Visiting Ancestral Homes Around the Philippines

Vigan is frozen in time of the Spanish dominion in the country


This year, I gave myself the time to check old houses around the country - from the laid-back towns of Mindanao (Camiguin and Surigao), to the well-preserved Hispanic stretches of Luzon in Ilocos (Vigan and Laoag), till the quaint places of Visayas in Negros (Silay, Bacolod, Talisay).

There is no doubt that the Philippines has a rich cultural heritage courtesy of the Spaniards.

Somehow I feel a connection to period structures and architecture. I am easily charmed by them.

It was in early April that I went around Mindanao with my family and my Malaysian friend. I showed her the beauty of my hometown as well as that of the neighboring cities and municipalities. We marveled at old houses in Camiguin and Lanuza.






Just this July, I trooped to Bacolod City and walked around Silay to check the old mansions 31 of which had been declared by the National Historical Institute as heritage houses.





Going to Ilocos Provinces (Laoag up north, and Vigan down south) certainly brings back thoughts about Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo scenes from Dr Jose Rizal's novels.



(all photographs I took myself like most photographs on this site)