Late May 2011, I decided to take a trip to the Philippines to see what that is all about. If you have kept up with me, I have covered much else of SE Asia, but not here yet. Tickets bought, I flew with Emirates Airlines to Dubai, then onto Manila. Total of about 9 hours flight time.
After arriving in Manila, I took a cab to next city over called Makati. I stayed there for two nights, or should I say I wasted two nights there. Here is a tip for you: Manila and Makit (the cities) and sketchy places and I found to be a dark atmosphere. I won't ever go back there for much, as my interest lies out in the islands. Anyways, enjoyed a little bit of a typhoon upon landing and my first evening there which was exciting. Not much else to say, lots of poverty there and the traffic is suicidal. Really, it's much worse than Bangkok or Ho chi Minh city. Manila is a death trap.
I flew out of Manila and on my way to Boracay. This was an adventure in itself. Boarded a Bombardier 300 plane in Manila and took the flight to Caticlan. Upon landing, it was raining pretty hard. I was travelling a more heavy than I like to, having my camera gear bag, my laptop bag, and my full size backpack. Normally a non-issue, but it was pouring outside! I ran across the tarmac, having no idea what else I need to do to reach Boracay. I met a person on the side of the airport and she asked me "Where you go?" I replied "Boracay". She instructed me to go catch "trike" and it will take me to port. Port? Okay.....I paid my fare of 100 pesos and climbed into a rickety motorcycle/side cart (covered) and we drove along dirt, bumpy roads all the while listening to the roosters and birds singing, or laughing at me :-) After about 15 min ride, ended up at the Port. I grabbed my gear and headed to the ticket line. I suppose that was the only logical place to go, which it was. I tell the lady "I'm heading to Boracay". I didn't have to pay, I guess my original 100 pesos covers cost of the boat ride as well. The boat was ready, so headed down the beachfront to board. Ah ha! Then next problem. The ramp was down, which was good as we have to walk up it. Problem was, it was sitting in about 2 feet of water. I looked at that, with my jeans and tennis shoes on. Well? here we go. I just slugged through and got soaked up to my knees. The pic above is the boat I boarded onto. Boat ride was about 20 min long, all the while raining and pretty stormy. As we landed in Boracay, I thought....."Okay, just get me to my room!". Not so lucky. I had to grab another "Trike". He took me the next 15 min to the beachfront area where my first resort was located. Okay. I have arrived!
What a treat and adventure awaited me. After getting settled in, I decided to go to station #2, where there is know to be some epic beach parties. Just had to see what that was all about. Yes, it's true. I ended up enjoying a 2 man Regge band playing on the beach. Met a number people from all over the world. It was a grand time :-)
Just a random shot of me on Boracay
Here is some pictures of the water and beach scenes. The pictures pretty much speak for themselves, so make sure you click them to enlarge. There isn't much I can add verbally to these. Just enjoy them :-)
This turned out to be my favorite swimming hole, like in the whole world! Pizza on the beach at the Nigi Nigi restaurant. Dropped some dough with this establishment over 10 days :-)
And the sunsets of Boracay? I challenge any place on earth to match the majesty and jaw dropping beauty of these. They are something I wish everybody could witness in their lifetime. I'm glad I could bring some here to share with you all. Here we go! There were NO filters used on these, and no photo tweaking. Straight up shooting with a Nikon D40. God can paint folks!!! I've seen it!!
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| Changed colors by the min..... |
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I waded out into the water for about 20 min to my waist and just stood by for these amazing shots. The pictures turned out nice, but to be there and witness it, is just a whole other level of peace. I have never in my life (and i've seen hundreds of nice sunsets) witnessed such brilliant fire in the sky. It left me speechless for a bit.
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I have many more of these sunset photos which if you are interested in viewing, check my facebook page. I have a couple albums of photos of Boracay. I need to download a few more pics from my cam. I will download those as time allows. Rest assured, I will be returning to Boracay. Just as soon as I can :-)
Catch you all on my next adventure!! Take care
