La Union Trip

 Hey kids, just a week after IU's concert, your mom packed her stuff for another adventure - this time in La Union, with some of my friends and newfound travel buddies!

We all met at One Ayala as our meeting place then headed straight to the bus station in Pasay. I came from my shift and would be working on our first night so I brought my laptop. Haven't had the chance to sleep due to excitement because I've been bugging my friends to go to Elyu for the longest time but it would always get canceled for some reason so imagine how ecstatic I was feeling when I got the invitation that time. IT WAS OVER THE ROOF!!

We checked into our transient that we would stay at for 4 days. It was a dorm type with a private shower and cr. Ika's Transient has a common kitchenette that we could use, the room was air-conditioned and the Wi-Fi was fast, which was a plus for a remote worker like me!

On our first night, we drank in our room and played cards while I worked. It was also a chance for us to get to know each other. The three of them were my former colleagues but it was my first time meeting the rest of the gang, there was Eiron, Dash, and Kai. Very, very pleasant people to travel with I swear! The rest of the night, we were just settling in, unpacked my stuff, and hung my clothes in the closet. 

So Eiron and I both spent the night working, when my shift ended at 6am, I took a nap and prepared myself for what was to come. 

It was around lunchtime when they woke me up. Typically, I'd still be sleepy with just a couple of hours of sleep, but I was in my game that day! I got myself dressed and we headed out to the beach. Had to take a jeep to Urbiztondo since it was a bit far from where we stayed. 

First order of business was the smoothie bowl at Seabuds.

 It was hella good though and I did enjoy mine which was called the "Zenergy", filled with fruits, spinach, peanut butter etc. a good breakfast because, like the name, I DID NEED ENERGY to last throughout the day lol A bit pricey but hey, they got a stunning view of the beach and an "estetik" place, so it was justified.

After a good ole breakfast, we walked our way to El Union, another famous coffee shop in Elyu where my coffee-addict friends had their fill. I skipped it because I palpitate with coffee however though, there was another must-try dessert in the area which was called "Coco Mama" Cherry and I shared a medium-sized of this but still had a hard time finishing it. I think this one costs us around Php300. 

Look at that tiny flag! Since it was Pride Month, there was an ongoing event at GNW for the LGBTQ+A community in celebration of the said occasion. We were actually supposed to join the parade hadn't there been rain that interrupted our plans. 

We walked our way to the beach and took photos!

The weather was getting a little gloomy so we only stayed at the shore for a while. No one dared to swim because it was getting scary and there was lightning!

When the sun was about to set, we headed to Ola, a restaurant/bar by the beach, just on the 2nd floor of Fat Wave Resort.  

We got some cocktails, and this was mine! 

It was so good and the presentation was adorable. The cotton candy complimented the strong taste of the cocktail, and we also got a free dessert shot - which honestly was a sweet surprise but also much stronger than the cocktail we got. 

My friends were so supportive!!!

Will never miss the golden hour ofc!

We stayed there til the night came, and then we met with the rest of the gang who went home after staying at the beach to get some rest. Because one thing I noticed. La Union was so hot!!! Despite the gloomy weather and light drizzles, the humidity was on another level! We were all sweating. When they arrived, we went down to Fat Wave and had another drink while the rest got dinner. 

Everyone was in the mood to party so we looked for bars near the area, we first arrived at Hara but were told that they could no longer accept people in. By this time, it was already raining but we still took our chances and tried the infamous, Flotsam Jetsam, the mood was indeed good, and the music choice was too, but we couldn't find a spot for us and we were all soaked from the rain. With no other choice left, we headed home. In our despair, we purchased alcohol in the nearby convenience store and just drank when we got back to our hostel lol

The next day, we sat around the garden while eating lunch and planning our itinerary since that was our last day before returning to Manila. We all decided to go to a bar and ensure we were early this time. 

After lunch, we rested for a bit and then prepped up. I was notified that one of my friends, Lyndon was also in town, so we shot him a message and decided to meet at GNW. We also tried Sabong Chicken and my chickiin heart was satisfied!!!

We were able to reach Lyndon and once he arrived, we all enjoyed ourselves in the ongoing event! We got free alcoholic beverages, condoms, and lubes! Coz ya know.. safe sex is a must! There were tons of LGBT couples in the area as well and everyone was just having a nice time. 

After the mini-party at GNW, we decided to head straight to Hara to secure ourselves a table and got in! The night was still young but the peeps there were just all out partying. 

We first ordered Cuervo then switched to Jack Daniels to take it up a notch because Tequila wasn't just doing it for us. And for a Tita like me, I was also surprised that I was able to keep up with the squad. My alcohol tolerance didn't disappoint. Mingled with the folks at the next table who turned out to be youngsters so I said nahh, "child, I'm your aunty"... please go home and study -  I did say that to them! We got a free bottle of Bacardi from them so it worked LOL

The crowd was getting thick, Matilduh was there and there were even contests. Many activities which made the night more memorable. We danced like there was no tomorrow. 

I haven't had this much alcohol in my system in a while! I didn't throw up luckily, but boy was I tipsy and drunk. Can I just say how happy I was that my body was able to handle that? Not to mention the memories made that night. Shoutout to my friends for being so protective esp when that boy (from the next table) wouldn't stop bugging us. We decided to go back and the way home was even funnier. There were embarrassing videos of us taken while we were walking up to our transient! I couldn't even bear to watch it but it was so funny since some of us were REALLY drunk aka ME. Of course, as one would say, whatever happens in Elyu, stays in Elyu. 😘

We welcomed the morning quietly coz some of us got hungover and had headaches, while I got nothing but good sleep - again thank you body for not embarrassing me in front of my new friends HAHA 

It was time to go home though, we had breakfast at Dioni's Diner just across the street from our transient. The serving was generous and the owner was lovely and kind enough to offer us free pitchers of Iced Tea! The food did not disappoint either. This was a newly opened restaurant so please support them if you visit Elyu. 

Stayed at McDonald's after to compute and pay all our expenses, 

We bought coffee from SB and stayed at Mcdo coz it's closer to the bus terminal. To be fair though, we still bought food there! 

here's Kai proudly showing us her Excel and explaining how it worked. I love a well-organized trip! 

Thank you Chi, Ash, Carl, Kai, Dash and Eiron for this memorable Elyu trip! I did have fun with your company. Til our next travel! 

Nightlife in La Union was lit but I'd love to come back to enjoy more of the beach. LIKE REALLY SWIM IN IT. 4 days wasn't enough to go around and try everything. One thing I also noticed, it's indeed overhyped and everything is expensive. but of course, you're helping the locals there so there's that. 

to my kids, if you are reading this rn, I haven't been a good example to you all since this blog was all about your mom chugging down alcohol but... you also have to consider, she was in her prime! and duhhh I'm almost 30 lol. You can drink though... as long as you are 18+. I might even join you. Make memories with your friends, that is how you enjoy life. Take it from your mom. 

xoxo
Grasya