Aside from all the water activities, shopping is another activity you can enjoy in Boracay. To us Filipinos, traveling is synonymous to shopping. Whenever we visit a new place, we have this need of buying pasalubong, gifts or souvenir items from the places we have visited. We give these gifts to people close to us such as our family, friends, colleagues and relatives.

Pasalubong from Boracay can be purchased from D'Mall, which is conveniently located at the beach front. However, if you are into real budget finds, I suggest going to the E-Mall @ Talipapa. If you have bargaining skills and can lobby prices with the tindera (sales clerks), then you are very fitted to shop in the E-Mall. The only disadvantage I can see with the E-Mall is the additional effort and patience needed in walking and exploring the narrow pathways to each store. D'Mall offers branded to cheap items. Brands such as Toms, Havaianas, Fit Flops have their own boutiques. Retailers selling t-shirts and other cheap souvenir items are also available at D'Mall.

I wasn't able to take pictures from the E-Mall. When we shopped at the E-Mall, I was all exhausted and unfortunately suffering from menstrual cramps. I was able to take a few good shots from D'Mall since we immediately visited it on our first day in Boracay. Here are some locally produced items you can consider as pasalubong from D'Mall.

T-shirts are one of the cheapest pasalubong you can purchase from Boracay. Some shops offer t-shirts for as low as Php 95 (around $2). A few shops offer volume discounts, especially if you know how to haggle. ;)

Summer dresses are also available for as low as Php 300.

The smallest red and green slippers I've ever seen :D

In case you forgot, lost or damaged your flip flops, cheap to expensive brands are available at D'Mall.

Colorful slippers from Ipanema and Grendha.

These cloth lamps are bundled as three pieces for Php 100 (around $ 2). However, you have to install your own light bulbs for the lamps to function.

Accessories, made of wood, plastic and real shells, is another cheap pasalubong you can consider.

Colorful handbags made from Abaca are sold almost everywhere too.

There is one store that caught my attention.

This shop sells decorative items that are made of pure shell. As you enter their limited space, you will be mesmerized by what you can see from their ceiling.

When I become rich, one of the rooms in my house will be filled by these hanging decorative pieces too.

I hope my namemate and blog friend, Diane of Lavender Dreams would see these.

Compact mirror and small boxes made of shells.

This is it for my Boracay trip. As much as I wanted to share more pictures of Boracay, I need to move on and delve on the next chapters of my life. Travel is over, I'm broke so I need to work. LOL It would take some months for me to visit another place.

• April 21, 2012
• Boracay

Travel Diaries - Shopping in Boracay

Aside from all the water activities, shopping is another activity you can enjoy in Boracay. To us Filipinos, traveling is synonymous to shopping. Whenever we visit a new place, we have this need of buying pasalubong, gifts or souvenir items from the places we have visited. We give these gifts to people close to us such as our family, friends, colleagues and relatives.

Pasalubong from Boracay can be purchased from D'Mall, which is conveniently located at the beach front. However, if you are into real budget finds, I suggest going to the E-Mall @ Talipapa. If you have bargaining skills and can lobby prices with the tindera (sales clerks), then you are very fitted to shop in the E-Mall. The only disadvantage I can see with the E-Mall is the additional effort and patience needed in walking and exploring the narrow pathways to each store. D'Mall offers branded to cheap items. Brands such as Toms, Havaianas, Fit Flops have their own boutiques. Retailers selling t-shirts and other cheap souvenir items are also available at D'Mall.

I wasn't able to take pictures from the E-Mall. When we shopped at the E-Mall, I was all exhausted and unfortunately suffering from menstrual cramps. I was able to take a few good shots from D'Mall since we immediately visited it on our first day in Boracay. Here are some locally produced items you can consider as pasalubong from D'Mall.

T-shirts are one of the cheapest pasalubong you can purchase from Boracay. Some shops offer t-shirts for as low as Php 95 (around $2). A few shops offer volume discounts, especially if you know how to haggle. ;)

Summer dresses are also available for as low as Php 300.

The smallest red and green slippers I've ever seen :D

In case you forgot, lost or damaged your flip flops, cheap to expensive brands are available at D'Mall.

Colorful slippers from Ipanema and Grendha.

These cloth lamps are bundled as three pieces for Php 100 (around $ 2). However, you have to install your own light bulbs for the lamps to function.

Accessories, made of wood, plastic and real shells, is another cheap pasalubong you can consider.

Colorful handbags made from Abaca are sold almost everywhere too.

There is one store that caught my attention.

