On getting lost, finding solace, and everything in between at La Union

In the last days of twenty eighteen, I made a pact with myself that I should go and explore places more often. Although I didn't make a list of places I should visit this year, all I know is that I need to wander more and sort of a breather. And so, January came, stayed a bit longer (to be honest, it felt like the 13th month of 2018), and bid goodbye but I still got stuck in my monotonous routine: sleep-eat-work-home plus a more hectic schedule.

I welcomed February with the hopes of having a quick break from the hustle and bustle of the city life. So here came these local airlines tossing everyone with their seat sales. I was probably one of the thousands of adventure-seeking millennials who booked a flight to a place a thousand miles away from home. But this time, I chose Clark International Airport again. I was initially planning to explore more the beauty of Zambales but I decided to head far north and went back to the surf town of La Union instead. I don't know why but I something about this place that always makes me want to come back every year.

I'm on my way to you

Fast forward to March. The big day came. It was noontime at that time and I could feel the scorching sun as I made my way to the airport. "Thank God for the good weather," I told myself with a little relief even though I kinda hate how humid it was. It also kinda felt odd because I usually take the morning flights whenever I leave Cebu since I get easily pissed being caught in the traffic. For the record, I'm not even a morning person but something about taking the morning flights that fascinates me.

When I arrived at the departure area, I saw these women crying and hugging each other, then a couple of minutes after, the other one proceeded to the boarding gate and waved goodbye to them. In my little theory, she might be working abroad in the hopes of giving her family for a brighter future. It was like a deja vu, I guess. Flashbacks started playing in my mind during that time when we took my eldest sister to the same airport, catching her flight to Manila before heading to Taiwan where she'll be working for the next several years, as we were crying and getting emotional. Airport stories like this never fail to make me melancholic. I can be silent when I'm alone but I also observe the people and things around me a lot. Lol. I just smiled and headed straight to the boarding gate.

While I was doing the airport procedures, it was announced that our flight will be delayed for 30 minutes. Then it was followed up by an hour delayed. I was fine about it because I've gotten used to it probably. I think it's part of growing up when you stop blaming the airline because sometimes it's not their fault. Haha! And after almost two hours, finally, it's boarding time!
Luckily, I was assigned in a window seat again. Who doesn't like to sit near the window? The airline agents must have known that I'm a sucker for window seats. Haha! One thing I love about taking flights during the daytime is that you get to see the magnificent view of different islands in the country and how calm the ocean is. Some of the islands were quite familiar since I had visited a few of them before, while some of them tested my knowledge with Philippine geography (which I know I sometimes suck) because they're quite new to me.

I had this funny routine whenever I'm on a plane. I usually listen to two of my go-to travel songs only: Run Away With Me by Carly Rae Jepsen and Big Jet Plane by Angus & Julia Stone. The former is about two lovers who are in a long distance relationship and they only have one weekend to make it an unforgettable experience together. The latter was inspired by the singer's experience when he met a girl at a festival, they got along so well and he wanted to take her away with him but he couldn't. Although I couldn't totally relate to both songs because I never had a long distance relationship before nor met someone on a festival, I just find them both great travel anthems—and it's like magical meets bittersweet.


After playing the songs on loop (because why not?) and resisting myself from doing lip-syncs, next thing I know was our plane was already about to touch down the airport. Clark is not new to me so I already knew where to go to leave the place and proceed to my next stop of this journey, the Dau Bus Terminal. On the arrival area, I headed to the part where air-conditioned jeepneys were parked. For me, the PHP 100 fare is quite expensive for a 20 to 30-minute (or more) ride and the air conditioner couldn't even suffice the passenger. Anyway, it was still a better choice than taking the taxi or booking a ride on Grab, which would probably double the fare.


It was already late afternoon when I arrived at Dau Bus Terminal and I could still remember how humid that time was. Thankfully, I was able to find a bus going to Laoag, Ilocos Norte that had still vacant seats. Of course, you wouldn't be happy standing for the next six hours. "It's gonna be a long ride. Gosh! I miss this, " I told to myself while making myself comfortable in a seat near the aisle. The first hour in the road was being spent with observing the fellow passengers, gazing at the window as the sun was about to set, and scanning the travel playlist I curated before. The green fields and meadows of Pampanga and Tarlac never fail to amaze me every time. A couple of moments after, the sun was about to set as it painted the skies in pretty hues. I stared on the window, smiled as I slowly shut my eyes.

After more than six hours of moving and taking several stopovers, we finally arrived in La Union! I was already feeling exhausted and sleepy because it was past ten in the evening when I checked my wristwatch. While I felt like my eyes were falling, I was also having a hard time locating the exact place of the house I booked on Agoda a couple of weeks before this trip. Haha! Good thing the owner was patient enough to wait for me to arrive even if it was already a bit late. I could hear the eargasmic sound of the waves crashing through the shores when I arrived in the house. I couldn't help but head to where that wonderful sound was. It was quite dark there but I stayed for a couple of minutes feeling the sea breeze and listening to the sound of the ocean before calling it a day.

Hey, Elyu! What's good?

It was almost nine in the morning when I woke up. I went outside and loving the fact that the house where I'll be staying in the few days was just 2-3 minutes from the beach. When I finally reached the shore, I stood there and whispered, "Good morning, Elyu. Glad to be back. I missed you so bad." Yes! It's always been a great feeling coming back to a place where you had a lot of memories. I took a few snaps of the ocean waves and people around me then went back to the house and prepared some stuff for the first place in my itinerary—the infamous Tangadan Falls in San Gabriel, La Union.

