Boracay Trip Report (4/16-18/2014)
I went to Boracay during Holy Week, which was suggested by the OP here. I wanted to provide an update to what OP provided and maybe an alternate view of Boracay and the value of going there. I am not going to repeat any of the information that OP provided in which I am in accord, but rather only if I have a different experience or accomplished things in a different manner (maybe this is obvious, but perhaps saying so will eliminate a few unnecessary questions).
Boracay is an hours flight from Manila, and about the same from Cebu. You’d likely be flying into Caticlan airport, taking a quick trike ride to the ferry port (25p per person), and then boarding a motorized catamaran for a perhaps 20 minute ride to Boracay’s corresponding ferry port (100 pesos per, plus 75 pesos port fee per person in both directions). There is also a big ferry with sleeper cabins (I think I heard 888 pesos was the price) for an eight hour overnight trip from Batangas City, in South Luzon (two hrs from Manila). Given the brevity of my trip, I flew in, and as it was Holy Week, I was fairly raped on the fare (280USD) for the roundtrip. Normal prices will be half of that or less, on either of Cebu Pacific, or Philippines Airways.
After getting off the cat in Boracay, there are more trikes to take you to your hotel or other accomodation. Note: We were met by an english speaking Philippino guy on the Caticlan (Aklan side) port and he seemed to be a licensed and legitimate guide. He actually escorted us from Caticlan airport all the way to our accomodations in the Philippines, and didnt request any money or fee. He was leaving when I stopped him to give him 100 pesos trip for his good service - mostly I think it was useful to make sure that none of the trike drivers tried to rip us off, though with the small trip we ended up in the same place no doubt.
The trike from the port, which is south of Station 3, should probably cost from 150-max250 pesos to get to an accomodation in Station 2 (closer) or Station 1(further) or on the Bulabog beach side of the island (about as far as Station 1). Total time is about 15-20 minutes depending on traffic, which can be heavy. If you’re travelling light, you can opt to take a motorbike taxi.
A side note on trips on trikes and taxis. Once you’re in the Station 2 or Station 1 area, very few if any trips except to the port should be more than 100, and most shouldn’t be more than 50 if your staying on the White Beach side (where Station 1 and 2 are) of the island. Figure one half for the motorbike taxis. Most of the time, I didn’t discuss the price with the drivers unless they brought it up, i just gave them an appropriate amount of money based on previous experience. Haggling (if its worth your time) is more than acceptable, such as with the trike driver that asked me for 150 to take me and one other passenger (a masseuse) from Station 2 to the Bulabog beach side (which is the windy side of the Island where all the kite-surfing and wind-surfing activity takes place) - I told him 100 and while he grumbled, he relented and of course a local would probably pay 20 or 40 for the same service.
I used AirBnB to book a small house - I visited Boracay with a dude I know from Shenzhen, a young Russian guy who wanted to learn to kite-surf. As a result of that, and that I hate noise when I am trying to sleep, we rented a small house a ten minute walk (two minute trike ride) from Station 2 on the Bulabog side of the island. Here’s the link to the place - its not a recommendation, as the place was OK, not great, though the view from the deck is incredible. It was up a very steep hill and it was not easy (though not terrible impossible) to get a trike or bike ride to station 2 (coming back always can). Walking the ten minutes back and forth from Station 2 just for a meal or otherwise felt like a bit of a waste of time, and a hassle, and probably wasnt worth the peace and quiet, and...the place borders a rooster farm, seriously, so my hope of peaceful quiet went out the window and in came a bunch of cockadoodle fucking-doos. There’s some kind of ironic joke there for a gamer in Boracay, but I’m too lazy to figure it out. Anyway, the roosters crow most of the day, and if you book outside holy week, there are many other choice on AirBNB. FYI we paid 115 per night plus the AirBnB service fee.
https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/2408678
My buddy did go kitesurfing twice, and he liked the location very much. He’s 24, though, and has little basis for comparison.
OK, enough about logisitics...
I thought that all in all, going to Boracay during Holy Week was a pretty big fail.
There were to be sure many many good to very good looking filipinas in Boracay during the few days I was there, as well as the usual (I’m told) assortment of attractive women from many other countries. Most notable were very feminine looking girls in bikinis from Scandinavia (seriously), and many Chinese tourists in groups (not necessarily tour groups though). A lot of these Chinese girls were, to me, very good looking and higher than the normal standard I’ve seen in China.
