CASE # 011: La Union Weekend Part 1

The province of La Union was established in 1854 when Queen Isabella of Spain took nine towns from Pangasinan, three from Ilocos Sur, and a few villages from Benguet and the Cordilleras and were grouped together to form the now popularly known as the Surfing Capital of the North.

Located in the southwestern part of Region 1 or the Ilocos Region, La Union is 273 kilometers (or around 170 miles) away from Manila. Travel time may take 4 to 5 hours depending on traffic. It is 57 kilometers (35 miles) away from Baguio, the country’s summer capital. So, if you’re done chilling in Baguio and would want to hit the waves, La Union is the place to go.

Hubby and I have long been planning to go to La Union ever since we got married in 2011. My “Ninang” (godmother) promised us “honeymoon” gift right after our wedding. She was based there with my cousins tending a small business. Unfortunately, our busy schedules and Hubby’s reluctance for a long travel were the reasons, it did not push through.

Years later, we have finally found a way to land in San Fernando, La Union (the province’s capital). Sabi nga nila mas natutuloy ang trip kapag biglaan. It was just one lazy day and I was lying in bed checking Facebook when I realized that April 9 was a legal holiday. That means Hubby had no work and it was a long weekend. We have just gone through our Tagaytay getaway pero parang hindi pa kontento ang makakati kong paa.

Minutes later, I was messaging my cousin and was asking her if we can crash at her place in La Union for the long weekend. Nabigla siya nang very light pero she was glad dahil sa wakas, naisipan na rin naming magpunta. Good timing din daw kasi Sillag Festival sa San Fernando. Maraming activities at isa na dun ang pyromusical. That was the magic word that really pushed me to go on this trip. Great beach, with fireworks? Sa’n ka pa?

Going to San Fernando

Since it was our first time, I bombarded Cuz with questions for directions, which bus to take, what route, landmarks, and all the stuff. I am a direction freak. I can easily navigate myself within Metro Manila, but this is a different province we were talking about.

My cousin told me to board a bus bound for Laoag or Vigan. There are several bus lines that ply that route such as Partas, Dominion, Viron, etc. Sabi lang kasi ng pinsan ko na among those bus companies, Partas ang pinakamabilis so we took her word for it.

Partas Bus Terminal is located along Aurora Boulevard, Cubao, Quezon City. We left our house in Pasig at around 5:00pm and booked a Grab car going there. At the bus station, we had our bags checked at the entrance. 

Marami nang taong nakaupo sa mga waiting area. May mga nakapila sa isang side at may mga nakatayo in groups. We asked Manong Guard where we can buy tickets going to San Fernando. He immediately gave us two stubs. Antayin daw naming na tawagin iyong number na andun sa ticket then that would be the time we could line up the counter to buy tickets.

Unfortunately, ang number ng ticket namin was at around 1900+. Ang tinatawag pa lang ay nasa around 1700. That meant 200 more people to go. We tried looking for a place to sit pero puno lahat ng upuan. Until magtawag ulit sa counter ng mga pipila and the benches we were standing next to were emptied.

Inabot din ng almost two hours before kami natawag sa ticket counter. Siguro nga kasi long weekend at may festival sa San Fernando kaya maraming tao. I wanted to avail sana of the de luxe buses pero wala palang ganun if you are only bound for San Fernando. So, we just took their standard airconditioned bus bound for Vigan. Fare is at Php450.00 each.

After getting our tickets, we then proceeded to the enclosed waiting area. We asked the guard if we would be waiting there or we would need to find the bus ourselves. Sabi naman ni Kuya, antayin lang daw namin at paparada raw sa tapat ng waiting area iyong bus. Hubby went to a sari-sari store inside the waiting area and bought some chips, extra bottled water, and hard-boiled eggs while I look for vacant seats.

Twenty minutes later, pumarada na rin iyong bus na sasakyan namin. It was a good thing na nasusunod naman ang seat number na nasa ticket. Sa ibang bus lines kasi hindi. Kaya nag-uunahan tuloy ang mga pasahero sa magandang pwesto. Our seat number placed us a couple of rows from the front.

We waited for a few more minutes hanggang mapuno na ang bus. Or so I thought. Kasi it took 45 minutes bago umalis iyong bus. I think inaantay pa nila iyong mga passengers na nagpabook online. Pwede rin pala magpabook sa kanila online. Just go to the Partas website. Pero dapat at least two days before the departure date kayo magpabook.

Gutom na kami kasi hindi pa kami nagdi-dinner. Hindi kasi namin inexpect na mauubos ang tatlong oras namin kakahintay sa bus station. Sabi nga ni Hubby, those three hours could have taken us to Pampanga or Tarlac already. Kinain na lang namin iyong mga chips at hard-boiled egg.

When the bus finally drove out of the bus station and into the busy highway of Cubao, we sighed in relief. Finally, talaga! Hindi pa kami nakakarating ng NLEX nakatulog na ang mga pasahero. My eyes are starting to feel heavy as well, so I gave in and dozed off. Nagising na lang ako, nasa Marilao na kami. Malayo pa. So tulog ulit.

