Thursday, July 27, 2017
Boracay, in recent years, has garnered mixed receptions from both the local and foreign tourist. The biggest beef that it has is how commercialism has consumed what was once a virginal strip of untainted paradise. Even with the reputation, Boracay is still constantly flocked by people year in and year out which, we’ll guess, is what majorly makes up its new found appeal: it’s the island equivalent of Facebook or Twitter.
Going for Vacation
Boracay is an island just off the coast of Kalibo, within the province of Aklan. To get there, you will need to fly from Manila (Ninoy Aquino International Airport) to Kalibo airport and then take a boat ride to the island.
The Philippines is such a foreigner friendly country and a short term rental is a great option to go for when availing for accommodations in Boracay. Not only are Filipinos very friendly towards none nationals, the accommodations are budget friendly as well especially for short- and long-term transience.
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[Photo: http://bit.ly/2r8CjIs]
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But why go for short term rentals? Because it’s hard to completely appreciate Boracay for very short stays. A trip of 3 days and 2 nights would be enough to get your party on (because the party scene is very “lit” in Boracay, if we may say so ourselves) and do some water activities like kite surfing or island hopping but you will need more time to be able to also enjoy the local culture, most of the other islands and secret beaches, and good Filipino company.
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[http://bit.ly/2r8CGTH]
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Boracay might be a great place to retire. It isn’t jam-packed throughout the year so you still get to enjoy the laidback seaside experience that the island was once known for. Not to mention, you can choose which of its 12 beautiful beaches to crash depending on your mood. If you have a budget of less than 2,000 USD per month, you can live quite a comfortable & luxurious life in Boracay (generally, most vacation rentals in the Philippines might cost somewhere around 200 USD per month, more if closer to major cities like Manila or Cebu).
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[Photo: http://bit.ly/2q9ruHY]
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If you aren’t going to the Philippines for vacation packages and are looking for something along the lines of “permanent stay”, the Philippine government offers special considerations for retirees through the Special Resident Retiree’s Visa or SRRV. You can read more about it here. They also, since 2015, have opened their government subsidized health care system to foreigners. The Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) accepts and provides health care benefits to expatriates living in the Philippines for long periods or permanently—the coverage could take of as much as 80% which is especially helpful if you get hospitalized. Not to mention, the Veterans Memorial Hospital (albeit only has their main facility in Manila) also provides veterans with medical services.
Whether for vacation rentals or permanent stay in the Philippines, Boracay should be one consideration on your mind. It has familiar Western comforts but even behind the massive parties and consumerism, it also retains its friendly Filipino culture of hospitality and camaraderie.
Wednesday, September 9, 2015
It cannot be denied that the
Philippines is a country rich in culture and history. This has resulted into a
number of settlers to find the Philippine Islands as a perfect place to live
in. And, affordable
Boracay packages are tickets to somehow experience and have a peek on the
fun life of adventure of the first settlers.
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| source: www.expedia.com.ph |
Boracay Island is one of the
7,107 islands in the Philippines that has a picture perfect scenery and white
sand beach—a perfect place to have a break the long months of work and school.
But aside from the wonderful scenery, good people, tastyl food and party-hard
nights, the island still features its culture and history through colorful
festivals.
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| source:thecolorsoffestive.tumblr.com |
One of these colorful festivals is the
famous “Ati-atihan
Festival”, where participants dance across the streets with the beats of
their drums. Behind the fact that Ati-atihan Festival is known by many
Filipinos, along with the fast-paced society, a number of questions about this
colorful festival seemed to be hidden behind the masks and paints all over the
participants faces and bodies.
How, when and why did Ati-atihan
Festival come to the Philippine culture are questions that revolve around the
history of society and religion.
“Ati-atihan”, liiterally “to look like
the Atis,” is a celebration of friendship between the Atis, the ten Datus, and
settlers from Borneo who lived in Panay Island. Atis were believed to have
settled on the highlands while the Borneo settlers stayed on the lowlands.
