Boracay 2011 - Day 1
Warning: This entry is a browser buster.
Note: I just realized I never posted this here! I only posted it on Facebook. I'm so bad at blogging now. Well at least I'm catching up - somewhat. Here's to life chronicles!
March 11-13, 2011. Boracay, baby! I must say, I really missed the place. The last time I was there was also my first time - way back in in 2003. I bounced around this beautiful country's other beaches since then - El Nido, Camiguin, Puerto Galera, Cebu, Bicol, Batangas, etc., and I somehow never went back to Boracay. That is crazy, because it really is the best beach here, bar none. No other beach here has the perfect combination of crystal clear waters, white sand that's like powder and never gets hot, accessibility, a plethora of water activities, relaxing daytime hang-outs and fantastic nightlife.Anyway, I finally got the chance to visit the island again when the "Plicker" Group - my former officemates from my previous company plus our respective significant others - decided to make a trip there. We just had a wonderful mini vacation in Tagaytay, and it was great to follow it up with a beach trip. Aleq, Cielo, Billy, Paolo, Hanna, Ken, Luis, Verns and I spent three days on my favorite island in the Philippines. We lost the first day, because the disaster in Japan happened. Text messages, calls, tweets, all poured in from our families and friends to stay away from the beach. We did, that first afternoon, but in the evening we all decided that if a tsunami was indeed going to happen, we would at least be happy. The group decided to just make the most of it. Despite everything, it turned out to be a wonderful way to kick off the summer. Boracay is pretty much paradise.
At the Ninoy Aquino International Airport 3, waiting for the rest of the group.
Luis brought cupcakes from Max's. I was one of the few who was able to grab one.
NAIA3 looks like a combination of Bangkok's and Kuala Lumpur's airports, only smaller, heh.
Checking in
Julls: Hello Verns, nasan ka na?
Verns: Nandito na ako sa loob, ayan na kita ko na kayo.
Cielo: Hindi na ako stressed, nandito na siya.
Billy: Uy si Snooki o!
Luis and Aleq: Blah blah blah...
Ken: Zzzzzzz
I had mad Cinnabon cravings. Even though airport prices are absolutely ridiculous, I caved. Besides, I didn't have breakfast before I left for the airport.
Waiting for our slightly delayed flight.
Waiting at our boarding gate. Our flight was delayed so we were there a while. Roll call! Verns, Cielo, Billy...
Aleq, me...
Pao, Hanna, Ken.
Cielo and I had on matching Havaianas! Hers was pink, mine was silver.
Our airplane's here!
Would you believe that in our 10 years, this was our first plane ride together?
Bye Manila!
We're off!
Cielo and I always got a kick out of taking pics of each other with our identical cameras.
Ha. Ha. Ha. My boyfriend was pretending he didn't like all the pic-taking.
Then he goes and smiles anyway, baliw.
Smiling Cielo and Billy, oblivious Verns.
Luis had to get a seatbelt extension. Obviously, he was pretty miffed about it.
Ken, Hanna, and Pao were already comfy.
So thrilled to be going to Boracay together.
I don't know what we were laughing about here.
The view from above never gets old.
Touchdown: Kalibo!
Hey Verns!
Pao was raring to go.
Hello, Aklan.
Lol Billy
Ken with his awesome camera.
Haha we were so amused that the porter who came to lead us to our van had a sign that said "Plicker Group". Our group name is an inside joke. ;)
We had to ride in a van for more than an hour to get to the port.
Yep that's our group name - it's Plurk, Flickr and Twitter rolled into one. It's an inside joke - somebody outside the group coined the term (not us, and don't ask hehe).
Kalibo
Then it was a 10-minute boat ride to Boracay Island.
We're here!
Boracay has changed so much since my last visit. D'Mall used to be a rustic place with a bunch of simple stores. Now it even has an official sign and the stores are a heck of a lot modern. We had to pass through it to get to our hotel.
We stayed at the Taj Guesthouse. It's like a little inn. The best thing about it is that it's smack dab in the middle of Station 2, where all the action is. It's also just a couple of steps from the beach!
There it is!
We dropped our bags and went back out to have a late lunch at D'Mall. Random sight - a mini ferris wheel.
Rock climbing
We ended up at Andok's haha. Classic.
Late lunch.
Aleq got a commemorative 200-peso bill for our university UST's 400th year! Very cool.
Verns being her jolly self with the start of a grumpy Luis.
I'm not sure if this was Cielo and Billy's first super out-of-town trip as a couple.
It was mine and Aleq's though.
Ken, Pao, and Hanna!
Kunwari mga di nagwoworry tungkol sa tsunami.
Waiting for our food.
Smiley couples.
Lol Billy again
Luis just refuses to smile for cameras. Hello Ken!
