TravelPhilippines: May 2008

I'm back from my boracay escapade and it was amazing it always feels like it's my first time and its always hard leaving the island it always took me a few days to move on. arrrrgggggghhh i wanna go back now hehe. i went with two of my friends we decided to go by boat instead of plane because we want to experienced it and we are on a budget and even if not i would love to spend my money in the island rather than on my air fare. ok so let me share you now my lil bora adventure mmmmm just some of it hehe.

The Negros Navigation Porter's. Doin Their Dance Routine.

DAY 1: Ok so we left Manila at around 6 pm the ship Negros Navigation was scheduled to leave by 5 and good thing it didnt leave on time or we wont be able to get on the boat haha we get to pier 2 by 5:30 pm so thank god they waited for us. we paid for the economy as i thought its just fine but when we get there it was a chaos people are everywhere and occupying other beds especially those with kids so i said to my friends oh my i cant stay here, and so i went to the frontdesk and ask if we can upgrade our tickets to what is available cabin,business class or whatever but sadly no more available but instead she offer us to just stay to this semi business class room equipped with business class airplane seat and the room is free of charged so everybody can stay there and goodthing not everybody did. so i was happy about that we get there sleep and as soon as we woke up we are already near caticlan. we reach the port at around 7 am, docking and everything took about an hour so we were able to got off our boat at around 8 am all in all travel time from Manila to Caticlan was 13 to 14 hours. head inside the caticlan jetty port to pay for the terminal fee,environmental fee and boat fare all in all its 119.50 php or $2. rode the boat and we reach the cagban port in about 15 mins and rode the trycycle to station 3 the trycycle fare is 20 php per person but if you want it to leave right away and not wait for other passenger anymore you will have to pay 100 php for that. then 10 mins after and we are already in paradise. i called up Orchids Resort to tell them that we already reach station 3 so they instructed us to stay in Andoks restaurant and wait there and their staff will pick us up. 3 mins later and here is gerry (orchids staff) to pick us up and take us to our temporary home in paradise and thats the fabulous orchids resort. well nothing special about the resort compare to the high rise resort like Regency and other's but the resort have a very homey ambiance and very great friendly staff so it feels like you were staying in a 5 star hotel even if your not. it cost us 915 php a night for their fan room it has 3 beds and a clean bathroom with hot and cold shower and you can request for a cable tv with extra chrage of 2$ a night. the resort is equipped with WIFI and free kitchen use for all the guest. the first thing i did when we get to our room was took a shower rest for a while and then head on to station 1 for our first lunch. we are really planning to eat at cafe lupe but too bad we cant find it we ask some local where it is located now some say its close some say it is still open grrrrrrr were hungry so we just opted for other restaurant we ended up at this BED Space inspired restaurant called Boracay Plaza. the food was not that bad we spend 300 php each on our first lunch. after lunch we went to D'Mall to do some pasalubong shopping mmmm maybe you are wondering why buying pasalubong on the first day ha? hehehe well they scared they will spend all their money and not be able to buy pasalubong hehe. so they bought some boracay necklace and anklets no shirts as its expensive in the mall i told them to buy shirts in the D'Talipapa a cheaper version of the D' Mall. after the mall went back to our room and put on our swimsuits lol. orchids resort is not a beach front so we do hangout infront of Arowana Resort and Restaurant for our sunbathing and inorder to do that we have to order in their resto i did order 3 san mig light for the 3 of us then we also order some sandwich and i tell you their sandwich are fabulous sooo yummmy. while relaxing in the sun my friend decided to have he's henna tattoo he paid 100 for it. we stayed at arowanas up to 6 pm then move on to farther down south to Casa Camilla where my american friend is staying for a long time. and there we we have our dinner next to Casa Camilla the ever Fabulous resort and Restaurant Blue Mango oh my i just cant get enough of their food and desert. that night i had a lasagna then after we tried on their dessert Monkey Madness. after dinner the rain poured in so werent able to go home and i was sooo pissed as it was our first night and it rained i said to myself how can i party? the rain lasted for about 2 to 3 hours so we decided to hang out at Blue Mango first i had some vodka sprite. then after some drinks the rain went away so we rush in to our room fix ourselves and head on to station 1 to party since its still raining we decided to just rode on the tricycle and check out Cocomangas first. as soon as we get inside cocomangas the rain poured in so hard again. Cocomangas was not that appealing to me anymore compare to the first time i was there good thing their drinks was still one of the best. after we finish our Illusion jar (310 php) we head on to our next destination to the beach front bar we started it off at Guilly's it was jampacked no table for us so we checked out the bar next to it one of my fave Club Paraw there i had some Vodka RedBull or they call it PitBull (170 php) stay there till around 3 am then people started to vanish so we decided to call it a night. i wanted to walk to station 3 as i wanna drop by D'Mall and check out this restaurant that serves soup all day but sad to say they are not around anymore so we just decided to go home but when we get to station 3 we saw people are still partying over at Juice so why go home when we can still stay and party still we stay for a while and i had a few vodka sprite (70 php). then went home at around 4:30 am.