This shop sells decorative items that are made of pure shell. As you enter their limited space, you will be mesmerized by what you can see from their ceiling.

When I become rich, one of the rooms in my house will be filled by these hanging decorative pieces too.

I hope my namemate and blog friend, Diane of Lavender Dreams would see these.

Compact mirror and small boxes made of shells.

This is it for my Boracay trip. As much as I wanted to share more pictures of Boracay, I need to move on and delve on the next chapters of my life. Travel is over, I'm broke so I need to work. LOL It would take some months for me to visit another place.

Read More

Island Hopping is love! This statement summarizes my second day in Boracay. I've visited a number of beaches in my country. I've seen beaches in Batangas, Subic and Puerto Galera. Whenever I visit the beach, I'm usually contented on swimming and enjoying the scenery. Except for the trekking experience in Taal Volcano, I never had any other adventurous experience to share.

When I stayed in Boracay, I told myself that I have to add a new experience in my list of accomplishments. I'm not getting any younger and I believe it might take another lifetime for me to visit Boracay. Hence, I decided to venture to island hopping.

Island hopping is only one of the few activities you can enjoy in Boracay. Reef walking, parasailing, scuba diving, are some of the water activities you can avail. Island hopping is best experienced with your own group of friends. My usual companions during the trip were two of my female colleagues. With a group of three people, we can already take the island hopping adventure. However, lesser people means more share in the expenses and I believe it meant lesser fun too. With the help of my other colleague, we were able to form a group of eight excited and happy island hoppers.

Aside from seeing the beautiful islands in Boracay, snorkeling, scuba diving and swimming are the accompanying activities you can enjoy with the island hopping experience. Armed with my rash guard, hunger for adventure and my equally brave and happy colleagues, we rode the boat that took me to the best ride of my life.

The first stop of our island hopping is the Crocodile Island.

Photo from Joriza Unabia of Been there, done that

The shape of the island explains its name. I failed to take my own photo because we were frightened by the gigantic waves that welcomed us as we approached the island. The waves got us all wet, wild and panicking. Safety first, so I hid my camera and prayed for our lives instead. LOL

The waves frightened us so we immediately told our tour guides to direct us to the next destination, the Turtle Island. We were still recovering from our frightening experience so I failed to capture shots of the island. Turtle island was a safer place to swim and snorkel. So off we jumped out of our boat and started the fun.

Meet my island hopping buddies!

We swam in the middle of the sea and this was an accomplishment for me. I love to swim but I never went to areas that my height can't reach. It was my first time to float and swim to a depth of around 12 feet and kilometers away from the shore.

I was already happy and contented with our short swim at the Turtle Island. Since we have to maximize the three-hour limit, we moved out of the water for our next destination.

Along the way, we were able to catch a glimpse of the luxurious Boracay Shangri-La. To prove that it's indeed high end, staying here would cost around Php 20,000 per day (around $400).

Getting near Shangri-La's own shoreline is even prohibited by their management.

We finally reached our last island destination, West Cove Hotel and Resort
.

West Cove is said to be owned by the Filipino boxing champion, Manny Pacquiao. Although I read in some sources that Pacquiao never admitted to own the resort. The resort resembles the structures of Santorini in Greece.  In order to see the amenities of the resort, tourists are required to pay Php 150 (around $3) as entrance fee. We didn't bother to get inside the place because we were already contented enjoying the beach front.

Our boat took us off here.

Everything about this picture is so priceless. The whitest and finest sand and the crystal blue waters are things I can never experience in the city. We spent most of our time here. We took pictures and enjoyed so far the best beach I have ever seen.

Here's a better shot of my colleagues turned adventure buddies.

Toasted and Roasted!

I have never seen this piece of heaven on earth in my entire life.

And to prove that I really experienced the place, here's the photo that captured everything.

I hope my presence didn't ruin the scenic view LOL

• April 18, 2012
• Boracay

Travel Diaries - Island Hopping is love!

Island Hopping is love! This statement summarizes my second day in Boracay. I've visited a number of beaches in my country. I've seen beaches in Batangas, Subic and Puerto Galera. Whenever I visit the beach, I'm usually contented on swimming and enjoying the scenery. Except for the trekking experience in Taal Volcano, I never had any other adventurous experience to share.

When I stayed in Boracay, I told myself that I have to add a new experience in my list of accomplishments. I'm not getting any younger and I believe it might take another lifetime for me to visit Boracay. Hence, I decided to venture to island hopping.