All that seems promising, but I found that for the reason for coming, ie.. the higher end filipinas, was definitely overrated. To be sure there were many too be found, but they were very coupled up or in family groups, or large mixed groups. There were a few groups of girls who I would have guessed were from Manila on holiday, but few and far in between, and I did a fair amount of walking and looking. I also saw several instances where girls in non-mixed groups would look at a foreign guy and a filipino girl (definitely guys who imported girls high end and otherwise for a boracay holiday) and clearly sneer at the girl, as if she was for sale. I also had one girl say to me as I looked at her and a friend walking by me on beach near Station 1, “Don’t even think about it.” At least that’s what I think she said, and I think it was directed to me.
When seated at any of the outside bars in Station 2, it was definitely evident that the approach would be akin to approaching in a club in the Ft. in Manila - I.e. a social circle approach that would require establishing value, overcoming stigma of foreigners in the PI etc. There was a lot of table activity at places like Epic (Station 2) where groups of upper-class Filipinos stayed in their own groups at tables.
I sensed zero girls gone wild type attitude that the local friends of the OP had mentioned. I didnt see a lot of these types of girls even drinking heavily. I did venture by Paraw, which was empty on Thursday, and looked in on Epic, which again looked like the same social setting as a high-end Manila nightclub. Cocomangas is a different beast, and I didn’t check it out, nor was my expectation that this was a place to attract wealthy filipinos as its also associated with sex tourism to a degree.
There are other girls in Boracay, but I didnt find the locals to be overwhelmingly friendly towards foreigners (or anyone) and I think it might be a lot easier to make some progress when there isn’t as much business activity.
Also, as I indicated on the unified Philippines thread, I tried to use Skout on Boracay, but it yielded gay dudes and ladyboys for the most part. Total waste of energy. FC also yielded very few active accounts in Boracay, and it didnt allow for separation of Boracay from Malay City either.
I wasnt without approaches, as I opened two girls from Shanghai the first morning I went out alone ( I arrived at 7AM, this was perhaps at 10AM). They were really practice-rounders though, nothing I’d put in any work on - I have spoke to them to practice my Chinese and out of boredom.
A funny incident happened in the restaurant Globy (a decent choice in Station 2) when I was with V, my russian friend. A bunch of Chinese came in, 5 girls in their twenties and one dude. V, who is fluent in Chinese and has a good understanding of Chinese culture, and I notice that three of the girls were quite pretty, though one was clearly the girlfriend of the guy. Anyway, we’d made eye contact with the group and then V tells the waitress (its lunchtime) to send them, especially a pretty girl in white, a plate of fruit. They were very appreciative on its arrival and we exchanged WeChat information and ended up drinking with them for several hours that night until the bars closed. Unfortunately it went no further than that (yet, as we have the two good looking one’s contact info, and they are from Fuzhou, a not soooo far city also in South China (Fujian province). But hence, that was the day that “Fruit Game” was born.
V, novice that he is, also pulled a few scandinavians but nothing really emerged for either of us than this.
Overall, I’d put down some of the troubles to general foreigner problems in the Philippines and suspicions of sex tourism, even in Boracay. Some of it is because during Holy Week, so many Filippinos come in groups from Manila, its actually likely that they could get caught if they tried anything with a foreign guy. I think as OP mentioned, it might be better to catch high-end Manila girls in Boracay when its not so crowded - they’re probably much less likely to get spotted by someone who knows them outside Holy Week. High end Manila is a small crowd, to be sure.
A few good things...
the kite-surfing looks amazing and the Bulabog side of the island is quite gorgeous.
White beach has some of the nice beaches I’ve seen, just way overcrowded with commercialization and lots of hawkers of crap who necessitate headphones. Also there are theives (usually little kids who cannot get into too much trouble, being sent out by their parents or older siblings).
The ocean was clean and pleasant on the White Beach side, like a huge bath. Sunsets are epic, and from the shore, looking away from the myriad restaurances, coffee places, and hawkers, out to the ocean, the sail boats off the beach do make Boracay look like paradise.
My suggestion would be (other than perhaps going to El Nido, which is a longer time commitment to reach but correspondingly less overrun by tourists) take a girl with you and go other than during holy week. HW makes it a see and be seen time for rich Filipinos, and as anyone who has spent time there knows, being seen by Filipino girls doesn’t include being seen with foreign guys.
