Boracay and Cebu top popular beaches list

Yahoo! Travel came out with a list called The Most Popular Beaches of 2007, the ten top-rated beach destinations by Yahoo! users last year. And look what we have here:

1. Boracay Island, Philippines
2. Nassau, The Bahamas
3. Cebu, Philippines
4. Phan Thiet, Vietnam
5. Montego Bay, Jamaica
6. Phuket, Thailand
7. Cozumel, Mexico
8. San Diego, California
9. Honolulu, Hawaii
10. San Juan, Puerto Rico

Philippine beaches are on a roll! Travel + Leisure in their January 2008 issue included the Miniloc and Lagen Island hotels in El Nido in its list of 20 Favorite Green Hotels, "conservation-minded places on a mission to protect the local environment." The magazine cited the active participation of the El Nido resorts in protecting Palawan's giant clam gardens and supporting the re-introduction of endangered Philippine cockatoos.

Conde Nast Traveler recently selected Palawan's sugary beaches, coves and islets as the tourist destination with the best beaches in Asia. While the sunken Japanese warships of Coron island are included in the top 10 best scuba sites in the world of Forbes Traveler.

Bahamas: Lomo in Paradise Island & Nassau, Bahamas

Since Nassau, Bahamas is sandwiched in between two of our great beaches in the best beaches list, I'm posting photos taken by my younger sister Ria in Paradise Island and Lighthouse Beach in Nassau the other week. She's my first guest poster in the blog.

The beaches were beautiful -- blue green water, fine white sand, huge waves in some areas. I was also surprised how the Bahamas looked like a beach area in the Philippines. There were coconut trees lining the beaches and roadside, handicraft and bead shops everywhere, and locals offering hair braiding.

My hotel was right across what is called, Lighthouse Beach (so named because there's a view of the lighthouse in neighboring Paradise Island). From there, you can just walk to downtown Nassau where there's a lot to see -- the pier where the big cruise ships dock, Straw Market (the Bahamas version of our tiangge selling souvenirs, straw and wooden crafts, Bob Marley bags and shirts, rasta hats, and even the usual DVDs and some knock-off bags made in China), Bahamian historic sites, shopping, shopping for jewelry and diamonds, and a choice of local restaurants and fast food chains. US dollars and Bahamian dollars are accepted interchangeably on the island because the exchange rate is US$1 = Bahamian$1.

The locals spoke with a "rasta" accent and the drivers would play some reggae, Bob Marley type of music in their cabs. To get to Paradise Island, you can just ride a taxi or a ferryboat. There's a big hotel/resort/amusement center over there called Atlantis -- casinos, giant aquarium, beach front, etc. The beach in Paradise Island is beautiful as well and the waves are huge. The birds weren't afraid of the people on the beach and would just be hovering nearby. Bottom line, Bahamas is beautiful.

Diana camera 151, Agfa RSXII 120 slide film, cross processed. More photos here.

Lomo LC-A, Agfa Precisa 100, cross processed. More photos here.

Boracay: Puka Beach in Boracay

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 to get my stuff ready for the trip back.

In Boracay were: Abe Olandres of Yugatech, Lauren Dado of Flail at Life, Noemi Lardizabal-Dado of Touched by an Angel, Anton Diaz of Our Awesome Planet, Eric Dormido of Byahilo, Gail Villanueva of Kutitots, Marc Villanueva of SheeroMedia, Melo Villareal of Lakbay Pilipinas, Eugene Villar of Lakbayan, Karla Redor of RockersWorld, Ferdinand L. Decena of En Route and Fernando Martinez of ShutterBox. Thanks to Anton for the photo!

Boracay: Microtel Boracay in Diniwid Beach

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 early morning flights, the first thing I did when I got to the room was to check out the famous Microtel bed.

The group had lunch at the hotel restaurant and since everyone was tired, it was free time for the afternoon. While the rest of the bloggers walked to White Beach, I found myself in lala land. And I blame it on the bed! At least I was able to get some sleep.

Anyway, I was up just in time for the sunset. We played some games at the beach before dinner. And after dinner, I was back in lala land again. I had asked the bloggers to wake me up if they were going out but since it started to rain, everyone decided to stay. And the next thing I knew, it was 12 midnight.

Microtel Inn & Suites Boracay
Diniwid Beach, Malay, Aklan
Tel No. +63 36 2884311
Fax +63 36 2884312
Mobile +63 917 7165004
E-mail boracay@microtelphilippines.com

Boracay: Hello Boracay!

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 enterprising locals. After settling down, I went for a swim while enjoying the Boracay sunset. I had dinner in the resort and then walked all the way to Station 1 to check out the night scene. There weren't that many people since it was a weekday and the sembreak was already over. It was amusing seeing ATM machines and a Smart Wireless Center amongst the numerous bars, restaurants and resorts in this world-famous white sand beach.

