Shake Your Booty In Boracay 2009

I didn’t know that the people that I was with during the Boracay habagat season adventure were not the morning-type of people. They were all asleep! And I? Day 3 of this vacation started off with rainshowers in the island. The second rain that I have witnessed. It was quite disappointing because I was meaning to rent an ATV and  go to Mt. Luho, the highest peak of the island. From there one would be able to see the other islands surrounding Malay, Aklan. From the top, you can also see the different world-class resorts nestled at different parts of the beaches in the entire island. There’s the Fairways and Bluewaters golf course, the Alta Vista infinity pool, the Turtle Inn Resort and such and such. The highest peak offers a view from all points of the island. It would be a really enchanting experience if not for the rain of course! True to their word, the folks didn’t woke up until past lunch. Some of them woke up to eat breakfast for a while then fell back to sleep. I remembered Hanzel who fixed his own breakfast, then ate at the terrace (with the magnificent view of the neighboring trees and the rain), smoked a couple of cigarette sticks, chatted with me for some time and then went back to our room and slept soundly as a baby.

I just can’t believe how these people manage to fall asleep while everyone else is awake! Well, not everyone else, ako nga lang ang gising eh. And since I can’t eat without company I just watched CNN for the latest news around the globe. At that time, China’s money value went up for a couple of percentage. I also saw how they North Korea managed to bring down a bridge and rebuilt it, solving centuries old problem of their country (it’s about their drainage system which they found out was actually under their main bridge, serves as the main thoroughfare to bring you from one city to another). The story behind the North Korea bridge thingy was rather complicated and I wasn’t able to watch the entire entry. Because at the time that they are about to show the history behind the bridge, one of the survivors woke up and decided to cook breakfast for the two of us. You guessed it right! Aboy woke up feeling hungry and all, then cooked hotdogs and fried eggs for the two of us. Finally, I’m now able to satisfy my hungry thoughts. He was looking for the sinigang na baboy that he cooked from the night before and complained why I wasn’t able salvage some for him. I explained that it was okay if nothing was left for him, he can cook his sinigang masterpiece at anytime; the other survivors won’t have any other chance to have his sinigang. Only if the time comes that they can again be with him. I’m glad that he smiled with that analogy. In other words, nakalusot kahit papano! By the way, I wasn’t able to finish my breakfast. Don’t know the reason why I’m full or probably I’m just trying to reserve my stomach for appetizing meals that we’ll try later during the day. A few minutes after we ate, the survivors woke up one by one and started asking what are we to do for our 3rd day. We found out that Noi has fever. I was afraid to give him any kind of medicine at that point because I’m not sure what happened and why he has fever. He was kind of shy when I tried to inspect his entire body for rashes or anything of that sort because I’m thinking that he might have contracted malaria or dengue fever. But Noi assured that he’s fine, probably because he just got tired from our day 2 adventures and all. Hanzel our resident nurse that he is (he’s still a student though) told me that we can give him paracetamol or cough tablets since he’s also having cough spasms. After cooking rich noodles with egg ala Divine (which in fact is instant Maggi noodles with egg) and making sure that Noi eats his breakfast, the survivors decided to go back to White Beach and explore the shops and restaurants. So I, Aboy, Marla, Angie, Dennis and Hanzel set off to our next adventure. We rode a tricycle (charged at Php60 for the entire group) going to Diniwid Beach.

While savoring the sea-saltiness of Diniwid Beach I realized and felt that I’m truly having my vacation during the habagat season. The winds were strong and the waves were big, enough for kiteboarding, skim boarding extreme, surfing and para-sailing. The weather map shows colors in them which makes surfing dudes smile at that because colors mean waves are coming in and they can do their stuff. We passed by Diniwid Beach and trudged along the skinny Mika’s path going to Station 1.

We passed by Diniwid Beach and trudged along the skinny Mika's path going to Station 1. From there we could see how punishing the waves are.

The first resort that you would pass by coming from Diniwid is Friday’s Resort. One of the super AAAA resorts that can be found along the coast of White Beach. Some of the pricey resorts are actually clustered along this part of the island, thus gaining the impression as home of the affluent. We stayed in its beachfront property for a while and swam ala Baywatch style. We left that place earlier than expected because the guard wouldn’t allow us to stay unless we order from their bar inside the resort. What the?! I felt insulted on how the guard treated commoners like us. But there’s no sense in arguing with these type of people.  So we are prompted us  to leave the lovely beach front and move forward, heading off towards the direction of Station 2.

Along the way to our right side, we found the infamous Boracay landmark named Willy’s Rock. It’s a natural rock formation entirely visible during low tide.  Stairs were  created so one can climb up to the top of the rock, and from there the entire White Beach coast can be seen and appreciated.  We took this as a great photo opportunity. I really didn’t mind spending sometime at this place because first, it’s free. And secondly, no Aklanon guard can ever command us to leave the place.  I also liked the thought that they have added a grotto on this landmark. When we can no longer think of any poses appropriate for picture taking, I decided that it’s time to leave Willy’s Rock and jump to the next agenda – bar hopping! In broad daylight?? How is that possible?

