Vigan is a city located on the northwestern coast of Luzon in the Philippines. It is the capital of the Ilocos Sur province and the only UNESCO World Heritage City in the country. Recently, it won as one of the New Seven Wonders Cities of the World.

The main draw of Vigan City are its well-preserved Bahay na Bato structures located at the Meztizo District, its historical core. Currently, there are 187 listed ancestral houses in town. Besides this, it also boasts of beautiful colonial churches, a plaza that comes alive with a fountain show at night, a free-roaming zoo and numerous historical museums.

The city’s cuisine is also quite interesting and numerous restaurants around the area makes it readily accessible to visitors.

There is no denying the popularity of Vigan City for the typical tourist and even veteran travelers. And for those planning to visit it anytime soon, here’s an intensive travel guide, complete with a 2-day and 3-day sample itinerary for a DIY tour of the Vigan City.

Most people assume that there’s only one UNESCO World Heritage Site in New York City. That’s the iconic Statue of Liberty, of course. But, most don’t know that there’s another building in the city that has also been awarded with the prestigious honor of being on the list, Frank Lloyd Wright’s futuristic Guggenheim Museum. Granted this building is only a part of the 20th-Century Architecture of Frank Lloyd Wright group. Now, that’s two.

Having spent four days in Casablanca—three days too long, according to legit traveler standards—we thought of skipping Rabat, Morocco’s capital city, and instead, head straight to Chefchaouen, the country’s famous Blue City. We’ve been reading a bit before going, and Rabat, being one of the four Imperial Cities of Morocco (the other three being Marrakech, Meknes, and Fes) and the UNESCO World Heritage Site inscription attributed to its medina and surrounding sites decided it for us. We’re going.

Our Rabat three-day itinerary basically went like this. The first day, half of which was spent transferring from Casablanca to Rabat, was spent roaming the northern side of the Old Medina—the cliffside area, lighthouse, beach, the kasbah, and parts of the medina. The second day, we went to the farther places in Rabat, visiting the Hassan Tower, the neighboring town of Sale, and the Chellah. On the third day, we roamed the Old Medina again right after breakfast, then prepared for our next destination, Asilah.

I’ve been nagging my travel partner, like forever, for us to visit the Singapore Botanic Gardens every time we take a trip to the Lion City. She would say yes, but that would be it. We would always skip it on the itinerary. One time, she ‘fessed up, “what the heck are we gonna do there?” She exasperatedly asked me. Well. I really have no idea, I just wanted to see it since it’s the only UNESCO World Heritage Site in Singapore. Honestly, I just wanted to cross it off my list of World Heritage Sites to visit, lol.

VISITING THE SINGAPORE BOTANIC GARDEN, AT LONG LAST

So, after much more nagging, we finally went to the gardens, the oldest of its kind in Singapore, like 158 year-old old. This garden is older than my grandma’s rheumatic grandma. I was readying for a good belting of I-told-you-so, after our visit.

Alone, I ascended the steps leading up to Australia’s iconic Sydney Opera House. My companions were nowhere to be found, probably still busy taking selfies along its grounds. They seemed unfazed and underwhelmed by the opera’s beauty and wasn’t that keen on seeing it up close. But I was determined not only to see this architectural masterpiece up close, but also feel it against my bare hands.

SYDNEY OPERA HOUSE’S CONCEPTUAL DRAWING

I graduated with an Architecture degree at the University of Santo Tomas, and the Sydney Opera House has been one of the most frequent examples we were ingrained with as to how designs shouldn’t just be about boxes. Breaking out of the box was the most important thing we were taught on our design subjects.

Slowly, the cable car descended from the escarpment and onto the lush valley below. Facing the red sandstone rock wall, the view opened up, revealing its massive face, eroded by time. The jagged pillars protruding like fingers from the east side of the wall came into view, what locals call the Three Sisters, and a few moments later, the canopy of the massive trees enveloped us. Ladies and gentlemen, we just descended to the Jurassic rainforest of the Blue Mountains.

SCENIC WORLD AT THE BLUE MOUNTAINS

What we really came to the Blue Mountains for was Scenic World. It’s a family-owned business that run various rides—no, not theme park rides—at the Blue Mountains. We saw it thru one of the many tours that Klook offers in and around Sydney. It’s located on a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is only an hour and a half by train from Sydney, so we thought, why not?

Surrounded in bluish haze, we stood transfixed in front of three enormous jagged sandstone rocks rising proudly from a forested valley, almost a thousand meters below. The Three Sisters—legend has it that these were three girls from the Katoomba Tribe who fell in love with three men from its neighboring Nepean Tribe. Forbidden by law from marrying, the men took the sisters, promptly starting a war. An elder shaman then turned the sisters into stones, trying to protect them, but unfortunately, got killed during the war. No one else since was able to turn them back.

