The Island of Boracay: staying in the lap of luxury

Manila was a really cool city but I was starting to get overwhelmed. It was full of so many people, and so much traffic. Also the humidity was killing me. Luckily, I had a chance to get away and see a different part of the Philippines. We booked tickets to go to a little Island in the south called Boracay. I didn’t really know what to expect. Justin invited his parents to come along and they were super excited. They got us accommodations at a five star resort called Shangri-La.

To get to Boracay we got in a small propeller plane. We landed on a little Island and Shangri-La shuttled us to their waiting room. We were given towels to wipe our faces and Dalandan juice. Dalandan is a little green orange that tastes kind of sour. After this Shangri-La took us in a boat to their resort on Boracay.

Arriving at Shangri-La

The Lobby Area

The resort was amazing. The view arriving from the boat was of a bunch of hotel rooms in between tropical trees. As we docked the Shangri-La workers greeted us. They took our bags and we got in a golf cart and were brought to the main lobby. The lobby was gorgeous. It overlooked the resort and had fountains. Originally we had booked a very nice room with double beds. We ended up getting upgraded to a villa (like a condo) because of the credit card Justin’s dad used.

Our Villa

Our Own Pool

The villa was great. We had our own path to the beach. There was our own private pool in the backyard. Also we had a butler. He came with a little cellphone so if we ever needed anything we just called him and he was there. The indoor showers were connected to outdoor showers. Everything about the place was pristine. While you were away at the beach or walking around the butler would come into the place and flip the beds, restock the fridge, fold towels into animals, or leave lighted candles on the back porch.

The Beach

There was one thing better than the villa; it was the beach. The beach was private to the guests of Shangri-La. It was located in a cove. The sand was white and fine; the water was so clear and blue. It was absolutely beautiful. I had never seen anything like it. It was breathtaking. We spent a lot of time there swimming and relaxing. Later we went to their second beach (one beach was for swimming and the other for water sports) where they had tables laid out for dinner. They had a barbeque buffet on the beach. They grilled lobster and shrimp, all sorts of meat, and had everything from sushi to dessert.

Later in the evening we took Shangri-La’s shuttle to D’mall. D’mall is an area of the Island that is full of shops, bars, and resorts. It is along the beach. There are tons of people walking around here. At night it is a party place. Since it was the middle of the week it wasn’t too crazy, but I heard that on the weekends it really gets wild. We enjoyed people watching. There are a lot of Koreans here right now. It is a popular vacation spot for them. There is also a restaurant in D’mall called Obama Grill. We didn’t eat there but we thought it was pretty funny.

We stayed at D’mall until some time after 1 am and needed a ride back to the resort. The resort’s shuttle stops picking people up at 1 am. We weren’t worried; we just took a trike instead. A trike is a motorcycle with a sidecar attached to it. The sidecar usually holds two in front and two in back but I have seen the thing full of people. Justin bartered with the guy and I think we only paid him around 2$ for the ride. It was so much fun with the wind rushing at you and the loud whir of the motorcycle.

The second day we went to D’mall again for dinner with Justin’s parents. Justin and I had gone a bit earlier to walk the beach and see that white sand while it was still light out. The sand was better at D’mall than it was at the resort. This sand felt like sugar. It was so fine. During this time we stopped at a very sketchy looking stand. It had all sorts of meat on sticks. Some were intestines, some were meatballs, and some were chorizo (sausage). Justin said I had to try it, but I was a little skeptical. The meat was just sitting out in the sun. The man cooked chorizo for us on a little grill in the stand. Then he added sauce and put it on a toasted bun. It was so good! I forgot about my risk of getting salmonella and enjoyed my burger. We also stopped at an amazing smoothie place called Jonah’s.

Crystal Cove

In the Cove

Crawling through Caves

The second day at Shangri-la we decided to do something other than relax. We went on an island hopping tour. The boat we rode was different than the boats we have at home. It was a skinnier boat with the motor in the floor. On the sides were big arms that kept the boat balanced. We passed Crocodile Island, which is a small island in the shape of a crocodile, and then we stopped at Crystal Cove Island. Crystal Cove was a resort but it is currently going through some renovations. We were able to walk on the paths and see the coves as well. To get to some of the coves you had to climb through caves. The water was pretty cold in the coves but was still really blue. I also got to see a Philippine Monkey-Eating eagle. They are one of the biggest eagles in the world.

Our Boat

Next we left the island and went snorkeling. I had never snorkeled before so I was pretty excited. The boat brought us by a patch of coral and then they threw some bread in the water to attract the fish. I got to see tons of different kinds! They were pretty colorful too. Then we went to a different spot and snorkeled again. This spot had way less boats than the last spot. It was by an island that seemed to be uninhabited. You could hear all sorts of animals on the island. Snorkeling here was really cool.  I saw a bright blue starfish and some brain coral. I was very pleased with my first time snorkeling. We were pretty tired on the way back to Shangri-La. On our way back we saw a group of trees that were full of a ton of bats. There were hundreds of them and they were huge. They looked as big as hawks.

Leaving Boracay was so hard. I had such a fun and relaxing time. Everything about the trip was amazing and I feel so lucky to have had the chance to experience it. My expectations of what a “good” beach is have definitely increased.