Boracay, PHILIPPINES

July 31, 2008

We checked out from the hotel slightly after 10 am. I was having a winning streak at the casino right after breakfast. At least I managed to recover some of the earlier losses.

We left by taxi to the domestic terminal only to be told that all flights to Caticlan would depart from Terminal 3. It was still early for us to catch the 12.10 pm flight. Terminal 3 appeared to be still under construction. We had some light meals at Delifrance and proceeded to catch our flight.
Our plane was a small turbo prop with 2-seaters on each side. The flight was full with local and foreign holiday makers.


Our Plane


Boracay is a popular tourist destination. After about 1 hour, we reached Caticlan small airport. The “Welcome to Paradise” signboard was visibly seen at the exit. A guy claiming to represent the tourism board volunteered himself as our unofficial guide. First, we had to pay for some environmental fee plus the ride to the jetty. A van took us there. We were supposed to go in tricycle.

Caticlan Airport: Gateway to Boracay

From the jetty, we boarded a small boat with bamboo side skirting. It was overloaded with passengers. I was worried and kept looking for life jackets just in case. After 20 minutes at sea, we reached Boracay.

The Boat to Boracay from Caticlan

The Journey Continued

The guide took us on a tricycle to look for our hotel. It was another thrilling ride through the crowded streets of Boracay. The cement-paved streets were small and full with traffic trying to jump queue and overtake at the most unlikely spot. We passed through some villages along the way. We could see some of the less fortunate Filipinos living in what is supposed to be paradise.


Ready to sail


Long Beach

Long Beach

After walking into and checking the rates at a few beach front hotels, we opted for a chalet-like place called La Reserve (http://www.lareserve-boracay.com/). Everything at the place went by French name. We stayed at a chalet called Perrier Jouet, named after a champagne brand, I guess. It was a small bungalow-like chalet but nicely decorated. It had everything except the beach frontage. The price was reasonable at around RM200 a night, a bargain for a hotel in a popular tourist area.

The front of our hotel

We were in Boracay during the low season. That explained why we still managed to get a room despite not having any reservation. Even during this supposedly low season, the place was alive with tourists mostly Asians (Japanese, Koreans, Taiwanese).

We had dinner here.

Boracay is a small island measuring 7km in length and only 1km wide. It is like what Phuket is to Thailand or Bali to Indonesia. To get there you got to do some island hopping by plane followed by boat and then automobile or tricycle. It is a full pledged resort complete with open air shopping mall called what else, D’Mall. The shops sell souvenirs and other stuffs normally sold to tourists. There are plenty of restaurants and bars. The prices are reasonable.


D'Mall at night

I went around the place after 3pm since there was nothing much to do. I saw a plate of sea food with, a mini rock lobster, 3 medium size prawns, some squids and clams advertised for Php 600,000 (RM45). I could not resist. It was a good decision. After late lunch, I hanged around the hotel’s restaurant cum lobby checking on forex trades and surfing the internet. The hotel provided free wi-fi.