another face of bora

and because i’m a true blue tropical specie and that i’m not sure if i can survive the -9 to -5C temperature during this months, beijing & shanghai were instantly slashed out from our holiday getaway. then we trimmed our choices to batanes, palau, el nido and bora. and since D hasn’t been to the infamous bora island, and that i’m feeling “wow philippines” promoter again despite palau was also a strong contender, chose bora’s white sand over palau’s :-)

it’s just my second time in the island and it’s been 3yrs since my travel buddies (chalahs) & i combed the white sand stretch. actually it marked the beginning of our nomadic life.

in 3 years the island grew dramatically. hotel resorts have mushroomed at the beachfront, new bars are making waves to the barhoppers, and aqua sports become more alive than ever.

traces of how busy the island was last week are still evident as you bump with mostly foreigners on their flesh-baring-gettos. learnt only now that christmas holidays is the island’s super peak season (and not summer/holy week which is only dubbed as peak season). and even if you intend to be stingy on your budget, super peak equates to sky rocket accommodation costs. arrrg!

anyway, expense is already given if you decide to go to a touristy place. so we just hoped that this break would be worth it.

onboard a jetty from caticlan, sms G (met in our palawan getaway and became instant friends) to tell her of our arrival and asked her if we can meet her for a drink that night. she’s super nice to say yes and even said “tomorrow, i’ll show you the other side of the island on a bike” woohoo!

we’re welcomed by the hotel personnels with a lei & a super refreshing drink. having lei is a winner, cos i think it was soo sweet of them to don it to us :x

i showed D how restos dotting the beach offer buffet dinner at a reasonable rate. i mean hello??! lobsters???as in giant lobsters…squid…oysters…all freshly caught…how can you go wrong? but i was a sold out for reggae music being played there by a duo band and it’s an alfresco dining, we chose the mongolian grill buffet, cos we thought our last night would be the seafood feast in our hotel. but blech!! i didn’t enjoy it. it’s super bland. i can’t help but think of aria’s pasta & pizza instead. haaay. wrong move talaga!

good thing the next meals were superb!;-) we’re satisfied big time to all the other buffets we had, served by the hotel we’ve checked-in. lahat ng gusto ko andun! especially the dinner buffet again by the beach of le soleil, woooow! yummy! oysters are insanely great! i was almost afraid of having indigestion that night. even the beef kebab, yummy din! and of course, the brazo de mercedes is worthy of note! it’s not super sweet hence i really liked.

actually, because of the buffets of LSDB, i’m giving their hotel 2 thumbs up. their accommodation cost is not ridiculous with all their amenities and their food is great. took the superior deluxe room and i luv it with no end :-) i want nothing but sleep on their comfy bed & fragrant beddings ;-)

but of course, we’re not there to just miss the fun bora has to offer. true to her promise, G showed us the island she’s grown to luv. she’s an ilongga but decided to uproot herself and move to boracay. she now lives happily and does her foreign exchange business in the island she considers her second home.

we rented a motor bike (one with 5 gears and not just a scooter), at station 3 for a good 2 hours and joined G in her rockstar life on the surprisingly busy road of boracay. yeah cos i thought bora is only busy at its white beach part, didn’t realize there’s so much going on at the other side of the island as well. i was D’s backride and it felt funny cos it was just his first time to drive a motorbike, but there we were, on a busy street and living the life of teenagers out for an adventure. drove to puca beach, boracay terraces and baling hai.

puka beach is really a class on its own. it’s fine fine white sand is indeed the island’s treasure.

baling hai is a real hideaway. the owner understood the essence of being one with nature whilst offering its guests hotel-like grand experience.

too bad we have to rush and go back to station 2 to catch the sunset for our next adventure. but the regret was short lived as we took the boat ride that will take us to the launch pad of the parasail adventure. oh yesss! :-) we parasailed. it was a short 15-minute experience but the experience is incomparable.

and how can we end the day any better but to jet ski all we want as the sun sets in the horizon??! my speed freak side was so alive! ;-) and if it aint enough, it’s for free!!! wooohooo! thanks to the powers of G in bora!

it’s indeed a different bora experience to us…bora minus the big crowd and bora as not just a place for party animals and bar hoppers but to beach combers who’re game for real fun & adventure! but of course we can’t leave without the barhopping thing. shindig at bora! whoopee!

i’d go back there soon! wanna go with me? ;-)