Knowing the fact that Boracay is a much raved-about destination with a lot of online reviews, I still feel the urge to pen down some thoughts about this wonderful beach paradise before my memory slips…
How can someone not be flabbergasted by the stunning beauty of the crystal clear water that glitters under the blazing sun and the soft white sand that slips through your fingers like silk? Sound like what my students will write in their composition isn’t it? I kid you not, the many descriptive phrases we have learnt in school are indeed true. Authors who curate all these smart ass sentences must have been to a hell lot of great places! Impressive (both the place and the author).
Flying to Boracay is not that cheap or straightforward (unless you want to take a 2.5 hours bus ride on bumpy roads). There is no direct flight to Caticlan, the airport nearer to Boracay island. KFC and I had to transit in Manila and take a domestic plane to Caticlan. Having taken so many planes in my 25 years of life, the domestic carrier to Caticlan was the smallest I had been on. It was probably only slightly bigger than a warplane. Fortunately, the journey lasted only an hour (not inclusive of an hour delay at the airport).
We literally gasped at the size of the airport upon touching down. It was really small! There were only three planes at the hangar, two informational counters and one luggage belt. Despite the compactness, everything function pretty well. While KFC waited for our luggage, I decided to go out for some fresh air. Just right outside the main door, I spotted a familiar lady in pink. Her bright smile triggered my memory of the photograph ‘My Boracay Guide’ sent me and I recognised her as our tour guide! After a brief introduction, we set off to the ferry terminal to catch a boat across Boracay island.
The first thing that caught my attention was the spider-like boats resting lazily on the calmest of water. Unlike normal boats, these vessels had extended sides (outriggers) fastened to the main hull. I thought they were decorations to attract more business only to find out later that they were lateral support floats to generate stability. It was mandatory for all boats to install outriggers to prevent them from capsizing during rainy season.
We are learning new things everyday aren’t we?
Since we engaged the service of ‘The Boracay Guide’, it stationed tour guides at different areas to help us along the way. Prior to this trip, I did some research on guides and tours to find many negative comments on taking up tour services. Thus, I definitely had doubts on them. Fortunately, our guides were all well-trained with knowledge of the place and communication skills. The best thing was they did not ask for any tips! Henceforth, if you need any kind of tour services, just Google search ‘The Boracay Guide’.
Note: The island is pretty easy to navigate (even if you are bad with directions) as it is divided into three stations. You might want to explore it on your own and get a tour guide only if you are travelling to other islands in Panay.
Ariel’s Point
The next day, we woke early to go Ariel’s Point for cliff diving. Since rumour has it that the experience is fantastic, I wasted no time in making reservation for the tour through ‘The Boracay Guide’ a few weeks before our trip. Yes, it is a need for me to have everything in order before I travel. Though it was only a short trip, I had it detailedly planned down to the nitty-gritty bits. That aside, Ariel’s Point exceeded my expectation!
The fun started right at the very instant we stepped into the boat ferrying us to the place. As free flow of drinks (alcoholic and non-alcoholic), lunch, snorkelling, Kayaking, stand up paddling and diving are included in the package deal, the 5000 pesos we spent for 2 were definitely worth it. The satisfaction we had gotten out of cliff diving from 3, 5,8 and 15 metres valued more than the amount we paid. I was fearful at first but with much persuasion from KFC and visual encouragement by the others’ exhilaration, I jumped from 5 metres and that was it.
The 1 second free fall was nothing scary to me since I had sky dived a few years ago. It was the fear of drowning (I can’t swim but I am learning to) that held me back. Why would I jump then? I am quite a daredevil. You don’t expect me to go all the way to the cliff and not experience one of the world’s top thrills! Of course, it was also partly due to the lifeguard’s reassurance.
When I plunged into the deep sea, I did not think much about anything except for surfacing. Trying hard to remember to blow bubbles under water, I raised my arms to grab hold of the buoy that was thrown to me. Emerging from the water, all I could feel were exhilaration and accomplishment. It felt like winning an Olympic diving event! While I was hesitating at the 5 metres mark, KFC had already made a few dives at all heights without giving two hoots… Very very brave.
Instead of letting exhaustion crept up on us, we partied on the boat on the way back.
After washing up, we walked along the beach to catch a view of the spectacular sunset. The feeling of our feet brushing against the soft sand and our fingers intertwined was more than words could describe.
With slow steps, we strolled to the other end of the beach to find a bar called Wahine which was introduced to us by my Philippines’ colleague. The 15-20 minutes walk was all worth it! Along the way, we saw a few couples having their pre-wedding photo shoot against the backdrop of yellow-orange hue. It seemed almost magical…
Wahine is an amazing beach bar/restaurant that anyone could ask for! We were seated at a table with bean bags along the beach to enjoy the sea breeze and relax under the blanket of stars! The view would be even more kaleidoscopic if we reached earlier to catch the sunset. I rated the ambience 10/10.
Hacienda Maria
I must admit Day 2 was not as great as Day 1. Insisting on going to the Hacienda Maria tour at Panay to learn about the local cultures, we set off to the mainland early in the morning. When we reached the ferry terminal, we were transferred to a van which was too small to fit all 11 of us! KFC and I had to squeeze on a narrow seat just because we were the slimmest!
The village is located high up in the mountains and the route to this almost mysterious enclave is narrow and bumpy.
Instead of admiring the beautiful lush forest, we were actually fearing for our dear lives as it seemed like at any moment the van would swerve and plunge down the cliff to merge with nature.