Friendship between the Atis and Borneo settlers was even better strengthened by
the time that the Maraynon (Borneo settlers) from the lowlands helped the Atis
in finding food after a storm wiped out their crops on the hill side. Going
back to the lowland for food became a yearly activity for the Ati people. They
sang and danced together with the Maraynon, until they (Maraynon) painted
themselves black to join in with Ati people.
However, the Festival was religiously
linked when the 1000 baptized residents of Kalibo and other surrounding areas
joined in on the festival. In addition, when the Moro raiders attacked the Island
of Panay during the 17th century, it is the defenders of Panay that
used “Hala Bira”, which means “Hit them!”, as their battle cry while defending
the island with artillery. Gunpowder residue left their faces black so much so
that they looked like the Atis. They thanked Sto. Nino for they believe that it
is him who helped them be saved from the Moro attack.
“Ati-atihan Festival” is one of the
real proofs that Philippines is a country rich with different cultures which make
up the Filipino heritage. Experiencing the festival right where it originates
is like having it first time. An affordable Boracay package showcases not only
the beautiful scenery Boracay Island has—it does not comply with just the idea
of having a break—but more so, showcases the culture our Country, The
Philippines, has.
This article is brought to you by: Last Minute Travel Booking.
This article is brought to you by: Last Minute Travel Booking.
Monday, December 1, 2014
“Today is a good
day” was what I was thinking on the bus ride back to Cubao. It was
a day after Christmas when we took to Cubao terminal stations
(because a lot of bus stations going both Northern and Southern
Philippines can be found at Quezon City, Cubao) with a random plan:
take a bus to somewhere to, ultimately, find a beach and spend the
afternoon tanning in the warm December sea breeze.
We took the Bataan
Transit bus (found at Five Star Bus Terminal) bound for Mariveles,
Bataan. One of my friends says he’s been to Marivelez, at Aguawan
Beach, and that, since we’re on a budget, the place will be more
than worth our money for a day trip—not to mention the people there
are really nice and hospitable. Great then! Aguawan, here we come!
The bus trip cost
280PHP (6-7USD), one way. It’s a 3-4 hour ride from Manila; longer
if you take a bus that will have stopovers along the way. We had one
stopover but from what I heard, some buses make more, especially
tour-centric trips. The bus trip ended at the Mariveles Bus terminal
in the mainland and market district. Thereafter, we took a tricycle
ride to Aguawan Beach.
We got to Aguawan
Beach and stayed at Light Family (I assume this is the name of the
resort because of the titular “relief” that greeted us). The
beach wasn’t anything “dreamy,” like most other (more) popular
beach destinations in the Philippines but it wasn’t shabby, too. It
was… down to earth. The people were kind and helpful, to boot. It
was like staying with family more than it was a vacation trip. Sure,
the sand weren’t as white as Boracay’s or Puerto Princesa, but we
had the luxury of quiet time, privacy, and unadulterated waters.
The ocean was clean
on this part of the Philippines, very unlike the beaches in and
around Subic and Olongapo. The water is clear but if you kick the
sand a little too hard, it’ll murk up—which is natural. Any
deeper where you no longer could get the sand to block your vision,
all your left is just clear water and maybe a fish or two. Even
opening your eyes underwater doesn’t hurt. The water is less saline
on this beach.
Since it was a day
trip, we didn’t bother to ask for how much overnight accommodations
cost (sorry), but we did get a quaint cottage that could accommodate
at least 6 people. The cottage cost 200PHP (5-6USD) for a full 24
hours. The locals were even so generous as to provide us with cutlery
and free use of a grill since we brought raw fish and were asking how
much to rent a grill. We invited them over to have lunch with us.
After a hearty lunch
while sharing stories with the locals and fooling around at the
beach, we got together with two very energetic kids who were offering
to provide us with trekking assistance. To our surprise, the two kids
were trekkers themselves and they both didn’t look any older than
12!
