2026 Trip - Day 142: Off to San Juan, La Union

In the morning while I was lying on my bed, and I knew I couldn't stay in Manila another day. I was sick of this place. I wanted to leave, and I was completely tired of it. I'd been here for two weeks now, and honestly, I think coming here was one of the worst decisions I've made. I don't enjoy the food that much since it's mostly full of meat, and the city is way too crowded, packed, and kind of dirty.

I decided to leave Manila. After about an hour of research, I chose San Juan, La Union, Philippines. Honestly, anywhere was fine as long as it got me away from this city. San Juan is about a five to six hour bus ride away, and it was already almost 9 a.m.

I decided to take a Grab to the Partas Bus Terminal in Pasay because I had no idea what time the buses were leaving, and I didn't want to risk missing an early one just in case. It honestly killed me to spend that much money when I could have saved a lot by taking the jeepney and the MRT. But the thought of dragging my backpack onto a crowded jeepney was enough to make me give up on that idea. The Grab cost 137 pesos. It probably would've cost me less than 30 pesos if I'd taken the jeepney and MRT instead. This was killing me.

Once I got there at around 11:20 a.m., I was pissed. The bus wasn't leaving until 1 p.m., and the ticket from Manila to San Juan cost 708 pesos. I wanted to die. My wallet was crying.

Since I had time to kill, I walked to the nearest 7 Eleven to buy my favorite BBQ chicken bun. It normally costs 39 pesos, but it was sold out. The only one left was the premium version for 52 pesos, so I had no choice but to buy it. I felt like I was spending way more money than I should today because of poor planning.

I bought the damn expensive bun and a chocolate drink for 42 pesos, then sat inside 7 Eleven trying to enjoy the air conditioning before heading back to the bus terminal. I managed to stay there until around noon before making my way back to bus terminal.

Partas Bus Terminal in Pasay

I was seated in Row 2 on the bus next to a local man. He was incredibly kind and lent me his hotspot because I needed internet to book my accommodation. We chatted for a bit, and he told me he'd been living and working in Taiwan for almost 15 years, including throughout COVID. He said he really enjoyed living there.

Bus Ticket Manila to San Juan

I managed to get a little sleep on the bus, but some moron decided to play videos on their phone at maximum volume.

When we finally arrived, I was the second last person to get dropped off. The local guy sitting next to me had already gotten off earlier, but he had a scooter. After he was dropped off, he actually rode over to where I was getting off just to make sure I could find my hostel.

We walked about five minutes uphill to the hostel, but it took us almost an hour to finally check in because no one was there except one guest. By then it was already nighttime, and the local guy from the bus went to the street to talk to the neigbour to contact the hostel owner for me.

Later a local guy in my dorm cooked dinner and offered to share his meal with me. It was chicken with potatoes and rice.

Finally, after such a long and exhausting day, I was able to settle in.

Free meal from another guest in dorm

Today spending:

Bus Manila to San Juan: 708 Pesos
Accommodation: 570 Pesos (13.26Aud)
Premium Chicken Bun from 7 eleven: 52 Pesos
Chocolate drink: 36 Pesos
Macha cake: 60 Pesos
Chicken Rice: 90 Pesos
Instant noodle: 27 Pesos

Total: 1,543 pesos (approximately A$35.89)