La Union Weekend

A surf board, cold beer and a great set of friends. These are what makes a perfect weekend in the lively beach of San Juan, La Union. La Union is probably one of the most tourist-friendly beaches there is where you can enjoy a perfect balance of fun and relaxation, offering watersports such as surfing and skimboarding, good food to tickle your palate and a good lively crowd to keep you company. A normal day on the beach would always include a scene of surfers both local and international, visitors from Manila or nearby cities lying in the sun for some touch of tan, while others are taking it slow with their ice cold beer. I would regularly go here with my friends on long weekends to catch a wave. During the day we would surf with our trusted instructor, Budz and his company, and at night we would have a delicious dinner at the resort, and hang around for a couple of rounds of drinks. We would always stay in Sebay Resort as it was one of the most popular ones, cheap and decent. They also serve good food and drinks, which are about everything we need to have for a feel good weekender. Feel free to browse our photos :)

-photos by Liam Navarro and Apol Ortiz

It's Boracay, Not Bora!

I don't intend to admonish anyone of you for the continued the sacrilege of our beautiful island's name. Boracay vs Bora? Two syllables sure is a lot easier than three. But I hope you give it some thought. Bora-bora is an island in the French Polynesia which is also breathtakingly beautiful. And since it was named as the most popular tropical island in the world, it doesn't need much introduction. Boracay is of course, our very own tropical paradise. It is definitely the most popular beach destination in the Philippines, but when you call it Bora instead of Boracay, the clueless tourist in front of you might think you are talking about Bora-bora. It doesn't do any good for us. Instead of creating confusion whenever you are raving about your incredible island experience, let's help promote our very own Boracay by calling it by it's proper name. It doesn't hurt to add just that one last syllable to help create our mark. Surely, it needs some getting used to, but remember that just by keeping it's name intact in your conversations, it will already be a great contribution in promoting not only the island itself, but our country's tourism as a whole. Remembering these four words don't really require too much effort, does it? IT'S BORACAY, NOT BORA.

Photos by Liam Navarro