Prelude

Boracay is a tiny island in the Philippines, often portrayed as a paradise on earth, famous for its white sand beaches and raucous nightlife. In the past year, it has been in the spotlight because the Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte branded the island a “cesspool” due to the lack of proper drainage systems, resulting in untreated sewage being dumped directly into the sea.

The tourism boom in the past decade had led to uncontrolled and rapid development where buildings and resorts were constructed without proper regulations. A whopping two million tourists visited the island in 2017, an alarming number for an island about 7km long and less than 1km at its narrowest point.

As a result, the president ordered a total shutdown of the island for six months, with effect from 26 April 2018. During that time, tourists were not allowed to enter the island while major cleanup works took place, including the tearing down of illegal structures built too close to the shore. Six months may not be enough to reset the island to its once pristine state, but it is better than nothing.

The island recently re-opened on 26 October 2018 with enforced measures such as limiting the number of tourists to 19,200 daily, banning drinking and smoking on the beaches and creating a 30m buffer zone from the water’s edge, among a slew of new rules.

Unfortunately, I was one of the guilty parties who visited Boracay in 2017. It had been on my bucket list for the longest time so when there was an opportunity to visit it last September, I jumped on it. This post comes more than a year late, but it will now serve as a good record of what life on Boracay was like before the cleanup.

 

Day 1: 17 September 2017, Sunday

Getting to Boracay from Singapore is a bit of a hassle. There is no airport on Boracay because it is so small. You’ll need to take a short boat ride from the nearest island, which is Panay.

The two airports on Panay closest to Boracay are Kalibo and Caticlan (aka Godofredo P. Ramos airport), in the Aklan province. Of the two, Caticlan Airport is much closer to Boracay than Kalibo Airport. It is less than 1km away from the jetty, whereas Kalibo Airport is about 70km away.

From Singapore, there are no direct flights to Caticlan or Kalibo airports. Regardless of which airline you fly on, you’ll still need to transit either at Manila or Cebu. While Caticlan would be a more logical choice due to its proximity to Boracay, not many international airlines serve the airport – only Philippine Airlines and Cebu Pacific do. Kalibo is a much larger airport with more international flights, including Scoot. As I was on a budget, I chose the cheapest flight on Scoot. My return airfare costs S$128, without any check-in baggage, food or seat selection.

On 17 September 2017, I scooted off from Singapore at 10:45am and touched down at Cebu’s Mactan International Airport at 2:15pm. There is no time difference between Singapore and the Philippines. The transit was just one hour and there was barely enough time for me to grab a cookie before I had to board the plane again. At 3:15pm, the flight departed from Cebu and landed at Kalibo about 35 minutes later.

Exchange rate: S$1 = PHP 36.70 / PHP 100 = S$2.72

After exiting the airport building, I spotted some people holding up signs offering van service to Caticlan jetty. You won’t have to look very hard for them because they will call out to you the moment you step out. I paid PHP 200 (S$5.45) for a seat, which is reasonable considering that the ride takes 1.5 hours. The van was air-conditioned so it was not too bad. At 4:10pm, the van departed Kalibo airport for the drive northwest to Caticlan jetty. Along the way, it made a few short stops and picked up some locals.

The journey took exactly 1.5 hours and I arrived at the Caticlan Jetty Port Terminal at 5:40pm sharp. Here, I bought my boat ticket for the onward journey to Boracay. The pump boat ticket costs PHP 25 (S$0.70) in the day and PHP 30 (S$0.82) at night. When I bought my ticket, it was considered night time already so I paid PHP 30 for it.

In addition to the pump boat ticket, tourists will also need to pay two additional fees – a Terminal Fee of PHP 100 and an Environmental Fee of PHP 75. Therefore, I paid a total of PHP 205 (S$5.60) for my boat ride to Boracay. After getting your pump boat ticket, you’ll need to pay for these two extra fees at a separate ticketing window. Only residents of Aklan or those working in Aklan are exempted from these two fees. According to what is printed on the ticket, the environmental fee is collected “to sustain the island as a premier tourist destination in the country”.

At 5:58pm, I hopped on board the pump boat and departed Caticlan jetty. The boat ride took only about 10 minutes and I alighted at Cagban Jetty Port, located at the southern tip of Boracay island. At 6:10pm, the sun had just set and it was quickly getting dark. Upon exiting the jetty, I looked around for a cheap ride to bring me to my hostel.

A motorbike driver quoted me PHP 100 while a private tuk tuk driver quoted me PHP 150. I managed to find an autotrike, or autorickshaw, and I paid just PHP 25 (S$0.70) for the ride. However, be prepared to squeeze. The trike was very tiny but somehow, 10 people managed to fit into it, including the driver. It was a mad squeeze but quite fun! From Cagban jetty to my hostel, located between Stations 1 and 2, the ride took about 10 minutes, so it was still bearable.

In summary, I took two flights, a van, a boat and an autorickshaw to travel from Singapore to my hostel in Boracay, taking eight hours in total. All modes of transport covered!

