Monday, May 16, 2011
White Beach, Boracay, Philippines
Boracay in Malay, Aklan does not belong to Negros Occidental...^^ but nonetheless, I would like to share my discoveries about this great white beach of the Philippines!
Boracay is an island of the Philippines located approximately 315 km (200 miles) south of Manila and 2 km off the northwest tip of Panay Island in the Western Visayas region of the Philippines. In 1990, it was voted by the BMW Tropical Beach Handbook as one of the best beaches in the world and again in 1996 by British publication TV Quick as the world's number one tropical beach. The island comprises the barangays of Manoc-Manoc, Balabag, and Yapak (3 of the 17 barangays which make up the municipality of Malay), and is under the administrative control of the Philippine Tourism Authority in coordination with the Provincial Government of Aklan. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boracay
If one is coming from Negros Occidental, Philippines one needs to ride a ferry boat going to Iloilo (1 hour and 15 minutes) and at the Iloilo port one can ride vans going to Boracay at P350 each (approximately 5-6 hours). However, you have to wait for sometime before the van get filled up.If you opt to ride a Ceres Bus, the Iloilo-Caticlan fare is around P335 for regular passengers and P270 for student's fare.
Arriving at the Caticlan Jetty Port, one needs to pay the Environmental Fee of P75, Terminal Fee of P50 and Boat Fare at P25 (one-way). Going back, you only need to pay Terminal Fee and Boat Fare. The rates is as of April 2011.
There are many activities one can do in Boracay, here are my recommendations:
1. Do water sports such as diving, helmet diving, jet skiing, wind surfing, parasailing, snorkeling, flyfish, banana boat and sailing at sunset.
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| PUKA BEACH |
2. Go island hopping to go sightseeing. Ask the boatman where Manny Pacquiao's vacation house is and do have a stop over at Puka Beach where you can find puka shells used to make necklaces, earrings and other accessories.
3. Food Tripping - hotels, resorts and restaurants offer a variety of food cuisine at any budget. I like the breakfast, lunch and dinner buffet at La Carmella de Boracay, the Korean dishes at Seoul Restaurant and Taling's Carindera at Station 3 for those who crave for Filipino food at a very affordable price. Mang Inasal, Andok's, Yellow Cab and Shakey's are very much present. European, American and Asian food you can find it there.
4. Night Out - Cocomangas, Wave, MO2 and more offers a variety of entertainment at night especially on Thursdays and Fridays where the locals also go nightclubbing and hobnobbing with the foreign and local tourists.
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| WILLY'S ROCK |
5. Land Tour - one can rent an ATV, tricycle or multi-cab to go sightseeing on land. You can visit Mt. Luho where the highest peak of the island can be found, pass by at Puka Beach, go to the northern part of Station 1 and discover that the sand on the beach is fine and powdery compared to those found in Station 2 & 3. Don't forget to take pictures at Willy's Rock.
6. Shopping - D'Mall is the most popular area to go shopping for pasalubong but there are other shopping areas along the beach or inner streets.
7. Walking or Jogging - Boracay can be mean to one's diet but it's good to know that one can go walking or jogging along the white beach early morning or late afternoon to lose that weigh gain from eating buffets at dinner.
8. Massage - my favorite activity! One can have a whole body massage under a coconut tree at P250 for half hour and P350 for one hour. If you opt to have a massage in the privacy of your hotel room, you need to add P50 for the hotel charge.
9. Catch the sunset - it always amazes me how the sunset in Boracay can make you catch your breath. It can make you say "Thank you Lord for this wonderful day!" I bet there are thousands of pictures taken of the Boracay sunset. I observed people have this awed look on their faces while looking at the sun setting and many still are taking pictures until the sun sets in the horizon. Trying to catch the majesty and awesomeness of the whole scene. Boracay sunset is really, really beautiful.
10. Swimming - my all time favorite....swimming in the clear, blue, crystal waters of Boracay...heaven!
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