Last November 25, 2012, my friend and I decided to go to Manaoag for the first time. Here's what we did:
We boarded a Dagupan Bus Line (Cubao) at exactly 12 midnight. This terminal has a direct route to Manaoag daily, 24 hours a day. Much more convenient than any other bus lines. One way costs 315 pesos..We had 2 stopovers : One in Mabalacat, Pampanga (after an hour drive) and the second one in Tarlac (another hour drive). Stopovers usually last for 15 minutes. It is during this time that we get to go to the toilet or have light snack or just buy some hot coffee (it was cold inside the bus so better bring your sweater/jacket or you can rely on your special someone's body warmth )... Inside the bus you can watch the movies they are playing on dvd, listen to your ipod, or SLEEP! By the way, the bus has wifi connection so you can always check and update your facebook/twitter status.
Before 4am, we arrived at our destination. The gate of Manaoag Church opens exactly at 4am. Before reaching the church itself, some vendors will queue to sell their items which mostly consist of candles for adoration, sampaguita flowers, pamphlets containing novena to Our Lady of Manaoag, and different sizes of statues of Our Lady and other souvenir items which would be blessed by the priest after the mass. There are also their famous kakanin: tupig and puto calasiao. By the way, beware of those cheats selling their items at a higher rate. My friend bought her candles at 10pesos a piece. I got mine at 5pesos a piece! Buy your items near the gate itself.
Mass starts at exactly 5am. Since it was still early, we toured around the Church. It was really an old church with lots of statues and paintings of Our Lady of Manaoag. The church has a separate place for lighting of candles and a confession area. I wanted to go to confession before the Mass begins but the schedule is between 730-830am. We had to wait for more than 2 hours. Anyway, since the Mass took only less than an hour to finish, my friend and I took some pictures of the whole place..just to keep us busy. We even had light breakfast in a nearby carinderia outside the church. Their longsilog was superb! I forgot the name of the carinderia. It is located across the 711 convenient store.
At 730am, we went back the church to confess.. unfortunately, no priest was available at that time. I don't know why. But I guess, the reason for this is beyond my control. Will do it in our local church one of these days :)
We left the Church at exactly 9am. Buses come and go near the Church itself so you need not worry on how to go back to Manila. This time we boarded via FIVE STAR bus line (Php325) instead of Dagupan Bus Line. Simply because FIVE Star bus has a route going to Pasay. Dagupan Bus route ends in their terminal at Cubao. It took us 5 - 5 1/2 hours to get to Pasay. Must be because of the traffic in Edsa. We also had two bus stops on our way home.
We will definitely go back to Manaoag in the near future. Kindly check my friend's blog (milaniemonic.blogspot.com) for pictures. Adieu!