Halfway through the
trek, as we were reaching higher ground, we found that the terrain
became much steeper and hard to climb. Funny thing was that, in our
“Calvary” suffering, the two kids didn’t seem to be phases at
all. I didn’t get the chance to watch closely but they seemed to
climb up ahead of us “without breaking a sweat” all too quite
literally. OK, so we thought the view from the beach was a little
average. Getting on the top of the mountain however was divine. You
could see almost the whole of the peninsula and a lot of townships.
Lucky for us, we got there just almost before sunset.
After trekking back
down to the beach, we took a quick bath and readied to go home, just
the same way we came. It was evening when we reached Manila but
throughout that 4 hour ride, “today is a good day” kept repeating
in my mind.
This article was brought to us by: Last Minute Travel Booking
Monday, November 17, 2014
Before we start talking about tropical Palawan destinations
or cheap Boracay packages, let’s first pay homage to the guy who inspired this
article…
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| suit and tie required |
Ok, now that’s over, let’s first get to what makes a beach
vacation legendary (*disclaimer: this is for party goers. If you guys want to
chill, watch out for the next installment). Two things make any beach party
legendary and those two are boozing and hooking-up so in 3 items, we’ll try to
sum up everything awesome to do around surf, sand, and celebration.
Getting your Booze On
If you’re out for a beach party, make sure you’re at a beach
well known for its night life. There are certain beaches where you go to for
ambiance (Palawan, Panglaw), and then there are beaches you go to to get
grinding. Two things you have to consider about a beach bar: 1. It has to have
a sweet deal on the drinks and 2. It has to have an amazing party vibe.
If you ever find yourself at Puerto Galera, that’s probably
the most night-lifey-est beach there is; booze doesn’t even need a discount,
it’s too damn cheap there—priced almost like your typical inuman back home but with free live entertainment. At Boracay, be
sure to check out Cocomangas Shooter Bar. They don’t give you discounted beer,
they hand you a free one! But only during their happy hour; still a pretty
rockin’ deal actually.
Get your Game On
Because summer is supposed to be legendary, you want to go
home with a hook-up. For chicks, it’s pretty easy—all the play you need
(according to Barney Stinson’s The Playbook) is to stare at a guy and hook up.
For guys, it’s much more complicated. For the benefit of the gentlemen out
there, here are a couple of plays you can, uhm… play to get a girl. Here are
some plays paraphrased from the actual The Playbook (Barney Stinson & Matt
Khun, Touchstone Publishing):
The “Don’t Drink That”
Very mindfully set
up camp near your target. When your target goes to the restroom and comes back,
just before she takes a drink say “don’t drink that!” and say how someone
slipped something in said drink. When asked who, say that they left or point to
a friend whom you want to play a prank on. Offer to buy her a drink and go
smooth sailing from there on.
The “Hot Dude”
The Playbook says
that this has a 100% chance of success. Only three steps are required: be a
dude, look hot (sport a swimmer’s body pr’olly), get the girl.
The “Shotgun”
Only for the
strong at heart, The Shotgun is about as straightforward as a dog humping your
guest’s leg: just approach your target, ask if she will have sex with you, and
repeat the cycle until you get a yes. .25% success rate but hey, you aren’t
playing lottery, your trying to hook up! Go for it!
Get your Booze AND
Game On!!
Because if there are two things in the world that can
combine boozing and hooking up, it’s parlor games! To break the ice, start a
game inside a beach bar. Most engrossing is the beer pong but that’s for
getting the attention. What you really want to get to is the game called Suck
and Blow. You just pass a card along using your mouth and just your mouth so
you’re either “sucking” it to not let if fall or “blowing” on it to pass it on.
If it falls, you have to kiss with the person you failed to do suck and blow
with. This is where you go for diskarte,
if you know what I mean.
How ‘bout you, how do you get you beach groove on?
This article was brought to you by: Last Minute Travel Booking
Wednesday, October 1, 2014
My friend recently just came from the Middle East, in and
around the desert regions of Dubai. According to him, the streets were
scorching during the mornings most especially in the height of the afternoon.
Houses had air-conditioning so you didn’t feel the difference indoors. During
the night, the air changes—everything becomes icy, almost as scalding as
afternoons but only with cold.
