Boracay, famed for it's white beaches and clear turquoise waters, certainly lives up to it's billing.

Getting there: 

Before we had the relaxing waves of Boracay roll over us, we had plans to get there in Amazing Race style and enjoy a triumph over the scores of other travellers (pointless competition, check). Your route will be as follows: airport --> tricycle to ferry pier --> ferry ---> tricycle (to your resort in Boracay). 

Top tip: after landing at Caticlan, you will need to register, and you can purchase all the tickets you need at the registration counter on the right-most side. The tickets required are the following: (i) tricycle to the ferry pier and ferry pier ticket: 75 php for both, (ii) environmental fee: 75 php, (iii) terminal fee: 100 php. Total: 250 php. 

When departing from Caticlan airport (even on domestic flights), you will need to pay 200 php per person in cash, so make sure to set this amount aside. 

Where to stay: 

The island map is roughly like this:

Most people stay at Station 1, 2 or 3. Station 1 has the more upscale places and Station 3 is developing in the same direction. I may be a bit biased but I'm convinced that Station 2 is the life of the party in Boracay.  This website agrees.

We stayed at Frendz Resort, located between Station 1 and Station 2. This resort really ought to have the tagline "There are no strangers here, only friends you have never met." Incidentally that is the tagline in the photograph near the locker area of the gym I go to. Amusing/inspiring/slightly creepy? You decide.

Anyway, back to Frendz Resort. Great place, located only a two minute walk away from the beach. So it's not a beachfront property but still extremely close. Lodging options are hostel dorms or private rooms in cabana-style living. Simple but clean. There is an air conditioning a fan option. The former will cost you 200 php more a night.  It is super hot in Boracay so we chose air conditioning. Wi-fi is available at the common area but also in the rooms located close to that area (like ours!).

The best thing about the place is the beach chairs provided free for the use of guests at Frendz (it kills me to use this spelling so many times). They also provide beach towels. 

The view from the beach chairs - pretty sweet right. 

If you're minded to make friends or travelling alone, Frendz is great! Within seconds of having our welcome drink (just juice, nothing fancy, but a nice touch), we were chatting with a German girl who was on her third trip to Boracay and was there for two whole weeks! 

What to do:

1.       Relax on the beach.

Obvs. Sunscreen and after-sun lotion are must-haves and can be purchased at D'Mall if you run out.  

The sunset on our last day was beautiful

Which in turn allows for beautiful pictures like this

2.      Beach activities.

If, like me, you suffer from the "itchy backside" syndrome and feel a constant need to DO THINGS and SEE THINGS, after a couple hours of lazing, you'll be raring to go. Thankfully, there is plenty to do in Boracay.

(a)       Paid activities  

·        From diving to ATV tours around the island to banana boat rides, to zorbing and sunset cruises and parasailing, to dragon-boating and stand-up paddling, the range of activities is amazing. After a very short while, you'll become well-acquainted with the gamut of activities, as beach boys will keep coming up to you to push their activities. Top tip: bargain! The sunset cruise started at a price of 6,000 php (whattttt?!) and got bargained down to 300 php. Zorbing started at a price of 1,000 php and went down to 600 php.   

·        Cliff jumping at Ariel’s Point! For more on this awesome activity, see my post here.  

·        Kitesurfing. My sis and I considered this but ultimately did not try it.  We spoke to our friends from Frendz and learnt that it takes around a week’s worth of lessons to be able to stand comfortably, whereas we only had 3 days in Boracay! Guests of Frendz get a discount at Hagabat Kiteboarding.  

·        Be a mermaid! You can rent a tail  from Fisheye Divers (Station 2), take photographs to your heart’s content (700 php for half an hour) or go for swimming lessons (1,500 php for two hours)! For more info, visit the website here. I saw a group of college students don tails and proceed to, without any sense of irony, star in an MTV of the Little Mermaid's 'Part of Your World’. One of the girls proclaimed loudly, ‘dreams really do come true!’. Sadly, not for me as my sister refused to be a mermaid with me and I didn’t quite want to be Ariel by my lonesome self. For the men, you are also welcome to be mermen – I saw this dad sweetly accompanying his little girl on her mermaid swimming lessons.

·         Get a massage. Options: massage on a beach chair for 200 php or inside a beach front establishment (much nicer!) for 350 php for an hour. They are likely to give you an opening price of 400/450 php but will not go below 350 php.

