As a kid, I used to look forward to long holidays because it meant that we’re going to the province (La Union) and stay in our ancestral home for almost a week. That meant clean air, pitch black darkness at night, there’s only one or two groceries good enough for what you need, peace and quiet, sprinkled by walking for 15-20 minutes crossing acres of land (navigating aggressive flocks of geese or askals, seeing carabaos grazing) just to get to the beach where there’s only a handful of people.

Ngayon wala na. We couldn’t even park our car in front of our house because they paved the roads surrounding it and blocked entry. In its place are restaurants, coffee shops, hotels, rave bars, lights, noise, garbage. I also see 1 or 2 star reviews calling our beach overrated. Hey, it’s not our fault that you came here thinking it was going to be Boracay. It’s the murkiest and saltiest seawater, and I love it for that.