After checking in (and leaving my sick friend to recover in the room), I headed out to explore the nightlife of the island. Quick tip: when buying medication in the Philippines, probably best to ask for what you want by name rather than describing your symptoms. My friend described his ailment as pain and fever and they gave him arthritis medication. Just avoid the confusion and ask for paracetemol. They also sell it by the pill here - only 5PHP per paracetemol pill.
Leaving my hotel, I made a beeline straight for the beach. At this time it was just after sunset so the beach was starting to empty as it got darker. Nevertheless the water was still pleasantly warm and I spent the next half an hour just walking down the beach through the water. Despite it being wet season, the island didn't seem to be affected at all. In fact over the several days we were on Boracay, there was no rain at all. However looking across at the waters to the other islands, I could see a perpetual greyness/darkness over them - I guess they shielded Boracay from all the dreariness!
Feeling pangs of hunger, I returned to the tourist strip and entered D'Mall, the commercial centre of Boracay. Rather than an actual mall, it's more a large outdoor area full of shops and restaurants all connected with paved laneways. I found a nice little restaurant facing the beach and settled in having grilled pork belly and BBQ stuffed squid which really hit the spot. It was also great just people-watching. Boracay is truly a tourist island, even catering to its main clientele with a lot of signs and menus in Chinese, Korean and Japanese.
Walking back out of D'Mall and onto the strip, I could feel an energy that wasn't present when I had walked down before dark. After sundown, the bars and restaurants were all now buzzing with live entertainment at each one trying to entice people in. Happy hours and dinner specials were everywhere! Regretting my decision to eat at D'Mall, I settled into one of the bars and had a drink while enjoying the singing and the fire dancing, which was mesmerising to watch.
There was fire dancing at almost each venue (clip from show at my hotel)
The next day, fully rested and slightly better, my friend came out and we decided to just take it easy and enjoy the beach. We walked down the length of beach from Station 2 up to Station 1, where the fancier establishments and resorts were, not to mention where the crowds were smaller. However to get there, we had to navigate the throngs of hawkers on the beach approaching us. Pretty much you couldn't go ten metres without someone approaching you selling hats, sunnies or selfie sticks (trends catch on quick), offering tours and activities such as sailing, paddle boarding or scuba diving, or offering a massage, henna tattoo or hair braiding. I ended up always just avoiding eye contact and walking straight through with a simple "No" if they tried to solicit me. Seemed to work well. If you want a hawker-free experience, go to D'Mall - it's the only place where they're not allowed (but they will ambush you at the exits).
Most establishments have beach chairs set up in front - you don't need to be a guest to use those just as long as you pay for it through hire fees or drink and food purchases. For the two days that we were there, we set up camp at the Ambassador Hotel's beachfront lounges. What was even better was that there was a security guard there to prevent hawkers coming up to us as we lazed under the shade of the palm trees. Of course at such a nice beach, I had to go into the water. It was so inviting and warm - I could have stayed in those waters all day. It was definitely my idea of a remote tropical paradise, especially once we had left the crowds down at Station 2. There's not really much else to say - I swam and relaxed on the beach all day!
Chilling at the Ambassador's beachfront lounges for the price of a few drinks each day
To cap off our relaxing (re:lazy) days, we would feast at night. Worth particular mention was the Regency's Sea Breeze Restaurant which pulls a massive crowd every night for their 800PHP buffet. Their seafood buffet was quite varied, but the clincher was definitely the tender juicy steaks that they cooked out the front of the restaurant. I pigged out so hard at that buffet.
Another drawcard of that restaurant was their dancing chefs! If you search Youtube for "Boracay dancing chefs", you'll come across so many videos. Below is a little snippet of the dance they performed to Wonder Girls' "Nobody". The chef in the middle is particularly into it and nailing all the moves!
The final day in Boracay was pretty much another lazy day but I went for a stroll around sunset and got to see a marvellous view. All the boats fill up with tourists and go out at sunset to enjoy the view from the water. This may be my favourite photo from the trip.
Anyways, after Boracay, it was a long and stressful 30 hours between flying out of Boracay and getting back to Canberra via Manila and Sydney, which I won't bother detailing (10 of those hours were spent dying at Manila's airport). My overall tip: if you go to the Philippines, skip the cities and go straight to the islands. Trust me, you'll enjoy it more.
Initially looking back on this trip, I was very negative. However while writing these blog posts, I realised that even though I may not have had the best time, it was still an experience (as I realised when my initial single post expanded into three). There are definitely some highlights that I will always look back on fondly. Travelling can't always be easy and this trip definitely reinforced that for me. What this trip has given me though is a respect for developing countries and the hardships that their people endure. It's also reminded me how lucky I am to be able to travel and see the world. I'll definitely be going to South America at the end of the year with a whole new frame of mind.
But for now, that's another country ticked off the list! Finances calculated - approximately $1,700 for 10 days in the Philippines. Not too shabby. Pretty sure that's what I spent on my 8-day Australian outback adventure last year. It's now back to work to save up some more money and annual leave. See you in December when I kick off my South American travels!
HBL signing out from Boracay, Philippines.
Previously: Having a whale (shark) of a time...
What's next? 40 days in South America at the end of 2015!
What did I do before Philippines? My Australian Outback Adventure!
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