Place: Calle Crisologo (City of Vigan, Ilocos Sur)
Date: 28 May 2008

Like what I have said in my previous entries, the best place to do your souvenir shopping in Vigan would be in Calle Crisologo. There are other places in the city that sell souvenirs, but this street is already a “one stop shop.” Here are things you can buy in this city…

Antiques and Wood Items >>> Nowhere better to buy antiques than to buy it at a heritage place! Antiques range from religious items to furniture, to wood carvings, the choices are endless! I still haven’t bought an antique because some are expensive and I don’t really need it really, but there are so many items that really interested me, especially those antique silverwares and china wares.

Bags >>> Now this is my kind of souvenir! I love native bags and although I wasn’t able to buy one on this day, I already bought a bag from here before, and I am loving it a lot. Different types of materials are used in their bags — there are those made from Abel Iloko cloth, there are some made from dried leaves, and there are some made from wood among others. Prices varies depending on the material and the size of the bag, and I could say most are affordable. However, if you don’t have much to spend on souvenirs, stores have a sale rack. Even if the bags are on sale, they still look good and are considered a great buy.

Key Chains and Cell Phone Accessories >>> If you’ve got a big circle of friends and would want to give them all a little piece of Vigan, this is the souvenir to buy. Most of the key chains look the same as those bought in any tourist spots, so if I were you, look for those with the printed “Vigan City” in it or something that speaks of the city like a kalesa (horse drawn carriage) or those that look like a jar.

Fabrics >>> Items range from blankets, to table runners, to tie-dyed sarongs, to refrigerator towels. Some uses cotton, some uses the weaved cloth from here in the city. Most of the times, when we are here, we buy the weaved towels which are perfect to cover a tray for the utensils during parties. My brother’s favorite are the tie-dyed sarongs. You can also buy knitted outfits here.

Shirts >>> Every tourists’ favorite souvenir. Because I am a big woman, I don’t really buy shirts, but there’s this one shirt that I really love to own. Nothing special about it, in fact, it only has a text print in front that says, “Bagnet, Sinanglao, Empanada…” all the foods associated with Vigan, but I cannot buy it because I still haven’t tasted sinanglao. Anyway, there are lots of stores in this street and majority of them sell shirts, but even if that’s the case, you still have to scout good not only because prices varies, different stores have their own shirt designs as well! There are shirts that are available to every store, but there are stores that personally design different shirts. I personally love the designs from Escolta de Vigan and Collado Designs. The white shirts are of course much cheaper than the colored ones.

Wines >>> The Ilocano wine is called the Basi, and is widely available in the entire Ilocos Region (that includes the Ilocos Norte, Ilocos Sur, Abra, and La Union provinces). Nowadays, there are different wines to choose from. I still haven’t tasted any of the wines, so I couldn’t tell more about it.

Other items you might want to buy in this street are:
Chichacorn >>> Crunchy corn bits cooked the Ilocano way.
Tinubong >>> A delicacy placed inside a bamboo.
Taro Chips >>> Garlic flavored taro chips (I love this).
Meat products >>> If you have no time to go to the market and buy the Ilocano meat products like the sausage and the bagnet, I suggest you check out EJ store. They prepare the meat products themselves and although their products are much expensive than those bought from the market, their products are guaranteed fresh and are placed in plastic containers so it’s not exposed to the elements.
Royal Bibingka >>> One of the famous store that sells royal bibingka is Marsha’s Delicacies, but if you have no time to go to their main store in Bantay (a town next to Vigan), or their branches in the city, you can check out Tongson’s by the entrance of the street.

Out of the street, if you want to buy earthen wares like jars, vases, and the likes, I suggest you go to RG pottery or the pottery house owned by Mr. Go near Mira Hills (I forgot the exact street). If you’re lucky, they might even show you how those earthen wears are made.

On this particular day, I bought a knitted poncho, a shirt for my sister, and a keychain. Brother bought some taro chips, and we also bought boxes of royal bibingka from Marsha’s delicacies to take home.

Parting shots:

A biggie size of the shirt I bought for sister (I bought the small size for sister, but asked for this big sized one to show the message. On the front is says, “Naggapuam, gayyem?” or “Where have you been my friend?” At the back it says, “Naggapu nak didyay Vigan, gayyem!” or “I came from Vigan my friend!” Very cute, eh?

*** Jenn ***