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-La Union Trip 1.2-

From Jet Ski to Surfing real quick. We left San Fernando La Union and went to San Juan Surf School to surf. It was a 20-minute drive from San Fernando to San Juan. We arrived there around 1 in the afternoon. We decided that we will eat lunch after surfing because we don’t to get hungry again since surfing is really exhausting. My aunt inquired inside of the beach resort for the surfing lessons. We went to the beach and there were many instructors waiting to instruct us.

In the beach there was a hut where the surfing instructors are waiting for students like us for them to teach. We saw a dog owned by the resort who’s name is ‘Max’ and his breed is a Golder Retriever. We took a picture because it has the same breed of her old dog that died. After that, my aunty and the surf instructor talked about how much was the surfing lessons. The price is 500 pesos per head for 1 hour of surfing lessons. The instructor said that there will be a 15-minute land lesson and 45-minute water lesson. And so, we begun the land lessons. He gathered us in one place and taught us all about the parts of the surfboard, the safety practices when surfing, and the techniques in surfing. To be honest, I wasn’t listening very carefully because I am very excited to surf. Actually it was my second time surfing at that time. My first time was at Iba, Zambales that’s why I have some knowledge about surfing. After the land lessons, we went to the sea to for the water lessons.

All for of us cousins each have an instructor handling us for the water lesson. I didn’t ask the name of my instructor since we didn’t talk that much. Even though we don’t talk that much, he is hands on instructing me what to do. And so, the water lesson begun. The water at the beach was cold at first, but my body adjusted to the temperature after being in the water for long. I applied all the lessons I learned during the 15-minute land lesson.

So the set-up will be, my instructor will say ready when there’s a wave coming and I must be in the ready position so that I will be ready to surf. After a few seconds, when the wave reaches me he will push me forward along with the wave and I will have to stand up and balance myself so I won’t fall. I can confidently say that I didn’t have a hard time balancing myself in the wave because it was my second time surfing at that time so I was pretty confident with my skills. Ate Sheen (My elder cousin) and Chariz (Ate Sheen’s cousin) had a hard time at first but eventually when they felt the groove on how to balance and the right timing on how to stand up on the surf board, they eventually become good.

The 45-minute water lesson ended and all I can say is that my mouth is very salty because I drank some sea water while surfing LOL. Overall, the lessons were very useful and the surfing price is decent. I would really recommend San Juan Surfing School for amateurs like us. They are very hands on instructing their students and kind as well. The experience was fun and honestly, I think I can do better next time we go surfing.

After an hour-long of surfing, all of us were hungry that we ate lunch in the resort’s restaurant. The food was good because I was very hungry at that time and I got to replenish my energy as well. We also bought some souvenirs so that we have a remembrance on what happened on that day. After a resting and walking at the beach, we packed our things at the car and prepared for a 6-hour long drive from La Union to Antipolo. It was very exhausting and fun at the same time because I got to bond with my family during the weekends.    

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-La Union Trip 1.1-

After our trip to Baguio City, we headed to La Union because my cousin booked Airbnb for us to stay there for 1 night. After our Lunch at Baguio City, we immediately drove to La Union. We left at around 3 in the afternoon and arrived at La Union at 5 in the afternoon. It was a 2-hour long drive and all we did was sleep so that we can replenish our energy from our previous trip. The house was good and had WIFI in it. We had a good stay but then in the morning it was time for us to go. Initially, the plan is that we were going to do Jet Ski at the beach. So we left the house and went to San Fernando La Union Agualink watersport.

It was approximately a 20-minute drive from the house we booked from Airbnb to the beach. We’re all excited to ride on the Jet Ski because it’s our first time. Upon arriving there, we coordinated with the beach personnel so that the Jet Ski can be delivered to the beach. We waited for at least 15 minutes before the Jet Skis arrived. We then ate street foods and bought googles.

