after the rain: Those first few days I would call a warm up!

All right then, it’s been a full week so it’s time to put myself together and write something up. I have to admit that I had few quiet days but it was mainly due to adjusting, then last Saturday we’ve flown to Boracay leaving all phones and computers behind (don’t be afraid, especially Joa, had my camera with me). So technically it’s the first chance for me to sit back and share with you my experiences. Not much to write as the whole week can be described in just one word, lazy!. Although, there is still few things I have learned, San Miguel is not Spanish as I previously thought but truly Philippian. All hairdressers in this country are gay and even if you go to places called ‘go straight’ they still will be very homosexual;). Service and labor charges are still cheap for us Europeans but still have seen some cheaper ones in SE Asia already, give you some example using British sterling; pedicure cost you 2,50, to fix my ipod screen I’ve paid 22 where cheapest quoted price in Indian corner shop in UK was 45, but the biggest difference is with food and beverages prices, where beer in pub usually cost you a pound and cocktail an average of 1.50. (if you ever make it to Boracay, pop in to Levantin near 7 stone resort on the north side, during low season you pay 60 pesos, less then a pound for very good mojito!).

Airphilexpress, them guys were responsible for the delays!

So yes, as you probably noticed, I had a chance to use those local facilities already, you now, after working like a nutter for last 4 weeks I decided to treat myself, doing things I wouldn’t normally do. So as I was behaving like rich tourist from Germany, sorry to say but I still can’t say if Manila is worth seeing. It’s definitively good if your plan is to chill, drink fresh juices and shakes doing nothing, going to the gym or local spa, partying as is cheap and locals like to drink but that’s it.

But as always those lazy days usually goes quickly and finally time to move. So after 3 days of doing nothing (literally I was doing nothing) we changed the location on Saturday to Boracay and here I have to mention about Emilia’s dedication, as she came back form work around 5am and woke up just after 8am as we were catching early flight. By saying early I mean 1140J, but we still did well by getting to the airport just after 10:30am just to learn that our flight was cancelled and we might had to wait few more hours to catch another flight to different airport to then catch a bus ride for next 2-4 hours! What a start! For those who have been to Asia I don’t have to explain that there was no one to explain anything, and it didn’t matter how angry you got it wouldn’t change a thing! After 4 hours of waiting we later found out from other people waiting at the terminal that few of the earlier flights had some issues and couldn’t take off. So those entire passengers from the early morning flights automatically were put on later flights (I mean our flight), which already were full, booked out. Which means we were kicked off our flight and all they told us was ‘sorry we haven’t got any aircraft available right now and you have to wait for the next one available. If you are not happy you can write a complaint but if you cancel you flight, we don’t give any refunds so you gonna be better off waiting. So as there was not much we could do, I decided to test those small shops at the terminal selling pastries and coffee. Not a thing you do when you try to slim down, but f… it, I was bored and annoyed.

yet another village...

Our ferry to Boraca

Finally we got to Boracay around 6 pm. rushing to get some food, then possibly a walk and go back to bed! That was the plan. Hungry, annoyed, with some extra problems we finally got to our resort after good few long minutes trying to find it. Located off the beach, connected with only a small footpath to a main road turn out to be a real hassle to find for someone who doesn’t know where to look for it. So were riding around with our bike rickshaw taxi searching those small roads to find it, thankfully we have been given a map at the pier, so didn’t help to the taxi man, but it helped us, and as we got to a place which was located on the map and it was located very closed to the our one, we decided to get off and walk on the beach. A right choice as we later found out, as it only took us few minutes and we also learned that a bar recommended by Emilia’s friend is our local one. So even though we have booked this place randomly, we probably have made one of the best decisions by staying there. Very friendly and for most safe place with amazing view on the see!!! Run by German guy who also have a kite school which I might also use soon, located on the quite side of he island, turned out to be a perfect choice! You can’t beat the sound of ocean, and as there was not people around you could just sit there and listen to it, where at the other side, you had tones of those annoying Chinese, Koreans and Taiwanese and noisy restaurants and clubs! You know good to go there and spent whole afternoon there not the entire stay! But any way, except those few things Boracay is an amazing island, snorkeling is great ( you don’t need a boat to go out snorkeling), the choice of sea food is amazing too, but not the cheapest, have to say! But hey, what can you expect in such a touristy place.

In the rickshaw!

Beach outside our resort.

So as for us we didn’t have much to eat for whole day due to the flight issues, it was the right time to get anything. Which turned out to be a more difficult then we expected, if you have got too much to choose from it’s probably worse then too little choice. But we finally made our minds and I have to say one thing, a friend of mine Ronan still has the number one position in term of preparing tuna steaks. So then another tip for those who planning of going to Philippines, if you want to get a nicely prepared see food go to those more expensive places like ‘red coconut’, much better food, then with those smaller places. On the first night we decided to have a bite in place called k… something opposite the sports bar. Fist of all, they were offshoring the kitchen, so our dishes were coming at different times from different places, and were Emilia’s prawns were good my tune was over grilled and one side tasted like chewing gum, oh well thanks god I was hungry;).

Moon rise, view from outside our resort :)

On the way to white beach!

White Beach at night.

But after the meal it was only getting better as we finally made our way to our local bar the have few drinks there before we go to bed. But it turn out to be different, as Emilia quickly mentioned about mutual friend in a conversation, and you now friends make new friends and so on. So after few minutes we were all drinking shots together! Bogdan and Adriana, a couple from Rumania was running this place for a year now, and have to say they have done well! Perfect place to chill down on a hammock enjoying the view, sipping one of the best mojitos I have ever had, well recommended! But let’s say one thing, those few cocktails and shots in Levantin was only the beginning. We all quickly moved to a ‘Jungle bar’ famous from ‘fuck you Archie’ for a full moon party! And let me explain one thing, Archie is an owner of the Jungle bar, who serves a cocktail, apparently a combination of alcohol “vodka with vodka” in a glass. The cocotail is barman’s challenge – so the cocky guys don’t want to lose a bet. Not surprisingly quickly after drinking a glass of vodka you pass away and when you wake up the first words that come to your mind is “fuck you Archie”. There were going to encourage me to get one, but drinking beers, shoots and mojitos I got really drunk anyway, so maybe next time;) So to put it all up, amazing night out, we have met lots of people and had lots of fun. Don’t have to mention that dancing on the beach in Boracay is one of those things you wont forget for long and it doesn’t matter how drunk you get!

Random pic at the beach.

Then another thing I have to mention is the coral reef around the island and the crystal clear water, just have a look a the pictures yourself! I really hope we will be back there soon, and really can’t wait our next trip to Puerto Princessa next weekend, then trip to Sagada, or the visa run to Malaysia to hook up with Justin! But that sill to come and for know I can only mention that on the way back our flight was only delayed by 35min, as I said, it was only getting better!