boracay experience

the short story: it was very tiring yet fun. better if was there to enjoy and not work. there were 24 of us, a total of 2 vans.

the long story...

it started wrong at the Manila airport when i accidentally checked in my Nike backpack containing my laptop. when i tried to get it back, the Cebu Pacific guy in charged of the radio looked unhappy to entertain my concerns. he tried to get it back but he made it obvious to me that he was annoyed at me for making him work. so when he told me that we can't get it back because it was my responsibility to make sure that i check in the right things, i snapped at him. i told him he wasn't nice from the start. i know it's my mistake but he should be nice and try to get the laptop instead of being rude to me! when i rewinded it later, i wanted to revise my lines desperately. that always happens to me. after a confrontation, i always end up wanting to revise the lines so it would sound better and more articulate and impactful. anyway the ending is that they weren't able to intercept my bag. i bet the Cebu Pacific guy didn't bother following up on it. good thing is my laptop still works.

we arrived there on Friday. it was not the Boracay i expected. there were lots of tourists and lots of restaurants and hotels along the beach.

La Carmela de Boracay hotel

our hotel room was gloomy so i stayed in the restaurant (where there's wifi) to write because i had deadlines. i didn't get to join them in their island-hopping the next day or try parasailing because i had to write. besides, it was my time of the month.

and i have to say, the food was expensive and not good at all! our first lunch was at PARAISO GRILL
where you choose the seafood you want and they cook it for you.

the place is as gloomy as it is captured here

There were just 6 of us but we paid like P4000 plus for food that wasn't great at all, in a place where it was so dark with no lighting and not even one electric fan to cool us down during that humid day.

we also ate at ARIA, the famous pizza place there but i'd rather have Shakey's pizza anytime. aside from the pizza with arugula the rest was forgettable. though the ambiance here is a lot better than Paraiso's.

pizza place Aria

on sunday, we travelled by road from Boracay to Dumangas, Iloilo where we took the RORO to Bacolod. it took us 13 hours from 10am-11pm including the detour because we got lost on our way to Dumangas.  it would have been my kind of trip if only i didn't have a script to submit that day. so when we arrived at the RORO port, i started writing and continued it in the ferry for 2 hours. in Bacolod, we had to go to a hotel to finish my script because there's no wifi in the house we stayed at.

our flight from Bacolod to Manila via Cebu Pacific also got cancelled because of aircraft problem so we had to take an earlier flight to Manila via PAL at 620am. that meant we only slept for an hour before we had to go to the airport.

when we arrived in Manila, i slept from 8am-330pm. heaven! so happy to be back in Manila!

overall i would say that Boracay is overrated. i liked the White Island in Camiguin better. it's just a small patch of white in the middle of the sea so it's more intimate and precious since it disappears by 5 or 6pm due to high tide so the last boat is at 4PM. you pay for your umbrella and table for only P100 (this was in 2007) and then you can also buy your lunch of grilled fish and rice from the vendors there.

White Island in Camiguin

but i want to give Boracay another chance so i think i'll go back there and see the island. i wouldn't be bringing any work with me, hopefully!