My friends Anna and Em planed in from Manila for a visit during the sem break. Anna carried with her a list of things to do. One of the items she failed to write down was to go to Boracay. Naturally, we could not let them pass up an opportunity to go to one of the hottest beaches in the world! Thus we donned our swimsuits in November and pretended we were soaking up the summer sun. There really was not much difference - it was pretty hot in Boracay!
Feeling photographer: One of the first shots I took upon our arrival.
When I was there, I started drawing up my own list: What's Crazy and Crappy about Boracay.
What's Crazy:
Tattoos
Anna and Em got temporary henna tattoos on their ankles. The tattoo artists usually charge a hundred pesos for a tattoo but Anna and Em got them for only half the price. Anna had to have hers redone about twice since she kept on messing it up. By the time she was done with her second retouch, the tattoo artist was asking for her name.
I also wanted to get a tattoo on my nape. I was browsing through their catalogue and found a dolphin design I wanted. I later on decided against it. I might be barred from the school entrance gates when the new semester begins.
There is this one place in Station 1 where they have glitter tattoos done although they cost much more and last for a lesser period of time than henna tattoos.
Dressing Down
In normal circumstances, when you go out of the house to go somewhere, you have to put on newer clothes. In Boracay, I brought mostly old shirts and shorts and no one cared whether I looked like I had just gotten out of bed or what. On our second day in Boracay, we went swimming at 9. By lunchtime, I just put on my high school jersey over my bathing spot and tied my soggy hair in place with a scrunchie. I waddled around the place, visiting shops and sitting by the beach, in the same getup and no one seemed to mind.
Nothing beats lying on a hammock by the beach at 10 PM.
Banana Boat Ride
Banana Boat Rides in Boracay cost 200 pesos per person. The ride lasts for 15 minutes. It's not cheap but the money seems pretty worth the adventure, especially since when you get in the middle of the water, the drivers can turn over the banana boat so that everyone gets dumped into the water. However Doi, Anna and Em were not particularly keen about that even if we were wearing life jackets. So we pretty much stayed 40% dry during the ride.
While we were being pulled around during the ride, another banana boat was out in the open with us. I could only watch with envy as the riders of that banana boat screamed their lungs out when they fell into the water. I promised myself that when I go back, I'll try the Flying Fish although it costs a little bit more at 500 pesos per person. Just add a little bit more and I get two Kitche Nadal CDs.
Sand castles
At night, Doi, Anna, Em and I would go out for a walk along the beach. We spotted sand castles and other sand art created by children no more than 10 years old. I was pretty envious. I could not make a simple sand castle myself and second graders could create structures like these!
Anna, Doi and I with the really cool sandcastles.
While I was looking at the sand castles, I suddenlt had an image of Chen Ling and Qi Luo walking down a beach, hand in hand, after they both had built a huge sand castle. Qi Luo told Ling that when the tide came, the sea would have washed the sand castle away. Ling then compared sand castles to dreams. Dreams get shattered once in a while but like sand castles, they can always be rebuilt and the new ones are always different from their predecessors. And like sand castles, dreams become much more fun and memorable when they are built with another person.
The kids who worked on the sand castles usually did so in pairs. Maybe as they toiled under the heat of the sun, I'd like to think they had other things in mind that they believed they could shape into anything they wanted, just like the sand on their hands.
Swimming
This has got to be a no-brainer. After all, Boracay is an island. Who can resist the feeling of fine, white sand between their toes? Or the smell of the sea? And most especially a refreshing dunk in cool, crystal clear water?
How can you say no to this? Doi herself has difficulty doing so!
I have never been alien to the beach since I've always lived near the coast but Boracay has always been a favorite hideaway. As my mom whispered when we got there "I've been here in several occasions but Boracay never fails to leave me at awe every time." I was half-listening to her words since I myself was caught in my thoughts. I was restraining myself not to just jump over the side of the boat. The water seemed to whisper, siren-like "Come to me!"
After seeing this pic, my mom once more contemplated how she would look like in a bikini.
When we did get to swim, the feeling was unexplainable. The last time I had taken a dip in the waters of Boracay was the day after my senior prom in high school. Lately, most of the swimming I have been doing has been pool-related. Swimming in one of the best tropical beaches in the world was something I sorely missed. I missed getting tossed by the waves. I missed licking my lips after a dive and getting bits of salt and sand. I missed feeling sticky. I missed looking around and seeing miles and miles of water.
Trying to pass ourselves off as Japanese tourists.
On our second day we went boating. My mom requested the boat driver to stop in the middle of the sea so that we could jump off and swim around. I dove into the water sans my life jacket and it was the most exhilarating feeling ever! My friends joined me, including Anna who was pretty scared of the water simply because she declared she sucked at swimming.
See Anna? It ain't too late for swimming lessons!
What's Crappy:
Food
Boracay is not particularly well known for its food. I have tasted better cuisine somewhere else. If I remember correctly, the only gastronomic delight I particularly enDoied there was balut.
Dollar rate
Staying in Boracay would cost a lot. Buy junk food and softdrinks in mini marts found in the Caticlan terminal because it is cheaper there.
Escort service
The second time I went to Boracay was when I was around six years old. I was with my grandmother and my older cousins. One of the things I distinctly remember was the sight of about four or five Caucasian women roasting themselves with the sun's ultraviolet rays dressed...er...lesser than usual. Now this apparently has been banned in Boracay much to my relief.
However one thing which has not changed is the escort service offered by some Filipinas to foreign guests. It was not a rare sight to see a tall white man between 50 to 60 years with older with his arms draped around a small, sun-kissed Filipina or, in some cases, Filipinas. Whenever we would see things like this, Doi and I would look at each other with eyes narrowed, surmising how foreigners now have a new name to associate with Filipinas. By the time we left Boracay, Doi and I had agreed one of the things that these foreigners had lost was the power of discernment. These words mean more than what they seem to convey.
Here's a little story: One morning when I woke up, my mom told me that during the night, something happened in a house near the one we slept in. Fighting eruped between a couple. The girl was Filipino and the guy was obviously foreign. By the sound of the yelling, the screaming and the crashing, a fight had erupted characterized by both verbal and physical blows. The girl received most of it.
The way I see it, prostitution in Boracay should be examined by the Aklan LGUs. If this should go on unguarded, the reputation of the Filipina would suffer greatly. We raised up in arms when a dictionary associated the word "Filipina" with "maid." I do not want to see a time wherein we would have to bellow because we Filipinas are to be made synonymous with the flesh trade. As I saw one scantily clad Filipina after another walk side by side with a foreign patron in Boracay, I was filled with absolute rage and utter helplessness. I felt angry because the Filipina's dignity was of very little worth. I felt helpless because their main reason for doing so is persistent, permeating and seemingly infinite. The reason of lack, however, is never enough justification for degradation of character, morality and respect. I may be hit for being idealistic or self-righteous but I would want to walk down the street and know that every person I meet respects me, and every Filipina they encounter. Believe me or not but I do know what I'm talking about.
My dad and sister were pretty jealous when they saw these pics of mom and me.
I'm sorry if you're jealous. That wasn't my intention. 
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