Beach life in Boracay

Deciding a route through the Philippines has been a tough job, so much to see and do. I wanted to get one of the two iconic beach resorts in during my stay either Boracay or Palawan. I choose Boracay as I had a vague over land and sea route from here for the rest of my 4 week stay. Boracay was one flight, Palawan would have needed two.

Boracay Beach - home for 4 nights

Following my flight from Manila to Kalibo on the neighbouring island, my first introduction to Boracay and its tourism orientated pricing was at the ferry terminal before I got onto the island. I bought my ferry ticket for 25 Peso (38p) before side stepping to the next counter where I had to pay 75 Peso (£1.14) for an environmental ticket, one sidestep later I was another 100 Peso (£1.52) lighter this time it was a ferry terminal fee. To my knowledge the terminal fee was to pay for someone to collect my 25 Peso ticket from me and a further two forms that I'd had to fill out.

My first  view of Boracay from the boat

The boat ride was a nice trip, fairly short and worth the fee be it 38p or £3.04. To get to my resort you had to take a tricycle, which is a small motorcycle with a side car attached. A shared trip was 20 Peso a personal one was 150 Peso.

I choose a shared one and was pointed to a sidecar that was already overflowing with 9 Philippine guests and their luggage. It was amazing how they all managed to get in, let alone me join them. Anyhow I chucked my bag on the roof, and managed to squeeze half an arse cheek onto the back of the sidecar and away we went for an uncomfortable ride.

Late afternoon I was hungry, and in looking for somewhere with local foods and definitely avoid the McDonald's, Subway, TGI Fridays and Pizza places that line the the beach front. I started hunting down the alleys that lead from the main road to the beach. I came across the fish market and that did a perfect job for my supper (most nights).

The fish market had a dozen or so stalls selling lobster, tiger prawns, squids and various fishes and was surrounded by local restaurants that for a small fee would charge you for cooking what you'd purchased at the market.

Lobster or giant prawns

I bought 0.5kg of prawns 11 big sized in total and accepted the first price of 375 Peso (over £6), I should have haggled the price down further or used the other traders a leverage to lower the price. I paid small fee about 100 I think to get the prawns cooked in garlic and chili. They were delightful, I had wished I'd ordered a side dish, but it was just prawns, prawns, prawns washed down by a couple of cheap beers.

Prawns for supper

All the messing about eating the prawns made me almost miss the sunset, which as I was later to find out that Boracay does one hell of a sunset. I walked the full length of the beach in both directions, taking a mental note of live music, entertainment, drink prices and promotions for subsequent evenings.

Just missed the sunset on day one

At the furthest point away possible, it started to rain heavy, which is when my investigation mission turned into a sampling mission, as I dived into the nearest bar which had an excellent band on. An excellent way to seek refuge from the rain which soon passed.

The next day I went for a wonder to the other side of the island, it is only a ten minute walk to Bulabog Beach where I was very surprised at how windy this side of the island was. The wind was perfect for some water sorts including hundreds of kite surfers which were nice to watch.

Back in my side of the island I decided to see how far North I could walk. Around a path, over a few rocks brought me to delightful small beach cove Diniwid Beach set with hotels and restaurants clinging into the steep hills surrounding the bay. After looking on the map more beaches are further North but getting from Diniwid to them didn't seem possible.

The beach from the sea

Boracay from a hole in the cliff on my way to Diniwid

All that walking built up a nice thirst, and following the previous evenings reccy I knew where and when to go to hunt out the cheapest beers whilst and after watching a glorious sunset. The beach bars either had a band on or a solo singer or fire dancers twirling chains with fire on them.

The sunsets on another glorious day

Fire dancing in action

The next morning I had the thing that solo travelers dread, money worries. I tried to transfer some cash from my current account to my trusty travel account that is the Norwich and Peterborough. But in doing so managed to lock my current account due to forgetting the password.

The reason I have a travel account is it gives you free cash withdrawals* from ATMs all around the world. Due to a mix up I hadn't got my current account bank card with me. A quick call though and I was back activated and back in the money. It did give me around 4 hours of worry whilst I waited for UK bank opening hours.

