Boracay Island

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True to its billing as a premier tourist destination, Boracay Island puts its countless visitors in awe and at ease of its unique beauty. I was one of its visitors a couple of days back and I was really amazed at its picturesque beach. Never in my life have I seen such serene blue green waters as I walked barefooted on its famous white sand. The feeling is truly exhilirating as I my feet took measured steps and literally felt being "massaged" by the clean white sand. Excitedly, I stopped every now and then and took camera shots at every photo opportunity. In fact, any camera angle that I chose for my photographs was a sure winner. The blue green waters, the coconut trees with its leaves swaying with the breeze are elements of a great beach photograph. Sometimes you could pat yourself in the back and say, "My shot can compare with photo posters of Boracay island shot by professional photographers!" The amazing island is alive and stays vibrant almost 24 hours day, although human activity in the island slows down between 4 am and 6 am. I visited the famous island after the Holy Week, where the weather in the Philippines was at its hottest. I was told by one of the natives that the days before, during and right after the Holy Week, Boracay island was host to thousands of visitors and beachgoers coming from all over the country and around the world. The island was at its festiveness during its busiest period and until the time I was there, the island was still a place of merriment and endless beach celebrations. Dinner time at night transforms the famous beach into one giant "restaurant" complete with scintillating background music and live singers. Nightclubs, resto-bars, hotels and popular restaurants simultaneously offer dining buffets consisting of the best foods, wines and drinks. Moneyed tourists and other beachgoers have several selections of dining outlets to cap their day. There can be no denying the fact that the island is facing a challenge to survive and remain a major tourist destination for years to come. But there are obvious drawbacks which, if not immediately addressed, can spell doom for the island. So many giant corporations involved in the tourism business, are building giant, multi-storied beach resorts closer to the beach, so that it is obvious that the beach with its famous white sand is getting narrower and so many fences have been erected to prevent the general public from getting access to wider portions of the beach. Green algae is starting to show up in some areas of the beach. At night, the growing problem in Boracay Island is the noise that comes from the island's many disco bars, resto-bars, clubs and restaurants playing loud music. For some hotel guests, the noise makes it difficult for them to sleep. For others, they find it difficult to concentrate if they just want to just lie on the sand, enjoy the breeze and contemplate. From afar, Boracay beach stands out at night with its glittering multi-colored lights and its notoriously loud music. Apparently, the municipality of Malay, Aklan, which has jurisdiction over Boracay Islands, has not fully enforced rules regarding order and discipline on the island. An action of this sort has to be done now if this island were to continue as a popular tourist mecca.
Furthermore, boats and bancas that are used to ferry visitors around the island are moored too close to the beach. There should be a place for these boats away from where the visitors and beachgoers take a swim and just linger in the water. With regard to roving vendors, I guess they shoud be reminded on the basics of courtesy and friendliness when dealing with beachgoers.

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