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Boracay is just 35 minutes away
2008-04-16 16:55:00 The belief that getting a flight to Boracay during peak season weekends is close to impossible is a myth! And I realized that myself after flying to Boracay on several fully-booked weekend flights as a chance passenger.It was a hectic weekend. I found out last Thursday night that I had to be in Boracay Friday and Saturday night. But I already had commitments Saturday morning. So what was the solution? I was a chance passenger on the 3 p.m. SEAIR flight and that wasn't a problem. Then I was to risk being a chance passenger again for the 6:45 a.m. flight back to Manila the next day, hopefully to get to my 9 a.m. appointment in Makati. It's a good thing SEAIR has 35-minute flights to and from Caticlan.Then it was another SEAIR flight to Boracay on the same afternoon to catch another event in the evening. I had to be back in Manila on Sunday since I had to catch a flight to Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam on Monday!As planned, I got on the 6:45 a.m. SEAIR flight back to Manila and made it to my ...
By: Ivan About Town
Puka Beach in Boracay
2008-01-14 08:55:00 There's more to Boracay than White Beach. Yesterday morning, we were scheduled to go snorkeling and have a lunch picnic in Puka Beach. But since it was raining, that did not materialize. But we went to Puka Beach anyway and had lunch indoors at a nearby restaurant called Tesebel Ihaw-Ihaw.Puka Beach is named after the puka shells which are abundant in the beach. Puka means "hole" in Hawaiian and these shells are pieces of the cone snail shell and are so named because of the hole which occurs naturally in the shell fragment. They have been popular material for necklaces, bracelets and anklets and there are a lot sold by the beach.You could see nearby Carabao Island, Romblon which they say is the next big thing. I heard they are planning to build a better airport there to serve Boracay as well as the future development on Carabao Island.I didn't stay too long since I had to rush back to Manila while the rest of the group stayed behind. So after a souvenir photo, I left for the hotel...
By: Ivan About Town
Cocomangas Boracay delivers pizza!
2008-01-13 16:30:00 I was quite worried that I could not get a midnight snack from where I was. It was raining and walking to White Beach to get some grub was out of the question. The restaurants in Diniwid Beach were closed by this time as well. But there was no reason to fret since Cocomangas delivers pizzas up to 2 a.m. anywhere in Boracay!There were so many kinds to choose from. I asked the lady taking my order to give me a sampling of their best-sellers. But when I found out that their pizzas were the same price for all kinds (XL - PHP482, 16 slices; L - PHP360, 8 slices; and S - PHP228, 4 slices), I got an XL-sized Halo-Halo which was everything on it! And no, I didn't eat the whole pizza. I shared it with Abe, Anton and Lauren.Cocomangas PizzaTel No. +63 36 2884455
By: Ivan About Town
Microtel Boracay in Diniwid Beach
2008-01-12 04:36:00 Up to now, I can't stop raving about the chiropractic-approved beds of Microtel! I was able to get the much-needed quality sleep worthy of a grand vacation.As soon as the second batch arrived, we went straight to the ferry that would take us to Boracay. Remember, that there are fees you have to pay including an environmental fee and the terminal fee which has jumped from PHP20 to PHP50. Cabgan is the only gateway to Boracay after the municipal government prohibited the docking of boats at the various beaches to preserve their beauty. It may be an inconvenience for tourists but it's better that way so that the beaches remain pristine.We took a minicab from the port to Diniwid Beach where Microtel Inn & Suites is located. The only downside of this is we had to deal with all the exhaust from the tricycles. As soon as we arrived, we were given a cold towel, a shell necklace and a welcome drink. Since I was not able to sleep the night before which is usually the case when I have ea...
By: Ivan About Town
Butterfly garden at Seair Caticlan
2008-01-11 16:31:00 Since our group was divided into two flights, and I got pushed forward to the earlier one, we had to wait an hour and thirty minutes for the second batch to arrive. It was a good thing there was a new attraction at the back of the Seair office in Caticlan. So if you're killing time at the Caticlan Airport, check out the butterfly garden.
By: Ivan About Town
Church overload in Iloilo and Antique
2007-11-11 16:38:00 The day after the conference, we visited the towns of Southern Iloilo and Antique, my 59th province. From the hotel, we took a van and stopped by the towns of Tigbauan and Guimbal, which I was not able to visit during my previous visit, to check out their churches. We then proceeded to the UNESCO World Heritage Site, the Miag-ao Church and the cemetery chapel, also in the same town.In the next town was a National Cultural Treasure, the San Joaquin Church. But equally impressive was the well-preserved cemetery which has maintained its old and uncrowded look.From there, we drove down to Antique. But we stopped over first at the junction point called Tiolas to have lunch. I got myself an order of batchoy. From there, we took the road less traveled to the southernmost point of Panay Island, the town of Anini-y.The Anini-y Church was very much intact and I hope that it is declared a National Cultural Treasure soon. It was most definitely worth the visit.Our companions had to drive back t...
By: Ivan About Town
Hello Boracay!
2007-11-08 16:39:00 It was a spur of the moment decision. I was sporting a fever and a sore throat in the morning so I wasn't able to wake-up as early as planned. So I missed the early morning bus to Kalibo. I was thinking of exploring Aklan when I decided, what the heck, I'm on a bus that goes to Caticlan anyway, so why not ride until the last stop. So I did and I finally set foot on Boracay!At the ferry terminal, several fees were levied including a PHP50 environmental fee, PHP20 Caticlan Terminal Fee and PHP19.50 for the ferry ride from Caticlan to Cabgan in Boracay. It was just a few minutes and I was there in no time. I had booked a hotel with the help of the tourism office in the terminal. Since I didn't want to spend much, I got a room in a place called Villa de Oro in between Boat Station 2 & 3. For a non-aircon room, I spent PHP800 plus an 8% credit card surcharge (which I know shouldn't be but what the heck).I had my photo taken with one of the Boracay sandcastles which are done by e...
By: Ivan About Town
Seafood binge in Breakthrough Restaurant, Iloilo City
2007-11-06 16:24:00 I'm in Iloilo City again. I arrived at the new Iloilo Airport this afternoon from Cebu. Bernard met up with me there and we took a cab to the city proper. I wasn't feeling that well so after a brief stopover at the old Iloilo City Hall which is now part of UP Visayas, I went back to the hotel and took a nap.In the evening, Isa Silva and family took me to Breakthrough Restaurant in the Arevalo District for dinner. I'm not that fond of seafoods but it was a seafood binge for me. We had abalone sashimi, talaba and the pricey diwal shells for dinner among others. Everything is fresh and you can catch your dinner yourself. The restaurant is also by the beach so the breeze adds to the ambiance. After dinner, we had some dessert in Smallville.
By: Ivan About Town
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