Nope, the pictures that I googled before traveling were not fake or highly photoshop. They were REAL. True clear blue water and white beach with sand so fine you think they are man-made!
Where did I go?
B O R A C A Y
9th March - 12th March 2014
It was a fantastic experience that I thought I would never experience my whole life. It was crazy to think that I could plucker up that amount of courage and trust Hong in the crazy activities that we did. Yea, I'm a scaredy-cat! Most of the time, I am super panicky and anxious about new stuff that I have never tried before. But once I know what is going to happen, or have at least experienced it once, or for a period of time, my body calms down and then I adapt to the surrounding.
We did so so so many activities over the course of 4D3N. It was definitely sufficient, but really tiring for me.
Timing in Boracay is the same as per Singapore. Waking up at 7.30am in the morning wasn't really a challenge but the tiring part was the activities that we packed for ourselves were a little... overwhelming.
DAY 1
Now that Tiger Airways flies directly to Kalibo Airport, it made everything a whole lot easier when it comes to transfer.
Flight to Kalibo
Depart SGP at 12.00PM, Landed at 3.30PM
Land Transfer from Kalibo Airport to Caticlan Jetty
3.40PM - 5.30 PM
Ferry Transfer (28Pax) from Caticlan Jetty to Boracay
6.00PM - 6.10PM
Land Transfer from Boracay Jetty to Crown Prince Regency Hotel (Station 1)
6.15PM - 6.30PM
Check In @ Hotel
7.00PM
So yes, the transfers were seriously insane. Prior to the trip, I had made so much research and knowing the fact that I would probably be car sick (thanks to the great ocean road trip last year), I took my travel motion pills that I bought from Watsons to help curb my nauseousness. By the time we were at the jetty, the sun was setting. Yes, Boracay Sun sets at abou 5.30 - 6.00 PM in the evening. So get your camera ready.
When we got to the Hotel, both of us were so famished! Our last meal was in the morning at about 10am when we checked in! Gosh! But of course, when we saw food at the airport, we had to buy it. We bought 2 Hotdog buns for 80pesos. (SGD 2.40)
After we checked in our Hotel, we threw our luggage and hurried ourselves across the road where we saw the place that sold PREPAID DATA CARD. In Boracay, the telecom company is known as SMART. The prepaid SIM cost about 100pesos where after you have a choice of topping it up to the amount best suited for your usage.
For myself, I took the 100pesos SIM (valid for 5 days), then I bought 200 pesos for unlimited data and a few minutes of local calls. (SGD 8.80 <- definitely cheaper than Starhub Auto Roam)
As for Hong, I wanted him to be the main contact person, so he took up the 300 pesos for unlimited data and 100 pesos worth of local call. So his amounted to about SGD 10.
***If you are not a Samsung/Iphone user, please be warned that connecting to their SIM is a huge ass problem. Cause I faced it. But luckily Hong was duper tech-ky. So he helped me resolved the problem xD***
As we walked our way to D'Mall, the place where night life is just.... amazing.
We had dinner at this restaurant called - EPIC. The food was quite good and the prices were reasonable. We paid about 1000pesos for 2 mains and 2 beers. So that kind of sum up our first night. Had to head back to the hotel early as we had activities lined up like crazy the following day!
DAY 2
DAY 2
Incredible experience.
It was my first time Parasailing, wearing a life vest and trusting... little clips and ropes to lift me up above the deep ocean. It was extremely worrying for myself because I had never done any of the above before. But I was glad Hong was with me
It was my first time Parasailing, wearing a life vest and trusting... little clips and ropes to lift me up above the deep ocean. It was extremely worrying for myself because I had never done any of the above before. But I was glad Hong was with me
Next up was ATV. I have read it on a lot of blogs that riding an ATV was thrilling and very much easy. But it sure wasn't for me. For starters, I had a vehicle that the back brakes weren't working as well as I had wished it would be. On my way up, alone on an atv, I saw this girl crashed into the side, and how everyone hurriedly rush to her assistance, abandoning their own vehicle. (she was on her way down)
Mega shocking and scary for a non-rider/driver like me. It was scary. I didn't want that to happen to me on my way down so.... Hong had to drive me down as usual. Feels so much safer having him drive than.. myself. More confidence in him than myself. HAHAHA. and the view up there was just.. magnificent. You can have a 360 degree view of the surrounding.
