Day 1: Road to Boracay

Everyone talks about the beauty of Boracay but they seldom talk about the hassle of the trip. Here's our story:

We left home at 8:30 AM cause our flight to Boracay departs at 12noon. We live in the North side of Manila and it takes 45 minutes without traffic to get to the Domestic Airport. Getting a cab isn't easy in Quezon City especially with snobbish drivers. They will only take you to the Airport for the right price or if they destination is convenient for them. Mind you, we now have laws regarding snobbish drivers but they don't care. Even with Airport Metered Taxi they still ask you, "how much will you pay?". Anyway, with desperate times, we had to pay more than we had to. We were able to get to the Airport on time and safe.

The Domestic Airport was packed. The flight to Cebu was 2 hours delayed and the Manila Domestic Airport doesn't have enough seats for people. They only have one Cash Machine, thank God it's BPI(one of the biggest banks in the Philippines) and few restaurants. I am happy to report that our flight left on time.

We didn't intend to take photo of the Air Plane but we had to take the piss of the tourist. My God! Chinese/Korean tourists trumps as with photos! They take photos before they depart and embark the plane. They take photo on the sight of the airplane and with every step they take, literally. They will cause severe delays I tell you. :P

It only took 40 minutes from Manila to Kalibo. I thought Kalibo is very near Boracay but I was wrong. We were only half way through there. Photo above was taken while waiting for bags. It is gonna be Ati-Atihan Festival soon.

From Kalibo there are two options to Caticlan Jetty Port, by bus or by van. By bus takes 2 hours and by van takes 1.5 hours depending on the driver. We didn't do our research and we didn't do know these things. We ended up renting a van for 1,200 that's 800 less than what they offered initially. With filos, you have to haggle or you'll end up with no money. Initally, we wanted to take the bus but we don't know where to take it. Other tourists have arranged everything and experienced no hassle. The picture above btw was taken at the gas station. Says about Filo hospitality.

We all arrive safely at the Caticlan Jetty Port. At the port, we were greeted by Kuya Louie who is gonna our guide for the next 4 days. He was the best guide we had. BTW, we paid 50 for environmental tax, 50 for travel tax and 25 for the boat fare. That's 125 each for a 10 minute ride. We have to register our names before departure and had to wear life vest as soon as you get into the boat. Talk about safety. My sister didn't get paranoid(of course I am lying, she did!) at all.

This is how the boat looked like. If it says 30 people, it only loads 30 people and they have enough life vests for everyone. I later learnt that the boatmen are trained lifeguards as well. I learn so much about life guards with this trip. Kuya Louie is very informative.

This is how the port looked like. Lined with Coconut trees. Imagine how the beach looked like now.

We had to take this tricyle to the Inn. That's Kuya Louie in white shirt btw. All fares cost 100 in Boracay.

We stayed in Turtle Inn in Station 3. Station 3 is the cheapest place to stay in Boracay but we still paid 3,22o pesos per night. My brother was supposed to go with us but unfortunately, he was sent in Singapore for his work assignment. We were greeted with this beautiful towel arrangement. Our room was very big, even bigger than the Sheraton Rogier in Brussels that we stayed in. It is very very clean and the staffs are very friendly. It is 5 minutes away from the beach by foot but can be shorter depending on how fast you walk. View wise, you get the residential view. The place was very quiet at night.

On our first night, we weren't able to do anything apart from eat and walk from Station 3 to 1. At night time, they set up chairs and tables beside the beach. It was nice hearing the waves at night. On our first night, we experienced our first drama. Hahaha! My sister wanted a glittered tattoo and we had a big discussion about why she shouldn't get it because everyone she knows got it. The discussion will blow out of proporation to the point that my dear sister would cry. It was embarassing. She will get the glittered tattoo the following day.

PS:

If anyone wants to go to Boracay, it is better to take the Manila to Caticlan flights. Dear Mummy told me that when she booked the trip, Caticlan flights were cancelled cause of accidents. Go to http://www.flightsboracay.com for more details.