I went to Boracay during Holy Week, which was suggested by the OP here. I wanted to provide an update to what OP provided and maybe an alternate view of Boracay and the value of going there. I am not going to repeat any of the information that OP provided in which I am in accord, but rather only if I have a different experience or accomplished things in a different manner (maybe this is obvious, but perhaps saying so will eliminate a few unnecessary questions).
Boracay is an hours flight from Manila, and about the same from Cebu. You’d likely be flying into Caticlan airport, taking a quick trike ride to the ferry port (25p per person), and then boarding a motorized catamaran for a perhaps 20 minute ride to Boracay’s corresponding ferry port (100 pesos per, plus 75 pesos port fee per person in both directions). There is also a big ferry with sleeper cabins (I think I heard 888 pesos was the price) for an eight hour overnight trip from Batangas City, in South Luzon (two hrs from Manila). Given the brevity of my trip, I flew in, and as it was Holy Week, I was fairly raped on the fare (280USD) for the roundtrip. Normal prices will be half of that or less, on either of Cebu Pacific, or Philippines Airways.
After getting off the cat in Boracay, there are more trikes to take you to your hotel or other accomodation. Note: We were met by an english speaking Philippino guy on the Caticlan (Aklan side) port and he seemed to be a licensed and legitimate guide. He actually escorted us from Caticlan airport all the way to our accomodations in the Philippines, and didnt request any money or fee. He was leaving when I stopped him to give him 100 pesos trip for his good service - mostly I think it was useful to make sure that none of the trike drivers tried to rip us off, though with the small trip we ended up in the same place no doubt.
The trike from the port, which is south of Station 3, should probably cost from 150-max250 pesos to get to an accomodation in Station 2 (closer) or Station 1(further) or on the Bulabog beach side of the island (about as far as Station 1). Total time is about 15-20 minutes depending on traffic, which can be heavy. If you’re travelling light, you can opt to take a motorbike taxi.
A side note on trips on trikes and taxis. Once you’re in the Station 2 or Station 1 area, very few if any trips except to the port should be more than 100, and most shouldn’t be more than 50 if your staying on the White Beach side (where Station 1 and 2 are) of the island. Figure one half for the motorbike taxis. Most of the time, I didn’t discuss the price with the drivers unless they brought it up, i just gave them an appropriate amount of money based on previous experience. Haggling (if its worth your time) is more than acceptable, such as with the trike driver that asked me for 150 to take me and one other passenger (a masseuse) from Station 2 to the Bulabog beach side (which is the windy side of the Island where all the kite-surfing and wind-surfing activity takes place) - I told him 100 and while he grumbled, he relented and of course a local would probably pay 20 or 40 for the same service.
I used AirBnB to book a small house - I visited Boracay with a dude I know from Shenzhen, a young Russian guy who wanted to learn to kite-surf. As a result of that, and that I hate noise when I am trying to sleep, we rented a small house a ten minute walk (two minute trike ride) from Station 2 on the Bulabog side of the island. Here’s the link to the place - its not a recommendation, as the place was OK, not great, though the view from the deck is incredible. It was up a very steep hill and it was not easy (though not terrible impossible) to get a trike or bike ride to station 2 (coming back always can). Walking the ten minutes back and forth from Station 2 just for a meal or otherwise felt like a bit of a waste of time, and a hassle, and probably wasnt worth the peace and quiet, and...the place borders a rooster farm, seriously, so my hope of peaceful quiet went out the window and in came a bunch of cockadoodle fucking-doos. There’s some kind of ironic joke there for a gamer in Boracay, but I’m too lazy to figure it out. Anyway, the roosters crow most of the day, and if you book outside holy week, there are many other choice on AirBNB. FYI we paid 115 per night plus the AirBnB service fee.
https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/2408678
My buddy did go kitesurfing twice, and he liked the location very much. He’s 24, though, and has little basis for comparison.
OK, enough about logisitics...
I thought that all in all, going to Boracay during Holy Week was a pretty big fail.
There were to be sure many many good to very good looking filipinas in Boracay during the few days I was there, as well as the usual (I’m told) assortment of attractive women from many other countries. Most notable were very feminine looking girls in bikinis from Scandinavia (seriously), and many Chinese tourists in groups (not necessarily tour groups though). A lot of these Chinese girls were, to me, very good looking and higher than the normal standard I’ve seen in China.
