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Published: February 6th 2007
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Boracay
It was hard to leave Manila. I had tried once and already missed a flight and seriously considered missing another. I had met some good people at the hostel and had fallen into a routine of relaxing days and relaxing nights - but I had not come for this and finally dragged myself to the domestic airport bound for the raucous resort of Boracay via Caticlan. There is no airport on the small island of Boracay (9km long and 1km wide) and to get there you must use a pump boat from Caticlan on the island of Panay. Once on the island I used one of the motorbike taxis to haul my rucksack and myself to the ‘back packer’ style accommodation (bamboo huts). For 700 pesos I got a large room with two double beds with bathroom, fridge and cable TV. Result! You really don’t need air con in Boracay as it does not get stifling hot.
Boracay is beautiful. It really is a paradise. It actually looks like it does in the brochures and on the postcards and it wasn’t long before I was happily sizzling away on the white sand next to the brilliant turquoise
sea with book in hand. This was the life. If you’re feeling a little more energetic there are snorkelling and diving trips available but there are much better places to do this in and around the Philippines.
Well after getting far too burnt on the beach that day I decided to take my red face out and about to check out the raucous nightlife the Lonely Liar was promising me...well...it wasn’t quite what I had expected. The nightlife for me was fairly quiet. There are numerous bars and restaurants lining the beach but the majority of them appeared very quiet and relaxing. Not a bad thing at all - Just not what I was expecting. Boracay strikes me as an ideal place for a honeymoon or a relaxing beach holiday with the family or girlfriend. I was told it does get amazingly loud and busy during holy week (Easter) but in early February it was anything but that. After a good feed at one of the many ‘all you can eat’ buffets and fobbing off a couple of none too convincing lady boys I made my way to the busiest bar/club I found near boat station one with resident
fire jugglers/dancers. I sank a few more san mig lights with some of the kite surfers that ply the opposite beach and returned to my bamboo hut which was now home to a few huge cockroaches. Nice.
After 3 nights here I wanted a change of scenery and yes you can get bored living in paradise! I decide to head to Cebu city where one of the guys I had met in Manila was checking out property and was searching for his perfect Filipino partner...
Cebu -
After a short flight I met up with Steve at the Kukoos Nest Hotel and wasn’t too surprised to learn he wasn’t having much luck on either front but was having fun settling into his daily routine of relaxing days and relaxing nights whilst getting the run-around from the local Filipino girls. The following day I persuaded him that we should check out the local tourist attractions, so off we went to find the Basilica Minore del Santo Nino, Fort San Pedro and Magellan’s cross. The basilica is said to be the ‘holiest of churches’ built in 1565 and has been burnt down no fewer than 3 times. It’s fairly
impressive as churches go which is more that can be said of Fort San Pedro. Even though it has served as an army garrison, a rebel strong hold, a prison camp and the city zoo it really isn’t worth going to see - likewise can also be said of Magellan’s cross. Ferdinand’s Catholic Legacy, a large wooden cross, is housed in a stone rotunda across from Cebu city hall. The crucifix on show contains a few splinters from a cross Magellan planted on the shores of Cebu in 1521.
With the tourist sights out of the way Steve convinced me he should show me around his local watering holes. Suffice to say a good night was had.
The lonely liar describes this place as Manila without the chaos where the typical portrait of a foreigner here would be a self exiled, twice divorced, chemically dependent middle aged man with a much younger Filipina on his arm. I would say this is not too far from the mark except the chaos of Manila is what for me gives it its charm. In my eyes Cebu city was lacking and I was happy to be on my way.
Next
stop the island of Bohol...
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