* In Philippines they do something a bit naughty in my opinion, withdrawing 10,000 Peso (£150) appears on your statement as 10,200 so you do get stung for about £3 each time. Elsewhere on my travels recently I've seen the same in Thailand, Cambodia and Laos. At least I don't suffer any of my own bank charges on top of this top off (rant over).

Once again the day was spent walking on the beautiful white sand fringed with coconut trees, stopping every now and again to cool off in the sea. The sand was perfect in Boracay, almost as soft and white as powder. The sea was also perfect chrystal clear and almost bath water warm.

Boracay beach

View from the very shallow waters

Which one to have for dinner

My final night in Boracay I got sat on a bean bag on the beach, and I watched one more magnificent light show as the sun sets. No sooner had I ordered my 2 for 1 beers a bloke rocked up with a didgeridoo, then his mates all plonked themselves down with drums and played some hypnotic tune as the sun went down. Shame they kept blocking my views, but they did draw a healthy crowd.

Man with didgeridoo and his drummer mates

So it was 20:30 on my last night and I was shattered, could I really go to bed this early on such a party island on a Fridays night? No, I didn't think so either. I went to one of the cheaper post sun down bars and got on the local run and cokes. With a healthy crowd in there, I soon got talking to fellow travellers and got a second wind which saw me through to a respectable bedtime.

So my thoughts on Boracay, it is a beautiful place, I loved the shallow clear sea, the soft white sand and the coconut trees. It was great for nightlife and it could be done fairly reasonably if you played the happy hour game. As a 'solo' destination I've been to plenty places where I've found mixing easier.

Looking back now a week or so after leaving I'm really glad I went, probably the nicest beach I've been to, but on my next visit to Philippines I will go to Palawan to compare.

Quick snap of a sand sculpture before I got asked for a tip

Decent spot for the afternoon

Supper one evening

15 minutes later

Sunset at Boracay

Sunset draws in the crowds

Thriller in Manila

The Philippines, a new country for me

Having arrived into the Philippines on a ridiculously timed flight at 04:55 for the 3 hour flight. I was greeted with a warm welcome from my Korean host. Been allowed into my room at 7am was a massive bonus, after much needed shower, fruit for breakfast, handing a huge pile of laundry to the delightfully polite and very pleasant house maid, I caught up on some much needed sleep.

Fully refreshed I went on a little walk around. First thing that hit me was it was extremely hot, humid too. It wasn't too long into my walk my shirt was soaked through.

I stumbled on Rizal Park, a few statues, fountains, monuments, gardens made for a nice stroll, trying to gain shade of the trees from the blistering heat even though it was fairly cloudy.

Rizal Park, Manila

I paid around 30p to see the site of Rizal's execution (National hero, whom the park is named after) recreated with bronze statues.

Bronze statue reconstruction of Rizal's (National Hero) execution

In the firing line

The Korean Lady at my AirBnB accommodation offered me to stay for dinner to sample a Korean feast. The food was excellent, a very nice touch from the host. Not sure whose dinner I ate but it was nice.

Now that is a proper Korean spread for dinner

Next job was to find a safe (non seedy) bar for beers in downtown Metro Manila. First bar I came across was my favorite place in Manila. It was an open sided bar with a band playing on the large stage at the front. It was just a 'normal' bar frequented by students and tourists alike.

San Mig Light, the first of many

Next up I found a bar that would be showing the cricket world cup final in 2 days time. Beers were more expensive in there but it would definitely do a job for the game.

All the recent overnight travelling final took its toll and the next day was sleep, sleep and more sleep. Finally I got myself moving went to the shopping mall where I bumped into the security guard from my apartment complex. I was telling him about my night out the previous evening, and he said he would show me around the 'best' bars in Metro Manila. What followed was a 'girlie' bar walking tour, mid afternoon.

I'd researched a local eating institution for evening meal at a place called Aristocrat. It was indeed popular with the locals. The massive place was packed early on a Saturday night, it wasn't cheap either. I had a local dish which was basically belly pork and crackling. Not the healthiest of meals but very tasty.

Pork and crackling for supper

I'd been tipped off about a bar selling ultra cheap beers sitting on plastic chairs on the street. I liked it in there. Plenty of strange characters inside and even stranger sights walking by, including some obvious ladyboys in full 'costume'.