·         Yoga. There is something incredibly calming for mind and body about doing yoga on the beach.  Between Station 1 and Station 2 (closer to the Station 1 side) there is a lady who offers morning yoga classes on the beach (7:30 – 8:30am) for 500 php.  She lays mats on a towel, so your session will be sand free.  Or, if you are comfortable enough in your practice, you can simply practice yoga on your own.  Top tip: bring a lightweight large scarf instead of a beach towel if you intend to practice yoga.  The scarf is less likely to trap sand.  I tried both options (towel on the left, rolled up scarf on the right) and much preferred the scarf. 

·         Shopping! We would not be Singaporean if we did not like to shop. The amusingly-named D'Mall (think 'The Mall') is located at Station 2. This features a whole string of food options (which are significantly cheaper than those on the beachfront), chic boutiques and so many tourist shops that allowed us to get our kitsch on.

  

 A nice little boutique

My sis and I both somehow understood mall to mean an air-conditioned tower block but D'Mall is more of a cluster of shops down a network of small streets. Still for city slickers it is fun to be close to civilisation after a day at the beach. Importantly, if you're like us and prone to running out of money, there are money changers available.

There is also E’Mall, located at Station 3. This has a Mango outlet. Personally, I found the range of clothes rather small, and the discounts not too attractive, but we still managed to snag some items. E’Mall is, in my view, not as exciting as D’Mall as the shops are mainly touristy shops instead of little boutiques.

(b)      Free activities

·       Explore the beach. There is a rocky outcrop known as Willy’s Rock which is located around Station 1. As devout Catholics, the local people built a statue of the Virgin Mary and turned the rock into a shrine. It is extremely picturesque.

·       There is also self-conducted yoga, as mentioned above, or you can join the dragon-boaters in their fairly gruelling warm-up routine. We saw a tourist join in for kicks. He looked pretty winded after a while.  Or, you can generally frolic. 

If I could jump like this boy, I would never walk. I would just jump all the time.

What to eat/drink:

We LOVED Backyard BBQ (at D'Mall) for its pulled pork so much we went there twice. While we didn't eat the prawns the table next to us ordered them and they looked uh-mazing.  

For cheap eats, you can't beat Andok's Litson. It serves up decent (though not fantastic) Filipino fare for good prices.

Top tip: while coconunts (buko) are ubiquitious in Boracay, these are ESPECIALLY yummy when in the form of Buko Shakes (comprising coconut juice, flesh and milk blended together with some sugar). The health conscious can request for less sugar. The Green Buko which serves up the yummy buko shakes can be found at the front of '888 Seafood' within D'Mall.

There is a strange exhilaration that comes with putting your life in a controlled kind of danger. Obviously I don't mean freewheeling danger; that is both insane and not very much fun. I'm looking for terrific not terrifying. 

With the good kind of danger comes that great kick of adrenaline to trigger the fight or flight instinct. When you're standing on a ledge leading out to sea, looking at your toes peeking over the board into the gulf of nothing before the inevitable crash into deep water, this fight or flight instinct translates into JUMP or run back off the board.

Then comes the internal fight to steady your pounding heart and to convince yourself to take the leap. The other guys at Ariel's Point told me not to think so much, but I disagree. The thinking, even the wavering, is the best part. It is the struggle before the leap that makes surfacing after a completed jump feel SO AMAZING. Because you did it. Because you did it even though you were afraid. And that is a microcosm of what makes living worthwhile. 

My peace sign here hides the fact that I was rather scared even though I don't usually have a fear of heights. 

And.... LEVITATION. 

So, the sis and I headed to Ariel's Point,  a small island off Boracay with the requisite steep cliffs and deep waters to tempt crazies like us to go.

There are 5,10 and 15 metre boards. All guests are encouraged to test out the lower boards before going for the high one. This lets you get a feel of the water impact (spoiler alert: it kind of hurts if you don't jump right!).  Of course, crazies like us just had to go for the 15 metre board. My upbringing (or perhaps innate personality) tells me: if I can challenge myself I MUST DO IT. 

The most important part of the jump - besides having the guts to actually jump - is how to nail the landing. The best way to land is feet first - the feet are the toughest part of the body. I had all these grand ambitions of doing a karate kick jump or a dive. The latter I executed but ended up doing a partial flip and while I jumped in well (head-first) I must have over balanced as I hit the water squarely on my back and wound up gasping for air and in some degree of shock. Nothing too much to overcome, and when I hauled my sorry self back up, other concerned travellers asked me if I was okay - they heard the loud 'piak' sound as I unglamorously hit the water. So if you want to dive head first, make sure that you get a clean entry, also vertically, but with your hands.Don't let the first point of impact be your precious head!

