How to get there:
By Air:
Boracay, being part of the province of Aklan, has two airports. One in Kalibo (province capital) and Caticlan airport in Malay. The following domestic airlines fly to Kalibo and Caticlan: Philippine Airlines, Cebu Pacific, Zest Airway and Seair.
Tip: Some domestic airlines offer seats sale every now and then. You just have to be quick in booking a seat because the place is so in demand, seats may not be available sooner than you thought.
By Sea:
Several ferries operates from Batangas to Caticlan port. From Manila you have to travel 2hrs to get to Batangas port and from there, travel time to Caticlan port is about 9 to 12hrs. So far the best ferry to take is 2GO (www.2go.com.ph)
Hotels, resorts or even transient houses have filled the shores of Boracay. For reference, you may want to visit http://www.myboracayguide.com/beaches-resorts-rooms-accommodations-boracay-hotels.html
The crew!
Day 01: Kalibo airport is still two hours away from our destination - the Boracay Island. By the time we arrived in Cagban port of Boracay the sun has already set. lol. We checked - in at La Carmela de Boracay and had a buffet dinner.
There's just so much restaurant to choose from Station 3 all the way to Station 1. The only problem is that there's so much option that you don't know which to choose. lol. We bumped into this restaurant somewhere in Station 2 which happened to be the same restaurant we had back in 2010!
It's a complete course buffet (of course it should be!) they got soup all the way to desserts! It taste good too! Not bad for a price of Php290/person.
After dinner we looked for a place to just hang out and just "chill" lol. Again, there's just so much to choose from that you don't know where to exactly go. I guess what we're looking for that night was about the ambience and feel good music. Of course Bom-Bom bar will be the first name you could ever think of going but the place was so packed and their tables were so close with each other and we're really not comfortable with that. lol.
Good thing we saw OJ's Roast|Bake|Grill, we like the ambience and they even had us seated up front where we can just lay on the bean bags while we enjoy the sounds of two of the most popular a reggae acts in the island, Kokoy and Marvs.. Oooh they even have an Australian friend whom they asked to join them for the whole set, the guy was really good in guitars. They've been playing a lot of Marley's song, they're awesome! We stayed until the wee hours and took a picture with the band.
Hello Sunny Cloudy!
Day 2: Our friend surprisingly brought the cake she made all the way from Manila without letting the birthday girl know. lol. It's Sunday and it's Father's day so we had to use the cake to surprise our friend for a happy father's day greeting! lol.
We all went down together for a buffet breakfast. It's was packed! I must say the korean invasion in the Philippines has made an impact especially on gastronomy. lol. Half of the food served at the buffet were korean food! From Kimchi to Bulgogi! lol. BUT I love Kimchi!! I actually know how to make one. I'll try to share it in here some other time.
Okay so breakfast is over, gotta chill at the beach. We had our picture taken at this sand sculpture by the locals. Then we took a tricycle ride to Station 1 to see the Virgin Mary Grotto, which is a famous landmark in the island.
What I like in station 1 is that the sand is a lot more finer (powder like) than the sand in Station 3 and less people. lol. Also in station 1 you can visit the famous Jonah"s fruit shake and snack bar, their shakes are really good. A lot of flavours to choose from the simple real fruit flavours to fruity and sweet combinations. I had Choconut and banana shake. Too sweet for others but it was perfect for me!
Before lunch we rode a paraw. Each paraw can accommodate 10 pax - that's Php100/each for 1hr ride around the island. We get to see the other side of Boracay. It was a perfect way to just calm down on the bamboo outriggers (katig) with net. Feel the water touching your feet as it sails, be careful not to fall although you will be given a life vest before you ride the boat.
The group has been divided, some of them went onto beach activities like flying fish and parasailing. The other group went back to the area of our hotel and just swam all afternoon and just chill at the beach!
At dinner we had buffet again this time at our hotel. lol. It was delish! After dinner we went to find a bar where we can spend our last night. We thought of gong back to OJ's but there's no band playing so we decided to go to Bom-Bom bar.
At Bom-bom bar Marvs who's from the band that played at OJ's the night before recognized us and actually sat with us after his gig. We even jammed for a while with his guitar and we didn't even notice that the bar's already closed and we're the only customers left! lol.
Finally while the others were already wasted they decided to go back to the hotel while me and 3 others stayed with Marvs who invited us to go to another bar 'Summer Place'. An entrance fee of 100 and you can dance all night long at their huge but packed dance floor!
At this point I would like to thank Marvs for hanging out with us. This guy is so famous in the island that everybody wants to hang out with him, seriously!!! But he chose to stay and hang out with us! I like Marvs but I love Kokoy!!! Hahahaha. I'm obsessed with his voice! His husky yet rich and strong tone just gave chills to me! Whenever he opens his mouth it's like I hear Ziggy Marley! I love you Kokoy!!!!! Lol.
The party never ends..
It was thru Marvs that we met so much people that night and it was great! Met people from Germany, Denmark, US and of course Philippines! Hahaha! I seldom drink so I only had 2 bottles of beer. Spent quite a lot of time talking to Jane from Denmark, she and her friends are in the country as volunteers to help kids from isolated places in the Philippines.
Gosh! I can't believe with that girl, she's on her 7th bottle of Red Horse when we started chatting! I was honest to tell her that I can only have 1 bottle of it or else I'll be doomed! lol. It was amazing how she knows how to sing 'Pusong Bato' and in return she taught me a Danish song. Hahahaha. Boy! We were wasted!
Anyway, some things that happened that night are not to be shared! Hahahaha But it was a clean fun I tell you! So we went out of the bar at past 4am. We're so wasted that we just kept laughing at ourselves on our way back to the hotel! Spontaneously we decided to take a plunge at the beach!
We ran, ran and ran we even get to encounter another foreigner who's drunk and quite friendly enough to make a quick conversations with Val while we're running! Val was so bold to ask him if he would want to join us for a quick plunge. We felt like he wanted to but he's just too drunk he'd rather go back to his hotel! lol.
We found ourselves back into our hotel at 5am. I thought of not going to bed because it would just give me a headache if I will have to wake up after 2hrs to prepare for our flight back home. And true enough! Hangover slapped me as soon as I woke up!
We had breakfast and soon enough we found our way back to Manila. Late afternoon we are already back home and again back to reality! lol.
Boracay may seemed overrated as time goes by but it cannot be denied that the place is a paradise despite the island is like a sinking ship waiting to happen because of the number of people it can attract especially on summer days. I'll never get tired coming back to that place. I will just never be.
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