I headed back to the bar close by my apartment the one I liked from the previous evening with live bands playing tunes. Strangely having been packed on Friday night, it was fairly dead on the Saturday. This however gave the waitress plenty of time to chat to me. She was very nice and I lost count how many times I said, OK one more beer then I'm going.

Second night in Super 8

Those additional 'one more' beers took their toll on me the next day and I was a little hung over. Following a 'refreshing' (cold) swim I hit the tourist beat again. 

Pool at the apartment

I visited the Intramuros district. It was nice, away from all the hustle and bustle of down town Manila and started with a hearty lunch.

Lunch in Intramuros, tasty it was too

I visited the Fort (Fort Santiago) which had an informative museum, nice gardens and was good to stroll around, nothing to strenuous. Outside the fort it was quite 'old worldy' it was nice to walk the streets ducking into churches and cathedrals. I managed to gate crash two weddings that day.

Fort Santiago

Church in Intramuros

Manila Cathedral

I went for a walk to harbour to see the sunset over the bay, grabbed a few cheap beers at the pavement bar, and went to watch England play in the Cricket T20 World Cup Final.

Sunset over Manila harbour

The bar I watched the game in was run by an Aussie, surprisingly him and his mate were cheering England on. With England in an almost unbeatable position with an over to go they left the bar saying it's all over. 4 balls later the game turned and England lost. I'd have loved to have seen their faces when they picked up the morning paper the next day. I was disappointed, but pleased to have seen some great cricket live in India and got to watch the semi-final in Malaysia and the final in Philippines on TV.

The next day I took a flight to Kalibo where I found budget accommodation at under £5 for a single room. I had a quiet night, just a late night beer whilst chatting with the lady from reception. 

The next day I was going to catch a ferry to the beautiful and party island of Boracay.

Back to where it all began, Kuala Lumpur

Kuala Lumpur is the place my career break began early in October 2015. I like KL, so much so that my return here from India will be my 4th visit. I wasn't desperate to come back but it was the cheapest flight to South East Asia from Delhi. KL is a great travel hub so I knew I would be able to make onward travel plans easily and most important of all, many budget airlines have a base here.

Petronas Towers, Kuala Lumpur

I have already blogged about KL so this is an ideal opportunity to point any new readers back to the start of my blogs The Big Leap - First Strop Kuala Lumpur

Strangely KL International Airport (KLIA) is located over 50km from the cities Sentral Station. There is a very fast, clean and efficient train that does the journey at a cost of about £10 each way (55 Ringgit). I have always used this to get to and from the airport. 

Arriving at an early hour I had plenty of time on my hands before check-in at my hotel so I took the bus instead. The bus was just £2 (11 Ringgit) each way and was very clean and comfortable. They depart and arrive from the same place the only difference really is the time it takes to do the trip. I arrived in rush hour and it took over an hour, where as the train can do it in half that time. In future I will always use the bus to commute.

Once I'd got into my room, I was well overdue a shower as I was still in the clothes I wondered around the streets of Delhi in the day before and then spent hours on a plane.

The hotel I stayed in was run by Sri Lankan's who were enthusiastic about cricket. When I pulled out my photo's of the England v Sri Lanka game just two days earlier they could not believe I'd been at the match. The hotel had boutique in its name, personally I think that is stretching it a bit far. It was a clean tiny single room with bathroom and at a little over £8 per night including a decent breakfast was an absolute steel in my opinion. It was in a great location also just around the corner from restaurants, bars, clubs and shopping malls.

That afternoon I rekindled my growing love affair with the Petronas Towers. I had a walk around the park infront that gives great views of the magnificent structure. I didn't do the tour as I'd done it before, luckily really, as the connecting bridge was closed for maintenance.

I love these towers

Artistically Done

On the evening there is no better place to spend time eating and drinking on Jalan Alor. The place is a buzz of locals, tourists and touts. I had a beer and food in one of my favorite spots. I was home before dark due to the lack of sleep the night before.

Food and a beer before an early night

I'd had phone issues for the last week or so, it intermitantly stopped reading my memory card, kept over heating and turning off, often very slow to charge and quick to drain the battery. Sometimes the camera worked others it didn't. I felt if I didn't get a new one it would hamper my travels, afterall a phone these days is my camera, my guide book, my map etc. I'd chosen the one I wanted in India, didn't get around to buying it and ended up paying £30 more for the same model in Malyasia.