That falling shape above is me, in what is probably the safest (i.e. least painful) way to jump, though it doesn't make for the prettiest pictures. Wrap your arms around yourself, and spring off, keeping your body vertical so you get a feet first entry. On my first attempt, I didn't sufficiently engage my core and ended up getting a butt-first entry. Very. Very. Painful. And I have the burst capillaries on my poor body to show for it. Not a good idea. 

After each jump, you have to climb up a little ladder, and a series of gentle steps to get back up. And if you're jumping from the 15 metre board, you'll have to do a little swim to get to the steps. Nothing too strenuous if you are an okay swimmer. 

The price is, like the cliffs, pretty steep: 2000 php (60 sgd) per person. But this price tag comes with free flow drinks, which include water, beer and spirits. I'm certain some people in our group made up that cost solely in alcohol! We tried to go easy on the drinks till after getting some jumps in though some people took the drinks for Dutch courage haha. It's best not to drink too much as cliff jumping is inherently dangerous. The briefing in the morning solemnly mentioned that "fatalities" were not covered. Thankfully, none of that happened that day. Not a broken anything in sight either. Bruises, though, another story. 

As a part of the package, snacks in the form of fruits and deep fried sugary sweet potatoes are provided, as well as a fantastic buffet lunch.

Us happily eating the bbq buffet lunch while our new friend reclines in a hammock after the morning's adrenaline rush. 

Following lunch, no one was mad enough to start jumping right away and the Ariel's Point folk know this, so they provide snorkelling gear and kayaks (included in the price). 

We did a couple more jumps each then called it a day. 

Leaving you with a last pic of an awesome jump! This guy still managed a vertical entry into the water after the backflips. 

----

To sum up our top tips for tourists: 

• Check out the Ariel's Point website
• Check if your resort can book an Ariel's Point trip for you, ours did. 
• If they can't, head over to the Boracay Beach Club (Station 1, map here)
• Total cost per pax: 2000 php. They only accept cash. 
• If you stay at The Boracay Beach Club, it'll cost you 1700 php
• Cancellation policy: cancellations before 0900 of the day of your trip will give you a full refund. Otherwise, there will be a levy of 500 php. 
• The boat to Ariel's Point leaves at 1130 and returns at 1630. The boat ride takes half an hour either way, so that gives you 4 hours of activity time.
• The Ariel's Point package includes: 
• Lunch (barbecue buffet) 
• Snacks (watermelon and deep fried sweet potatoes)
• Free flow drinks (beer, cocktail mixes and water) from the time you get on the boat, to the time you disembark 
• Snorkels (no fins) 
• Kayaks (both single and double kayaks) 
• CLIFF JUMPING (of course!)
• Tips for jumping: 
• Start with the lower jumps to build confidence. 
• Just walk up, take a breath and go! Lingering on the ledge or looking down will cause a loss of confidence. 
• Go in feet first. The easiest way to do this is the wrap your hands around your body, or to raise your hands straight up. Tighten your core and keep steady. 
• HAVE FUN!

This is the first post in a series detailing our March 2014 trip to Oslob, Cebu City and Boracay in the Philippines.

We headed to Oslob with hopes to see whale sharks. These gentle giants are filter feeders and can grow up to 12m (some say 14m!). Basically, we were super excited about the idea of swimming with creatures the sizes of buses. Their mouths are so wide they can fit a human being in sideways, but of course they don't eat humans so there is no risk of that. 

Oslob, a sleepy fishing village in Cebu, has been put on the map of adventure-seekers for the chance to swim with the whale sharks that congregate a very short distance away from the shore. The whale sharks gather every morning when the fishermen row out to feed them small shrimps. This feeding has stirred up its fair share of controversy (see this for some discussion of the controversy). As an alternative to Oslob, whale sharks can also be seen at Donsol but unlike Oslob, there is no guarantee of seeing the whale sharks there. We considered Donsol too, but felt that we would be heartbroken if we missed seeing the whale sharks and thus headed to Oslob. 

If you have considered all this and come to a decision to go to Oslob, then read on! This post is for you.

