Boracay: The Paradise Island

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March 12th 2007

Published: March 12th 2007

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josworld

Ati-Atihan Festival

Kalibo Aklan

Lined with palm trees, white powdery sandy beach with crystal clear blue/green water is a must visit place in the Philippines. They say you really haven’t seen Philippines if you haven’t set foot on the beach of Boracay and seen the spectacular sunset. Hundreds of tourists and locals all flock to the beach as the night falls to witness the sun’s dying blaze.

Boracay is a tourist mecca. There’s so many delightful things for people to do… from island hopping, exploring caves, bar-hopping, shopping and water activities such as jet-skiing, wind-surfing & snorkelling to name a few.

We booked a holiday package to Boracay through Philippine Airline which includes return flights, accommodation and daily breakfast at the Boracay Tropics Resort and coach/ferry transfers.

We arrived in Kalibo Airport in less than 30minutes where our coach ride to Boracay Tropics awaits. It took 2 hours trip from Kalibo airport to Caticlan wharf where we caught a 20min. ferry ride to Boracay Island. About a kilometre from reaching the island, the ferry broke down. There’s nothing more frightening than getting stranded at sea in the dark. We moved as far as we can away from the engine fearing even the remote chance that

Waiting for sunset

Boracay Island

it might explode. The crewmen were trying to fix the engine in the dark. I lent my flashlight to the crewmen and they managed to make a quick fix. As soon as we checked-in at the resort, we went for a walk along the beach and searched for a place to dine-in. I was so amazed with the number of world-class gourmet restaurants to choose from. There's even a Hobbit Bar where customers get served by dwarfs. The nightlife was astonishing. Everything is right on the beach: fine dining, great ambience, live bands and entertainers, rock bars, discos, souvenir shops…the works !...and not to mention the sandcastles and sand sculptures which add a nice finishing touch to the whole scene.

Ten things I enjoyed in Boracay:

1) Island Hopping
2) Snorkelling
3) Exploring the caves in Crystal cove
4) Banana boat-ride
5) A nice stroll along the beach
6) Bar-hopping (eventhough we're all non-drinkers) & dancing
7) Shopping for souvenirs
8) Daily buffet breakfast at the resort
9) Papaya milkshakes at Jonas
10) The Sandcastles and sunset

Before we caught the flight back to Manila, we went and saw the Ati-Atihan Festival in Aklan. Few kilometres of

Bancas

Boracay

reaching the centre of the festival, we hit a gridlock. Our van hasn’t budged an inch for half an hour. All other passengers started to get off their transport and just walk. Like a herd of sheep, the only wise thing to do is follow. It was a hot sunny day…we got to the festival in 20min. all sweaty and flushed. But it’s all worth it. We saw the parade just in time. We joined the parade and danced to the tribal beat of the drums.

We then caught a tricycle to Kalibo airport in the afternoon after lunch at Jollibee, the No. 1 fast food chain in the Philippines. Trying to catch a ride to the airport in the heat of the festival was almost impossible. Most roads are closed and have to walk for miles to find any available mode of transport. We saw a military outpost and asked for help. They hailed a tricycle for us and managed to catch the flight back to Manila in time.