Here's a little confession. I usually make an itinerary a few weeks before traveling and most of the time I end up not able to visit all of the places I listed because I am fickle-minded like most of the time also. LOL. I guess this is one of the perks of traveling alone or with fewer people—your schedule can flexible without compromising the fun part. Moreover, I always tell myself that whenever I go to different places, I should find some solace there and not to stress myself out by visiting all the spots in that place in a short period of time. The important thing here is you were able to get a great opportunity to unwind from the fast-paced city life and of course, make unforgettable memories even more, and enjoy every second of it.


On the other hand, going to Tangadan Falls was already full of adventures. If you could only know the countless mini-heart attacks and overflowing adrenaline rush I had on that time. Haha! So I might just make a separate post and write every detail of it. But for now, here are a few photos of my unexpected adventure.

When the sun goes down

I spent almost the whole day at the Tangadan Falls because of its distance from where I was staying (Urbiztondo to San Gabriel) and of course, to appreciate its beauty. I was initially planning to have a very short creative retreat there like doing hand lettering drills but I was too exhausted to write. Lol. I took a nap when I got to the house while waiting for my favourite part of the day to come—the sunset!

[Read: Here's why your pink skies make me blue now]

One of the many things I love about La Union is that you'll going to witness a marvelous view of the sky, as they show different hues—from pink to orange to reddish orange. I don't know why I like the sunset more than sunrise but one thing's for sure, that is I usually get excited when the sun goes down on that horizon and probably why I keep coming back here.

I'm drunk, I love you

No, I'm not drunk (yet) but I was actually referring to a Filipino romantic-comedy movie called I'm Drunk, I Love You, in which two best friends named Dio and Carson, headed to La Union days before their college graduation, together with their other friend Jason Ty. Carson has been secretly in love with Dio for seven good years. Jason Ty has been convincing her to confess her feelings towards her best friend until something happened between the two on their last night in La Union that totally left Carson (and of course, me) broken hearted. And since I was in La Union at that time, it's like I could feel the pain that Carson had been through here even if she was just a fictional character. I once fell in love with a friend but ended up being stuck in a place called friend zone. Haha! I could picture out some of the scenes in the movie that was taken here in Elyu and asked myself, "What if IDILY would turn into reality and I would be part of it? How am I gonna do my role though?" I just shrugged off.


The real question now is how should I end an epic first day in La Union? Since I was thinking of that movie how about getting a bottle of beer or two? I decided to visit this infamous hostel called Flotsam and Jetsam with their Bali-inspired bar near the beach. I've been seeing a lot of posts and stories on Instagram about this place and I was quite curious what's out here. Although I've been to Elyu twice before, I wasn't able to visit this since our was very limited. Moreover, my friends and I just bathe in the sea, took some photos, and enjoyed the magnificent sunset. So now's the perfect time to check it out.

I love how Floatsam and Jetsam was artistically made. No wonder a lot of millennials flocked here, especially it was a weekend I visited this place. Admit it, us millennials really love going to places that we find it Instagrammable and something we can delightfully post on our social media. But one thing I noticed here is that the prices of their drinks and food were a bit expensive. Well, as someone who really loves eating, money is not an issue. Kidding!


I stayed here for hours. I was happy that they were playing some tracks that I rarely heard except on my Spotify playlists. I even saw a few familiar faces but I just watched them from afar. Some were starting to dance crazily while others were chilling with their beach cerveza. But you can tell that everyone was really having a good time whether they came in pairs or a huge circle of friends. As the crowd of young and wild people increased, I couldn't help but ponder. I guess it's not only their Instagram-worthy spots place that keeps these youngsters (and young at heart) from coming back but also the amazing vibe you'll get as soon as you spend your night here. And mind you, La Union is an 8-hour drive from Manila!

I hate this part right here

On my last day in Elyu, I finally able to do my hand lettering drills by the beach. Well, it's really been a while since I did my drills so I was really that happy. The intense summer heat didn't even bother me from doing one of my travel traditions—hand lettering the name of the place I currently visit. For the record, I usually carry some pens and a notebook with me whenever I travel. Writing down the name of the place and taking photos of it is like a great souvenir for myself. So I spent an hour and a half writing under the scorching sun while enjoying the view of pristine waters of San Juan beach.


After I finished writing "La Union", I decided to spend more minutes sitting by the shore until this beach dog came. He was friendly and he wanted to be patted, too. And so, I did and I would even give him something to eat if I brought some food with me. I won't miss this opportunity to have a picture with my newfound friend. He had been following me all day, by the way.

Then, I took more photos of myself and this place that I'll be missing for sure. Of course, I took a dip in the waters and I couldn't count how many times I got carried by the waves. Haha! I stayed in Elyu for a brief time and I wasn't able to visit all the places I put in my itinerary. But I remembered that my main goal in going here was to unwind and not to stress myself out. As long as I'm at the beach, I'm already happy.


The only thing I hate leaving the place I love is getting that thing called sepanx (short for separation anxiety). Of course, you'll feel sad when you're close to bidding goodbye to this place but I always think of the fun and happy memories I had here. Two nights and two days in Elyu was kind of short but I guess it was enough to find comfort and temporarily rest my mind from the stressful city life. It was a well-spent vacation leave, indeed! And if you're going to ask me if I would come here back soon? Definitely! Who knows? It would probably be sooner than you think.