I decided to sleep early since I still wasn't feeling well but was roused later in the evening by my sore throat. Since I was hungry, I decided to go for a snack and settled for a burger and fries. There are so many establishments open 24 hours and every possible need you could think of is conveniently available on this beach.

The next day, I had to leave early to catch the opening cocktails of the 2nd Seminar on Philippine Towns and Cities in Iloilo City. I made a brief stop in Kalibo to check out the heritage structures then it was off to Iloilo City. More photos in Multiply.

Biliran: More waterfalls in Biliran

Biliran is an island province at the northern tip of Leyte. And just like Samar, it's connected by a bridge so there's no need for a boat ride.

From Tacloban, I took a van to Naval which was about 3 hours away. I took some photos at the Biliran Bridge. They don't make infrastructure with character nowadays. If there's one thing I liked about Marcos, he made infrastructure grand such as the San Juanico Bridge, and not like the ugly, kitsch infrastructure our current DPWH churns outs.

The next day, I took a habal-habal ride to Tinago Falls. The drivers charge so much here in Biliran, it's so difficult to get to these out-of-the-way places without creating a big hole in your pockets. The local government should enforce standard rates to get to these places to save tourists from the hard-bargain, especially since they are vigorously promoting their many attractions which are most definitely worth the visit.

There are more waterfalls such as Casiawan Falls, Casabangan Falls, Bagongbong Falls, etc. and the Mainit Hot Springs in Caibiran. Just like Camiguin, they also have a sandbar in Higatangan Island here in Naval. I'm saving them for my next trip. The weather cooperated with me while I was in Biliran since the sun was out. But when I got back to Tacloban, it was raining again. More photos in Multiply.

Eastern Samar: Overnight in Borongan, Eastern Samar

They call Borongan, Eastern Samar the City of the Golden Sunrise. I finally arrived there after a four-hour van trip from Tacloban City. I asked the van to drop me off at the beach house of my brod, Councilor Jesse Solidon, where I was to stay for the night.

After getting settled, we took a pump boat to nearby Divinubo Island where they are currently organizing an eco-tourism project among the locals.

Aside from it's white sand beach, I was told that behind the island (the side facing the Pacific), there were caves as well as a light house. But since it was getting dark, we could no longer hike to that side. What is peculiar about the island is that during low tide, you can walk to it since a land bridge of coral rocks emerges. This I saw for myself the next morning.

Borongan has a lot of potential as an eco-tourism destination. It's a good place to invest for surf camps. In fact, locals were surfing when I arrived. There are several waterfalls in the city inlcuding Tres Marias, Masakpasak, Hinahanginan, Binabalarawan, Cansoriyaw, Mono, Pangi, Tagpuyucan, Bihid, Kaputian and Tumaligis Falls. There are several caves to explore too. You can also go white-water rafting (that's if you have your own raft since no one has set-up there yet). And I was told the coral reefs are also worth the dive.

I slept early since I literally did not have any sleep the night before. Although I got to enjoy some of the night scenes of Borongan such as watching crabs crossing the street or fireflies light up a nearby tree. The next day, I visited the historical core of the city. I passed by the monument and ancestral home of the local revolutionary hero Major Eugenio S. Daza, as well as the Borongan Cathedral and the Santiago Monument in front of it. Sad to say, the old Borongan Church was demolished a long way back and what's left of it is its circular belfry. There are only two other places where I've seen circular belfries namely Tumauini, Isabela and Mexico, Pampanga. But just like Borongan, Mexico's old church is gone.

Anyway, we proceeded to the town of Guiuan one hour south of Borongan, which is at the southern tip of Samar Island.

La Union: Surf's up in San Juan, La Union

I just came back from a great weekend in La Union. I trooped to the San Juan Surf Resort with my brods and other surfer wannabes on Travel Factor's Surfvivor Surfing Tour. We left McDonald's El Pueblo at 12:30 a.m. on three vans loaded with surfing beginners. It was a coincidence that my China-ASEAN batchmate Carly and her friends were also going.

I was so tired and sleepy, I slept all the way. The only thing I remember was the 4 a.m. breakfast stopover in Jollibee Urdaneta. We arrived in San Juan a little before 7 a.m. As soon as we got the keys to our room, we slept.

Tikoy, the organizer, woke us up at about 9:30 a.m. to ask who wanted to join the first group. It may seem short, but the one hour lessons are exhausting. Some of us joined the first group while I took photos. I went for the second group later in the afternoon at 3 p.m.

Training us was Luke Landrigan and his pool of locals who gave us one-on-one lessons. I was elated since I managed to stand up on the board this time around! We decided we wanted more so we scheduled another hour the next morning.