When the Jet Skis arrived my heart was pumping with excitement because I was so thrilled in driving it. They set-up the Jet Skis and taught us how to drive it. Honestly it was very easy to drive because you only need to use one hand to press the gas. When I asked my aunt about how much was the Jet Ski ride, she that it was 4,000 pesos for 30 minutes. I was really stunned when I heard it because we rented 2 Jet Skis making it 8,000 pesos for just the experience. I’m not bragging about how much money they have but I was just describing that Jet Ski rides are very expensive and I’m very lucky to have experienced it.

We rode the Jet ski for almost 30 Minutes and my brother and I were screaming with joy because it was very fun. We took turns driving the Jet Ski and it was the best experience ever. If I were to describe the feeling I had while riding it, it would be like riding a motorcycle and a bull at the same time. It was very fast and very bumpy because of the waves. We were even galloping in the water because of how fast we were riding! All I can say is that, the money is very worth it. And again, it was the best experience in my life.

After the ride, we took a picture and swam for a bit at the beach. I was kind of sad when we’re going down the Jet Skis because I still want to have fun riding it. I still can’t even get my mind out of it while writing this sentence LOL. Anyways, we immediately went back to the car after we dry ourselves. We didn’t change clothes because we will go the surf beach and surf there. We left the beach and headed to our last destination for the day.

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-Baguio Trip 1.3-

It was an eventful day at Baguio City, we decided to head to the Mines View Park Located at Mines View, Baguio City, Benguet after we went at Botanical Garden. It was approximately a 10-minute drive from Botanical Garden to Mines View Park. We arrived there around 12 noon and surprisingly, the entrance is very crowded to the point that we had to wait in line. Luckily, the people in the line was moving fast enough that’s why we didn’t have a problem waiting for too long. The entrance fee there is very cheap which is 10 pesos for every person.

When we went inside, you can see many stalls selling souvenirs like t-shirts, shorts, bracelets and etc. It was very crowded inside to the point that it gets hot because there were too many people and the sun was pointing directly at us. Fortunately, there were many trees giving us shade from the sun. upon walking inside, there’s a downhill path leading you to the overlooking part of the park. We saw many food stalls selling different kinds of foods like fruits, grilled corn and etc. They also sell plants just like inside the botanical garden.

Upon walking, we saw horses that have pink hair and white skin which we’re used for taking pictures. Some tourist rides the horses and take pictures and pay the owner of the horse after it. There were many people at that time that it was very hard to walk around because the area is also not that big.

When we reached the over looking part of the park, there was a sudden cold breeze that refreshed us from the heat. The view looked great. There were may mountains, trees and we even saw some houses. A short trivia about this park is it was named Mines View because it overlooks the spectacular Baguio view of the Cordillera mountains and Benguet’s Gold and Copper mines. We took some pictures in the overlooking and even took photo of our squid plush toy with the great view. After that, we didn’t waste time and went back to the car because all of us were hungry. We ate lunch at Samgyup Salamat located near Good Taste Restaurant.

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-Baguio Trip 1.2-

We left Burnham Park and went to Botanical Garden. From Burnham Park, it is approximately a 10-minute drive to Botanical Garden. We we’re still exhausted from the 6-hour trip but we’re still excited to go to our next destination. Botanical Garden is located at 37 Leonard Wood Rd, Baguio City, Benguet. We arrived there around 10 in the morning and there were many people lining up for the entrance. There was a heavy traffic at the entrance because many cars are dropping people in front of the entrance. Even though it’s still crowded, we managed to buy tickets to enter the garden. The tickets cost 100 pesos for tourist 18 years old and above. They also have different ticket prices for Baguio City residents, which are cheaper than the tourist’s tickets.

Inside the garden, there we’re so many plants, trees and flowers. It’s like you’re being one with the nature. It has different pathways leading to the different sections of the garden. From the entrance, we took the pathway on our left and walked along it. We saw different species of plants and flowers. The garden is very organized and clean because there are signs indicating the name of the plant and there were almost no litter around the garden. We walked around for many minutes until we reached the Japanese Tunnel.

