Mrs. ItchyFeet Okay, I’m going to try to get through my travel stories fast because I want to tell you all about the adorable island of Boracay in the Philippines with probably the most gorgeous beach I have ever seen! My travels started out in Đà Nẵng, Việt Nam, where I had been living for the past month. Đà Nẵng also has a gorgeous beach, but it’s stormy, so the ocean is too dangerous for swimming. The surfers are having a good time, though! A lovely pedestrian path borders the white sandy beach, and I’ve been taking advantage of that while I can.
While I was having a lovely time around the city, I was getting increasingly worried about the possibility of my flight out getting canceled because of a potential jet-fuel shortage in Việt Nam. They announced that rationing would start April 1st, which only gave me a brief window before that started. I was also worried about my short layover in Manila, Philippines, because I would have to collect my luggage and go through immigration, get myself and my luggage from the international gates to the domestic gates, recheck my luggage, and not miss my next flight in two hours.
Packing was, of course, the worst because I only get seven kilograms for both my backpack and carry-on. Seven kilograms is the weight of a small dog (Cavapoo!), which is nothing. Especially now that all items with a battery (computers, power bank, lights, electric razors, e-readers, luggage scale, etc…) have to go in the cabin of the plane. But I’m getting much faster at packing on this Southeast Asia adventure because of all the travel. I’m looking forward to slowing down.
Especially when I had to wake up at 4:30am for my 5:30 pickup. It’s too early! After checking my luggage (they did not weigh my carry-on backpack combo, but I did see others getting theirs checked if it “looked” too heavy), I headed through security where I had to remove my shoes and tablet and cell phone. Why the shoes still? Every security line is different!
To the lounge!
I recently cancelled my fancy travel credit card because they bumped the annual fee up to an astounding $850 USD with fewer international benefits, so I no longer have lounge access. But I splurged and paid the $35 USD to eat the most amazing food (mung bean sweet soup!) and drink fancy Vietnamese coffee one last time while waiting for my flight to start boarding. I had also pre-purchased food on the flight, so I was proper-stuffed by the time we landed on time in Manila, Philippines.
I practically ran off the plane and passed all the slow-moving peeps only to get stuck in line at the Transfers Counter… only to be told to get in the, now, massive line for immigration. The short layover growing even shorter with every queue I get in. Luckily, I had already filled out my customs form online because I saw lots of folks getting sent back in line to fill that out. The form gives you a QR code to show, but the immigration officer didn’t even look at mine. Weird. It’s probably all linked on the backend. I saw that in Indonesia, the e-gates simply wouldn’t open if you hadn’t done everything already, but no one actually scanned the QR code generated.
Once I finally made it to baggage claim, I grabbed my bags and then re-checked them around the corner for the domestic flight. Then I just had to go through security again to find my gate. I got so lucky that my connecting flight took off from the same terminal because I don’t think I would have made it otherwise. That was a short layover! All us passengers were loaded up into buses, and I made sure to be one of the first on, forgetting that that then made me last off. So I was stressing that there would not be enough overhead bin space with so many peeps putting their backpacks up there. Backpacks should go under the seat in front of you, not in overhead. Do that after everyone is onboard. Sharing is caring!
Should I be worried?
My AirTags are clearly showing that my checked bags are on the other side of the airport, which can’t be good. Nothing I can do now. The flight is so short that we start the descent almost immediately after reaching cruising altitude and turning off the seatbelt signs. I have a driver waiting for me after baggage claim so I don’t want to wait too long, but I’m in the middle of the plane. After landing at Caticlan Airport in Malay, Philippines, passengers begin disembarking from both the front and the back, which puts me last in either direction. It’s another bus ride from the plane to the airport where I’m very happy to find myself reunited with my checked luggage.
My driver takes me to the ferry terminal where I’m so glad she speaks Filipino because it is chaotic and I would have no idea how to buy tickets. I hired the company she works for to get me all the way to my hotel on the island of Boracay. If I had managed to find an ATM in the airport to get Filipino pesos, I would have hired a porter for my luggage as well, but I ultimately managed with my driver’s help. The ferry ride across was lovely!
Off the boat, I loaded up into a trike (or tricycle), which is like a three-wheeled covered electric motorcycle. My hotel is in the middle of Boracay, in the Balabag neighborhood, right next to Bulabog Beach. I’m back in tipping culture, which is always stressful, but my driver luckily took USD. It’s always better to tip in local currency, but I just didn’t have any yet. Locating an ATM will be my next goal after checking in and getting settled.
Tipping culture is not my favorite. Most restaurants here include the tip on the final bill, which makes it easier, but I do miss looking at the price on the menu and knowing exactly how much something costs. I soon found out that most restaurant meals are about $8 USD, but they are really big, so I’m only having two massive meals a day, with breakfast being included at the hotel. I do miss all the hot sauces, and I miss eating with chopsticks and having toothpicks available at the table, though! What are these fork things!?!
The hotel is adorable with marvelous views of the Sibuyan Sea. I got lucky, and they upgraded my room to the hillside after a couple of weeks. So many stairs to climb to get there, but the views made it absolutely worth it. Plus, the new room has a deck with comfy chairs for reading and watching the beachgoers below. I could get used to this!
The sea is freakishly calm even though it is very windy on this side of the island. However, the wind makes it the ideal spot for kite and windsurfing. The other side of the island is a 15-minute walk to White Sand Beach, which is probably the most gorgeous beach I have ever seen. In 2018, the government shut down the island in order to completely revitalize the beach and upgrade the infrastructure to handle increased tourism, and it clearly shows. The sand is that white sugar powder that feels unreal, and the water is an amazing crystal-clear blue. The number of people you see taking selfies is astounding!
In fact, some of the locals have taken advantage of a niche business opportunity by offering their photo-taking services to the tourists. The tourist gets the perfect shot with their own phone for a small fee. I spotted some savvy folks taking humans out on clear canoes or standup paddle-boards or those weird floating bike things for photo sessions. Makes it look like you paddled all the way out into the gorgeous blue all by yourself. People are so creative!
A few of the more popular photo spots (in front of the island letters, by these amazing sandcastles, on a palm tree over the water) have queues for the perfect photo by the paid photographers. So weird. It is fun to see all the sun-worshipping. It’s not taboo to get a tan here, so there is a lot more skin exposure as opposed to other Southeast Asia countries. When I first arrived, I was worried about my sun exposure in the lovely swimming pool, but then the barren tree next to it sprouted leaves, putting the pool into full shade. Did you know some trees in the tropics lose then regrow all their leaves before the rainy season? I did not!
White Sand Beach had a bit of a soft green algae bloom for a short time at the beginning of my stay, which I hear is completely normal. The kids were loving it, though. Picking up big wads of the stuff and throwing it at each other or making designs with it on the beach. Let me tell you, the people-watching was fantastic! Plus, the sunrise and sunset watching. Boracay is an absolutely wonderful place to relax on the beach. And they have monkeys in the hills! And bats! And giant Tuko geckos that make the loudest “Tu Ko” or “Fk U” chirp!
I met some wonderful people from mostly this side of the planet and had some pleasant chats. And I went on some really great hikes and even spotted a few of the elusive long-tail monkeys. Don’t feed them! They get aggressive if you feed them, and nobody wants that. There were lots of puppies around, but the island is having a mange problem right now, which sadly meant I had to keep my random dog skritching to a minimum. Poor pups. Always something.
I’m so behind on these posts as I’m currently in México City, but I want to make sure you see all my photos from Boracay! I know that’s why you’re here!
Pics of sunrise and sunset, hiking trails, overlooks, monkeys?
Too cool, glad you found a Happy place.