Pangasinan Trip

Pangasinan is a province 4-5 hour drive north of Manila. As the third most populous province in the Philippines after Cebu and Negros Occidental, people call themselves Pangasinense or Pangalatok and speak Pangasinan, Ilocano and Bolinao dialects.

Several tourist spots can be found in the province, but the most notable is the Hundred Islands.

At the coast of Lucap in Alaminos City, you can hire a day-trip boat to the most famous tourist spot in Pangasinan, the Hundred Islands. The Hundred Islands, 124 islands in total at low tide and 123 islands at high tide are scattered along the Lingayen Gulf. With these hundred islands, only three have been developed for tourists. These are the Governor Island, the Quezon Island and the Children’s Island.

Apparently there were no hotel or inn accomodations in those islands but one can bring tents for their overnight stays. We stayed at the Governor’s island for a night. It’s also considered as a national park so tourists are required to pay environment fees as well.

An hour drive from the Alaminos City is the capital town of the province which is Lingayen. Aside from the famous Lingayen beach, the Pangasinan capitol building is undoubtedly one of the best government building in the country. Built in 18th century, it’s the seat of government in the province.

At the back of the building you will see a great view of the Lingayen beach where the annual Pistay Dayat festivities are held.

Few hours drive to the east and passing Dagupan City is the town of Manaoag, famous for the Shrine of Our Lady Of Manaoag. This site is famous especially to the Catholic devotees of the Blessed Virgin Mary. As a predominant Christian nation in Asia, pilgrims and people from all over Luzon flock to this church.

Other tourist spots here in the province are Bolinao, Dagupan, San Fabian, Anda and Dasol beaches and Mangataren hot springs. It’s also famous with food which includes the best bangus, the local term for milkfish and the puto in Calasiao town. Would probably post another entry for food stuff next time.

Archipelago Tour in Stockholm

In our stay in Stockholm, our colleagues hosted  a dinner for us. It’s a different dinner as we boarded a steam boat for an archipelago tour. Stockholm is composed of islands and islets and ferries are available as a means of transport. So from our office in Kista, we went to Stockholm metro locally known as Stockholm tunnelbana straight to Kungsträdgården station to board Storskär boat for the tour. It was a 2-3 hour tour to the islets of Stockholm so dinner was also served. s/s Storskär is the Archipelago’s fastest steamboat which aside from the tour, it also serves passengers to and from Stockholm suburbs including Vaxholm.

The classic steamboat menu served includes ship herring inlaid with cheese and crispbread for the first course. It was my first time to taste herring and its almost the same taste as mackerel. It’s food that they did not serve the fermented one

For the second course, steamboat steak served traditionally with fried onions and potatoes. This meal was very heavy as lots of potatoes were spread under the steak.

Vanilla ice cream with fresh seasonal berries. Of course dinner is not complete without Swedish beer and schnapps. Swedes always wants to have a good time so are we.

It was so far one of the best experiences in Stockholm to explore the city. Food is undoubtedly good and with a great company, you cannot really ask for more.

Stockholm: The Capital of Scandinavia

Stockholm: The Capital of Scandinavia

Scandinavia is a region in northern Europe that comprises of Denmark, Iceland, Norway, Finland and Sweden. Stockholm is the biggest city in Sweden and undoubtedly the most cosmopolitan among the capital cities in the region. From Linkoping in the Ostergotland region we traveled by train via SJ trains which also connects to Stockholm Arlanda airport and to down south to Copenhagen in Denmark. It was a two-hour trip and we arrived at Stockholm Central station where you can connect to Stockholm metro. Other alternative route is 3 hour bus ride from Linkoping via www.swebusexpress.com

From train station we went right away to the Stochholm royal garden, locally known as Djurgården.  You can see how beautiful the city is from the island. It was good that the sun was shining brightly, perfect for spring weather so every Swedes that time are out doing some outdoor activities. Famous attractions in Djurgården area include the Vasa Museum, Nordic Museum and the open museum Skansen. We visited the Vasa Museum as it’s the most famous. These tourist spots are interconnected by a tram as well.

Vasa Museum is where the famous Vasa warship stands. Relics and artifacts about the Vasa ship are stored in the museum. Brief history on the Vasa ship, it sank after sailing within 2kms on her maiden voyage. It’s actually a small museum that generally occupied by the Vasa ship. We skipped Skansen and Nordic Museum as were rushing to meet colleagues in Gamla Stan area. Stockholm Old Town or popularly known as Gamla Stan is an area in the city. Stockholm is composed of thousands of islets interconnected with bridges. It was lovely design for a city that’s why Stockholm is one of the most beautiful capital cities in the world.

Gamla Stan is also where the Swedish Royal Palace is located. Also in the are are other government, arts buildings, theaters and other architectural landmarks in Scandinavia. Stockholm trip will not be complete without the archipelago tour. It’s a tour by a steamboat with dinner and drinks. It was a great experience looking at the city from the sea. One of the best views, the archipelago tour also includes a visit to several islands near the capital.  Not to mention food was one of the best dinners I’ve got in Sweden. The package includes tour and food which includes herring with cheese, crisp bread, steamboat steak, with fried onions and potatoes and choice of beer or schnapps

It was only a 3-day stay in Stockholm including work day so no time to really explore the numerous museums and attractions in the city. Stockholm is also the H&M hub where every block has a branch. Hope to explore more of Stockholm. Definitely a lovely city and the capital of Scandinavia.