Setting up the phone took ages, by the time I was ready to go out it was after 2pm. I took myself on a little half day trip to Batu Caves. It is easy to get out here on public transport take the monorail, LRT or MRT to Sentral and catch a train direct to the caves. It is easy and under a £1 each way. The caves are also free so it is a cheap day out. There is a few bits and pieces up there that demand an entry fee, but none of them seemed to me to be worth the money.

The cave is located up some 272 steps, at the foot of which is a huge golden Hindu statue. The statue is 42.7m high and dwarfs the steps. Climbing the steps is easy, although with the sun beating down on your back you are bound to get a little sweaty. As you make your way up the steps there are monkeys playing, fighting, looking for food all around you. They think nothing of taking food of tourists. At the top there are a couple of big caves and temples.

Giant Hindu statue at Batu Caves - yes it really is this big!

View from the top looking down

My route back to the station was halted by some geezer feeding about 50 monkeys by the entrance. I bravely tried to squeeze past but one didn't look happy at the possibility of me steeling his food and did sufficient to make me wait until feeding time was over and the path to the station was clear.

Monkeys everywhere

The hotel gave me a City map with all the sights marked clearly on it, with a little bit of information on each sight. The KL City Gallery was described as the place you should go first when in Kuala Lumpur. I hadn't done it before so thought even though I was 4 visits too late I would head over to this. It wasn't bad in there, quite informative without information overload under a £1 entry fee and you could exchange your used ticket for either an ice-cream or a coffee in the gift shop cafe. I had an Iced Coffee and it was worth the entrance fee on its own.

Buildings around Merdeka Square

Buildings around Merdeka Square

The City Gallery is located at one end of Merdeka Square. A tip for a cheap eat around this touristy location. Under the huge flagpole is the entrance to a small underground mall. There is a food court at the back where locals frequent. I had Soup, Chicken Curry and noodles with an Iced Tea for £1.10. Very good food and excellent value for money.

All this for £1

Next up on my day tour of attractions I'd not done before was a walk around the Botanical Gardens. This was nice but it was crazily hot when you weren't in the shade. To cool down after an hours walk I went to the National Museum. Very informative and well presented.

Plenty of Greenery in the Botanical Gardens

I was leaving KL the next day and had a few options of what to do and where to go. One option was to head north to the Cameron Highlands for a break from the heat and to view the tea plantations. If I was to go north I would have continued up into Thailand making my way to Bangkok a couple of weeks later for the Songkran Water Festival. The second option was bus to Melacca and stay for the Friday night market, before heading down to Singapore where an onward flight to the Philippines was quite a bit cheaper than from KL. The final option was to fly straight into the Philippines.

I opted for the 2nd option booked an AirBnB but it got declined due to an over booking, so went for the third option and booked a flight to Manila for the following evening.

This night was the semi final of the Cricket World Cup England v New Zealand. My night started with cheap food and not too expensive drinks again down Jalan Alor. I had sourced a bar with the cricket on 5 minutes walk from Jalan Alor, but had also noticed that drinks were expensive. There were many bars on this strip each one having a seemingly good deal on until you worked out it was still expensive. I settled on a bar, had a few beers and a couple of celebratory Mojitos as England won the game comfortably.

Jalan Alor Selfie

Bar with the cricket on

The next morning I met a chap from Manila and bloke from KL over breakfast. They were very helpful and informative in telling me where I should stay in Manila and what Islands I should visit during my 4 week stay.

One of the restrictions of a free Visa into Philippines is you need evidence of your exit from the country so I had to book my onward flight to Taiwan, booking early meant I got it for a cracking price.

The Mojitos the night before all but wiped me out of Malaysian Ringgit. That afternoon I headed back to the Petronas Towers park and sat in the shade reading Lonely Planet - Philippines.

KLCC Park

Last view of the towers

My flight was ridiculously timed leaving KL at 02:30 and arriving in Manila at 05:00. The good news was that I had managed to arrange with the lady of the place I was staying at to let me check-in at 7am.

Spending my last Ringgits on dinner before my very late flight

I was looking forward to the Philippines, another new country for me and my first new country since entering Laos late in November.

KL Tower at night

I still love KL