All that seems promising, but I found that for the reason for coming, ie.. the higher end filipinas, was definitely overrated. To be sure there were many too be found, but they were very coupled up or in family groups, or large mixed groups. There were a few groups of girls who I would have guessed were from Manila on holiday, but few and far in between, and I did a fair amount of walking and looking. I also saw several instances where girls in non-mixed groups would look at a foreign guy and a filipino girl (definitely guys who imported girls high end and otherwise for a boracay holiday) and clearly sneer at the girl, as if she was for sale. I also had one girl say to me as I looked at her and a friend walking by me on beach near Station 1, “Don’t even think about it.” At least that’s what I think she said, and I think it was directed to me.
When seated at any of the outside bars in Station 2, it was definitely evident that the approach would be akin to approaching in a club in the Ft. in Manila - I.e. a social circle approach that would require establishing value, overcoming stigma of foreigners in the PI etc. There was a lot of table activity at places like Epic (Station 2) where groups of upper-class Filipinos stayed in their own groups at tables.
I sensed zero girls gone wild type attitude that the local friends of the OP had mentioned. I didnt see a lot of these types of girls even drinking heavily. I did venture by Paraw, which was empty on Thursday, and looked in on Epic, which again looked like the same social setting as a high-end Manila nightclub. Cocomangas is a different beast, and I didn’t check it out, nor was my expectation that this was a place to attract wealthy filipinos as its also associated with sex tourism to a degree.
There are other girls in Boracay, but I didnt find the locals to be overwhelmingly friendly towards foreigners (or anyone) and I think it might be a lot easier to make some progress when there isn’t as much business activity.
Also, as I indicated on the unified Philippines thread, I tried to use Skout on Boracay, but it yielded gay dudes and ladyboys for the most part. Total waste of energy. FC also yielded very few active accounts in Boracay, and it didnt allow for separation of Boracay from Malay City either.
I wasnt without approaches, as I opened two girls from Shanghai the first morning I went out alone ( I arrived at 7AM, this was perhaps at 10AM). They were really practice-rounders though, nothing I’d put in any work on - I have spoke to them to practice my Chinese and out of boredom.
A funny incident happened in the restaurant Globy (a decent choice in Station 2) when I was with V, my russian friend. A bunch of Chinese came in, 5 girls in their twenties and one dude. V, who is fluent in Chinese and has a good understanding of Chinese culture, and I notice that three of the girls were quite pretty, though one was clearly the girlfriend of the guy. Anyway, we’d made eye contact with the group and then V tells the waitress (its lunchtime) to send them, especially a pretty girl in white, a plate of fruit. They were very appreciative on its arrival and we exchanged WeChat information and ended up drinking with them for several hours that night until the bars closed. Unfortunately it went no further than that (yet, as we have the two good looking one’s contact info, and they are from Fuzhou, a not soooo far city also in South China (Fujian province). But hence, that was the day that “Fruit Game” was born.
V, novice that he is, also pulled a few scandinavians but nothing really emerged for either of us than this.
Overall, I’d put down some of the troubles to general foreigner problems in the Philippines and suspicions of sex tourism, even in Boracay. Some of it is because during Holy Week, so many Filippinos come in groups from Manila, its actually likely that they could get caught if they tried anything with a foreign guy. I think as OP mentioned, it might be better to catch high-end Manila girls in Boracay when its not so crowded - they’re probably much less likely to get spotted by someone who knows them outside Holy Week. High end Manila is a small crowd, to be sure.
A few good things...
the kite-surfing looks amazing and the Bulabog side of the island is quite gorgeous.
White beach has some of the nice beaches I’ve seen, just way overcrowded with commercialization and lots of hawkers of crap who necessitate headphones. Also there are theives (usually little kids who cannot get into too much trouble, being sent out by their parents or older siblings).
The ocean was clean and pleasant on the White Beach side, like a huge bath. Sunsets are epic, and from the shore, looking away from the myriad restaurances, coffee places, and hawkers, out to the ocean, the sail boats off the beach do make Boracay look like paradise.
My suggestion would be (other than perhaps going to El Nido, which is a longer time commitment to reach but correspondingly less overrun by tourists) take a girl with you and go other than during holy week. HW makes it a see and be seen time for rich Filipinos, and as anyone who has spent time there knows, being seen by Filipino girls doesn’t include being seen with foreign guys.
I've referral links for most credit cards, PM me for them & thanks if you use them
Strip away judeo-christian ethics ingraining sex is dirty/bad & the idea we're taking advantage of these girls disintegrates. Once you've lost that ethical quandary (which it isn't outside religion) then they've no reason to play the victim, you've no reason to feel the rogue. The interaction is to their benefit.
Frequent Travs
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