As for how to get to Oslob, the air-conditioned bus is strongly recommended! We took the non air-conditioned bus on the way there and had rain drops fall on us and had to squeeze (I'm relatively tiny and yet I found it squash!) onto small seats and through narrow aisles. For 5 php (< 20 cents sgd) the comfort of the big tour bus (which has complimentary movies!) is so worth it. Also, if you are alighting a slight distance away from Bgy Tan-awan, you may need to tell the bus driver where you are a couple times, as he missed our stop initially! Thankfully the bus inspector was onboard then and helped us to sort it out so we took the nice bus backwards (I insisted that this leg our journey was to be free) till we got to our homestay. I must say that in general,  Philippinos are pretty accommodating and friendly though there is still something of a language barrier in the more remote villages and a cultural gap in terms of the pace of life. The Singaporean in me kept wanting efficiency and to rush about so I had to tell myself this was no Amazing Race. 

My sis and I read that a homestay was the way to go for travellers on a shoestring budget and ours was a short distance away from Bgy Tan-awan. The hostels at Bgy Tan-awan are much more expensive, but we only found this out the hard way! There was a misunderstanding with the homestay booked on Air B&B (this was slated to cost 2700 php for 3 nights) and so we wound up at Brumini Beds & Beach Resort (which costs 2000 php for one night). This is why if you are on a budget, consider making Oslob a day tour so you don't need to stay the night. 

Brumini Resort is located less than 200m away from the whale shark watching site, and it offers a free shuttle to there. There are also eating places and souvenir shops located within Brumini's which is really convenient! There are adorable whale shark magnets and cute tee shirts to be purchased. 

Even so, not sure I'd recommend Brumini's as the rooms aren't cheap and our bathroom was constantly flooded. Also, you have to rent the cabanas by the beach! 

To see the whale sharks, try to get to the viewing point by 0630 (viewing starts at 0600). Our resort said that we should go at 0700 as there would be more whale sharks then and more light which would make for better photographs. I'm so glad we did not heed that advice, as the crowds started pouring in by the time we were done with our half-hour slot at 0700. If you go at 0630,there will be only 4 - 5 boats around and you will just miss the crowds. In the picture below you can see the crowd starting to gather as our boat leaves. 

When you get to the viewing point, there is a short briefing of less than 5 minutes:

Some of these rules are honoured in the breach e.g. the one that says people have to wear a life jacket at all times. However, some rules really should be observed, e.g. not to touch the whale sharks, as they have a protective layer around them that prevents them from infections and the like and touching them will remove this layer. Also, not to use flash photography. 

This is the little boat that brings people out to sea. 

The unflappable boatman 

Oh and bring along a underwater camera! You can hand these to the very experienced boatmen who will help you take the photographs. We brought along a go pro, which turned out to be an excellent idea as this allowed us to get photos of the full length of the whale sharks. And the high res pictures allow other swimmers to be cropped out while retaining a large enough image. Brilliant! 

I'll never forget my first glimpse of the whale sharks from the boat. Their huge shadows beneath the surface were incredible! 

And then, we launched ourselves off and started snorkelling! Snorkelling was a bit difficult for me as I kept going in too deep and ended up gulping down mouthfuls of seawater. Incidentally, the sea smelt extremely fish, or rather, shrimpy, from the shrimp the fishermen fling into the sea. I must have eaten my fair share of shrimp meant for the whale sharks. 

Also, the well-meaning boatmen will push you into the water the first few times so that you can get better shots with the whale sharks. Advice: get prepared to submerge yourself into the water as gracefully as possible. I ended up looking like a half-drowned sinker most of the time! 

If you're anything like me, after a few rounds of trying to submerge yourself, you'll be gasping for air, and you can hang onto the side of the boat to catch your breath before going in again! 

Each session lasts half an hour and is well enough for you to take photos and simply hang out (you can hang onto the sides of the boat while snorkelling so you don't exhaust yourself) and take in the beauty of the whale sharks. 

-------------
To sum up our top tips for tourists: 

The following steps will get you from Mactan Airport in Cebu to Oslob: 

• Catch a cab to the South Bus Terminal in Cebu City. This will take 30 mins and cost around 300 php. 
• From there, take a bus to Oslob. The buses start at 0430, try to get on an early bus to avoid the notorious Cebu traffic. 
• The bus journey takes 2 - 4 hours and costs 150 php for a non air-conditioned bus and 155 php for an air-conditioned bus. 
• If you want to see the whale sharks right away, tell the bus driver to drop you off at Bgy Tan-awan. 

For whale shark (butanding) watching in Oslob:

• The watching schedule is from 0600 to 1230
• To beat the crowds, plan to arrive before 0700
• The bonus of going early is that you can take a second slot if you ao fancy
• Each slot is a half hour block
• Cost for whale shark watching only: 300 php
• Cost for whale shark watching and snorkeling (inclusive of equipment) for foreigners: 1,000 php (for locals: 500 php)