dine. explore. relax
Escape. That's our purpose for having an out-of-town trip with our friends I guess? To escape for a minute from all the stress from our acads and the hustle and bustle of everyday life in the city. Breathing in that fresh sea breeze at the shore, hearing birds chirping being one with nature, and laughter from all the shenanigans you and your friends are doing.
It’s always been a spontaneous trip with my sibs when we’re going to La Union or in a very millennial term “elyu”. We have this saying that “Kapag biglaan talaga ang lakad saka lang natutuloy.”, and it’s true. We’ve gone to La Union for two consecutive months in 2019, one in January, and the other was in February. We started our trip early in the morning and when I say early in the morning I mean "five o’clock in the morning early"—the sun hasn’t said hello to us yet. Funny story at the bus station, we thought that we were in the right bus—the bus that will have a stop and drop us off at Sebay, La Union—we even took groupies and all not knowing that the one we are on won’t even pass by our destination. If we didn’t ask the bus conductor we would have gone straight to Vigan in Ilocos. So, going back, heading for Sebay, La Union it took us, I guess four to five hours without the holiday traffic. Upon arriving we settled our things at our hostel we booked on Air BnB. We arrived there earlier than the said check-in time and the staffs were very kind enough to let us put our bags in their lobby so we could explore immediately and head to the beach.
credits to my friends, anne and mica for being my photographer.
During our visit in January, the beach wasn’t that crowded because our date of visit was kinda the start of classes for some so it was a good timing. But, in February when we took the chance again to go back we chose a date that was a long weekend/holiday in Manila so the beach was pretty crowded at that time. Even though it was packed with people, you can still find a spot where you can just lie down, get a tan, maybe read a book or watch people surf the waves. La Union is very famous for being a good surfing spot—didn’t get the chance to experience it though but there will always be a next time.
If food trip is your thing or maybe partying with your friends at night, La Union has something in store for you. The first one that we visited was the most famous café of the North, El Union Coffee. It has this aesthetic and IG worthy place, and the coffee was also a must-try. Also, Tagpuan and Mami King are my highly suggested spots where you can eat the best rice meals in La Union. Tagpuan serves the best tapa that I’ve ever tasted—how I wish COVID is over so that I could have a taste of it again. Lastly, if you want to party or just chill and hang out with your friends after a long day of exploring and having fun at the beach, head down to Flotsam & Jetsam. It’s this famous party place in elyu. It has this chill vibe when we visited but there are times when it turns into an exuberant party place where you and your friends could have all the beer and other alcoholic beverages you want! But, do drink responsibly.
On our second time of coming to elyu, we decided to maybe do something else other than laying down and swim at the beach. So, we had this idea to go to Tangadan Falls. We rode a tricycle on the way to the start of the trail, it lasted for quite an hour or two because we just trekked our way to the falls but our tour guide said that there was an option where you can bring your car for a shorter trip up to the falls. It was fun and at the same time relaxing going to the falls—even though it was scorching hot because of the sun—because the scenery that you’ll see while going there is gorgeous and you might come across with some carabaos and goats along the way.
It was a very quick getaway that we had in La Union. It's a good thing to have some time outside the city and see the countryside. Maybe go with your family or friends, bond and have the best time. I wish that I could go back as soon as possible to relax, dine, and explore once again the beauty of elyu.
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