11/22/15 - Boracay 2015 Pt. 1

So our Boracay trip finally pushed through last week! After months of anxiety and preparation, the time has finally arrived.

This trip was actually conceptualised while we were in Bataan a few months ago. We decided to go here to celebrate our friend's birthday last Nov. 16.

We booked a flight through AirAsia for Nov. 13-16, 2015. It's a good thing that our schedules are quite flexible at work. Unfortunately, out of the 6 of us in our group, only 5 of us made it. Hopefully, everyone will be able yo go on our next trip wherever that will be. We already have our target destination, but that is saved for another time.


This wasn't my first time to go to Boracay, but this marked a lot of firsts. It was my first time to travel through AirAsia, as well as the first time to book a flight using a credit card. I was the only one who had a credit card so I had to shoulder the booking. The last time I went to Boracay was when I was really young. I thought back then that it was only a beach where we would only go swimming the entire day then just sleep in a nipa hut, so this time, I made sure I was prepared for life in Boracay. It was also my first time to travel with my group of friends on a plane. I usually ride PAL but since we were riding AirAsia, it was my first time to use terminal 4 which is an old terminal. We were scared of being victimized by the ongoing "laglag bala" scam but everything went well on our way to and from Boracay. We were almost thinking of wrapping our bags in cling wraps! That's how paranoid we were but that's better than being asked to pay for tons of money as well as be labelled as criminals.

We met up at the airport very early since our flight was at 9 in the morning and we were taking the first flight. Thankfully, we didn't experience any delays.

We landed safely in Kalibo and took a long van ride going to Caticlan where we took a boat going to Boracay island.

We rode a tricycle to our hostel which we found online. We opted to stay in a cheap hostel for practicality and financial reasons. We found a good hostel which was near the beachfront in station 2. We settled in for a while. We actually didn't have a concrete plan or itinerary but that's part of our adventure. We just go with the flow. we decided that we'll do at least one tourist activity and registered for island hopping for the next day. We also signed up for Pubcrawl for the following day.

We decided to eat lunch first. We ended up eating at a Mexican resto called Tres Amigos in D'Mall. The place served good food and it is highly recommended. We decided to chill for the rest of the day and was offered a free dinner buffet at Astoria hotel It turned out that in exchange for free food, they had to market us their rooms which ended up taking 3 whole hours of our lives that we can never take back. After escaping a pesky sales talk, we had some shisha by the beachfront and had our usual bonding session.

The first day was quite a success.

Our second day started early since our call time for the island hopping was at 9 am. Before that activity though, me and one of my officemates decided to get a henna tattoo. I had one done on each of my arms. We had an unsatisfactory breakfast at a resto called Jammers. After everything is prepared, including renting of snorkeling equipment, we embarked on the trip.

The first island we went to was at Magic island. It was the island where people go cliff diving and so did we! It was my first time to do it. I had jitters at first but I'm so glad that I conquered it. I was actually so excited to do it but seeing the steep fall made me lose my bravery. I'm so happy that I didn't chicken out. Each one of us did it and it was indeed a magical experience.

We went to Puka beach after where we had lunch. The beach was very beautiful and was a perfect backdrop for a photo shoot.

Our last stop was supposedly at Crocodile island but the strong waves made our tour guides decide that we'll just snorkel in some other place which is supposedly Manny Pacquiao's property. The scene underwater was spectacular. It's been a while since I've snorkeled and it's such an underwhelming experience to see the marine life, even if that means seeing sea urchins.

One of the best parts is riding the boat by the net or whatever you call its sides. It was a great moment to relax. The boat we used was wind-powered so we weren't disturbed by any sounds from an engine.

Our trip ended in the afternoon just in time to get some rest before we do a pubcrawl. We decided to have dinner first since our stomachs need to be full before we drink.

The Pubcrawl is a social event where the goal is to turn strangers into friends. There are some activities prepared by the hosts and the main goal is for everyone to get to know each other. I did meet plenty of new people which was something that I've always wanted to do since I'm not such a sociable person before.

We were taken into various clubs where free shots were served. We were also allowed to buy drinks on our own if we prefer to. We met various kinds of people and even met some tourists from Europe. We had a great time dancing the entire night away. I danced like crazy and had one of the best nights of my life. I got so drunk that night that I literally had to get dragged to go back to the room. I had some bad experiences that night which is why I wanted to drink a lot. I don't really want to talk about it though. That night, despite my drunk state, I decided to go out by myself and drink some more beer by the seaside. It's such a memorable experience to get wasted by myself overlooking the sea, thinking about things that have been bothering me for the longest time. I didn't have a clear resolution by the end of the day but it was so rejuvenating.

Part 2 will be posted on the next update!