@ Boracay, "The Best Beach In The World" part 2

Boracay was voted "Best beach in the world" in 2012. It's been at or near the top of the world's best for years and when you get there you'll understand why.

It has a reputation for having the softest, finest white sand in the world. When you hold the sand in your hand, you might be surprised that it has the consistency of talcum powder. I've visited a lot of white sand beaches but Boracay's sand is in a class by itself.

Don't try to bring sand home though, the authorities are trying to stave off sand erosion in the island by discouraging the practice so just buy a small sand bottle sold from the souvenir shops if you'd really like to take some with you.

Anyway, you visit paradise for the fun and sun and Boracay have lots to offer. We tried the banana boat ride which cost us 2500 for 9 people. It was 30 minutes of holding on tight to the rubber boat and getting splashed in the eyes with salt water which was a challenge for me and my niece Alyssa since we were seated in front, but that's a small price to pay for the experience.

We screamed ourselves hoarse just for the fun of it and the feeling of utter freedom in the middle of the waves. It's worth every penny my other niece Hazel paid for the whole thing. I'm an extremely lucky aunt that I'm close enough in age to my nieces to get invited to their trips, haha!

Boracay is famous for its night life so we could not resist plunking our butts on bean bags at The Bamboo Bar in Boat Station 3 to drink some cocktails and see the fire dancers do their thing. I'm not much of a drinker so I nursed my martini the whole night while the others had a bit more.

Those fire dancers are seriously fun to watch. I wondered how they do it without burning various parts of their anatomy. I would probably singe my hair if I try those moves! They are seriously fit too, those gay guys are sexy and that girl's abs was just unreal.

The next day, even if some were nursing mild hangovers, we rented an outrigger boat for 3000 to take us snorkeling to Crocodile Island. It was great to see all the colorful fish though we wish we brought an underwater camera, that was really awesome. Some enterprising boatmen were selling buko juice in the middle of the ocean for  ₱50 so we bought several when we were ready to get back on the boat.

 We also did some swimming after snorkeling away from the White Beach, it's really crowded in April there so beautiful as it was, we appreciated the chance to swim in relative peace somewhere else.

Tired of the roasted chicken and pizzas we had from Andok's and Yellow Cab the previous day, we asked around and found Bella Bistro Boracay who agreed to cook for 100/kilo the seafood and tuna we bought at the D'Talipapa wet market. It was one of my best meals, fresh and oh-so tasty. I'm starting to drool just thinking about it.

Feeling wonderfully full, we walked around the narrow street of D'Talipapa and bought funky bangles for ourselves and key chains and refrigerator magnet pasalubongs for our friends. Dit even bought me a dress which pleased me to no end.

I visited Boracay years ago and it was a shock at first to see it so crowded and noisy now--with so many people running around and touts everywhere selling all kinds of stuff--but I'm glad it's getting the attention it deserves.

I might long for the peace and quiet of the past but I'm aware of the positive effect of the tourists' presence on our economy. I just hope Boracay would be developed responsibly because it is truly a treasure and an island I will always love to come back to no matter how many years pass by.

@ Boracay, "The Best Beach In The World" part 1

When my niece Girlie called and confirmed she's coming home for a short vacation after 5 years of living in New Zealand, I was practically giddy, I missed my ex- roommate and childhood nemesis ( I remember her always messing around with my stuff when she was really young, and I being the 10 year-old auntie that I was, would scream bloody murder and would often ask God why he was punishing me with such a nasty little brat ;)

The memory of those difficult days faded away somewhat when she asked me to accompany her to Boracay. My heart did a somersault several times over when she told me she'll pay for the whole thing too. I knew my decision not to strangle her when she was young would pay off eventually, muahahaha!

Anyway, she was coming over with her little sister Alyssa and her other sister, Swiss-based Hazel (aka Chigo) would also fly in ahead of us with her mom Ella, cousin Dit, and friends Michael and Marsel to make things even more fun. I was tasked with booking our trip and since it was short notice, I decided to ask my friend Joy (who has a cousin that owns a travel agency for help) and they gave us a reasonable price for our group of four.

We were originally planning on having just 3 in our package but we were convinced to add one more person because the additional price is just 2000 pesos and we thought our cousin Rhea (my other ex-roommate) would love to join us, so our travel was set.

This trip was arranged within a week of departure and there were no available seats on the flights to Caticlan so we had to fly via Kalibo International Airport in Kalibo, Aklan. This airport was not as big as I expected and there weren't enough seats to accommodate all the tourists flying in and out of Boracay so be ready to stand in a corner or sit on the floor especially if your flight is delayed.

I don't recommend flying in via Kalibo because you'll have to ride a van or bus for another 2 hours to get to Caticlan. I'm not for long bus rides at all, I get bored so easily and I get dizzy trying to type a blog post on my iPod or iPhone anyway.

Our flight was mercifully on time and there was someone from our hotel, La Carmela de Boracay, waiting there for us and he herded us to the bus and after 2 hours, we arrived in Caticlan and quickly boarded an outrigger boat to take us to Boracay island itself.

After alighting at the Cagban jetty port, we were picked up by the van from La Carmela and took us straight to White Beach Station 2 where the world's best beach with the finest and softest sand awaits. Boracay, It's wonderful to see you again!