Boracay: Summer State of Mind

This trip was long overdue. My office friends have been planning to go out of town for so long i can't remember how many destinations we have thought of. And then finally, one seat sale in November, we booked 8 tickets to Boracay from Airasia.

March came and excitement was clearly obvious in our faces. Almost everyday, we would talk about the things that we would do and what to wear and where to eat and many others. It was like never ending and then the date of departure came.  

@marvylicious trying to get kuya's attention.

I scheduled our flight 5:45pm because I was really hoping to get a good photo of the sunset from the plane but maybe not this time. Thanks to Airasia because our flight was delayed for an hour. Well i guess that's not new for the Airline. The plane boarded 6:30 pm but we left around 7pm because of airport traffic. We arrived in Kalibo around 8:30pm.

Kalibo Int'l Airport

Southwest Fast Craft transfer from Caticlan Jetty Port to Boracay

We chose to book the transfers fron Southwest because of convinience. We've been put out by the airline already and we couldn't afford another annoyance. We paid 1,150 for transfers back and forth. 2 hours travel time from Kalibo to Caticlan Jetty Port and then 15 mins from Jetty Port to Boracay. 

We checked in at Boracay Coco Huts in Station 1. The hotel is suitably located beachfront, beside Army Navy. The hotels staff were very accommodating and quick to respond to our needs. The room was cozy and selfie friendly. We also have our own terrace with great view of the beach. Hashtag joe approved! 

Inside our room

This is our view from our terrace.

Our first night was subtle. We ate in Andoks and then had a few drinks in Pat's Creek Bar. This bar is adjacent to BomBom Bar where Kokoy and Fernz, from the show "The Voice", performs. We saw Fernz but Kokoy wasn't around. We asked the waiter and he said that Kokoy won't be back until 3rd week of March. 

@ Pats Creek Bar photo grabbed from @iambarbieanne. (From left) @marvylicious Bob @butchwong1986 @ategabe @lhenalbania  yuki and @iambarbieanne 

Ferns performing live. 

Walking by the beach after Pats Creek bar.

My night ended early because I plan to have an early run the next day but for some of my friends, well lets just say they had a looooong night. 

For the entire stay I would do my morning run while my friends are sleeping and after that a good breakfast at my fave, Real Coffee and Tea Cafe Restaurant in Station 2, famous for their kalamansi muffins. 

Ultimate Muffin and Eggs on Toast, all with brewed coffee. 

This feels like home.! 

My heads under water but i'm breathing fine. 

Enjoying my Mango Shake in Kasbah, Station 1 while my friends are eating in Smoke Restaurant in D'Mall. 

At Sand Castle Hotel for the Happy Hour. A cold booze my friend, to match the hot afternoon. We went on to our separate activities after lunch and regrouped before sunset at Spiders House in Diniwid Beach. (I have a separate blog posts for Spider House, posting it soon)

Sunset in Spider House

After Spider House, we had dinner in Mang Inasal and then partied in Juice Bar in Station 3. Juice Bar is like the Obar of Boracay. We made new friends and drank the night away. So drunk though that we didn't care to check the bill. We were charged with drinks we didn't order and so we went back the next day to settle the bill and good thing, the bars manager was willing to solve the issue, he refunded the P1,010 overcharge. I forgot his name though. 

Juice Bar

(From left) me, @lhenalbania @iambarbieanne Bob @marvylicious @butchwong1986 @ategabe and yuki

Photo grabbed from @ategabe at Juice Bar

Photo grabbed from @iambarbieanne. This is us after settling the bill in Juice Bar the next day.

Third day we went island hopping, but instead of renting the regular pump boats we used the traditional Paraw boat. It is different from the regular pump boats because it has no engine. There's a net attached from the canoe to the outrigger where guests can sit. Its was an exciting experience for all of us. We went to Magic Island and Puka beach. Crystal Cove is included in the tour but we chose not to go because they charge P200/person entrance fee. (I have a separate post for our island hopping, posting it soon.)

Thats our paraw right there. And the chick? i don't know her. BTW the entire shoreline of white beach is filled with greenalgae/seaweeds during summer. Some say this is because of the absence of waves during the summer and others claim that this is the result of water pollution. Nonetheless, the beach is still perfect for swimming.  Hehe. 

Photo grabbed from @iambarbienne

Before we went out for our last shindig, @marvylicious planned a surprise for her boyfriend Bob, who is celebrating his birthday the next day but turns out we are also part of the surprise. @ategabe and i received a cake from them for our birthday last month. Thank you dolls! 

After eating our cakes we head on to Exit Bar to meet @iambarbieanne's friend. The bar is located besides Pats Creek Bar in Station 2. It's hard to miss because you would easily indentify it with a group of non natives, blue or green eyes, blonde hair causing traffic in the walkway. The bar is too small that others would just settle standing outside. Majority of their customers are foreigners and at some point it almost didn't feel like Philippines inside the bar. LOL. We chatted with the divers who just got off from their shifts, shared funny stories and danced like nobody is watching. I can still remember @ategabe doing her back bends and @iambarbieanne chanting while hitting it with her high kicks. Their crazy antics.

And the crowd goes wild! Clearly, @ategabe and @butchwong1986 was having fun. 

@butchwong1986 be like.......

The place is very simple, none of that fancy strobe lights or elevated dj booth or bouncers standing at the bar entrance. The sand will serve as your dancefloor. They sell all types of local beers for P60 and hear this, no entrance fee. The latter was the one that really sold to me. I remember back in the day when you didn't have to pay to party in epic bar and summer place. It was way cooler back then. Unlike now, the entrance fee increases as more people gets inside the bar. Booo! 

@iambarbieanne @ategabe and @butchwong1986 with their Russian Friends

The party didn't end at Exit Bar.  My skirts went to Club Paraw in Station 1 with their new found diver friends. They had one too many drinks that night but they did managed to get back home. Good job! 

Had to go underwater on our last day.

On our way to Talipapa @butchwong1986 and @lhenalbania

Before we went home, we ate in D'Talipapa. All 6 of us went except for @marvylicious and her boyfriend. They decided no to go for some quality cuddle time. It almost felt like its their honeymoon. The Talipapa experience is another first for me since i don't really eat when I am in Boracay. I have the option to  either splurge on beer or food, but i prefer the former, never both due to budget constraints. I'd rather be drunk and wasted than be stuffed and bloated. Joke! 

 

It was @iambarbieanne and @lhena who took care of the food orders. They know it better than the rest of us do. While waiting for the food to be cooked we looked around and bought souvenirs. You have tons of options, from Boracay key chains, ref magnets, tshirts, bags, accessories and many others. You just have to look for what suits your budget and don't forget to bargain. 

@ Natalia's Kusina

We had Calamares, Steamed Oysters, Fish Sinigang and Shrimp. Everything was delicious and their service was good.

After eating we head back to our hotel to check out. Southwest picked us up past 1PM for our transfer back to Caticlan and then to Kalibo. Our flight back to Manila was again delayed for 1 hour due to additional aircraft servicing so we arrived in Manila past 9pm. BAD business.


I visit Boracay every year ever since i moved to Manila 5 years ago but each visit is different. Good different. I mean, i don't think i will ever get tired of the island. Feels like my birthplace actually, kidding. My friends enjoyed their Boracay experience. They adored the white beach and the food and most definitely the night life. If you've been to Boracay, you know how crazy the nightly shindigs can be. They are all excited to go back. As a matter of fact, we already booked a flight back to the island for March next year, but this time we are in a much bigger group. I bet it will be an insanely fun vacay. I will be back this July though with a different set of friends for our annual "Boracay WalWal". See you there!