Welcome to the white sand of Boracay Island, Philippines ♥♥♥

9 years ago I left my home country Philippines to build a new life in a new, unfamiliar but welcoming place, Canada. I cannot believe that it was already 9 years, how time flies. I’m established and settled now, and I am very thankful for everything that I have and for everything that I was given the opportunity to enjoy. Canada is a great country, and I don’t have any regrets in choosing it as my new home. I’m blessed to have landed and settled in British Columbia (BC), it’s a beautiful place and there’s so much to see. In the span of 9 years, I can say I’ve seen most of what there is so see, at least the one that are accessible by public transportation and some that are not. I wanted to make sure that this time I will not miss the chance of seeing the beauty of my new home.

Finally, It’s About Time 

It took 7 years before I was able to visit Philippines again. Yes, I went home for the first time after 7 years, that was 2015. Most of my friends had been going back and forth at least once or twice and I on the other hand was still waiting for the right time. That right time came, as my parents and sibling would say, “Finally, it’s about time”! I’ve been away for so long and going home was really exciting and fun. I still cannot helped but reminisce the feel of warm water as I walked the white sandy beach of Boracay. I cannot helped but smile when I remembered how we ate like there’s no tomorrow! The unlimited food, too bad the space in my stomach is limited.

Going on a vacation requires a lot of planning, and even though Philippines is my home country, it was not an exception. One would think that it would be easier, it’s my home country anyway. I should know the place, where to go, what to do and what not to do. Wrong! I never realized until I moved here that I did not really know much about Philippine attractions. By word of mouth, or blog and videos, yes. But in reality, I’ve never been in most of the main attractions there. I left without having to see the beauty of the Philippines. I never got  the chance to see the pristine blue water and natural caves in Palawan, or the famous chocolate hills in Bohol and the many other famous beaches that Philippines has to offer. I was occupied with work that I forgot to admire the beauty of my home country. And so, I returned and visited again Philippines, as a tourist. There’s so much to see, so much to do, so much catching up, but so little time.

The White Sandy Beach and Crystal Blue Water of Boracay

I was fortunate enough to have a well-travelled brother who helped me plan the vacation. He has visited most of the attractions in the Philippines, even the once that I didn’t know existed. Traveling is also something that they love to do and something that they look forward and saved for every year. He knows the in and out and places to visit, so he was the one who planned most of my itinerary when I was there. We selected the Boracay Island as our first main destination. Boracay is one of the most famous beach destination in the Philippines and a must place to visit. This place is always packed with locals and tourist alike specially during the summer time. It’s the white powdered sand and the crystal blue water that made people come back time after time. I am kind off late in the game of visiting this place, it took awhile for me, but better late than never. I’ve created a short video, let’s take few minutes and watch it then will continue the chat.

What do you think? Good choice of place to spend the limited time I had, right? The crystal clear blue water and the fine powdered white sand, it was amazing! The different shades of blue and the way it glitters when hit by the sun was unbelievable. It felt  so good walking in the beach and feeling the warm water on my feet, and the feel of the smooth fine sand. There was a time that I just stood there watching it, mesmerized and I wished that I could stay longer to enjoy it. We spend most of our time in the beach and few times in the resort pool. We started our day early by walking by the beach. We walked the long stretch of the beach, but still wasn’t able to reach the end. One thing I shared in common with my father is our love for walking.

Early Morning Walk Along The Beach

One of the two walks that I enjoyed doing was our morning walk. I love morning walk as the surrounding is still very peaceful and quiet and there are still fewer people outside. It’s one of those moment that I like to enjoy while I can before all the people starts to crowd in beach. It’s a different feeling having the beach all to myself, it felt so relaxing, a perfect way to start my day. The early morning water were also calmer,  and the sand were still very smooth and untouched.

Sunset Watch at Willy’s Rock

Willy’s Rock is one of the most recognizable and famous attraction in the island of Boracay. It is an oddly shaped volcanic formation with a statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary on one corner and a short steps leading to the grotto itself. During the high tide, it looks almost like an island on it own, isolated and floating in the middle of the water. During the low tide, it returns to its original state of being a grotto where people can go up to take advantage of the good spot to take photo of the beach.  It is located in quiet area of Station 1 and a very busy spot where people gather to watch the sunset. A lot of people gather there even before the sunset, taking time to take photo and secure a spot to watch the day end. Since Regency Resort (the hotel where we stayed) is located in Station 2, we had to plan going to this area as part of our itinerary.  It is not far, it is walkable and I particularly like to walk going to this place. If you don’t feel like walking, you can also take the public transportation to go there.

Sunset is one time of the day that people wait the most in Boracay. In my case, sunset is the time of the day that I await the most regardless where I am when I go on vacation. Sunset has a different feel and a different vibe, and they never looked the same even if seen in the same spot over and over again. I do sunset watch whenever I can, I try to squeeze it in my itinerary just like what I did when I was in Washington, DC. Have you seen my Sunset Watch post yet? If you have time to spare, check it out. The sunset view from the memorial sites in Washington DC were truly amazing. The best thing I like about watching sunset  is the dramatic effect it gave in photos, the silhouette effect, the changing beautiful color of the sky and most importantly it made me calm and relax.

Night Life of Boracay at Station 2

The sun may have already set, but the night is still young. Boracay offers a lot of things to do even after sunset. In fact, quiet a lot of people look forward to-night time because of the busy night life that Boracay has to offer. If you are one of those people who like to party and enjoy the night life, Station 2 is where you should go. There are 3 Stations in Boracay and each station offers a different feel and activity. Station 1 is the more quieter and peaceful side of the island. The area is more private, there are fewer people and the shoreline are wider and cleaner. The downside of Station 1 is that it is more expensive to stay there, but if you have the budget, it will be a real treat to stay in that area. Then there’s Station 2, the more busy and relatively affordable area, and where most of the night life is happening. This is where we stayed at the Regency Resort. There are more restaurants, bars, reasonably priced but comfortable and clean hotels. Last but not the least, Station 3 which is not as busy as Station 2, but is more famous for water activity like scuba diving and snorkeling. Night life in Boracay could get pretty wild sometimes, a lot of people party hard specially during summer. Bars and restaurants are almost always busy, performances like fire dance and bands are common sight to see.

Eat, Eat and Be Merry

We stayed at Regency Hannan Resort in Station 2. It was a beach front resort, with 3 large outdoor pools and close to a lot of restaurants and small shops. The rooms were clean and comfortable and the package that we got includes buffets meals from breakfast, lunch and dinner. Oh the food was crazy insane! I’ve never eaten so much food in 3 days as much as I did there. The food selections were overflowing and the variety were truly impressive. Dinner was always the best one because they have all you can eat seafood and steak, it’s not often that I get to do that. I wish I had more space in my stomach to try everything. 

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Isn’t that insane? Yes, that’s how buffet goes in the Philippines. I ate mostly the food that I missed, that means plenty of sea foods and some of the traditional Filipino dessert and main dishes. It was an exciting and at the same time overwhelming food experience for me. Overall, I was pleased and happy with how the vacation went, except that I wished I had more time to spend there.  Boracay has a lot of interesting things to offer. If you are looking for a destination to visit when in the Philippines, stop by and spend some time at Boracay Island, you won’t regret it.

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