The tunnel was very dark that you needed a flashlight to navigate through it. One of my cousin’s younger cousin was scared to enter but she had no choice because all of us are entering. We were very noisy inside of the tunnel to the point that we were the only ones screaming inside of it. We were screaming and laughing at the same time because our scared faces looked funny. We followed the path of the tunnel inside until we reached the end of the path which is connected to the entrance of the tunnel. One short trivia about the tunnel is that, the tunnel was used to store military supplies by the Japanese during the Japanese occupation.

After our trip to he tunnel, we went to the Chinese zodiac sculptures. I took a picture with my own Chinese Zodiac which is the Monkey. Honestly the monkey looked cute because it had it’s tongue out. Anyway, we saw all of the other Chinese zodiac because in that section is the Fil-Chinese friendship park at. The area is very Chinese-like because it most of the structure depicts Chinese architecture.

Before we left the park, we went to the souvenir shop located at the exit of the garden. There are many different varieties of souvenir you can buy, like delicacies, bracelets, necklaces, refrigerator magnets, t-shirts and etc. Although they we’re pricey, we still manage to buy what we liked. My eldest cousin, ate Sheen, treated us all the souvenirs we want to buy. My personal favorite is the squid plush toy that looked very cute. Each of us bought one for ourselves and we even named our own squid. My squid’s name is “Thomas” (because its color is blue and it’s my favorite cartoons when I was toddler), My Brother Jiam named his squid “Tin-tin”, Ate Sheen named Her’s “Cecilia” and her younger cousin Chariz named Her’s “Shamu”. What’s cool about the push toy is that you can change it’s expression just buy flipping its face inside-out. After we went back to the car headed to our next destination.

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-Baguio Trip 1.1-

Since my older cousin came back to the Philippines she wanted us to have an out of town trip together. The place that she wanted to visit was Baguio City. Since it’s my first time to go there, I was very excited for the trip that I barely slept before our trip. We left Cavite exactly 2:00 am in the morning because we don’t want to experience traffic on the way. Of course I slept for during the 6 hour trip, I was asleep for the most part of it. I really can’t sleep comfortably because we were cramped at the back of the car. My back was aching and I had a stiff neck after the trip.

We arrived at Baguio City around 8 in the morning. It was sunrise at that time and it was very cold that I had to wear my jacket. There was even a smoke-like vapor when I breathe meaning it was cold at that time.  I was amazed how Baguio looked, unlike other cities people are organized and the environment is clean. You can even see policemen around! They took care of the traffic and maintained peace and order in the city. It felt very safe to walk around Baguio because policemen are around.   

We walked around Burnham Lake because it is where the driver parked the car. There, we spotted some boats and tried the boat riding. Since we were 7, we rented a boat for 350 pesos for 1 ride at the lake and an additional 50 pesos for the driver of the boat. The experience is relaxing and fun because we got to tell stories and familiarize with the people at Baguio. The ride ended and we continued walking around the park. We didn’t have the time to visit the biking section of the park because we have other plans.

We continued walking and saw many people doing their routines at the park. Some are jogging, some are brisk walking and some are taking pictures at the park. We also saw people doing Zumba in the streets of the park. We tried following the steps of the Zumba instructor because it was easy to follow and we felt like moving through the beat of the music. It was very fun to watch people doing Zumba. I noticed that most of the participants were old people. Even though they’re old, they can still follow the steps and execute them.

After that, we went to Melvin Jones Football Ground and there we saw many people doing physical activities like frisbee, baseball volleyball and etc. The sun was up and the temperature changed. At that time my older cousin saw a Beancurd Vendor or mostly known as Taho in tagalog. Unlike the classic Beancurd here in manila, THEY SELL STRAWBERRY BEANCURD! It was my first time tasting it and honestly, I really liked the ones with Arnibal syrup rather that the strawberry syrup. Although it tastes good, I really don’t vibe with strawberry flavor. I think I’ll rate it 5/10 because it doesn’t taste that bad for me. In the end I finished it because I don’t want to waste the 50 pesos we paid LOL.