WHAT ONE CAN DO THERE

 

Once upon a time, there was a handsome little boy who fell in love with a very beautiful...

island. And this is their love story. :)

Boracay is probably the most famous tourist spot in the country. This lovely island is the single common denominator of the itineraries of all the foreigners I've met. Who can blame them? Boracay is a place you can easily fall in love with.

I mean, personally, I used to think the place was overrated. But that was when I haven't had set my foot yet on the island. However, when I first went there in 2009, I was instantly lovestruck.

And because of that, I am enlisting here the activities that one can do while in Bora, maybe to serve as a guide for those who plan to go to the island for the first time.

Aside from the corny "emo"-ing by the shore, which I did by the way when I was there last June, you can engage in a lot of partey-ing, seafood-devouring, and of course activities! When I say activities, I don't mean riding banana boats or the Flying Fish. Those are kid's play *snort*. The activities I'm talking about are island hopping, helmet-diving, snorkelling, parasailing, and so on. Spell FUN.


Okay, so last September, I went to Bora for the second time this year. And this time, I brought along my brods and sisses in UPLB Street Jazz, plus some other friends. Here are the cast:

(L-R) Becca and Ate Chie

(L-R) Kayeh, Mariel, and Roy

(Leftmost) GB a.k.a. John Erikson Javier***

TJ

Paulo and Xan Yee aka Xanyee Supsup :)

Tope aka Topepe, Topeppers, Topeikipei, Tupipi, etc

When you are in Boracay, the first thing that you should do is to take pictures with the place. It is such a photogenic beach, that you can take pictures anywhere.

Kayeh by the beach

whynot among da kokonats?

by the lifeguard post :)

with boats in the background

by the grotto

Then after you become tired from posing, I recommend that you feast on a scrumptious meal by the shore. :) As Boracay is a melting pot of different nationalities, restaurants of different global cuisines are common, YUM! Just don't forget that they also come with "global price tags". *grin* Of course there are not-so-pricey restos if you are kinda low on budget. You just have to ask around or perhaps take a stroll by the island's main highway.

If you have enough moolah though, I suggest you spend a little on food, esp. on seafood. You can dine in all-you-can-eat hubs, there are plenty of those, and you can easily find them lined by the shore. Indulge on your seafood, you can't easily find 'em as fresh.

If you have extra moolah still, visit these special restos where you can handpick your seafood fresh (and sometimes alive even), and they will cook it right before your eyes. This scheme is also practiced in some restos in Metro Manila but it is a thousand times better in Bora, methinks, because the crustaceans are fresh from the sea. As for my crowd, we went to D'Talipapa (a wet and dry market located somewhere in Station 2), shopped for ocean creatures, and went to a resto there called Aquafresh and asked them to cook for us.

first night

hogging in an all-you-can-eat food hub by the shore

fresh seafood

pwede po magpaluto dito :)

negotiating for cheaper service charges

yummy crabs

squid

lobster

I couldn't even care about my allergies. Hello antihistamines!

Activities


To complement your whole experience, I highly recommend that you try the beach activities in the island like Banana Boat Riding, Zorbing, Diving, etc. As for my gang, we tried Island-hopping with Snorkelling, Helmet-diving (reef-walking), and Parasailing. Will create separate posts of these because I don't want the photos to clutter in this entry.


Party!

When visiting Boracay, do not leave without parteeeyYING!!! HARD! It is one of the reasons why people go back to Bora, to party hard, drink a lot, be merry with the locals, and just forget about all the stress of reality. The island features an exciting night-life, and it would be idiotic not to try it.

fire dancer

Club Paraw <-- where we loitered

come on, take a sip. it ain't deadly

What's your poison?

go crazy on the dance floor

tipsy troop

flirt with the cute DJ

And finally, GET A TAT! Although I'm not too keen on doing this, but I do find a lot of people who so want to get one (real or henna) when in the beach. I don't know if there' a psychological connection. But yeah, people like it, so you might also want to have one. There are a lot of tattoo artists scattered on the island, so it's not hard to look for them. Just be careful though, you might not want to stain your hotel beddings. You'll definitely be penalized for it.

Kayeh with a flowery filigree (henna)

Roy with a statement tat (henna)

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Now, before I end this entry, I'd like to tell you the #1 item in my MUST-DO things whenever I go to Boracay, and I want it to be part of yours as well. Remember: Forget everything except this one. When you visit Boracay, please please, as in swear on your ancestors' grave, look for this quaint little shop called Real Coffee and Tea and have some calamansi muffins. :)

that tricky turn to the calamansi muffins

Heaven!

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*** - Our brod John Erikson Javier was supposed to go with us but he was still in the US at that time for his battle in the World Hiphop. Their team, the Crew, was a finalist in the adult division (YAY!) but that's another story. So anyway, since we didn't want Erik's ticket to go to waste, we asked Tope's friend, GB, to come with us instead. (whisper) He forged a fake ID with Erik's name, but with his picture on it. So during the entire trip, he was officially John Erikson Javier. =) (shush... is this illegal?)