Boracay, Philippines Trip 2012 : Part 1

Hey guysssss! It's the weekend! Wohoooo! Hope you guys have a great weekend ahead! :D

Anyway....today I would like to write about my trip to Boracay, Philippines last August 2012. It was my 2nd time there but I still want moreee. Hehe. Yeah as their tourism slogan says..."It's More Fun In The Philippines". And yes it was indeed.

So from Malaysia of course as usual, Mr.Mon took his official airlines (hehe), AirAsia to Clark Airport, very early in the morning (think it was 6.30am and flight took 4 hours) and then took the AirAsia flight from Clark to Kalibo Airport which took 1 hour. AirAsia flies only to Kalibo which is 1.5 hours bus ride to the jetty going to Boracay. Only Cebu Pacific flies to the airport just beside the jetty, the Caticlan Airport. So if you have that extra penny you can get Cebu Pacific to cut the 1.5 hours travel from Kalibo to the jetty. The bus ride was nice though. You could see the lifestyles of the locals and the beautiful Filipino countryside. It will be a cool new experience for those only used to city life. Other low cost carrier choices are Zest Air and Airphil Express which both fly only to Kalibo from Clark Airport. If from Manila, all fly to Kalibo except AirAsia. (Websites: Cebu Pacific - http://www.cebupacificair.com/Pages/default.aspx ; Zest Air - http://www.flyzest.com/ ; Airphil Express - https://www.airphilexpress.com/ ; AirAsia : http://www.airasia.com/my/en/home.page ).

Let's look at the pictures now....

I bought the max meal that can be bought online so I could take away and bring along to Boracay. (Sebab susah nak carik makanan halal) Max was only 2 meal though. :P

This is Kalibo town where our flight from Clark landed. The best time to go to Kalibo town is during their Ati Atihan Festival where people dress up in colorful extravagant warrior costumes and parade along the street. This festival occurs once a year every 3rd week of January. Google Ati Atihan Festival to see the pictures!

We took our transportation to the jetty with this company. Southwest Tours. They are professional and it is convenient to use them as they fetch you right where you landed and will escort you to your bus and by the time you arrive at the jetty there will be people waiting to escort you to the boat and finally to your hotel in Boracay.. Get this door-to-door roundtrip in their website before you leave your home. The door-to-door roundtrip package costs PHP975 or around RM79.  Website : http://www.southwesttoursboracay.com/boracay-transportation

This trishaw which normally fits only 4 tourists can accomodate up to 10 locals! Amazing. :)

The jetty going to Boracay. Boat took only 10mins to reach Boracay island. It was already getting dark by the time we reached Boracay and by the time we reached our hotel it was already dark. So total travel time from Malaysia to Boracay was 12 hours with 2 plane ride, 1 bus ride, 1 boat ride and 1 van ride.

Our hotel snapped from the main street of Boracay. Very convenient since it's just a few steps away from D'Mall, the most visited place in Boracay and only around 250 metres from the beach accessible through D'Mall.

Island Nook Boutique Hotel. We booked though Agoda for PHP2000 or RM160 per room. This hotel is located at Boat Station 2, the centre of Boracay beach stretch.

Corridor to the rooms.

Inside our Double Standard room. Unfortunately wi-fi can only be detected in the lobby and area round lobby. (X smpi ke bilik resepsi wi-fi nyer)

The hotel's cafe. Breakfast was included in the room price.

After we arrived on the first night we to look for a place to eat dinner and this was chosen. Bud's Grill. On the beach near D'Mall.We chose here since they had mostly seafood dish. In D'Mall, walk towards the beach and turn left at the beachside entrance and Bud's Grill will be on the right just around 50metres from D'Mall entrance.

We had lots and lots of grilled oysters. They were fresh and yummy!

I ate a lot of prawns too!

Very cool shirts where the picture and the wording is made to order. Shop was just at D'Mall beach side entrance.

After our seafood dinner we had coffee and desserts at one of the cafes in D'Mall with the view of the mini Ferris Wheel.

My breakfast set in the morning. Fried boneless milk fish or what they call as Bangus (name of the fish). I really loved it! Oh yeah I should have focused the pic to the fish... i know i know... :P

This is D'Mall. Rows of street shops with a variety of things sold from drinks to desserts to souvenirs to clothes. They also have bars and restaurants at their main area near the Ferris Wheel. When you see the Ferris Wheel then you are at the center of D'Mall.

That corner cafe on the left was where we had our coffee and dessert the night before. Nice dessert.

Add caption

FINALLY. The white beach of Boracay. The reason we decided to go here. Beautiful!

Add caption

This is the beach at Boat Station 2. Here in Boracay they have 3 boat stations (or 3 parts of the beach). Boat Station 1 is where most of the luxury resorts are...Boat Station 2, where D'Mall is, is where all the bars, restaurants, shops are centrally located and Boat Station 3 is where some of the cheapest accommodations are. My recommendation is to stay at Boat Station 2 since it's in the middle so you can easily go anywhere and since its where most of the facilities are. But if you opt to stay at the other two boat stations, there would not be a problem since the trishaws are everywhere and you pay only 10-20 peso to any place along Boat Station 1,2 or 3. I myself did stay at Boat Station 1 for two nights. Just to inform you, the beach at Boat Station 1 seems to be the nicest since they have the widest beach area. And on low tide you can swim safely up to 300 metres out I think.

TO BE CONTINUED....


View Larger Map