Beach = grilled stuff.
Old skool Coke!
We actually had fun in between making worried texts and calls, reassuring family members that we're okay. Also, look at the kitty-cat under the table! Kyot.
Boracay's sunsets are awe-inspiring. Supercalifragilisticexpiallidocious!
Another Havaianas picture in the sand this time.
Yes, they are only pretending to be friends haha.
Kawaii Asians haha. Hulaan niyo sino ang half-Pinoy, half-Japanese, -Korean, at -Chinese?
Teehee
Group pic 1
Paolo's caption for this pic from his album:
Julls: akin na yun cam.. mali mga shots mo eh
Aleq: oh ayan na!
Ken: tulog nalang ako..
hehehe
The girls!
Our Havs again.
Preparing to do the Lying Down Game! [Note: This became "planking" after a few months.]
I coerced my friends into doing the Lying Down Game in Boracay! This is for my friend Jane Reyes, who is the queen of the game. Here's Pao, doing it.
Billy got it wrong by spreading his arms and legs haha, but at least he did it.
I decided to do it with Pao and Billy.
Angle 1 (Mali pala ang ginawa ni Billy haha.)
Angle 2
Angle 3
Checking out...
...the pics.
Gorgeous.
We had to drop by Jonah's. This place has the best fruit shakes ever.
Cielo point kasi with your fingers, not with your mouth. ;P
Uy smiley people.
Yum!
Aleq and me with our banana-choco-peanut shakes.
Billy was excited about the ketchup? We ordered shakes haha.
We then went back to our rooms where we updated ourselves on the Japan situation.
We had some Tanduay Ice before we decided to brave the tsunami rumors and go out to the beach.
We spent a big part of the night watching the surf warily.
We ended up at Boracay Dream for drinks. Billy proceeded to do the Lying Down Game on a log.
San Mig Light and Red Horse buckets.
Cocktail Number 1
Cielo drinking! She rarely does, teehee. I'm glad she enjoyed the mango daiquiri I picked out for her.
Reunited with my favorite blue margarita!
Cocktails 2 and 3 (there were more)
Cielo and her daiquiri
Couldn't resist another pic of me with my blue margarita.
Aleq with his cocktail haha.
Hanging out!
More inuman scenes...
Kampai
Beach love!
We got back to the hotel a little before 2am.
I read the guidebook I got at the port for a bit, and then called it a night.
Note: I just realized I never posted this here! I only posted it on Facebook. I'm so bad at blogging now. Well at least I'm catching up - somewhat. Here's to life chronicles!
March 11-13, 2011. Boracay, baby! I must say, I really missed the place. The last time I was there was also my first time - way back in in 2003. I bounced around this beautiful country's other beaches since then - El Nido, Camiguin, Puerto Galera, Cebu, Bicol, Batangas, etc., and I somehow never went back to Boracay. That is crazy, because it really is the best beach here, bar none. No other beach here has the perfect combination of crystal clear waters, white sand that's like powder and never gets hot, accessibility, a plethora of water activities, relaxing daytime hang-outs and fantastic nightlife.Anyway, I finally got the chance to visit the island again when the "Plicker" Group - my former officemates from my previous company plus our respective significant others - decided to make a trip there. We just had a wonderful mini vacation in Tagaytay, and it was great to follow it up with a beach trip. Aleq, Cielo, Billy, Paolo, Hanna, Ken, Luis, Verns and I spent three days on my favorite island in the Philippines. We lost the first day, because the disaster in Japan happened. Text messages, calls, tweets, all poured in from our families and friends to stay away from the beach. We did, that first afternoon, but in the evening we all decided that if a tsunami was indeed going to happen, we would at least be happy. The group decided to just make the most of it. Despite everything, it turned out to be a wonderful way to kick off the summer. Boracay is pretty much paradise.
At the Ninoy Aquino International Airport 3, waiting for the rest of the group.
Luis brought cupcakes from Max's. I was one of the few who was able to grab one.
NAIA3 looks like a combination of Bangkok's and Kuala Lumpur's airports, only smaller, heh.
Checking in
Julls: Hello Verns, nasan ka na?
Verns: Nandito na ako sa loob, ayan na kita ko na kayo.
Cielo: Hindi na ako stressed, nandito na siya.
Billy: Uy si Snooki o!
Luis and Aleq: Blah blah blah...
Ken: Zzzzzzz
I had mad Cinnabon cravings. Even though airport prices are absolutely ridiculous, I caved. Besides, I didn't have breakfast before I left for the airport.
Waiting for our slightly delayed flight.
Waiting at our boarding gate. Our flight was delayed so we were there a while. Roll call! Verns, Cielo, Billy...
Aleq, me...