Island hopping is only one of the few activities you can enjoy in Boracay. Reef walking, parasailing, scuba diving, are some of the water activities you can avail. Island hopping is best experienced with your own group of friends. My usual companions during the trip were two of my female colleagues. With a group of three people, we can already take the island hopping adventure. However, lesser people means more share in the expenses and I believe it meant lesser fun too. With the help of my other colleague, we were able to form a group of eight excited and happy island hoppers.

Aside from seeing the beautiful islands in Boracay, snorkeling, scuba diving and swimming are the accompanying activities you can enjoy with the island hopping experience. Armed with my rash guard, hunger for adventure and my equally brave and happy colleagues, we rode the boat that took me to the best ride of my life.

The first stop of our island hopping is the Crocodile Island.

Photo from Joriza Unabia of Been there, done that

The shape of the island explains its name. I failed to take my own photo because we were frightened by the gigantic waves that welcomed us as we approached the island. The waves got us all wet, wild and panicking. Safety first, so I hid my camera and prayed for our lives instead. LOL

The waves frightened us so we immediately told our tour guides to direct us to the next destination, the Turtle Island. We were still recovering from our frightening experience so I failed to capture shots of the island. Turtle island was a safer place to swim and snorkel. So off we jumped out of our boat and started the fun.

Meet my island hopping buddies!

We swam in the middle of the sea and this was an accomplishment for me. I love to swim but I never went to areas that my height can't reach. It was my first time to float and swim to a depth of around 12 feet and kilometers away from the shore.

I was already happy and contented with our short swim at the Turtle Island. Since we have to maximize the three-hour limit, we moved out of the water for our next destination.

Along the way, we were able to catch a glimpse of the luxurious Boracay Shangri-La. To prove that it's indeed high end, staying here would cost around Php 20,000 per day (around $400).

Getting near Shangri-La's own shoreline is even prohibited by their management.

We finally reached our last island destination, West Cove Hotel and Resort
.

West Cove is said to be owned by the Filipino boxing champion, Manny Pacquiao. Although I read in some sources that Pacquiao never admitted to own the resort. The resort resembles the structures of Santorini in Greece.  In order to see the amenities of the resort, tourists are required to pay Php 150 (around $3) as entrance fee. We didn't bother to get inside the place because we were already contented enjoying the beach front.

Our boat took us off here.

Everything about this picture is so priceless. The whitest and finest sand and the crystal blue waters are things I can never experience in the city. We spent most of our time here. We took pictures and enjoyed so far the best beach I have ever seen.

Here's a better shot of my colleagues turned adventure buddies.

Toasted and Roasted!

I have never seen this piece of heaven on earth in my entire life.

And to prove that I really experienced the place, here's the photo that captured everything.

I hope my presence didn't ruin the scenic view LOL

Read More

Hello everyone! My summer hibernation mode is over. I'm back in the city and tomorrow, I will be reporting for work again. (Rendering a heavy and big sigh while typing.) Before I sleep and return to my everyday life, I will fulfill my promise of sharing stories and experiences of my three-day summer vacay.

Together with my colleagues, we went to the beautiful island of Boracay. My fellow Filipino bloggers are already familiar with Boracay. For typical Filipinos, Boracay has been equated as one of the best beaches in the Philippines. For the benefit of my foreign blog friends, allow me to relate some information about Boracay.

Boracay is only one of the 7,107 islands that comprise the Philippines. The Philippines is an archipelago (group of islands) which makes it very abundant of beaches. However, when a typical Filipino is asked to identify the best beach in the Philippines, Boracay would surely make it to the top list. The island of Boracay measures around 1,006 hectares and is shaped like a dog bone. Boracay boasts 12 beaches. The most famous include the Bulabog Beach, Puka Shell Beach and the White Beach, where I spent my vacation. White Beach is best known for the finest and whitest sand and the crystal blue waters.

Boracay, particularly the White Beach, has been a developed tourist attraction. Hence, aside from the beach, tourists can avail and enjoy a number of amenities and activities. But for any tourist, I guess the first consideration is still the accommodation. The White Beach offers a varied range of accommodation facilities. Budget to high-end travelers can choose from different hotels and resorts. You can visit this site to verify the accredited list of hotels and resorts in Boracay. In our case, we were housed in Casa Pilar during our entire stay.

Getting to Boracay almost exhausted all my energy.  The Zest Air flight from Manila to Kalibo, 2 hours of land travel from Kalibo to Caticlan, boat ride from Caticlan to Boracay and a 10-minute multi-cab ride to finally reach the White Beach. Whew! Tired, hungry and thirsty, Casa Pilar gave us this welcome drink

We consumed this drink in this relaxing spot at the beach front

We reached Casa Pilar around 1 pm. After having our recovery lunch, we decided to check in our rooms and gave ourselves our much needed rest.

