Going Loco Over Paoay Sand Dunes

I'm a self-confessed adrenaline junkie. Thus, when our plan of going to Ilocos was finalized, Grace (my adventure buddy) and I thought of trying the 4x4 adventure and sand boarding at the famous Paoay Sand Dunes.

A month before our scheduled flight, we temporarily deferred this plan because of financial constraints. This is during the time when we found out that our 3 other friends are having second thoughts on this trip. But then, just few weeks before this Luzon trip, we decided to make it part of our itinerary. It's now or never!

We really don't know when we could get back to Ilocos (or if we could ever go back) so we better make the most out of it now.

Because we have a scheduled tour later that day, our host suggested to have this sand dunes adventure at around 5:30 am. Though tired from the previous day's activities we still managed to wake up at 5 am (maybe because we're excited?). :D

It took us several minutes to reach our destination. When we got there, Glenn's friend (who owns the vehicle), was already waiting for us. 

You can rent this 4x4 vehicle for P2,500 inclusive of the sand boarding equipment. 

Since Judge decided to join us on this trip, we paid P834/each for this. 

Beautiful sunrise!

It was my our first time and personally, I feel anxious (or maybe excited). The 4x4 sand dunes experience is one of the coolest things I've tried in Ilocos. At first, it was just this smooth-sailing, up-down ride but during the latter part, the driver surprised us with that roller-coaster kind of experience. For the first time, I was shouting like it's the end of my life and felt like my soul left my body for a few seconds. lol

before the roller-coaster ride

It was an unforgettable ride!

Just look at that, isn't it beautiful?

Right after that one crazy ride, we then went into this one part of the place for sand boarding. This part was really fun and I bet, one of the best workout you could ever have (multiply the effort of climbing up the stairs by 3-4x and  you get what I mean). 

If I'll do this everyday, I guess I'll be shedding more pounds than brisk walking :p

You can do the sand boarding in different ways:

do it like you're surfing (standing position)

experience the thrill by sitting

I just can't let this pass. This is one of the best 'capture the moment' photos I've ever seen! LOL

ride in tandem

Priceless!

The pictures are not enough to tell you how much we enjoyed and loved this whole Paoay Sand Dunes experience. Trust me, it's worth your time, money, effort, and yeah, that extra shrill of excitement.

Do we have to say more?

Tired but happy!

Philippines is really beautiful (minus the political crap and all). 

Our host by the way is Mr. Glenn Tolentino. You can find his contact details here.