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Back in La Union


It was a much needed break - after 2 years in the pandemic and no travel, I was very much excited to be back at the beach and one of our favorite places, San Juan La Union.

It was 2 years ago (February 2020) right before the pandemic lockdown, that I was in LU with the same people (almost). Pre pandemic, we were in LU 4 times last 2019. 

It was almost kind of last minute - sort of. Since there weren't available rooms over the weekend at San Juan, we were able to find a nice Airbnb at the nearby town of Bacnotan (which is around 10 minutes drive to the happening places in San Juan). 

First stop on our trip was Masa. I've seen this place from vlogs and IG posts so it was definitely a pit stop for us. It was already past lunch time (and we were hungry) so we had their rice meals, Morning Beef and Butta' Chicken Masala. Ofcourse, we couldn't leave the place without our mandatory IG ready photos of the place.

  


After our late lunch, we continued heading north to Ilocos Sur and drop by our friend's coffee shop - Backyard Cafe. It's a quaint little cafe in Sta Cruz Ilocos Sur that serves good coffee - the Iced Sea Salt Caramel is a must. 




After coffee and catching-up we headed back La Union to Bacnotan where our Airbnb is. The place has a big property with a 2 storey kubo as a reception area and dining area and a beach bar walking distance to the beach. Our room at the 2nd floor was spacious (enough space for 4 travelers), mini ref, tv and a seating area with a balcony. 



Since it was already around 4PM when we got there, only thing to do was rest-up, get dinner and go have Saturday night out at San Juan. 

After a quick dinner at Jollibee (there is one at Bacnotan town proper), we headed down to San Juan. Plan was to go to Flotsam however when we passed by, there was a long line (which was understandable as it was a Saturday night) so we decided to go somewhere else. 


We settled on Hyde's which is a rooftop bar. We pass by it every time but we have not gone here before. The space is small and it easily gets filled up. Music is good and they also have a good selection of cocktails/drinks. We stayed for a good hour or so before calling it a night. As a night cap, we had a bottle of beer at our Airbnb.



Although tired, I was still able to wake up early. Breakfast is free with our stay and plus points since the coffee is brewed. The dining hall has 2 floors - for me it better to eat at the 2nd floor since you have somehow of a view of the beach. 

Agenda for the day was just relax and check out the beach. Unfortunate for me, after just 5 minutes at the beach, I got stung by a jelly fish (which I didn't know having been to the area for a couple of times). I was told by the host that there are jelly fish there especially if the sea was calm and warm (which was). I got some vinegar to make the stinging subside and also drank antihistamine. Well so much for having a beach day. I just got halo-halo at the beach bar to make me happy. 



For lunch, we drove back again to San Juan to eat at Sabong (my favorite place to eat at). I usually order their honey bagoong but this time around I got their El Yu classic. 


After lunch, we drove back to our Airbnb to have an afternoon siesta only to come back late in the afternoon to hangout at Kabsat. 










Since we weren't able to hangout at Flotsam last night, we decided to get dinner there and have some drinks. No lines and definitely a much more laid back atmosphere. It's actually the first time I got to eat there (I think) since the several times we were there, we just drank lol. We got 2 pizzas, fries and a bucket of Smirnoff Mule. We stayed for a good 2 hours I think before calling it a night.




The next day was just time to relax. After breakfast, we hung out at the dining area for a bit and headed back to our room to start packing. We checked-out early and headed back to San Juan for lunch before heading home. 

I missed El Union's coffee so that was first on the agenda. Iced Dirty Horchata is my go to drink here and it's been 2 years since I had it. After hanging out quite a bit, we decided to get lunch so we can be on our way. Where else to eat but ofcourse my favorite which is Sabong. This time I got my favorite which is the honey bagoong and I enjoyed every bite. 







After lunch, it was time to head back to the city. It was a good short break and it's definitely good to be back to one of our favorite beach destinations. 




Watch the travel vlog here - https://youtu.be/bQWVwjxKTrk
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