I however, in the most recent summer, availed a Boracay hotel package and went. It was hot (weather and ambience wise) at the beach;
hot sun, warm beach breach, hot bodies left and right—hot. Just, hot. It was,
as I’d imagine, not as hot as the desert; a sustainable kind of heat, that is.
Although, with the setting of the sun and the length the night, because Boracay
is all about the night life, the temperature never let up. Only around 4am but
only up to about 7am did the air become cool and I know this because we never
went to sleep.
Why is this? They’re both desert looking, right? Why do
their temperature patterns differ?
One key point is their definition. Beaches are places where
the sea meets the earth. Deserts, however are defined by barrenness and
dryness. Keyword: dryness.
Deserts have fluctuating and extreme temperatures because
there is very little water (precipitation) in the air as opposed to a beach.
Since water has a very high constant temperature, the lack of precipitation in
the air means that the temperature will rise or drop instantaneously from sun
heat or wind temperature alone. The heat in Boracay is constant because of the
water in the air; the heat only last as long as there’s a source. Even the
Arctic is called a desert because the precipitation has turned into unusable
ice.
So the next time you go to the beach and the heat gets to
you, don’t go for a second think that it’s like being in the desert.
This article was brought to you by: Last Minute Travel Booking
Thursday, September 11, 2014
Upon availing affordable Boracay packages, the things that
you get include going and returning tickets, hotel (and buffet) with the
hotel’s matching amenities, an island tour, and beach activities. Typically.
What you didn’t know though, is that you also get psychological trauma!
Just kidding. But you know the feeling, don’t you? After a
long day of swimming at the beach, by the time that you’re already sleeping,
you feel as if you’re still floating atop the cradle of waves although, all of
which feels almost too real but are actually happening in your brain as lucid
dreams.
This lucid dreaming and/or probably vivid hallucination
while in the state of half-sleep is called hypnagogia.
Hypnagogia may be characterized by being in a
half-asleep/half-awake state followed by cognitive re-experiencing of previous
activities in some instance. There are also other characterizations of
hypnagogia but we’ll focus on this one and this one is specifically called the
Tetris Effect.
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| Awesome
Originally, the effect happens because of repetition of a single monocyclic activity that re-manifests itself during half sleep as visions that are almost too real. It’s like playing tetris for too long that your start to see the world and everything in it as tetriminos that you eventually start to visualize moves and combos until you fall asleep and continue to dream about said moves and combos.
The effect is not however purely visual or rooted in monotonous and repetitive activities. Activities that powerfully stimulate the body and the mind may linger in nerve memory and manifest themselves during sleep thus the feeling for swimming albeit being asleep on a dry and otherwise moving bed.
And no, it isn’t something to worry about. It’s a perfectly normal nervous response. Much like feeling that you crashed onto something upon waking up because you were previously dreaming that you were falling. It happens and you don’t have brain trauma. Now go on ahead and enjoy the beach.
This article is brought to us by: Last Minute Travel Booking |
Thursday, September 4, 2014
Continuation of last week's post...
Awkward Faraway
Photos
Because there’s shade where the photographer is at and there
isn’t where the subject is. Plus, the zoom makes the picture look really, really bad.
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| Unlike this one |
Also, it could also be because the photographer either can’t
come to the water or the camera isn’t water proof. Or the photographer is in the shade still.
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And, since there are a number of nipples already
present in the photo…
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Food and Fools Photos
And, yes, sometimes these could be the most awkward and yet
the most memorable ones because there are a lot of skin both from people and
from pork liempo AND it’s probably
happy drunk hour by then.
And although most of the above items, be it that they take
up most of the albums, are also some the ones you go through to look back on
and reminisce. Some outstanding photos that you grab to make as profile
pictures that merits a “ay! ang ganda
nito(whoa! this is nice)” will never compare to the memories and laughs a “mukha kang ewan dito(you look like a
fool on this one)” Kodak moment can dish out.
If you missed part 1, you can read it here.
This article is brought to us by: Last Minute Travel Booking
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