Boracay Island, Philippines

Getting there

To get to Boracay from El Nido, you can take a 1-hour direct flight. The only operator (at that time) was Air-Swift, and the flight from El Nido (ENI) → Boracay Airport, Godofredo P. Ramos, Caticlan (MPH) was around 100 EUR.

The interesting thing about this part was the airport in El Nido. I think they were building the airport as we were boarding the plane. The security check and the waiting lounge were open-air, on a restaurant/bar terrace. The staff was friendly and smiling at all times. At all times!

Here’s our sweet ride to the plane:

And here’s the little plane:

Boracay island

It’s easily one of my favorite islands so far, especially for the nightlife and for the beaches. It has one of the longest beaches I’ve seen. Basically, the entire seashore of the West side of this island is a continuous beach strip!

Zones

The seashore is split in a few distinct zones, called “stations”.
I’d say “Station 3” is the nicest, at least in terms of beaches and views, and a bit more peaceful than the others. It’s a good choice for working and relaxing, so I decided to stay here.
“Station 1” and “Station 2”, on the other hand, are great for the nightlife.

Getting around

To move around, you can take motorbike taxis, and there’s a lot of them all over the place.  Beware that some drivers are less qualified than others when it comes to actually driving.

For example, once this guy not only he drove me to the wrong part of the island, but thanks to his crooked and woobly driving, I almost shit myself on the way there. He was driving in zig-zag on a narrow road with incoming traffic. He did manage to avoid everything life threw in his way that day, and I successfully arrived at the wrong destination. And I thought maybe he’s the local speed racer or something, showing off to tourists, but it turns out he could only see with one eye.

People

I met here one of my former colleagues from high school, Raul H. Sconcsus.
During this time, back in Romania all our other colleagues were celebrating the 10-year high school reunion, so together with a couple of local girls, we did a little celebration of our own here in Boracay. I think.
Also, thanks Ann for all those beers. I owe you one.

 

Photos around the island

Next — I’m going back to Penang (Malaysia) for 3 months, and then to Bali (Indonesia) for 1 month!