation centre.
I hope the treatment and rooms look better than the outside
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Apr 12 2026
We stopped in Bacnotan to pick up food and the places and things you see in this town is eye opening… but then again, it is completely different from being on the mainland.
Now you can see how low to ground we are in the doom buggy!
There are no seatbelts in those things either! I have found that seatbelts are optional here. No wonder my parents had to reminded EVERY.SINGLE.TIME they got into a car!
It’s scary being on the road here. Truly it is! I have been doing the sign of the cross every single time I step and out of those doom buggies!
I found a Shein Outlet!
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Apr 13 2026
What I do waiting …
The Aunties take forever to do stuff! Seriously! It’s driving Auntie Nona and me batty! We had been waiting to go to mass since 6am because mass starts at 7.30am. Auntie Nona was very specific about attending mass! Well… it’s 8am and we’re still waiting for the twins to get ready!
Auntie Pazzie is all over the place and Auntie Fe is MIA.
We also have to go see Auntie Greg too. Oh well… the pup and I will just stay up here where is cooler.
To be continued…
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Apr 14 2026
Some pix of our trip to Rosario-Damortis
I have no clue WHHHHHHY they have the 10 commandments everywhere and the country is so corrupt.
Agoo basilica - Our Lady of Charity
Uncle Alfonso put a complete bathroom in his backyard. He gives new meaning to an outhouse!
Homemade grass cutter for after monsoon season
Twin cats
Ugh! Flips and their orange soda
His shower head - a hose + plastic storage container with holes.
They still have people pump your gas for you!
Auntie Natty’s house and Her hubby’s house in back
Aunties Nona and Greg together again’
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Apr 15 2026
Sampa doing selfies on my phone!
Now you can see what I saw in the doom buggy…
Sampa’s tormentor on the window sill waiting to pounce on her!
The aunties wanted to go the market in San Fernando… below is the trip there.
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Apr 15 2026
Just some things you see on market day in San Fernando…
These ladies are selling fresh squid. Again… the smell! Yuck.
Tiny pompano
Damortis fruit… tastes like cotton balls 😑
I could not venture too far on the fish side because the smell was appalling to me but then again… I’m a city girl who gets her fish from a counter at Whole Foods!
Looks kinda icky to me with mud and whatnot covering them
Probably the worst smell in the market! Dried fish is intolerable to my system
The twins told me they have dog rice. I didn’t really believe it was such a thing
Too bad you cannot see these fish flip flopping on the table
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Apr 15 2026
We went to the twins’ fave bake shop after the market…
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Apr 15 2026
We went to the twins’ fave bake shop after the market…
The rules of the loo…
So… auntie Nona and I needed to go home to put the fish in the fridge but we could not wait for the tricycle inside…
When auntie Nona was standing in front of the fan… you can smell fish throughout the bake shop… so, out of consideration for others… we waited outside.
How many public bathrooms in the states do you know of that have a shower in it??
The twins’ fave drink… iced coffee (Jaypee’s special blend)
Auntie Fe told us to go to the “CR” to see the graffiti on the wall… this is what I found
The toilets do not automatically come with toilet paper… they have some hose on the side and they call it a “bidet”.
Shawarma flip style
Sisig - assuming it’s Ilocano style
The twins’ fave pastries - cream puffs
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Apr 15 2026
We called our driver, Ismael to help us out at the mall. He’s so nice! He does translations, carry our
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Apr 15 2026
We called our driver, Ismael to help us out at the mall. He’s so nice! He does translations, carry our bags and does a lot for the 2 of us.
So we tried Ilocano halo halo …
It was a bit weird and the first thing Auntie says, “I don’t like it!” Just like her brother would say to me!
Why would she say such a thing… because it had CHEESE in it! As in Parmesan cheese! On top was like the green bottle version and on the “junky” bottom was shredded Parmesan! Who does THAT?!
Apparently… it’s a new thing in flip homeland! They put cheese in new places.
This place does NOT have walls!
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Apr 16 2026
I had to escape the house because it was hella noisy!
There was noise coming from all angles not just what I heard but everything was too busy for me. The cat chasing the pup, and whining about something; the big dog, Lucky, was complaining about the same tormenting whiny cat and then Auntie Paz yelling at said cat to stop. Then the roosters and then again with the rooster, and the sounds of tricycles passing by… ack!! So I called Ismael to take me to the mall so I could wander around by myself. Too much socialising irritates my introverted nature…
So he took me to CSI mall La Union. There are only 3 malls in the vicinity \240and they happen to be really close to each other. For instance… CSI is across the street from SM mall.
didn’t last long in CSI so I called Ismael to take me to SM again so I could leisurely wander looking at bookshops, blind boxes, stationery stores etc. oh what a relief!!
Butter sugar toast
Whoopsies! Power out at the mall
Back to normal…
Still looking for a small suitcase to bring home pasalubongs
They still have fried apple pies but they’re smaller than the ones on the mainland
Sue in Dutch means “sister”
In LA… our malls are pretty named after towns or streets like Sherman Oaks Galleria, Topanga square, Northridge mall but Flips?? They like acronyms that have no meaning to me… but… I did venture into Mc’Ds for lunch! They have fried chicken happy meals!
I got chicken leg happy meal with a lychee drink. Wow! It was delicious and I wasn’t THAT hungry!
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