SCTEX and TPLEX

When the bus exited SCTEX, nagising ako. The driver stopped at a bay right before entering TPLEX. Umihi sa tabi-tabi at nagyosi muna si Kuya bago bumalik sa bus and drove in to TPLEX.

SCTEX stands for Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway. It is the country’s longest running expressway at 93.77 kilometers (58.27 miles). The Subic-Clark segment and a portion of the Clark-Tarlac segment of the highway was commercially operated in April 2008. In July of the same year, the remaining portions of the Clartk-Tarlac segment was fully opened to service transportation and economic activities between Subic Bay Freeport, the Clark Freeport Zone, and the Central Techno Park in Tarlac. The goal is to link these places to the Seaport in Subic and the Diosdado Macapagal International Airport in Clark.

TPLEX, on the other hand, stands for Tarlac-Pangasinan-La Union Expressway. It is a four-lane expressway that runs for 88.85 kilometers (55.21 miles). It was initially partially opened on October 2013 and was fully operational on December of the same year. Segments of the highway are still currently being constructed and is targeted to be completed by June 2019. This highway connected central Luzon to Northern Luzon.

In all fairness, and politics aside, malaking tulong ang highways na ito to improve travel and transportation not only of economic goods pero pati na rin tourists kagaya natin. I remember going to Baguio when I was a kid, just a year before the 1990 killer earthquake, and it would take us 6 to 7 hours travel time. Pero ngayon, 4-5 hours, kaya nang takbuhin ang Baguio at La Union. Malaking difference iyong ilang oras na kabawasan sa travel time especially going to farther provinces in the North.

Tadhana at Hotdog

Nakatulog na naman ako and nagising ako pa-exit na kami ng TPLEX and we were taking a right turn towards Urdaneta, Pangasinan. Tumigil ulit sa tabi si Manong Driver. Bumili at uminom ng buko juice at saka nagyosi ulit.

The thing with traveling at night was, hindi masyadong matagal ang stops. Tulog kasi halos lahat ng mga pasahero so walang bumababa. Tanging si Manong Driver lang at iyong konduktor which is understandable because the driver needs to stretch for a few minutes. Mas okey na iyon kesa naman makatulog siya habang nagmamaneho.

Pero siyempre hindi magiging kumpleto ang biyahe mo pa-North kung hindi titigil ang bus sa Arnes Bus Stop Restaurant sa Sison, Pangasinan. Ito ang paboritong stop-over ng mga buses na papuntang Baguio at iba pang province sa Norte.

Ito rin ang stopover kung saan kumain ng hotdog sina Angelica Panganiban at JM De Guzman sa movie na That Thing Called Tadhana. Iyong eksena kung saan naalala ni Mace (Angelica Panganiban) ang ex niya sa lahat na lang ng bagay na nakikita niya. Kaya nag-deal sila ni Anthony (JM De Guzman) na bibigyan ni Mace si Anthony ng Php100.00 tuwing maiisip niya iyong ex niya.

Dahil lakas maka-Tadhana ng lugar, kumain din kami ni Hubby ng hotdog. Pero dahil gutom kami, apat na hotdog each ang nakain namin. OMG!

Touchdown San Fernando

We arrived in San Fernando at around 2:00am. It took us approximately 5 hours of travel. Sa Bauang pa lang, nagtext na ako sa pinsan ko. She told us to just wait at the San Fernando Terminal and she would picked us up there.

Lampas pa ng munisipyo at plaza ang terminal. It was a dark, large parking lot. Hindi naman technically dun sa parking lot pumarada iyong bus. Tumigil lang ito along side the road para magbaba ng pasahero at mag-report sa terminal. 

Madilim ang paligid ng terminal at medyo nakakatakot lalo na at baguhan kami sa lugar. Maliban sa ilang mga pasaherong bumaba sa bus, may ilang tricyle drivers din na nakaabang to offer a ride. May mga business establishments naman na katabi ang terminal pero sarado. Dahil probinsya, bihira ang 24-hours na fastfood.

We decided to wait for Cuz on the lighted part of the sidewalk a few meters away from the terminal. Ilang minutes lang at pumarada ang isang itim na Honda City sa harapan namin. Cuz rolled down her window to let us know na siya na iyon. Buti na lang at may pakotse si cuz. Pwede rin naman daw kaming mag-tricycle going to their place but it would cost us Php100.00 kasi madaling-araw na at looban pa kasi ang bahay nila.

True enough sa pagiging looban. Kasi from San Fernando town proper, we took a turn somewhere then headed to a series of uphill and downhill streets until we got to their house. Medyo dulo ng kabukiran ang location nila. Pero in fairness, the house was big enough to accommodate guests.

We knew we would have a long day ahead of us kaya after ituro sa amin ni Cuz kung saan ang kwartong tutulugin namin, we just put down our things and slept. We were even too tired to freshen up. Para kaming hinatak ng kama at ipinaghele ng lamig ng aircon.

to be continued...