Juice Bar station 2

DAY 2 I woke up at around 12 noon with a headache and very bad stomach maybe because of all the drink i had so i was craving for a very hot Shrimp Sinigang. so we head on to D'Mall to search the place with best sinigang and we ended up at this place called Mikay's and indeed they have great Sinigang there its 190 php per order and they say its good for 2 person well its not cause it was for 4 person lolz. after our yummy lunch i was feeling ok now so we roam around D'Mall bought some stuff then head on to the tourist center to check some email internet at tourist center will cost you 70 php per hour minimum of 30 php and if you reach the 30 minute plus period you will have to pay the whole one hour. after tourist center went back to our fave hangout arowana for some fun in the sun. at about 4 pm that day the rain poured in again so we decided to just get inside our room. i had some sandwich that night for dinner at arowanas smoked bacon sandwich for 120 php. after dinner relax for a while watch tv then head on to station 1 to party again.

DAY 3 I was not that wasted the other night so i woke up early for some sunbathing. so i ordered frozen ice tea 70 php. lay down on my beach bed and listen to bob marley. i stayed under the sun till lunch time there i met a few people from other countries there's a German girl who's been stayin in the island for around 2 months already and the couple from Seatle. i had a great time chatting with them we just talk about how beautiful the Philippine is, and i also told them that Philippines was not all about Boracay and Palawan there are many more places worth visiting. after sunbathing i went to station 2 to deposit some money at BPI Bank and then went to Budget Mart supermarket to buy some bread and drinks. then went back to our hotel for lunch we just order rice at the hotel's kitchen that day for 10 php and then we just open my corned beef. after lunch sleep went outside to swim drank a few beers. and head on to the farthest part of station 3 the Angol Point where the most Fabulous resort hotel in the island is located and thats the Lorenzo South too bad it was sold now to the koreans. we had some picture taking there at the rock formation then went back home as the rain was starting to poured in again yes it was raining everyday when we were there. grrrrrrrrrrrr.

DAY 4: My day started with some fun in the sun, lots of picture taking, then lunch at Big Mama's in station 1 its a Tapsilogan their price start at 70 php up and tell you its very yummmmyyyy. i ordered spamsilog on a hot afternoon hehe. then went to D'Talipapa for some more pasalubong shopping. i bought some shirts 75 php each, cute ankle bracelets with colorful stones for 20 php each, sarong for 240 each and a necklace with ivory pendant or i dont know what was that for 50 php haggled for 40 php. just a tip whenever you do your shopping in boracay whether in D' Mall
or in D'Talipapa try your best to haggle and do your shopping in the afternoon around 5 pm up. after shopping its time for our last swim, and more picture taking it was a very nice day the weather was just so perfet no rain. so we decided to have some picture taking. around the island from station 3 we went to the grotto to Friday's Resort all the way to the The Nami Private Villa's they got a very nice view there. wow it was the most beautiful day during our stay and i say it was one of the most tiring too we just walk the whole 5 or 7 km island wow. then as we are goin back Club Paraw have just laid thiere beach mat and pillows it was so inviting not to mention its happy hour. so we decided to sit down relax do people watching and wait for the sunset. i ordered the buy 1 take one kamikaze for 120 php. i actually wanted to go to Jonah's but there's a lot of people already so we just stay at paraw and watch the most fantastic sunset. i was so happy that i was able to saw the sunset before we leave.

