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I recently stayed in the Waling Waling Resort in Station 1 of Boracay.  For those not familiar with Boracay, which I would assume is most readers, the main beach, White Beach, is divided into three stations.  Station 1 has the finest (smallest) grained sand, station 2  is slightly coarser, and station 3 is coarser still.  How this correlates to more expensive is unclear to me, but it is – smaller sand grains = more expensive.

Upon arriving to Caticlan on Southeast Asian Airlines I was greeted by a representative from the resort.  He whisked me past the people trying to sell a tricycle ride to the ferry station and we waited for a minute for the Waling Waling official shuttle – a nice open sided car… well more like a golf cart.  This golf cart sped off towards the ferry terminal where there was a Waling Waling Resort boat waiting to take me over to Boracay; Boracay is a different island than the one you fly into.  The boat ride lasts around 5-10 minutes, with minimal swells.  Once I landed on Boracay, I was taken by van from the ferry terminal, to the Waling Waling Resort, where I was quickly and efficiently checked into my room.  For approximately $120/night I was on the 3rd floor, with a water view, and a balcony.  The edge of the water was probably 200 feet away.  It was BEAUTIFUL!

Great sunsets!  The water was gorgeous and warm!  The food was good!  The only drawback to the whole experience was the vendors trying to constantly sell you boats rides, sunglasses, hats, and fake watches.  I’m wearing sunglasses, do I look like I want to buy another pair??

For food, check out Fridays, at the end of Station 1 – excellent food.  For live music, I just headed down to the bar/restaurant of the Waling Waling, and claimed a hammock, then lay there swinging while drinking ridiculously cheap San Miguel beer, and listening to a guy playing guitar and singing.  A rather idyllic setting really.

In short, if you’re ever in the Philippines and have a day or two to see the beaches, I highly recommend heading to Boracay to relax and soak up the rays – just don’t forget your suntan lotion!

While in the Philippines I took a trip to Boracay (a future post), and traveled with South East Asian Airlines (www.flyseair.com).  South East Asian Airlines is a discount airline which makes direct flights between Manila and Caticlan, which is the closest airport to Boracay.  I knew it would be a prop plane, but I don’t think I expected that the plane would be SO small!  The plane itself for my flight to Boracay was a LET410 Turbolet.  From the SEAir website:

The LET410 Turbolet is a twin engined short-range transport aircraft manufactured by the Czech aircraft manufacturer LET, mostly used for passenger transport. With more than 1,100 produced, it is the most popular 19-seat plane in history.

It provides first class comfort, while simultaneously servicing [paved] and unpaved airstrips. In the 19-seater class, no plane is better suited for short-haul.

The seats, while a little cramped, were quite comfortable.  It was definitely a different experience, however, having to be weighed (with my carryon) to ensure they could get the balance of the plane correct for the flight.

The other aspect of the trip which made me chuckle was the fact that the flight attendants safety spiel was the same as a full sized commercial airliner, and that I could reach out and touch the pilot from my first row seat.  That coupled with the fact that upon arrival, the pilot merely turned around in his seat to thank us for flying with SEAir, made this a quite enjoyable, while different, flight.

If you’re looking for cheap travel to Boracay, aside from a ferry, which I didn’t try, this is the way to go.

Sugi, a japanese restaurant in Greenbelt 2, in Manila is an excellent choice for a good meal. My personal recommendation would be the Niku Udon; thinly sliced beef with udon noodles, in what can only be described as the best broth I’ve ever tasted.

Prices seem reasonable by Western standards, albeit a little more expensive by Filipino standards.

Check it out; you won’t be disappointed!