Kalesas Outside Vigan Cathedral - Click to View Hi-Res Image
It’s TravelTuesday in the Twitterverse (follow me @hyperren), and I thought this would be the perfect day to do a Picture of the Week feature on this blog. I’ll post one photo that hasn’t been featured on this site yet, and include a brief story about it.
My first entry on the blog was about Vigan, Ilocos Sur, Philippines (read it here), so it makes sense (well, to me, anyway) that my first TravelTuesday Picture of the Week would be from the same trip. This picture of some kalesas, or local horse-driven carriages, was taken right outside Vigan Cathedral. There were a lot of kalesas in Vigan, and they were mostly aimed at tourists (much like tuk-tuks and motos around Southeast Asia); my friend and I had to keep saying “no” to the many kalesa drivers asking if we wanted a ride. Anyway, right outside the Vigan Cathedral was a designated parking area for these kalesas, with the bored (or tired) horses waiting for the next customer they’ll have to take around town. Each kalesa was decorated and given its own character. Even the names were meant to attract attention. Some were named after local celebrities (like Piolo), others named after Hollywood celebrities or characters (like Rambo).
And that’s your TravelTuesday Picture of the Week! Come back next week for another TTPOTW!
4 comments
Twitted by hyperren says:
Jul 29, 2009
[...] This post was Twitted by hyperren [...]
Lornadahl says:
Jul 29, 2009
Why did you pass up the opportunity for a calesa tour? My friend and I said yes when we went there. Too bad we didn’t ask for the horse’s hunk name. Haha!
Wow, I’ve been wanting to come up with a Pic of the Week for my traveling dolls, too. Great minds, huh?
Ren Robles says:
Jul 29, 2009
@Lornadahl Haha, my friend and I were too cheap to get a kalesa tour. We thought it was way too touristy, and we liked being able to walk around, explore, and snap pictures. My friend is quite the avid photographer, and I’m a sucker for architecture, whether it’s a well-known building or not, so we both enjoyed exploring Vigan on foot. Not a very big city, anyway. =P
Lornadahl says:
Jul 29, 2009
Touristy, it must be so. True, I love walking around myself. Mataas na ata ang araw when we agreed for a calesa tour.
I have a favorite building there. Looks very vintage. My friend was ashamed of me kasi I was even sniffing the doors. Haha! Anyway, I think Vigan deserved better preservation.