THE THREE SISTERS AT THE BLUE MOUNTAINS

But it was all a hoax. The legend isn’t a legit aboriginal story but was something purportedly made up by a local to stir more interest to the landmark. But the Three Sisters need no legend, it’s a legend in itself.

Without umbrellas, we braved the incessant rains and visited the olden temples of Nikko. It was pouring harder than the previous days and it was incredibly hard to go from one place to the next. The scenery, century-old temples on backdrops of pre-autumn foliage was nothing short of poetic. But taking photographs was out of the question as our lenses quickly filled with droplets the moment we train them on anything. One thing was for sure, we needed umbrellas!

USING THE NIKKO TRAVEL PASS

As with our one day Hakone Free Pass Tour, we booked our Nikko Travel Pass from Klook right after booking our cheap flight from Manila to Tokyo via Cebu Pacific. We got it the same day we booked our previous tour via the easy-to-use app on our phone—easy breezy. The pass can be used for two to four days in Nikko and Kinugawa—including transfers from Tokyo and back—and it is unlimited. As a bonus, you can also utilize it for discounts on selected tourism facilities and souvenirs shops in Nikko, Kinugawa, and even Asakusa!

Our last stop, before ending our two-month backpacking trip across Asia, is the Imperial Citadel of Thang Long or simply, Hanoi Citadel. The place, with its gated walls stretching for a city block, caught our attention during our Ba Dinh District Tour of Hanoi. Unfortunately, it was already closed when we spotted it, so we had to come back the next day just to see it.

PART OF THE CITADEL WALL

But why come back at all when we can simply chill on our last day of our Same Same Summer Trip? From the outside, it does look impressive, add in the massive Doan Mon Gate and its label as a UNESCO World Heritage Site—one of the seven in Vietnam—and we just knew that we’d have to see what’s inside its walls.

From karate chops and thrown punches, the martial arts group that was with us stopped their frenzied activities and finally paused to enjoy the scenery. Night was slowly descending, aboard a medium-sized cruise boat, we watched from the topside as the sky, a fiery orange a moment ago, transformed into muted pastels. Halong Bay’s waters, reflecting the heavens, was absolutely golden.

HALONG BAY ON OUR MIND

This was our first time in Halong Bay, but it wasn’t the first time we’ve booked a trip here. Almost a year back, during our first visit to Hanoi, we availed of Klook’s Halong Bay Daytour Cruise, but due to inclement weather we had to cancel.

We walked the same path leading to the Imperial Citadel of Hue, the same one we trodded on twelve hours ago. The difference was, it was fully dark then—the former imperial capital of Vietnam, its red walls shining bright like a gem against a darkened sky. Now, with a background of gray brooding skies, it looked drab and lifeless. But we really didn’t have much of a choice, we can’t wait for bright blue skies and sunshine with less than a day left in Hue.

THE CITADEL FLAG TOWER IN HUE

Waking early from Flora Hotel Hue, we hailed a cab that took us straight to the ancient Imperial City. It was about thirty minutes away by foot, definitely walkable, but we were chasing time. We exit out of Hue towards Hanoi that same afternoon—we’re thinking of Kiwitaxi, one of the most reliable transfers in Vietnam.

While temples and museums are alright with us, visiting a slew of them in one go is simply too much. We’ve had our fair share of temple runs in Siem Reap, Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, Ayutthaya, Penang, and Yogyakarta, and we always felt, well, ran out, afterwards. It was too much of a sensory overload. This time, we’re having it at, of all places, Vietnam. I’d never thought there’d be that many temples (and museums) in a single area on a socialist country like Vietnam.

INSIDE ONE OF THE MANY MUSEUMS IN HOI AN

We never really signed up for this, it was totally forced on us. While entering the Hoi An Ancient Town, we were stopped by a guard and was asked to buy a ticket containing five entrance stubs to any temples, museums, or workshops we would like to go for VND120,000.00 (USD5.30 | PHP270.00). They didn’t tell us we don’t really need this to enter old town. And should they have, we would have entirely forgone this part of our Hoi An tour.

It was all yellow. It was early morning (too early for us, in fact) when we revisited Hoi An’s Ancient Town. The area was devoid of people, the shops lining its narrow streets, still closed. We were left wandering alone along its silent colonial houses, each one of them painted in wonderful bright yellows.

GOING TO HOI AN ANCIENT TOWN

Our first visit to Old Town Hoi An was less than twenty four hours ago. And we hated it.

Walking all the way from Kiman Hotel, located on the outskirts of the old district, passing food stalls hawking cao lao noodles and numerous tailor shops—apparently Hoi An is the go to place if you want something tailor made, that goes for both shoes and snazzy dresses—we arrived at what seemed to be a checkpoint for tourist along one of its sidestreets.