Dinner was at Midway Grill in San Fernando, LU. It was value for money! Burgers and fries were priced at PHP39, while bottomless iced tea at PHP29. For dessert, I got the oreo brownie split for P120. Yummy! If you're on your way to Ilocos, this is a great stopover for lunch of snacks.

Later in the evening, we had drinks in the bar area of the resort with our friends. We got to sleep at 3 a.m. which is a wonder how we managed to wake up in time for the optional morning surfing lessons. After check out, we had lunch in Midway Grill again. Check out the Travel Factor and San Juan Surf Resort websites for more information.

Sarangani: Old houses and powder-white sand beaches in Glan, Sarangani

The next day, we drove to Glan, one of the southernmost municipalities of the island of Mindanao (Jose Abad Santos, Davao del Sur seems to edge it out by a few meters). In the town proper, we checked out the old houses which are mentioned in the DOT website. They have intricate wood designs but sadly, most if not all, have been neglected. The local government should do something about it since old houses in Mindanao are quite rare nowadays.

We then proceeded to Barangay Gumasa further down south to check the powder-white sand beach. Yes, you read it right, powder-white sand. It could be the next Boracay if the local government plays its cards right.

After a few hours of swimming, we drove back to Gen San to catch our flight back to Manila. But we passed by the provincial capitol in Alabel first to meet some officials.

Back in Gen San, we had lunch at Nadie's Chicken Restaurant. Then after fixing our check-in luggage which was all fruits, we went to the airport. I had 26 kilos of fruits with me. Even if I paid for excess baggage, it still came out way cheaper! I got lansones and suha at PHP25 a kilo and mangosteen at PHP30 a kilo.

Guimaras: Island-hop to Guimaras

For our last day in Iloilo, we decided to visit the island province next door, Guimaras.

We were at the Ortiz Port near Ateneo de Iloilo at about 9 a.m. and from there, we took a 15-minute pump boat to Jordan for PHP11. We had arranged for a minicab to take us around for PHP1000 (they have rates at the tourism office at the port based on distance) since you need to have your own vehicles to check out the sights.

Our first stop was the OLP Trappist Monastery in Jordan where one could buy various products, mostly made from mangoes, such as jam, yema, candies, tarts, bars, piaya, and many more. We then proceeded to Alubihod Beach in Nueva Valencia for a swim in the waters of Guimaras. Don't worry about the oil spill since it's in a different part of the island.

After an hour of swimming, we were off to the Navalas Church in Buenavista, the oldest Church in the island. Although the facade is perfectly preserved, the other parts are totally gone (walls and interior) as a result of renovations by several priests (as always). Why can't they just preserve these old churches, especially since this seemed to be the only one in Guimaras.

Nearby is the Roca Encantada Heritage House owned by the Lopez Family. We were lucky enough to be given permission to enter the premises. From afar, I thought it was a modern vacation house until I saw the marker. I could not understand how this modernized house got the seal of approval of the National Historical Institute for Heritage House. There are fewer traces of the original features of the house. With all their wealth, I hope the Lopezes restore even just the exterior of the house back to the way it looked before so that it lives up to the prestige of the NHI marker. I also hope they install the marker in a better way since it was just attached to a piece of wood. Markers like these should be screwed to a hard surface like a wall.

But the setting of the house was so picturesque with the balconies offering a 180-degree view of the sea, Siete Pecados Islands and its lighthouse, and the nearby islands of Panay and Negros.

We had to rush back to Iloilo City since we had one last stop, Breakthrough Restaurant in Arevalo District, which is very popular for its seafoods. It was a treat of Danya's family. After a sumptuous feast, we made our way to the Iloilo Airport in Cabatuan. This new airport shames our crummy Manila Domestic Airport. And mind you, we paid a terminal fee of PHP30 compared to the shabby Manila Domestic's PHP200.

Iloilo & Capiz: Seafood binge in Capiz

I flew to Iloilo today to attend tomorrow's launching of the Ateneo Alumni Association - Iloilo Chapter. Our flight arrived at the new Iloilo Airport in Cabatuan, Iloilo at 6 a.m. We decided to proceed first to our hotel in Iloilo City to drop off our stuff.

Since Sta. Barbara and Pavia were along the way, we decided to pass by to check out their churches. We had to pay PHP200 for a taxi since the new airport is several towns away from Iloilo City.

Before proceeding to the bus station for Roxas City, we had batchoy for breakfast at Ted's. The bus to Roxas was about two hours and costs PHP113. We arrived at 11:30 a.m. and went straight to the Baybayon Seafood Plaza in Baybay Beach to savor the seafood. Capiz claims to be the Seafood Capital of the Philippines.

