The sharper edge to traveling in Asia

A colonial hotel and great restaurant in Vigan, Philippines

The picturesque northwestern Luzon city of Vigan is a colonial treasure, highly recommended by WoWasis for her outstanding architecture. While there, we stayed at the Villa Angela, a wonderful rambling colonial house that’s been turned into an inn, and found an exceptional restaurant, Café Leona.  Villa Angela, on Quirino Boulevard, is within easy walking distance […]

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WoWasis book review: Sterling Seagrave’s ‘The Marcos Dynasty’

Travelers to the Philippines will invariably want to find out more about the history of the country after having seen it, but good books (and bookstores!) in the Philippines are hard to find. In particular, books on Philippine history are virtually impossible to be found anywhere.  In the picturesque northern Luzon city of Vigan, for […]

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Vigan: the Philippines’ jewel of colonial architecture

The picturesque west Luzon town of Vigan is relatively little-known, probably because it’s so damn hard to get there. A good 8 hours north by car from Angeles City-Manila, this town of fascinating colonial homes and two-wheeled carriages was founded in 1572. It makes for a wonderful 2 day stop, and if you can plan […]

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