After 10 hours of rolling the highways of northwest Luzon, we arrived in a small coastal town of Pagudpud. A fairly small settlement of towering coconuts, tiny stores, humble nipa houses and empty market. The town looks peaceful like any other rural communities in the Philippines. As a fast-becoming tourist hub of the north, this sight only means that the invading winds of tourism hasn’t arrived yet in the area. This place is developing on its own by having the tourists appreciate its rural charm without the presence of mass tourism.

Laoag, city, northern Philippines, capital of Ilocos Norte Province, on Luzon Island, near the South China Sea. Laoag is the trade center for the surrounding rice-growing area. The principal exports are rice, corn, sugar, and tobacco