“Fit, you did buy insurance right?” KFC whispered into my ear. I bursted out laughing. He never buys travel insurance, never.
Everyone heaved a quiet sigh of relieved when we reached our destination. I might have imagined that but it was indeed a risky journey.
Cladded in rubber sandals, sturdy black construction helmet and torch light, I waddled my way into the cave. The first cave was spacious and easy to navigate. The second one was challenging with complex path. At some parts, passing through narrow and low openings to get a view of those shiny stalagmites (or was it stalactites) required us to perform the sumo crab walk.
The highlight of the trip was my fall in the cave. Be that as it may, I still continued my journey in the cave and managed to take an #ootd in the dark. Even though I only had a scrapped knee, I hated my clumsiness for worrying KFC and troubling the villagers for first-aid. At the end of the day, what did I get out of my fall? You know the answer. I could not even differentiate the rocks.
With a tummy full of delicious Philippines cuisine cooked by the friendly locals, we made our way to the waterfall. It was a far cry from the photos I had seen. Donning on my life jacket, I took baby steps to the edge of the river. Since KFC refused to get himself wet as he had no extra set of clothing to change into, I hesitated in going into the water (I depend a lot on him when it comes to any water activity). Eventually, after much persuasion, I went down, alone, in my life jacket and paddled like a dog. Literally.
About an hour later, we got up and strolled to the place with hot pot ‘jacuzzi’. The ‘jacuzzi’ was actually a big pot rested on top of burning stone stove. Temperature of the water was regulated so it would not get too hot and burn our buttocks.
According to the villagers, this bath procedure helps to relieve muscle pains and improve blood circulation. However, I think all of their efforts have gone to waste as tourists like us will not stay long for natural treatment in the hot pot. It is all for photo taking purposes.
We have come to the conclusion that tourism is indeed a double-edged sword that has positively and negatively impacted both the environment and the village’s livelihood. If we end tourism to protect the flora and fauna of the place, the villagers who earn a living through this mean may not have enough to survive. As such, the relationship between tourism, the environment and livelihood is complex.
Being the first couple to get back, we had the privileged to visit the fighting roosters! Our guide was a very young boy around the age of 15. He was very excited to show us how these roosters fight. Honestly, KFC was more fascinated than him to have the chance to hold the rooster and put it in the pen for a battle.
I guess living in the city has starved all us from nature and farm life.
D’Talipapa Market
When we were back on the island, we walked to the famous D’Talipapa seafood market at Station 2 to get the best seafood deal. Based on the rate I found online, we bargained to our hearts’ content and managed to put a decent meal, consisting of tiger prawns, bamboo shells, scallops, garoupa, mussels and clams, on the table for less than SGD$100, inclusive of cooking.
Parasailing and Helmet Diving
On the 3rd day, which was our last day in Boracay, we decided to go for helmet diving and parasailing. We were likely to be the first customer to visit the fishes under water that morning. Though the amazing experience of mingling with fishes and feeding them only lasted for 15 minutes, it was quite unforgettable.
Almost immediately after our dive, we went all the way up into the sky for parasailing. The 360 degree paranomic view was breathtaking and we were caught in a whirlwind of excitement, not knowing that our guide had used my phone to capture our expressions! It was a fun but tedious time scrolling through my photo album as he had taken near 100 photos of our mirth.
KFC planned to go Scuba diving that day but we realised that it would be a risk to take a plane afterwards as the nitrogen in the body would expand 3 times the amount on air after diving and it might be life threatening! He was quite disappointed as he really wanted to do it. Eventually, we just settled with more seafood to cheer him up.
After getting coffee and calamansi muffin from the well-known Real Coffee, we bid goodbye to this lost paradise and set off to the airport. However, we were not yet done with our adventure! At the security checkpoint, we saw many bags of sand being confiscated and started to panic! Turning back the time to an hour ago, with coffee in hand, we too had our reverie putting white sand into tic tacs containers. At that crucial moment, when our bags travelled on the conveyor belt and went under the scrutiny of the officers, we prayed, hard. It was a relief that our mini containers passed through security smoothly without any hassle, but we were quite sure the officer had shut one eye and let us go.
Our adventure in Boracay ended here ♥.
Fare breakdown for 4D3N:
| Transport | Duration | Cost |
| Flight from Singapore to Manila | 3.5 hours | SGD$130 |
| Flight from Manila to Caticlan | 1 hour | SGD$156 |
| Accomodation | Duration | Cost |
| Bans Beach Resort (Station 1) | 4 days 3 night | SGD$215.02 |
| Activities | Duration | Cost |
| Ariel’s Point | 11am-5pm | 2500 pesos/pax |
| Haceinda Maria Tour | 9am-4pm | 2500 pesos/pax |
| Parasailing & Helmet Diving | Any timing | 2100 pesos/pax |
| Food | Address | Cost |
| Wahine (Philippines & Western cuisines) | Diniwid Beach, Aklan Province 5608, Philippines |
360-480 pesos |
| Supermagic Burgers (fast food) | Station 3 Beachfront, Boracay Sands Hotel |
245 pesos |
| Real Coffee (calamansi muffins & freshly brew coffee) |
Station 1, Boracay Island, Malay, Aklan, Philippines |
40-340 pesos |
| D’Talipapa Market | Balabag, Malay, Aklan, Philippines |
Giant Prawns: 8 for 650 pesos Scallops: 1/2 kg for 200 pesos Lapu-lapu fish: 1 for 450 pesos Mussels: 1 kg for 300 pesos Clams: 1 kg for 125 pesos |