The food was great and really cheap! We were shocked our bill was just PHP334. The small batya of talaba (oysters) was just PHP25; scallops were PHP5 a piece; the big pusit was just PHP40 a stick; cagaycay (shells) for the soup was PHP35; the slice of blue marlin was PHP80 and the kilawin was just PHP25 a serving. The non-seafoods include pork barbeque at PHP10 a stick and tayuba (liempo) at PHP35.

From Baybay, we took photos at the center of Roxas City, where you can find the Capiz Provincial Capitol, the Cathedral and Panublion Museum, a water tank which was converted into a museum. We then took a jeep to the town of Pan-ay to check out the church and the largest bell in Asia (the third largest in the world). The Pan-ay Church is a National Cultural Treasure and National Historical Landmark.

We then went back to Roxas City, and took a bus back to Iloilo City. Traffic was bad when we got back so we didn't have much time to rest before dinner with the Ateneo alumni. My SSEAYP batchmate, Winwin Sanchez, dropped by the hotel to say hi. Then the group of Tito Chito Tinsay, Danya Jacomille and Pam Go arrived to pick us up for our dinner at the Mango Tree Restaurant, owned by Ateneans as well.

The ambiance of the restaurant was great. They have a large garden at the back which one could use for functions. Don't forget to try out their sizzling bulalo steak and their frozen mango iced tea which I liked very much.

If you thought the night was over, it wasn't! The group proceeded to Smallville to hang out. Smallville rocks! This is the new hip nightlife area of Iloilo City. We didn't stay up too late since the launch was the next day. More photos in Multiply.

Marinduque: Hiking up Mt. Malindig in Marinduque

I climbed another mountain today. Mount Malindig is the highest peak in Marinduque. For a second climb, I was told, Malindig was something. And imagine, my first was also a Level 2. What a consoling thought for the blisters I got!

From the Buendia LRT Station, we took a Jac Liner bus to the Dalahican Port in Lucena, Quezon (PHP193). I was with Gideon Lasco and Sharif Gonzales. Sai Sicad followed, taking a bus from Cubao. Our bus arrived at the port just in time for the 2 a.m. departure of the ferry to the Balanacan Port in Mogpog, Marinduque (PHP125). But Sai arrived a minute late (we actually saw his tricycle arrive at the port as our ferry pushed away) so he had to take the 3 a.m. ferry to Sta. Cruz, Marinduque. So plans changed and we met up with him there.

We arrived in Balanacan at about 5:30 a.m. Vans were waiting outside and we took one to Sta. Cruz (PHP70) to meet up with Sai. At Sta. Cruz, we had breakfast at Rico's Inn and checked out the old church. The church and retablo was intact. From there, it was a jeep to Torrijos where we took a jam-packed tricycle (there were ten of us including the driver) to Brgy. Sahi in Buenavista, the jump off point for Mount Malindig. Just look for the tricycles to Malibago and ask the driver to take you further down the road to Sahi.

The forested volcano of Malindig, previously known as Marlanga, is located at the southern tip of Marinduque. The climb is usually 1 hour and 30 minutes. But with me around, it took 3 hours to get to the base camp which is about 900 meters above sea level. Unlike the Pico de Loro climb which was rainy, muddy but forested, the Malindig climb was scorching hot with no trees to give us any shade. but the views were fantastic such as the Tres Reyes Islands named after Melchor, Gaspar and Balthazar.

We wanted to be back down before dark so that we could pass by the Malbog Sulfur Springs so I decided to stay behind at the base camp (to speed up things and to recharge) while the rest went up the summit which is 1,157 meters above sea level. There's no view up the summit since it's covered by thick forest growth. The best view is from the base camp where according to Gideon, you could see many the major mountains in Southern Luzon including those in Romblon, Mindoro, Batangas, Laguna, Quezon and the Bicol Region.

Our descent took just an hour. Back at the jump-off point, we took a tricycle to the springs in Malbog. We had to cross a small river to get to it. The group only stayed for a while since we wanted to be in Boac before it got really late.

On the way to Boac, we stopped at the town of Gasan for dinner. I was surprised to see some good places to eat. We picked an Italian sounding restaurant which did serve pasta and a variety of American and Filipino dishes. It was value for money since I got pasta for three (the menu says good for two) for just PHP70! Everything was so cheap. We also got ourselves some tuba to drink at the beach house.

For the night, we stayed at the private beach house of Lizel, Sharif's girlfriend. The last photos are some experiments I made with my camera. Those are night shots, quite dark when I took them, but with super long exposures. See the stars?

Part 2: Boac and its architectural heritage

Technorati Tags: mogpog, santa cruz, torrijos, buenavista, gasan, boac, marinduque, philippines, beach, mountain, volcano, travel, travel blog, heritage