Day 5: Woke up at around 9 am went to the western union office to collect my adsense payment finally my first experienced hehe.on my way to the resort i decided to ordered Sinigang at Boracay Ocean Club its a Fabulous resort in station 3 you should check it out and oh my the Sinigang na Hipon was a winner as in champion. went back to the hotel after pay for our balance and say goodbye to the most wonderful staff of the resort they are all kind to us we'll never forget them. went to casa camilla to say goodbye to alan my very good friend and went back to orchids to fix my messy stuff we were able to check out at around 2 pm the check out time was 12 noon but because they are very kind no more extra charge hehe. hayyyyy the part that i hated most riding the trike to Cagban Port the fare is still the same 100 php for charter ride. then pay another 50 php terminal fee and 20 php boat fare at Cagban Port. then when we get to Caticlan i called up RODATSCO to buy our ticket on our way back to manila. we did not wait for the next Negros Navigation trip as it will be on May 3 so we just decided to do The R.O.R.O instead it cost us around 1000 php all in all for the Caticlan Manila trip.

It was again a fantastic trip i enjoyed it soooooooo much and as i said it always feels like the first time i dont wanna leave boracay everytime im there. and also it makes me sad that the island was over commercialized now lots of establishment being put up just everywhere in the island. i just hope that despite all this the government of boracay will be able to preserve the island and for everyone to experienced it forever.

My Boracay Recommendation

Places To Eat : Mikay's Cuisine At D'Mall,Andoks,Big Mama's,Smoke,D'Talipapa and Blue Mango At Station 3.

Places To Party : Juice Bar Station 2,Club Paraw,Guilly's,Wave at Regency Hotel,Beachcomber and Cocomangas.
(Must Try Drinks are Adios Mother Fucker of Juice bar cost around 120 php not sure,Illusion Jar of Cocomangas for 310 php,Pitbull of Club Paraw, Beachcomber also has the best drinks of all their Kamikaze was to die for. its just a bit pricey if you want it blue it will cost you 300 php.) how much will you spend on your night is really depends on how alcoholic you are hehe. and also dont forget to check out the BBq's outside paraw.

Thing's To Do : Paraw Saling It Cost 500 php per hour you can contact my friend Alan Adkins and rent one of he's sailboat at +639062637077.or Rent a Mountain Bike or ATV to Mount Luho or Puka Beach for the ATV ir will cost you 500 php for an hour and the number to contact is +639192332390, Island Hopping,Snorkeling,Parasailing,Reef Walking,Sunset Cruise and Scuba Diving are offered around the island so just try your best to haggle. but if you are really on a budget and dont have enough money for these activities there are lots of enjoyable activities for you to enjoy like Beach Hopping,Building Sand Castle,Sunbathing,People Watching,Swimming,or Picture Taking at Boracay's Famous Landmarks and dont Forget To Watch and Take a Picture Of The Boracay Sunset.

For Traveling By Boat Try Negros Navigation or If By R.O.R.O contact RODATSCO at +639215245394 they offer vans from Manila To Caticlan and V.V its much better than taking the bus as it will cost u a lot of time of all the stop over they make.

Where To Stay If Your On A Budget Click Here

Photo Gallery Of Boracay :

St. Joseph The Worker Boat Of Negros Navigation.

Small Boats At Caticlan Port

The Caticlan Jetty Port

Inside The Caticlan Jetty Port

Boat Ride To Cagban Port

First Day

Our Room at Orchids Resort

Orchids Resort Fan Room For 915 php

Boracay Station 3

My Favorite Restaurant and Resort in Boracay

Cocomangas Bar

Station 1 at Night

My Favorite Bar In Boracay "Juice"

My Favorite Drinks at Juice Adios M.F

Morning At Station 3

Palm Trees

Boracay Regency At Night

People Havin Fun At Juice

Our Fave Hangout Infront Of Arowanas Resort and Resto

The Boracay Ocean Club

Diving Anyone

Newy Open Resort at Boracay The Sands

Cheap Souvenir Shop At Talipapa

Afternoon at Station 3

Station 3 goin to Station 1 and 2

The Tourist Center

Station 2 goin to Station 1

Nice Weather

Infront of Club Paraw After Sunset

Another Fve Drink The Illusion Jar of Cocomangas

Sunset

Cliff along the way to Nami Private Villas

Hanging out at Club Paraw Waiting For The Sunset

Clear Water At Near Nami Resort

The Nami Private Villas

I Forgot The Name Of The Resort

Club Paraw Before Sunset