“Because there’s nothing more beautiful than the way the ocean refuses to stop kissing the shoreline, no matter how many times it’s sent away. Sarah Kay”

Philippines, Boracay has been classified into 3 stations with station 3 being the nearest to the airport. Although there is an airport (Caticlan) in Boracay, my friends and I flew to Kalibo airport and following which a 1.5 hours taxi ride to the Jetty followed by a 20 minutes boat ride to Boracay white beach. BEWARE, as you will be greeted with a swarm of taxi drivers as you exit the airport, all offering to take you to Boracay. Keep your head high and do not succumb to the pressure. During the 1.5 hours taxi ride, try not to sleep, as there will be picture-worth scenery along the way. Take note that when paying for the boat ticket, there are many different charges such as environmental fee and port maintenance (if I recall correctly).

Day 1

Upon reaching Caticlan jetty, flag down a motor trike for a short ride to your respective hotel. With 3 stations located in Boracay, station 2 is where the party is and just located around D’mall, there are many Koreans there (even Korean restaurants). Station 1 is relatively more isolated as it is far from the jetty thus, a more suitable environment for families. On the other hand, station 3 is less touristy than the rest of the 2 stations and if you’re looking to blend in and experience the Filipino culture, station 3 is the place for you. As for my friends and I, we stayed at the Uptown Boracay Hotel located at station 2. Pretty awesome place though a tad more expensive than the other hotels. Something worth to take note when booking through hotels.com, is that you have to state the number of pax that will be staying in the room. For example, if the hotel room is able to accommodate 4 people, stating that 2 people will be staying (default on the website) even though you have 3 will only prompt you to pay more when checking in at the reception. Alternatively, you could ask the surplus pax to move away first when checking in and then meeting you guys at the hotel room later. I totally forgot about that because the sunset at the beach was just too darn beautiful to not think about it.

Nevertheless, the infinity pool at the roof was awesome. Because we arrived in the evening, most of the water sports activities were closed. We grabbed our dinner and a bottle of whiskey ($6 SGD!) and headed back to the hotel. At about 9pm we headed to the infinity pool to drink our bottle of whiskey. As a gesture of friendliness we offered a glass of whiskey to the lifeguard on duty and before we knew it, we became friends to which he extended the pool closing hours (from 10pm to 2am) just for us. Oh well, when alcohol kicks in, everyone becomes your friend. Hah.

JUST CHILLIN’

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DCIM138GOPRO

Day 2

Probably the most fulfilling and fun day among the others, we began the day with light water activities such as parasailing and fly fish. Although parasailing sounds pretty cool to do, it was actually kind of boring for us because you just stone there when you’re in the air. No doubt the view from up there was awesome, but fly fish takes the fun on to a whole new level. Underestimating the speed of the fly fish boat initially, I came in like a wrecking ball into the sea when it sped up. With a Gopro in my hand and the other holding onto the handle, I was being dragged while rushing salty water conquered my face. Conclusion, hold tightly and bend forward to avoid my disaster. The next stop we went to is called Ariel’s Point.

Ariel’s Point

Before I begin talking about my adventure, TO EVERYONE WHO’S HEADING TO BORACAY, THIS PLACE IS A MUST. Ariel’s Point is an island outside Boracay and its famous for cliff jumping. The tour is from 11am to 5pm with free flow of food, drinks and beer (St Miguel). Upon arrival, you could already feel the positive vibes about this place (unless its raining then too bad), as if you’re in another world being freed of problems and just wandering around carefree. There are a total of 3 different heights of cliff jumps mainly the 5m, 8m and 15m. Unless you’re a seasoned jumper or just someone who has the balls, I recommend you try the 5m or 8m before attempting the 15m. For Gopro users attempting the 15m, your monopod might break so remember to bring your camera float (or just switch to chest mount). If heights scare you, there are other activities to do such as kayaking and snorkeling. Though I must say, nothing beats the feeling of cringing and having to shit mid-air while letting gravitational force overwhelm you with fear and excitement during the 15m jump.

Parasailing

Fly frickin’ fish

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DCIM138GOPRO

Haters gon’ hate

Competing for Olympics

After the spectacular visit to Ariel’s Point we then headed back from some photo taking session and dinner. If you’ve read about Boracay, there’s a restaurant called Epic. The cool thing about this is that in the day it’s a normal restaurant but when night comes, it’s a party place. Another alternative is Wave bar that is further down to station 3. Less international and more locals, the music played there is pretty decent. Or if you have the urge to visit as many bars as possible, you could opt for the Pub-crawl. Basically Pub-crawl is the idea of hopping around bars while meeting different people. When signed up, they’ll give you a t-shirt to wear, making the Pub-crawlers a community. Though I’ve never tried it, there have been great reviews on this particular activity.

Modelling: The beach was our runway

Day 3

Because our flight was at 1pm, we had to leave the island early. Despite that, we did our daily routine heading down to Jonah’s milkshake for some avocado milkshake. I would definitely recommend this joint because well, I’ve never tasted anything like this. We had at least 2 avocado milkshake everyday because it is just too darn good not to drink.

Heading back is pretty much the same as coming in but something worth looking out for is the mode of transportation. There are taxi, minivans and helicopters. The difference between the taxi and minivans is the number of people it can accommodate. So if you’re rushing for time, do not take the minivan like what my friends and I did. We thought we were paying for just 3 people taking the minivan but along the way, the driver kept fetching people, which kind of delayed us. Nevertheless we reached the airport on time. Kalibo airport is pretty simple to comprehend the procedures, but be sure to keep with you a spare change of 750 php for the airport maintenance charge. Yes, maintenance charges even though the airport is pretty run down. That said, we experienced a series of blackout in the airport and flight delays.
Overall, if given another opportunity, I’ll definitely visit Boracay again. More than just beaches and water sports, 3D2N is pretty short to explore this fantastic island but with time not being on our side, we still managed to squeeze the activities into our schedule. Definitely a place for romantic couples and divers, Boracay has pretty fantastic diving spots (or so I’ve heard) though more touristy than Cebu or Palawan.

White sand, clear blue water, and the beautiful sunrays… It felt like heaven was a place on earth. And to me, Boracay is nothing short of perfect. A short 3D2N trip to Boracay was perfectly what I needed amidst a hectic schedule of military training.

Here’s a video of our adventure in Boracay!