January-February 2014, Boracay: The Arrival

When one talks about or thinks of the Philippines, hardly will s/he miss Boracay: the Philippines’s island haven and one of its most treasured tourist destinations. Is it the Philippines’s most beautiful beach area? That is very much debatable – but once you step into Boracay shores, you get to know one thing: it has one of the best atmospheres any vacation destination can offer you. Let’s explore this sandy gem, bit by bit!

Of course, we had to get there:

Being from somewhere in the center of Luzon, we had to go by car to Batangas first, where the port of 2Go Travel is. And here, I would like to highly recommend 2Go Travel to you – my dad didn’t have a lot of problems booking and coordinating with its staff, and there was someone who met us almost immediately on the port to guide us all the way through the boat.

To be honest, when I was told that we were going to sleep overnight on the boat, I wasn’t mighty excited. I mean, how crowded and privacy-invasive can it be? Obviously, I was left speechless when I saw the boat’s interior. It’s not five-star, but it’s more than passable! And these are just the sleeping quarters – wait till you see the rest of the humongous boat:

2Go Travel’s main shade is bright pink, and of course apple green complements it well. In spite of the bright colors, the overall décor didn’t feel tacky at all. It still managed to give off this affordable-yet-sosy vibe – and I like it!

Here are all of us (I went together with my family and co-teachers) with the boat’s general manager, Alain. Happy vibes all around!

We even got to have dinner! And take note: all throughout this journey, we felt only very minimal rocking on the boat.

The food was not half-bad, although ridiculously expensive. Which makes sense, because really, being on a giant boat in the middle of the ocean, do you have a choice?

Back to the sleeping quarters we went after dinner. The one you see above was not where we slept: this is the cabin, an upgrade from our big general room, the one in the pictures above. This cabin can hold four people, and obviously it’s more private; it even comes with its own restroom. It’s an upgrade from what we got, and upgrading was surprisingly only a few thousand pesos. We were ready to drop the money and upgrade, but it was fully booked that night. 😦 Later did we know that a lot of passengers do this; they book the middle-class rooms like we did, and then upon boarding rush and upgrade, because apparently this is cheaper than directly booking the cabin itself. Hmmm.

I slept quite soundly on the boat, actually. It can just get freezing cold after a while, so it would be a good idea to bring your own blanket, and wear sweaters and the like. (They provide one fresh pillowcase and sheet, the latter of which you can use as a bedsheet or blanket.)

Pretty soon, we were off the boat. Adiós, 2Go boat! Until we meet again!

Of course, after we alighted, we had to ride a bangka, or small boat, for about ten minutes to get to the island. Oh my. Ever since Siargao, I have been terrified of getting on bangkas, and this time the waves were mercilessly reminding me of my harrowing experience. Good thing it was only for ten minutes!

My first shot on Boracay land – not the sands or seas, but this yacht on the dock.

If you know our family by now, it’s that we always scour for the cheapest good-quality place to live in. So for this Boracay trip, we didn’t stay at any fancy beachfront hotel (although we were actually supposed to!), but at this place called Faith Village New Life Conference Center. If you know Rizal Recreation Center, then this place has about the same vibe. It was quiet and nicely furnished, and that was enough for us.

Our pattern of life whenever we were here on our free time – lounge around, take pictures (especially of all the pretty flowers growing around), and eat. Eat. EAT. We cooked about half of our own meals here at our makeshift home!

Of course, being in Boracay, how can you NOT go out to the beach? That and more on the next post! Stay tuned. 🙂