The entire group was actually amazed at the fact that booze is served cold in daylight at this island. I guess that was how Boracay Island earned its recognition as the best beach party place in the Philippines. Bars, clubs, discotheques,  hotels, restaurants, spas, money changers, clothes shops, souvenirs and specialty shops, etc. These are all abundant along the White Beach coast, almost all these establishments are available 24/7 (especially during high peak season). You can actually get dizzy just by looking at the long list of establishments located on this very small island. Of course we weren’t able to try all the bars at the island.

The next stop from Willy’s Rock is Guilly’s Island. I personally was happy to see a familiar site — ice cold beer! Some of them ordered fruit shakes and light breakfasts from their menu, while others just had Coke. We stayed for a while and had some photo opportunities again until Hanzel decided to go home so he could join his sick brother Noi. How sweet of him to accompany his brother though I feel sorry that he would miss half of the must-see things, only in Boracay that is. We parted ways at the Main Road where Hanzel took a tricycle heading back to Boracay Residences. And so the journey continues. The five us set foot to our next stop — Jonah’s Shakes, the best shakes in the island. It was actually a very humble description because for me, Jonah’s is the best shake maker in the entire of the Philippines! Their packaging is also unique. The owner decided to use mineral bottle type containers to house the shakes. Very unique and practical at that. One can just order, pay and go without having to worry on finishing your shakes prior to going off, especially during high peak season when there are lotsa customers waiting on their orders. I think that’s how Jonah’s owner got the idea of using water containers for the shake. The fruit shakes range anywhere from Php90-150 per bottle, depending on the fruit that you’re going to have. I had the usual coffee shake the rest had fruit shakes. Jonah’s also offer meals that can be ordered as combo along with their delicious shakes. We had our heavenly  shakes to go and decided to walk again towards D’Mall.

D’Mall is actually like a small city within this island, located in between Stations 2 and 3. There were some interesting sights to see at D’Mall. Like the Koya waiting for his EB. Or the male foreigners walking along with their young Filipina catch in tow. I know you know what I mean. I really wanted to climb D’Wall at D’Mall but the lady guard informed me that there’s no one to assist me. Sigh! We just took some shots and headed off to one of my favorite restaurants at the island, Smoke! Smoke offers a wide variety of menu ranging from fried to sizzling to soups at a very affordable price range starting at Php90-150 per person per meal. Aboy had the gising-gising, which is a very spicy soup with vegetables and mixture of seafoods. Angie had spicy squid. Me and Marla had sizzling beef with mushrooms. I forgot what Dennis had but probably it’s a seafood recipe because it didn’t interest me that much. After having a hearty meal at Smoke, the survivors decided to walk at the beachfront to purchase some souvenirs. I told them that souvenirs are cheaper at D’Talipapa. And since it’s our last night in Boracay, the survivors decided to bar hop at night. We all agreed that it was a good idea, not even considering the fact that our flight is very early in the morning.

And so we took this day as our last photo opportunity in Boracay.  Because we’re gonna party at night! We got seperated as 2 groups probably due to cam whoring or probably we just want to have our privacy. I’m really not sure. I was with Aboy. We searched through the mini-stores at D’Talipapa for the most inexpensive but decent souvenirs. The souvenirs range from as cheap as Php10/piece for the bracelets with Boracay insignia on it, the shirts ranging from Php70-150 with of course the Boracay insignias again.  What I liked the most for souvenirs are the refrigerator magnets. The Boracay folks carved fishes, trees, slippers, etc. out of wood, attached magnets on to them, and wallah! Instant cute and cheap souvenirs from Boracay. They were creative I should say. You can purchase these refrigerator magnets for 7 pieces at Php100. Cheap di ba? Pero very colorful naman! Aboy bought one shirt for him and a pair of shirt and shorts for his daughter. I’ve had enough Boracay souvenirs already so I just bought souvenirs for my office mates who are actually waiting for my return because of the pending jobs I left. Teehee! I was quite unsatisfied with the goodies that we had… so many things to purchase with so little time and little money, LOL! After about 1 or 2 hours of shopping, we decided to go home. Only to find out that Marla, Angie and Dennis aren’t home yet. So the next thing I did was freshen up and changed costumes for our bar hopping adventure, Boracay Island!

For our bar tour, we were serviced again by Kuya Richie from our room to Cocomangas Bar. I have been enjoying at this bar since time immemorial. It never seems to lose its magic. People of all age range come here and they all have a good time. What I probably love about the place is its interiors and the drinks of course! Even when different bars sprung at the island, they have since retained their signature drinks, probably came up with new ones but the ambiance remains the same even at habagat season. People are alive and partying! They also offer drinks at very affordable price. We had their by the pitcher Sex by the beach mixture which is priced at Php330 per pitcher. The good thing about this is after you’re done, you can have them refill the pitcher and they slash 50% off the original price.  See? No other bar in the island has the same offer. And so Cocomangas remains the number 1 bar for me in Boracay!

That wraps up our day 3 for our Boracay adventure. The adventure never stops here. We never thought that we could have an adventure even after going off the island. Find out why on my next page to come…