A 250.00 pesos stay at Saud Beach, Pagudpud Ilocos Norte.

It was 2PM that time when I was on a bus going to Pagudpud. I was with my sisters and Jac and we don’t have any place to stay yet. Before leaving Vigan we were informed that the weather is acting badly on the North side so we better head earlier, which didn’t happen because we still have to ship some excess baggage that we gained from shopping in Laoag and Vigan.

I was really worried that we might arrive there late and without any place to stay, good thing the signal of my wifi is good in that area so I googled some place. There are actually a lot of families offering a place to stay and the price starts at Php 250.00 – some were tricky, added rates makes a lot of difference which I figured out when I phoned one of the known homestay along Saud Beach.

I stumbled upon a post featuring Hannah Lou's Homestay, there is a contact number so I took it. I called and a girl answered, she says its Php250.00 per night for one person and they can accommodate us four. She added that we can let her cook for our meal for additional 50 pesos per person. I took the deal and Ate Marife asked her husband  Kuya Ruben which is a trycicle driver to fetch us from the municipal hall of pagudpud at 4PM just after we arrived. I ask for the fare price and she said that we dont have to pay for it if we decide to stay at their house after checking the room.

This is the room – I was really happy with it. It reminds me of our good old days in the province. My childhood days, I have a grandmother and a best friend whose house is just like this. The room is very basic but neat and smells really good, I can say that all four of us find it comfortable enough for all of us got a sound sleep that night. I find it reasonable, the blog who posted the photo is correct – it looked cramped in the picture but is actually impressively clean. Plus you can check the place and you are given a full choice whether to get it or not; the family is not assuming and neither insisting that you to get it immediately when you inquire.

After checking in since its already late noon, Ate Marife offered us to have a coffee and started to convince us about watching the sunset in Saud Beach which is 3-4 minutes walk from the homestay. I asked her for the price so we could pay her and she mentioned it’s free – I personally found this family warm and pleasant. I appreciate the fact that they do not insist that much, and that they always attend to what we might need.

After watching the sunset we headed back to our home stay and took some rest. We'll only be staying here for the night since we have an early trip to Pagudpud on the next day. Before we sleep we are called for dinner prepared by Ate Marife of course.I was again glad to see what’s on the table – fresh vegitables (Untanon in bissaya) and paksiw with fresh fish. I so miss paksiw – I am not good in cooking this dish but my Lola cooks this best. The ingredients use was very tasty and fresh from the first look up to my last spoon – one of the best thing in living in the Province.

 Posted via Instagram (8teen7)

We woke up early and it was so cold even without the air-conditioning. Taking a bath became a challenge to all of us haha. We were served with coffee and bread before leaving  and Ate Marife surprisingly asked me why we only ate very little of our dinner. I answered her that we actually had a lot and felt very full but for some reason she was not convinced so she insisted on refusing to take the additional payment for the meal.

  



The entire stay we had though short is really fun and fulfilling we found a family away from home and I can say that this is truly a “HOMEstay”.

For inqueries you may call Hannah Lou's Homestay owner Kuya Ruben or Ate Marife , Contact Number: 09213104826