CABUGAO, Ilocos Sur, Philippines

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The discreet charms of Ilocos
Discover a different side of the Philippines.
By Janos Gereben

CABUGAO, Ilocos Sur, Philippines -- It does not behoove a veteran traveler to gush, but I can't help it. Here, near the northern tip of the Philippines, there is an unspoiled, utterly beautiful, inexpensive resort paradise.

At the Cabugao Beach Resort, you sit under palm trees rustling in the warm, gentle breeze, between the swimming pool and a peacefully curving ocean beach, perfect for swimming, bodysurfing or just floating. The ambient sound under the peaceful silence is of the waves and of children playing nearby, and all, it seems, is well with the world.

Then, all rested, you hop over to the nearby provincial capital for some active tourism. Behold Vigan, the 16th-century Spanish colonial town, so well preserved that it has been named a UNESCO World Heritage Site. And yet, it's not a museum, but rather a vital, interesting, fun city, playing out over the history of centuries - the province's Spanish heritage began with the arrival of Juan de Salcedo in 1572.

Cabugao reminds me of similar tropical destinations I visited many years ago, places in Hawaii, Fiji and the Cook Islands, but not lately, and not with a better combination of basic comforts, natural, easy-going native charm and without affectation or rampant commercialism.

Under the somewhat grandiose name of beach resort, this $50-a-night hotel-by-the-sea features small, basic, clean rooms. They are quite without piles of pillows, TV or Internet service. There are no porters or captains or guest service counters and only one mellow armed guard, nothing like the all-pervasive scenes of bomb-sniffing dogs and car inspections everywhere in Manila hotels.

In truth, if you seek luxury at a good price, the gorgeous Shangri-La Hotel in Cebu cannot be matched for a sleek, artsy, complete resort experience. At $200 a night, it's a bargain. But if you prefer paying a quarter of that price, and actually enjoy NOT having a phalanx of "guest service facilitators" all around you, come to Cabugao. Cabugao Beach Resort, email: cabugaobeachresort@yahoo.com.ph.

It's just a 50-minute flight from Manila (or an overnight drive through the mountains, not recommended) to Laoag, capital of the province of Ilocos Norte. Cabugao and Vigan are in neighboring Ilocos Sur. North and South, the two provinces are home to the Ilocano, the people who 70 years ago started the Filipino migration to Hawaii's sugarcane fields. (Manila's Tagalog, Cebu's Cebuano, and people from other of the many distinct regions followed.)

Landing in Laoag is another flashback experience, to the time when Pacific islands had small airfields instead of the huge cookie-cutter concrete blocks of today. (When I first arrived in Kona, there was - honest! - a grass shack serving as the terminal.) But small and informal as Laoag may be, with low-key security and passengers walking to and from the planes, the sign proclaims it an international airport. And, in fact, it serves flights from Korea, China, Hong Kong.

You can drive from Laoag to Cabugao in an hour, but then you'd miss out on attractions as varied as native son Ferdinand Marcos' open crypt (Imelda refuses to have the former president buried until he is allowed in Manila's Cemetery of Heroes), a profusion of garlic stands along the road, the ancient and most unusual St. Augustine's Church in Paoay, a 1694 "Earthquake Baroque" edifice, with 24 dark, phantasmagorical carved buttresses.

Then, on your visit to Vigan, look out for another notable church, the Cathedral of Vigan. Five points for recognizing it as a "church in Mexico" visited by Tom Cruise in The Fourth of July. St. Paul's Cathedral stands at the junction of Vigan's impressive town square and the street of old colonial houses - the UNESCO-recognized Calle Crisologo, rows of real, authentic ancestral houses, the cobblestone street kept so clean that it reminds me of Disneyland. Parked at the cathedral and providing transportation on the car-free Calle Crisologo: dozens of calesas, imaginatively decorated horse-drawn carriages.

Across the cathedral, there is a McDonald's. You can safely bypass it and patronize restaurants or even street stalls with fish fresh from the sea, a riot of vegetables and fruit - mangoes, papaya and durian - black seeds that "taste heavenly and smell like hell."

At night, Vigan offers outdoor shows, free community presentations, including the annual Miss Vigan competition; it's in November, in case you want to time your visit with that in mind.

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Janos Gereben, originally from Budapest, has worked as writer and editor for publications in New York (Herald-Tribune, UPI, Time-Life), Honolulu (Star-Bulletin), San Jose (Mercury-News), and - for the past two decades - in San Francisco, at the Post Newspaper Group, Classical Voice, and S.F. Examiner. He works as arts editor, music and theater critic, technology journalist, but for fun, he writes about movies and travel. Special favorites: London, Berlin, Morocco, the Philippines, and Iceland - where he was pickled, happily, in volcanic, sulphurous Blue Lagoon, shown here. Not visible: the swimsuit immortalized here.

All information presented here is accurate at the time of publication but prices, dates and other details are all subject to change. Please confirm all information before making any travel arrangements.

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