Pao, Hanna, Ken.
Cielo and I had on matching Havaianas! Hers was pink, mine was silver.
Our airplane's here!
Would you believe that in our 10 years, this was our first plane ride together?
Bye Manila!
We're off!
Cielo and I always got a kick out of taking pics of each other with our identical cameras.
Ha. Ha. Ha. My boyfriend was pretending he didn't like all the pic-taking.
Then he goes and smiles anyway, baliw.
Smiling Cielo and Billy, oblivious Verns.
Luis had to get a seatbelt extension. Obviously, he was pretty miffed about it.
Ken, Hanna, and Pao were already comfy.
So thrilled to be going to Boracay together.
I don't know what we were laughing about here.
The view from above never gets old.
Touchdown: Kalibo!
Hey Verns!
Pao was raring to go.
Hello, Aklan.
Lol Billy
Ken with his awesome camera.
Haha we were so amused that the porter who came to lead us to our van had a sign that said "Plicker Group". Our group name is an inside joke. ;)
We had to ride in a van for more than an hour to get to the port.
Yep that's our group name - it's Plurk, Flickr and Twitter rolled into one. It's an inside joke - somebody outside the group coined the term (not us, and don't ask hehe).
Kalibo
Then it was a 10-minute boat ride to Boracay Island.
We're here!
Boracay has changed so much since my last visit. D'Mall used to be a rustic place with a bunch of simple stores. Now it even has an official sign and the stores are a heck of a lot modern. We had to pass through it to get to our hotel.
We stayed at the Taj Guesthouse. It's like a little inn. The best thing about it is that it's smack dab in the middle of Station 2, where all the action is. It's also just a couple of steps from the beach!
There it is!
We dropped our bags and went back out to have a late lunch at D'Mall. Random sight - a mini ferris wheel.
Rock climbing
We ended up at Andok's haha. Classic.
Late lunch.
Aleq got a commemorative 200-peso bill for our university UST's 400th year! Very cool.
Verns being her jolly self with the start of a grumpy Luis.
I'm not sure if this was Cielo and Billy's first super out-of-town trip as a couple.
It was mine and Aleq's though.
Ken, Pao, and Hanna!
Kunwari mga di nagwoworry tungkol sa tsunami.
Waiting for our food.
Smiley couples.
Lol Billy again
Luis just refuses to smile for cameras. Hello Ken!
Beach = grilled stuff.
Old skool Coke!
We actually had fun in between making worried texts and calls, reassuring family members that we're okay. Also, look at the kitty-cat under the table! Kyot.
Boracay's sunsets are awe-inspiring. Supercalifragilisticexpiallidocious!
Another Havaianas picture in the sand this time.
Yes, they are only pretending to be friends haha.
Kawaii Asians haha. Hulaan niyo sino ang half-Pinoy, half-Japanese, -Korean, at -Chinese?
Teehee
Group pic 1
Paolo's caption for this pic from his album:
Julls: akin na yun cam.. mali mga shots mo eh
Aleq: oh ayan na!
Ken: tulog nalang ako..
hehehe
The girls!
Our Havs again.
Preparing to do the Lying Down Game! [Note: This became "planking" after a few months.]
I coerced my friends into doing the Lying Down Game in Boracay! This is for my friend Jane Reyes, who is the queen of the game. Here's Pao, doing it.
Billy got it wrong by spreading his arms and legs haha, but at least he did it.
I decided to do it with Pao and Billy.
Angle 1 (Mali pala ang ginawa ni Billy haha.)
Angle 2
Angle 3
Checking out...
...the pics.
Gorgeous.
We had to drop by Jonah's. This place has the best fruit shakes ever.
Cielo point kasi with your fingers, not with your mouth. ;P
Uy smiley people.
Yum!
Aleq and me with our banana-choco-peanut shakes.
Billy was excited about the ketchup? We ordered shakes haha.
We then went back to our rooms where we updated ourselves on the Japan situation.
We had some Tanduay Ice before we decided to brave the tsunami rumors and go out to the beach.
We spent a big part of the night watching the surf warily.
We ended up at Boracay Dream for drinks. Billy proceeded to do the Lying Down Game on a log.
San Mig Light and Red Horse buckets.
Cocktail Number 1
Cielo drinking! She rarely does, teehee. I'm glad she enjoyed the mango daiquiri I picked out for her.
Reunited with my favorite blue margarita!
Cocktails 2 and 3 (there were more)
Cielo and her daiquiri
Couldn't resist another pic of me with my blue margarita.
Aleq with his cocktail haha.
Hanging out!
More inuman scenes...
Kampai
Beach love!
We got back to the hotel a little before 2am.
I read the guidebook I got at the port for a bit, and then called it a night.