Mega shocking and scary for a non-rider/driver like me. It was scary. I didn't want that to happen to me on my way down so.... Hong had to drive me down as usual. Feels so much safer having him drive than.. myself. More confidence in him than myself. HAHAHA. and the view up there was just.. magnificent. You can have a 360 degree view of the surrounding.
At the same place, you would also get to visit the 3D Museum as well as have some wild pets experience. The only thing I dared to touch was... this.. falcon. Anything else was just.. a little.. too much. I like my animals fluffy and cute.
After we were done, I was super determined to set my foot at Talipapa Market. I have heard that you can get fresh, alive and kicking seafood at the market and have them cooked at the restaurants surrounding it. And so we did.
I was warned too, that prices won't be cheap at all and the bargaining skills that we own were rather.. lousy. But I think overall, it was a satisfying meal. Just get ready to spend if you want to indulge in seafood. Everything was really fresh and worth the money you pay.
After we were done, I was super determined to set my foot at Talipapa Market. I have heard that you can get fresh, alive and kicking seafood at the market and have them cooked at the restaurants surrounding it. And so we did.
I was warned too, that prices won't be cheap at all and the bargaining skills that we own were rather.. lousy. But I think overall, it was a satisfying meal. Just get ready to spend if you want to indulge in seafood. Everything was really fresh and worth the money you pay.
Paraw-Sailing was probably one of the sea activities that I enjoyed most. It was so relaxing. It really was, trust me, you would really want to do this during the sunset period. Because it is worth every penny. My goodness. I loved it so much I wouldn't even mind doing it a second time!
So yes, next up was obviously Jet-Ski. Obviously with my driving skills, I wasn't the one at the front. The guide will give you a tour and a slight experience of what you will be expecting, teaching you how to control the vehicle and thus forth. Hong took over thereafter and gave me the biggest scare of my life.
I think he thought that we were in some action flick, trying to pull off all sorts of stuns. Within like 10 minutes on the Jetski with him, I told him I wanted to get off.
1. He can have the jetski all to himself and film his own action movie
2. I get to enjoy a peace of mind.
Those were my exact thoughts when I told him I wanted to get off. It was too much for someone like me. But of course, I didn't want to dampen his mood to stop him from continuing. So he happily went ahead and zoom zoom zoommmm.
Before we knew it, the sun started to set and it was extremely gorgeous.
So yes, next up was obviously Jet-Ski. Obviously with my driving skills, I wasn't the one at the front. The guide will give you a tour and a slight experience of what you will be expecting, teaching you how to control the vehicle and thus forth. Hong took over thereafter and gave me the biggest scare of my life.
I think he thought that we were in some action flick, trying to pull off all sorts of stuns. Within like 10 minutes on the Jetski with him, I told him I wanted to get off.
1. He can have the jetski all to himself and film his own action movie
2. I get to enjoy a peace of mind.
Those were my exact thoughts when I told him I wanted to get off. It was too much for someone like me. But of course, I didn't want to dampen his mood to stop him from continuing. So he happily went ahead and zoom zoom zoommmm.
Before we knew it, the sun started to set and it was extremely gorgeous.
Went online to search for places to have our dinner and it wasn't easy getting around the place because there were no indication of where the food places were, except which station they were in. It was kinda like finding a coin in haystack (I know its needle)
We ended up having fresh seafood at Paraiso, located at station 2.
DAY 3
Watch the video!
It is our picture+video log of us Helmet Diving. The experience was equally scary for me. But it was definitely worth every single minute I spent below. It was amazing. It was spectacular. As much as I was shaking, trying to equalize my ear pressure, trying to breathe, trying to stay calm, it was extremely ... pretty to see the fishes up live in front of me. It was perfect.
It was one of the best activity.
Yup! And lastly, we went Island Hopping! We visited Puka Beach, Crocodile Island and Snorkeled twice. Wished we had a gopro camera with us, so that we could take the picture of what was seen underwater. Hong said he saw a seahorse, but I couldn't see any.
