Boracay Experience - serenity at a price...
When we talk about Boracay, we can generally agree that every wonderful article, blog and comments had already been said about this beautiful island in Aklan. What could somebody like me add that hasn’t been said?
Boracay is an island paradise and one of the most beautiful beaches in the world. The island’s beauty transcends above the 7000 wonders the Philippines has to offer and is probably the most visited place, both foreign and domestic tourists alike. Any travel-frenzy Pinoy have been to Boracay once or twice in their life. Majority of Pinoys on social networking sites do have an album about their Boracay escapades. Those who has been to Boracay has probably been to one of its famous hang-outs (Station 1 to 3), they have bought some souvenirs in d’Mall, they have taken pictures in Willy’s Rock and the sand castles.
So what more can I tell about Boracay from my experience that is different? It is experiencing it first class. Truthfully, I was always imagining going to Boracay, let alone stay in posh room accommodations and meals. Well, my imagination turned into reality this year. Except with some rain and monsoon winds, our trip and stay was really relaxing. We decided to choose Cebu Pacific because of their promos, but it didn’t really made a big difference with the other airlines’ fare when you add the surcharges. Too late after we heard that PAL Express might still be the best trip to look forward to.
Excitement was teeming almost the whole night before the trip. Everybody was tense, nobody was sleeping early even the kids, and everyone was anticipating the 2AM arrival of the service van we hired to bring us to NAIA 3 from Angeles City. We decided to forego the possibility of flying through Clark since there is no direct flight to Caticlan - only to Cebu - and it will probably take longer than Manila.
Fast Forward and skipping the details of the airplane ride, we found ourselves stuck for a short time in Caticlan Airport. Due to the unpredictable weather, the airlines decided to delay our baggage until the next flight. But this is where we started to experience first class accommodations right from the airport. Our resort guide assured us that he will be bringing our baggage right to our room as soon as it arrives. In short, we didn’t have to wait for our things, he brought us to the jetty port in Tabon and accompanied us up to the hotel reception. He then excused himself to go back to Caticlan to wait for our baggage. Imagine if we decided to wait for our bags – we arrived in Caticlan at 8AM: our bags arrived at 1PM.
Fridays’ Resort is located at the white beach area just beside Discovery Suites, popular for its talcum-like sand you could mistake for your regular baby powder, or probably masses of cement powder from a building construction. We considered Discovery at first but I guess we made the right choice in staying at Fridays. We were welcomed at the front with complimentary drinks and a souvenir already consisting of shell necklace for each of us. Our names are written outside the reception, together with other guests. We were assured that our rooms were ready, even if check-in time is still at 12 noon.
Boracay’s tropical setting was complemented by Fridays’ ambiance. As someone who grew up in Manila, for some reason I have this distaste for concrete buildings for aesthetic reasons. Tropical and concrete does not really mix well, except if you are Francisco Mañosa. Fridays’ native setting was perfect for me: its Nipa Hut style using bamboo, wood, and pawid roofs as major materials made it a paradise within a paradise. A terrace with a hammock and overlooking the beach and also the pool at the side, this is almost my dream house. And if it isn’t enough, the rooms were elegantly awesome. Even without the television and the ref, it is almost a honeymoon suite – except that it has 2 additional beds – probably perfect for an orgy. The bathroom is magnificent that would sometimes set the tone for a romantic night. With the ambiance as perfect as I have imagined it would be, I am saving my excitement until dinner.
Fridays’ is famous for its restaurant, if you have the right budget. Nightly buffet are expensive even though they have specialties each night. Their best buffet is served at Friday nights, including cultural shows for guests, and even voluntary participation with the dreaded tinikling dance. As a token, they are giving certificates to those who are brave enough to dance through those bamboo poles. The last time I was involved in tinikling was in grade 2 where my feet would always get hit by the poles, so I decided to just be a spectator for the night. The restaurant offers a regional Asian, European, Fusion, American and Filipino cuisine, and daily special breakfast set, lunch and dinner menu in addition to its ala carte specialties.
Aside from what we have tasted at Fridays', there is this not-so-expensive restaurant in Ilig-Iligan that serves fresh seafoods where we ate after snorkeling. I forgot the name of the place but as far as I can remember they have served the most tasting white snapper Sinigang that I have ever tasted. We bought this big fish, they cooked the head and tail in Sinigang and the middle part were only steam fried, and we also had those spicy crabs and shrimps. My diet plans just crashed after seeing those foods on the table. If these are expensive for your taste, you can always fall back on Andok’s in d’Mall, for there is no Jollibee out there yet as far as I know. Oh one more thing, don’t ever try those fly infested breads at Julie’s. I’ve seen them. Disgusting in a sort of way, especially if you see the flies squeezed between the glass containers and the bread. They might look like raisins from a far but they don’t taste like one. Don’t forget to buy a souvenir shirt, its buy 1 take 1 for a hundred and fifty, sounds cheap but some of them doesn’t look cheap. There are designs that are classy when you wear them.
Wherever you want to stay in Boracay, you will never run out of things to do. There are lots of activities for the adventurous, for nature lovers, for the party animals, for those who wanted to relax, and even for the hopeless romantics, though it could come at a price, an expensive one, to be frank about it. We were there to relax, to getaway from the busy city life. Angeles is a chartered city full of exoticity but we wanted to experience the kind of relaxation only found in an island paradise – serenity. And serenity in Boracay is synonymous to Fridays’…
i hope to be back... sana makapagbakasyon ako ng summer para masaya :D
i think we were half lucky since we went there on an off-peak season(but peak season rates)...
when we were there we avoided the crowded places as much as possible, except probably d'Mall where you could buy things you want for souvenirs and important things...
actually for me it doesn't matter if it is a world class beach or not, it is as long as there are less people near me... i hate crowds actually, especially if i am not familiar to them hehehe...
ako i am still researching the best month to go to Boracay... definitely not summer... sa Zambales kasi ang alam ko November walang masyadong tao...
isama mo naman ako jan.. ^_^