Mad Monkey Hostel Boracay
Address: Zone 5, Bulabog Beach Road, Balabag, Boracay, Aklan, Philippines, 5608
Tel: +63 905 247 9898
Website: www.madmonkeyhostels.com/boracay/
Price: PHP 350 (S$9.52) per night for a 4-bed dorm room

Continuing with my theme of budget travelling, I booked Mad Monkey Hostel because it was really cheap. Less than S$10 a night for a dorm bed, but it does not include breakfast. I was attracted by the price and the fact that it had a swimming pool. However, I had read online reviews that it was a party hostel with loud music and rowdy guests, but I still decided to give it a go. I would soon find out that its party reputation was really true.

The room was actually ok, with a large super-single sized mattress, but the pillow was rather soft and thin. There was a bathroom ensuite so it was convenient, but the other guests left it quite sandy and messy. There was a large locker below the bed to store my belongings so it was alright (bring along your own padlock). Basic needs met, not much I can complain about. However, the main grouse I had was that the Wifi signal was very weak in the room, to the point of being virtually non-existent. So that was a big minus point for me. If I were to ever visit Boracay again, I would book somewhere else. But at only S$10 a night, it was really cheap.

After dropping my bag at the hostel, I went out at 7:20pm to search for food. The small road outside the hostel was flooded with water (rainwater, I presume) and I had to tread carefully on the sandbags placed at the side of the road. Not far away from my hostel, I saw a small pizza joint called Lola’s and decided to try it out. I was famished by then because I refused to pay for food onboard the Scoot flight. I ordered a 9-inch Hawaiian pizza (PHP 110) and a bottle of Coca-Cola (PHP 15), and the total cost was only around S$3.40. It was a simple meal but it did the job.

I then saw a roadside stall selling “satay” so I ordered one stick to try (PHP 20 / S$0.55). However, due to miscommunication, it turned out to be chicken intestines instead of chicken meat. It was tasty and quite nice, but I would have preferred chicken meat. Funny that they have pork meat on sticks but not chicken meat.

I then walked further and reached D’Mall, less than 5 minutes away. D’Mall is basically an open-air shopping street with restaurants, shops and services. It is located at the centre of the island and you will definitely pass through here at some point during your stay.

D’Mall leads to White Beach at Station 2. White Beach is the longest beach in Boracay, stretching for about 4km. It is arbitrarily divided into three sections – Stations 1, 2 and 3. They are so called because boats used to pull in at the three different stations but they no longer do so. The three sections are not demarcated so you won’t know when you are crossing over from Station 1 to 2 to 3. Orientation wise, Station 1 is up north while Station 3 is down south and Station 2 is in the middle.

As it was my first night, I decided to just recce the area and see what Boracay had to offer. I walked along White Beach up and down the three Stations. It was full of restaurants and bars, with a very lively atmosphere (read: commercialised). Almost all of the restaurants had outdoor seating on the beach, some of them with tables and chairs while the hipper ones had bean bags for you to laze on. As it was the off season, a good number of the restaurants were empty.

Entertainment came in the form of musicians playing in a band or guitarists strumming and singing away. Fire twirlers were the other popular draw, and they were really good. Those restaurants with fire twirlers tended to attract the biggest crowds.

Besides restaurants, there were also plenty of stalls selling beachwear and souvenirs. There were also touts offering massage services, where the going rate is PHP 350 for one hour. But one thing I noticed was that they were not pushy – if you tell them no, they will just stop pestering you. It is definitely super commercialised and not to everyone’s liking, but I didn’t really mind it too much. Maybe if I came during the high season, it will be a different story.

As you walk along the beach, you will see some sand sculptures bearing the word “Boracay” and today’s date. They’re very popular, with throngs of tourists crowding around each one, waiting for their turn to take a photo with it. I was initially reluctant to pay to take a photo with it because it seemed like minimal effort on the part of the sculptors and I felt they were making a quick buck out of it. But I eventually succumbed because I thought the photo would make a good memento for this trip. I paid PHP 20 and the person who collected the money helped me take a few snapshots on my mobile phone.

After that, I went around looking for a pub because I wanted to catch the English Premier League football match between Man Utd and Everton at 11pm. I thought I would be able to find one easily but it turned out that there was only one pub in the whole of Boracay that screened live EPL matches – Rumba’s at D’Mall. I learned that EPL does not have a big following in the Philippines. The nation is mad about basketball instead.

Rumba’s was full of Brits and they were watching the Chelsea vs Arsenal match intently. I found a seat by the bar and ordered a banana split (PHP 170) and a bottle of San Miguel beer (PHP 70, prices before 12% tax). That means a bottle of beer here is less than S$2.20 – how cheap!

After the match ended, a guy came up to me and asked me if there was going to be another match coming up. I told him that Man Utd-Everton was next, so he stayed on and we chit chatted. His name was Khalid and he is from Saudi Arabia. He had been to the Philippines 10 times but this was his first time at Boracay. Even though he hasn’t been to Singapore and doesn’t know much about us, he had a good impression of Singapore. He left after the end of the first half to go bar-hopping.

For the record, Man Utd won the match 4-0 but my happiness was dampened when I dropped accidentally my mobile phone face down from a height of about 1m. As a result, both the front and rear cameras were damaged. The phone still worked but I couldn’t take any photos, which was a total bummer.

I went back to the hostel after the match ended at 1am and had a restless night, especially when my bunk mates (presumably drunk) came back to the room at 3:30am and talked loudly, waking me up. That’s dorm life for you at a party hostel in Boracay!