There were a lot of fishes, really a lot, and a lot of sea urchins. The corals were not as pretty as I had imagined. They were all rather brown, none of those were like what I used to draw during my Secondary School days - blue, green,pink,red,yellow..
It was kinda scary to let the wave bring you around the area while you trust the life vest that you are wearing will float you eventually. It was really exhilarating. But I would say, it is better if you are a swimmer. Even if you are a bad one, as long as you know how to kick, do the mahjong hand movement, you will be fine. Like me, maybe after 2 - 4 minutes. Haha
The Last Sunset
There were a lot of fishes, really a lot, and a lot of sea urchins. The corals were not as pretty as I had imagined. They were all rather brown, none of those were like what I used to draw during my Secondary School days - blue, green,pink,red,yellow..
It was kinda scary to let the wave bring you around the area while you trust the life vest that you are wearing will float you eventually. It was really exhilarating. But I would say, it is better if you are a swimmer. Even if you are a bad one, as long as you know how to kick, do the mahjong hand movement, you will be fine. Like me, maybe after 2 - 4 minutes. Haha
The Last Sunset
We watched the sky turned purple as we had our body massages done at the beach. It was a spectacular view and the massage was just what we needed after a long day of activities. In fact I think we were a little fierce in trying to squeeze all the activities together. We are extremely blessed that the activities all fell in place despite having a few hiccups here and there with the timing arranged previously.
Our last dinner was at Aria restaurant
Our last dinner was at Aria restaurant
DAY 4
We packed our luggage the night before and skipped the Hotel's breakfast and went over to Cafe Del Sol on Station 2 early in the morning to have our breakfast. Tried their mango cheesecake and they were to die for.
I have the pictures on my facebook. Too lazy to import it over already. But it is definitely a must try for everyone!
After we were done with our Breakfast, the transfer service started all over again and it was bye bye boracay and hello Singapore once again.
Can I just say that the air in Singapore is seriously terrible. The air in boracay is just so .. fresh and non-hazy.
Q n A
How did I hid away from the Sun and still remain fair?
I was really glad I didn't grew a tad bit tan during this whole trip. In fact it was one of my biggest concern. I wore makeup throughout my whole trip and smacked on a lot of sun block.
I brought along with me SUNKILLER SPF 50 PA+++ BB Cream as a base for my makeup and had blusher and eyeliner, concealer, eyebrows drawn as per usual.
I also brought along with me SUNKILLER COOL SPF 50 PA+++ as my moisturiser before the BB Cream. Nothing was going to stop me with the use of my SPF 50 because I knew I will need them and totally appreciate the fact that I brought them along with me!
Lastly, the most important item of all was...
SUNPLAY SUPER BLOCK SPF 130 PA+++
This has got to be a god sent product because it worked! IT WORKED! I was in and out of the water all the time, so I reapplied when I got on shore to ensure that I had sufficient sun block on my skin. I sure do not want any form of freckles in the future. Oh ya, i bought them for $2 at Watsons and 6g is sufficient for one time usage only. Thank goodness I brought 2. heehee
and.. NOPE.
I didn't get any of those sunhats. Just me and my trusty sunblocks.
How much did you spend for the trip?
We bought a groupon deal for $1.2k.
The deal included all the transfers, air flight, taxes, helmet diving and parasailing + insurance
We exchanged SGD 680 in total for the whole trip.
The expenses included were
SGD 50 per meal
Transfer - SGD 2 per ride
Activities (Paraw Sailing, ATV, Island Hopping, Snorkelling) - PHP 3500
Environmental Fee - PHP 120 per pax
Jetski - PHP 2000
Full body 1 hour massage - PHP 350
Tips - PHP 50 - 100 per tip
Anyways, I was being told that we were extremely lucky because the activities that we had were really a good steal. If you are heading towards Boracay and would like to enjoy the deal that we did just contact the agent that we booked with. :)
Steven Boracay
+63 947 376 2589
He doesn't have whatsapp and his english standard is OK. Do try to get your Filipino friend to help you convey the message. Say you were introduced by Vincent (Hong's first name) or the 2 Singaporean couple. He will be able to know.
If you have any further questions, do leave a comment! I'll try my best to help.
HAVE FUN
xx
Andrea
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