N
Esquire Philippines|August 2016

The road to the north is not narrow at all. But it feels narrow, as all roads are narrow, as a straight, taut bridge to somewhere in the far distance is narrow, no matter how wide the bridge really is, as the eyes narrow, even when you’re only looking at the map and there are no complicated directions, and even when you ignore the instructions given out by the rigid voice on our devices.

Sarge Lacuesta
N

n IS FOR NARROW. The road to the north is not narrow at all. But it feels narrow, as all roads are narrow, as a straight, taut bridge to somewhere in the far distance is narrow, no matter how wide the bridge really is, as the eyes narrow, even when you’re only looking at the map and there are no complicated directions, and even when you ignore the instructions given out by the rigid voice on our devices.

You will know your way by the cardinal direction on the compass, you will be pushed by a natural propulsion, like a foreign element in a blood vessel headed straight to the head from the heart, as we are when we leave Manila at seven or eight in the morning and hit La Union, steeped in the heat of late noon.

Lunch is beautifully cooked bagnet on rice at a partially hidden restaurant called Tagpuan, just across Urbiztondo beach, which is a strip of grey sand plied by healthy waves on the back of generous swells, and fronted by surf schools and restaurants.

These days La Union is everyone’s favorite day escape from Manila. Some people have taken to calling it “Elyu,” and I suppose it’s meant to give everything a cool, jaunty feel. As expected, there is the faint sound of reggae in the air.

But Tagpuan doesn’t look out at the sea. There’s no escape from the road to the north, where tricycles sputter by and trucks hurtle past, only a brief respite.

There is just a thin blade of shade; my five-year-old son instinctively takes his shirt off in the heat.

A few hundred meters ahead there’s a café called El Union, and despite ourselves, thinking of the long stretch ahead to Vigan, we drop by and suffer the Manila crowd taking portraits of their beverages. We pull away and push forward. When you’re headed far, coffee is coffee, and that’s all.

Denne historien er fra August 2016-utgaven av Esquire Philippines.

Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.

Denne historien er fra August 2016-utgaven av Esquire Philippines.

Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.

FLERE HISTORIER FRA ESQUIRE PHILIPPINESSe alt
What It Means to Be Beautiful
Esquire Philippines

What It Means to Be Beautiful

At the trial of Phryne in 350 BC, the courtesan, who was acknowledged to be one of the most beautiful women in Athens, had been accused of defaming the gods and was losing the case, and was about to be sentenced to die.

time-read
10+ mins  |
August 2016
Of All Time
Esquire Philippines

Of All Time

Both an athlete and a symbol of noble defiance, Muhammad Ali was a hero to men everywhere. Long after the Thrilla in Manila, and certainly long after his death, he will be remembered as the greatest.

time-read
6 mins  |
July 2016
Esquire Philippines

Twenty Years Later

Kobe says goodbye, and hello.  

time-read
7 mins  |
July 2016
Being Miss Universe
Esquire Philippines

Being Miss Universe

Seven months after being named the most universally beautiful woman in the world, Pia Wurtzbach has grown into the job.

time-read
10+ mins  |
August 2016
So You Think You Know Baron Geisler
Esquire Philippines

So You Think You Know Baron Geisler

The Controversial Actor describes the Angels and Demons in his Lifelong Arch of Stumble and Stir.

time-read
10 mins  |
August 2016
The Nice guy
Esquire Philippines

The Nice guy

He’s the world’s most famous normal person, the Hollywood Everyman, the good guy who finishes first. This month, he makes himself even more popular by returning to his most successful character, the rogue CIA agent Jason Bourne. Over coffee in Toronto, Matt Damon tells Esquire about surviving early acclaim, overcoming career setbacks, and why he won’t be running for president any time soon. (OK, maybe vice-president.)

time-read
10+ mins  |
August 2016
N
Esquire Philippines

N

The road to the north is not narrow at all. But it feels narrow, as all roads are narrow, as a straight, taut bridge to somewhere in the far distance is narrow, no matter how wide the bridge really is, as the eyes narrow, even when you’re only looking at the map and there are no complicated directions, and even when you ignore the instructions given out by the rigid voice on our devices.

time-read
6 mins  |
August 2016