It was strange, a chilly morning in Malaysia. The only temperature I know when in the country is hot, and hotter. The clouds were low, thinly blanketing the ridges of the karsts surrounding us, overgrown with hardy vegetation. Below, the water was almost green, its color muffled by the gray clouds overhead. Boats zigged and zagged along its placid surface, ferrying early tourists along the mangroves, their faces marveling at the scenery along the geopark.

The narrow asphalt-laden streets of Penang sparkled after a particularly heavy downpour. We were just in time, alighting from our van as the rain abated. We walked and found a delighted boy clutching mightily at her sister while riding a bike; a wall painting that is now synonymous with the city. I have seen this boy through the years, his face always the same, still giddy with excitement, his sister, still confidently pedaling the bike several times bigger for her size. I have grown older every time I see them, and they have not.

The UNESCO World Heritage City of Georgetown was one of the two, the other being Langkawi, shore excursions that the SuperStar Gemini offers to its cruisers. The ship’s guests can actually choose over several tour packages while on the cruise, each varying in activities to suit any traveler’s taste.

My throat was parched and my breathing, ragged. I trudged, unwillingly, for a few more steps uphill before I turned my back. The view blossomed like a flower right before my eyes; four coves ringed with white beaches, cradling jade green waters within its embrace. Dividing them, a range of craggy peaks rose into a falsetto, their surfaces a grassland of dried bushes, golden brown against the lively greens of the sea, dotted with notes of green trees here and there. I took in the fresh breeze, breathing it fully, savoring its fresh salty taste before letting Padar Island’s panorama take it all away again.

We treaded along a dusty trail with the utmost quietness; climbing slowly up a hill, each step sending loose small rocks rolling behind us. What we’re on the lookout for, dragons. Not the mythical fire-breathing Targaryen types, but a smaller, more real one—the komodo kind. As we crested the hilltop, we couldn’t help but loudly marvel at the sight before us; the island’s verdant foliage meeting with the aquamarine sea, and beyond, brown rugged mountains dotted with sparse trees. “Shhhh,” our guide said.

AN ADULT KOMODO DRAGON RESTING AFTER A MEAL

We were at the Indonesia’s famed Komodo Island and we’re here to see the largest living reptile in the world, the komodo dragons. And even though these creatures are deaf towards very low and loud sounds, their sense of smell, which they utilize using their forked tongues like their reptilian kin, is extremely sensitive. With the searing weather, our sweat-drenched bodies were definitely a prime target.

The sun rose like a god. Breathing life to layers of what was once a dark and lifeless landscape. Giving forms and shapes to a massive temple, unfolding seconds by brighter seconds, right before our very eyes. It awakened the land, birthing a brand new day. But for travelers who got up at the ungodly hour of two in the morning to witness this rebirth, it awoke something else entirely; the switch button from the heavy cameras hanging about their necks.

Crumbling angled brick walls, terraced several feet high from each other, surrounded me as I stepped on one of its edges. I gazed down, admiring the remains of this ancient Sinhalese fortress with its now muddy pools, dusty stairways and ruined terraces. To be honest, it really wouldn’t stand out from all the temples I’ve visited around Asia, especially those in Siem Reap, except this one is built on top of a massive natural rock, 660 feet high from the ground and with no natural stairs to climb on to.

THE CAVE TEMPLE OF DAMBULLA

We’ve been eyeing Sri Lanka’s so-called cultural triangle ever since we obtained our tickets to this country. We knew we’d just have to pass by the area during the middle of our Beach Hop Asia 2016 tour. Sri Lanka is the longest country we’d be staying in for our two-month trip around Asia.

It’s not about its colorfully crumbling shophouses converted into hawker and souvenir stalls. it’s not the intricate temples. It’s not even the centuries old stone fort where the town started. Nor even its numerous museums. What made Georgetown stand out on the tourist map are its flaky walls. No, they’re not the foot-thick colonial wall types that once protected cities like these from invaders, they’re ordinary walls made from hollow blocks and concrete but painted with whimsical street scenes of children playing and interacting with real life appurtenances, like in the case of one of the most famous in town, a simple bike standing against a blank white wall.

A QUIETER AREA AT GEORGETOWN, PENANG

RESTORED TRADITIONAL SHOPHOUSES IN GEORGETOWN

Never mind that Georgetown has been designated by the UNESCO as a world heritage site, what drives tourists here are these paintings. And they’re not about to ooh and aah at the intricacies of each stroke too. What they’re interested in is how they would pose right beside it, as their friend or they themselves, snap a selfie and proclaim that they have indeed visited Georgetown, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Call me a cynic, but during our first and second trip to Penang’s capital city, that’s how the way I saw the dice roll.