Boracay 2013

Boracay is internationally known as the ultimate getaway – just like Hawaii, Bora Bora, Bahamas, etc. There are mixed reviews about Boracay, and after our trip, I can see why I'll get into it later. But I think the main thing is that we enjoyed ourselves the entire time.

Boracay is located in the Western Visayas, low and behold, that's where Ondoy is. To get to Boracay, we drove from Ondoy to Caticlan, which is about 45 minutes or so. From Caticlan, we had to take a boat to the island. We tried to bargain our way and my dad tried to get the local discount, which he thought he could do. But since we all looked like tourists and the fair skin of Michelle, the kids, and Trey, resulted in us paying full price. We had a quick laugh and boarded the boat.

Harassment

While in Boracay, the locals needless to say, tend to hustle you for your money. They will hound you right from the start about buying products or services they offer and be relentless throughout your vacation. It's like the D-end in football going after the quarterback, ALL DAY! Depending on the person you are, this may be very offensive to you. However, taking it from the local’s perspective, this is how they earn their living. Granted, it is not a 9-5 job, but it is a way to put food on the table. In addition, you can see at night why they need to hustle. There are kids no older than 5 years old sleeping on the ground. There are infants that have no shelter. If you were put into this situation, there is no choice. 

Horseback Riding

Because we didn’t have our translator and had to rely on Trey for a lot of the translating, doing an activity on the second day became a little adventurous. First, the decision. We chose horseback riding. Instead of inquiring about it, we waited on the street until someone came to us. After screening a few people, we found our man. He was an old local guy who said he could take us horseback riding. To do this required some negotiating, which my mom, Quincy, and Trey took care of. The plan was to take the trike to Station 1, there we would find the old man’s connection who would provide the service. That is what we did. I expected the stables similar to Oahu. You know, Happy Trails, Kawailoa farm, Malaekahana stable, Waimanalo…you know. F-that, that was not what we encountered. After riding on the trikes for about 20 minutes, we made a few turns passing this place called Dreamland. Then we made a right onto these side streets. It was sketchy to say the least. We entered a narrow ally on a dirt road. Both sides had run down living quarters. We stuck out like a sore thumb. There was a sign labeled stables, so I knew they weren’t going to take us and kill us. The horse ride was over $150 U.S. dollars total for all of us, about $18 per person. I think it came out to 6000 pesos. The ride was so worth it. It opened my eyes a little wider to a world we live in. Something I really need to do. Since I’ve been hiking on Oahu the past 3 years, my eyes have opened up to the island of Oahu, not only its beauty, but what it offers. The beautiful mountains give you a perspective of the good and bad things of Oahu, which I won’t get into right now. I digress, the horse ride was 30 minutes one way, and 30 minutes back. What I saw in those 30 minutes has changed me somewhat. 

Massage

Another great thing about Boracay are the massages. Price ranges anywhere from $8-$22. Financially, if you pay $50 in Hawaii, you can get 5 massages in the Philippines for the price of $50. This means we went every day! Sometimes multiple times per day! If you are looking for ambiance, forget it. It’s more of a hole in the wall. But the lighting is dark which if you think about, who cares what the environment feels like. Also the environment doesn’t feel clean. You are on a bed or mat which probably hasn’t been cleaned in ages. Sometimes, they don't put on new sheets during customer turnover. I think one time they did. My advice is to take a shower after or jump into the ocean to cleanse. The higher end massage places probably have a better ambiance, but I’m not sure since we didn’t go there. The quality of the massage is excellent. The kids (they look so young) are trained properly in a variety of massage techniques, just like the Bella Viva masseuses in the islands. Honestly, they know what they are doing. They also work very hard to make sure you have a good experience by providing good customer service. I would just tell them exactly where to massage and they'd do it. In Hawaii, you tell the masseuse to focus on your back and they end up massaging your whole body, it doesn't make sense. Only drawback of the Boracay massages is the oil they use, which is very oily. To solve that problem, just take a shower after. 

White Beach

During our stay in Boracay, I kept on telling mom about seeing White Beach which is always listed among the top 25 beaches in the world every year in various travelling and beach polls. My mom laughed saying that we were on White Beach. I kept on telling mom, “No were not”. In the end the pathway we walked on the entire 3 days while we were there was called White Beach Path. And the beach I took hundreds of pictures of was White Beach. I can brag now and say that I’ve been to 3 of the top beaches in the world; Lanikai (Oahu), Hapuna (Big Island), and now White Beach (Philippines). Each of these beaches held the #1 spot at one time or another throughout the years.

The Buffets

The island of Boracay which my mom calls the millionaires island is known for their lavish buffets, each hotel trying to outdo the other. The buffet is either on the beach or near the beach with a good size spread of food. The food, like all food on this island, is of good quality. Accompanying the mania is entertainment. We had fire dancers and singing. The fire dancing was amazing. They even interacted with the tourists. I got some good pics of Michelle with the fire appearing to burn her. Cool pic effect. The chefs at one buffet were doing Gangnam style…”hey sexy lady”. At about $8-$12 a buffet, can't go wrong with that.