Most of the rooms in Casa Pilar are inspired by the classic Nipa huts.

Our group however was stationed in a log cabin inspired room.

If I will rate Casa Pilar, I'll give it 4 out of 5 stars. The strong points of Casa Pilar are the provision of complimentary breakfast, everyday cleaning and maintenance of the rooms, excellent airconditioning units and being conveniently located at the beach front. Some weak points of the resort include the absence of telephone lines in each room and the exclusion of wifi connection in their accommodation package. You have to pay to access their wifi services.

After cocooning in our airconditioned rooms, we went out just in time for sunset. I love the beach either during sunrise or sunset. I'm lucky because my roommates shared the same preference. Here are some pictures of the White Beach I have captured during sunset.

Staying in Boracay will never be complete without a bountiful seafood dinner.

In case you will have the chance to visit Boracay, don't let this opportunity pass away. Aside from great food, I got addicted over this healthy and refreshing drink.

Watermelon shake is the best!

This is just Day 1 of my Borcay trip. On my next post, I'll share one of the best and first time experiences I made in Boracay.

• April 17, 2012
• Boracay

Travel Diaries - In the land of the white sand

Hello everyone! My summer hibernation mode is over. I'm back in the city and tomorrow, I will be reporting for work again. (Rendering a heavy and big sigh while typing.) Before I sleep and return to my everyday life, I will fulfill my promise of sharing stories and experiences of my three-day summer vacay.

Together with my colleagues, we went to the beautiful island of Boracay. My fellow Filipino bloggers are already familiar with Boracay. For typical Filipinos, Boracay has been equated as one of the best beaches in the Philippines. For the benefit of my foreign blog friends, allow me to relate some information about Boracay.

Boracay is only one of the 7,107 islands that comprise the Philippines. The Philippines is an archipelago (group of islands) which makes it very abundant of beaches. However, when a typical Filipino is asked to identify the best beach in the Philippines, Boracay would surely make it to the top list. The island of Boracay measures around 1,006 hectares and is shaped like a dog bone. Boracay boasts 12 beaches. The most famous include the Bulabog Beach, Puka Shell Beach and the White Beach, where I spent my vacation. White Beach is best known for the finest and whitest sand and the crystal blue waters.

Boracay, particularly the White Beach, has been a developed tourist attraction. Hence, aside from the beach, tourists can avail and enjoy a number of amenities and activities. But for any tourist, I guess the first consideration is still the accommodation. The White Beach offers a varied range of accommodation facilities. Budget to high-end travelers can choose from different hotels and resorts. You can visit this site to verify the accredited list of hotels and resorts in Boracay. In our case, we were housed in Casa Pilar during our entire stay.

Getting to Boracay almost exhausted all my energy.  The Zest Air flight from Manila to Kalibo, 2 hours of land travel from Kalibo to Caticlan, boat ride from Caticlan to Boracay and a 10-minute multi-cab ride to finally reach the White Beach. Whew! Tired, hungry and thirsty, Casa Pilar gave us this welcome drink

We consumed this drink in this relaxing spot at the beach front

We reached Casa Pilar around 1 pm. After having our recovery lunch, we decided to check in our rooms and gave ourselves our much needed rest.

Most of the rooms in Casa Pilar are inspired by the classic Nipa huts.

Our group however was stationed in a log cabin inspired room.

If I will rate Casa Pilar, I'll give it 4 out of 5 stars. The strong points of Casa Pilar are the provision of complimentary breakfast, everyday cleaning and maintenance of the rooms, excellent airconditioning units and being conveniently located at the beach front. Some weak points of the resort include the absence of telephone lines in each room and the exclusion of wifi connection in their accommodation package. You have to pay to access their wifi services.

After cocooning in our airconditioned rooms, we went out just in time for sunset. I love the beach either during sunrise or sunset. I'm lucky because my roommates shared the same preference. Here are some pictures of the White Beach I have captured during sunset.

Staying in Boracay will never be complete without a bountiful seafood dinner.

In case you will have the chance to visit Boracay, don't let this opportunity pass away. Aside from great food, I got addicted over this healthy and refreshing drink.

Watermelon shake is the best!

This is just Day 1 of my Borcay trip. On my next post, I'll share one of the best and first time experiences I made in Boracay.

Read More