Pinoytravel

PINOYTRAVEL FEATURE
Boracay Summer on a Shoestring
C. Pascual

Summer is just around the corner and all we could think about is going to the beach! Of course, the first thing that we Pinoys think of when it comes to beaches is glorious Boracay. Check out our listing below of properties that we've looked up that would not burn holes in your pockets. Note: We picked rates for airconditioned rooms.

Property Name: Boracay Hills
Vicinity: Central Boracay
Inclusions: Daily breakfast for two, welcome drinks, taxes.
Rates: Php 2,662.50/room/night
Contact Info: hills@boracay.i-next.net

Property Name: Boracay Peninsula
Vicinity: Station 2
Inclusions: 3d/2n room accommodation (twin sharing), roundtrip transfers from Caticlan, daily American or Filipino breakfast, welcome drinks.
Rates: Php 2,900/person, Php 1,000/pax extra night
Contact Info: Hazel Jover, 0919-2199502

Property Name: Boracay Plaza
Vicinity: Station 1
Inclusions: standard room (good for two), daily breakfast.
Rates: Php 2,800/room/night
Contact Info: bplaza@boracay.i-next.net

Property Name: Club Ten
Vicinity: Between Stations 1 and 2
Inclusions: 3d/2n room accommodations (twin sharing), daily breakfast, roundtrip airport transfers, welcome drinks.
Rates: Php 3,300/person, Php 1,400/pax extra night
Contact Info: via

Property Name: Fat Jimmy's
Vicinity: Station 2, near D'Mall.
Inclusions: daily breakfast for 2, landtransfers for 2, sea transfers for 2, welcome drinks.
Rates: Standard Room: Php 2,500/room/night; Superior Room: Php 3,000/room/night
Contact Info: Jimmy at 0917-8454534

Property Name: Jony's
Vicinity: Station 1
Inclusions: daily breakfast, welcome drinks
Rates: Php 4,000/room/night, Superior room (good for 2)
Contact Info: jonys@boracay.i-next.net

Property Name: La Luna Court
Vicinity: Station 2
Inclusions: daily breakfast, roundtrip transfers from Caticlan, welcome drinks
Rates: Php 2,000/room/night, Standard room (good for 3)
Contact Info: Normeth, 0919-2024763

Property Name: The Lion's Den
Vicinity: Between Stations 1 and 2
Inclusions: welcome drinks
Rates: Standard: 1,500/room/night; De Luxe: Php 1,800/room/night
Contact Info: 0919-6836794

Property Name: Nigi Nigi Nu Noos
Vicinity: Station 2
Inclusions: 3d/2n room accommodations (twin sharing), daily breakfast, roundtrip transfers from Caticlan, welcome drinks, daily mineral water, complimentary internet use.
Rates: Php 3,950/person, Php 1,400/pax extra night
Contact Info: niginigi@pworld.net.ph

Property Name: Red Coconut
Vicinity: Station 2
Inclusions: 3d/2n room accommodations (twin sharing), daily American breakfast, airport/resort/airport transfers, welcome drinks.
Rates: Php 3,748/person, Php 1,768/pax extra night
Contact Info:

Property Name: Sandcastles
Vicinity: Between Stations 1 and 2
Inclusions: 3d/2n room accommodations (twin sharing), roundtrip airport transfers, welcome drinks.
Rates: Villa: 2,630/pax, Php 990/pax extra night; Standard Bungalow: Php 3,355/person, Php 1,355/pax extra night
Contact Info: rsvn@tribaladventures.com

Property Name: Tirol and Tirol
Vicinity: Station 2
Inclusions: daily Continental breakfast for 2, free playing privilege on the tennis courts.
Rates: Beachfront Family Room: Php 2,800/room/night; Nonbeachfront: Php 2,300/room/night
Contact Info: Eduardo Tirol at tirolnt@webinc.com

Property Name: Villa Paula
Vicinity: Station 1
Inclusions: daily breakfast, roundtrip transfers from Caticlan for 2
Rates: Standard: Php 2,500/room/night; Superior Room: Php 3,000/room/night
Contact Info: 0916-72027985

~Prices may change without prior notice. Rates not applicable for super peak season such as Holy Week, etc. Availabilities aren't guaranteed.

TRAVEL REVIEW
Puerto Galera, Going Ninja
C. Pascual

First and foremost, check the weather to see if it would be sunny on the day of your travel, as you wouldn't want to risk heading out to Mindoro's shark-infested seas on a bad-weather day. Go to the Tritran or Jac Transit bus station in Kamuning, near GMA and catch the earliest bus going to Batangas City-Pier. Fare going to Batangas is around P120 each, airconditioned and "video on board". I'm not really sure what time the first trip going to Batangas starts, but ideally, one leaves every 30 minutes (and I stress IDEALLY, 'cause some buses wait for a certain number of passengers before hitting the road, which could take more than thirty minutes). You have to be in the Pier terminal before 3 pm, as the last ferry going to Galera leaves at that time, sometimes not even, so it's safe to catch the 12:45-1:00 pm ferry. There are a couple of ferry companies that service the Puerto Galera route, bringing you to the various islands of Galera. We bought ferry tickets with Sabang Princess ferry for P110 each, and I'm telling you that the Sabang Princess ferry is not for the weak of heart (and tummy). It's a smaller ferry than those of the bigger companies like Blue Diamond or Blue Phoenix (tickets at P 140 each) whose ships are quite similar to the SuperCat units, but Sabang Princess brings you straight to Sabang Island and the others drop you off at the main port where you'd need to go through 2 jeepney rides or charter a banca to get to your island of choice. Speaking of islands there are a couple of "activity" islands that you could choose to stay in. If scuba diving or snorkelling is your thing, Sabang, Big Lalaguna and Small Lalaguna are the islands to go to, but if you're looking for some major R&R, the perfect "swimming" island would be White beach.

We stayed in Sabang, where accomodations range from P600-1,000+ per room, per night. The place we stayed in, called At-Can Inn, is a concrete studio-type room, big enough to accomodate 6 people comfortably. The airconditioned room comes with a small living room, kitchenette (complete with utensils, kalan and fridge), 1 queen bed with extra mattress, ceiling fan, bathtub and hot water. Not bad for a place that costs P800/night. At-Can has beachfront units too, but I think those units cost a bit more than the one we had, which is inside the compound, around a minute's walk to the beach. Sabang beach is not recommended to swim in, as boats and jet skis are parked by the shore, waiting to be boarded by dive enthusiasts. However, you could charter a boat going to White Beach, or, let the manong bangkero bring you to great snorkelling spots, like what we did.

We rode Manong Vergel's Mary Jane to Bulabog Beach, that has a small fresh-water stream by the shore where one can rinse off after a dip in the sea. SIDE STORY: While we were checking out the stream, we saw a lady washing clothes on one of the boulders sitting by it. I was reminded of those old Rosanna Roces (or every other "titillating") movies where she plays a probinsyana lass being peeped upon by a hayok manyakis. True to form, when she finished her laundry, she gathered her batya and palo-palo, and got on her paddleboat. I was half expecting the manyakis to pop out of the woodwork and ravage the paddleboat lady but of course, nothing of the sort happened. Movies imitate life only up to a certain point (and vice versa).

Anyway, after an hour or so of practice snorkelling, Manong Vergel called us back to the boat and brought us to Lima Beach. Lima is just a short, narrow rocky sandbar tucked in a corner of the island. The beach was a bit too rocky for me and the water is above your head after just a couple of steps, but put on your mask and snorkel and you'd be greeted by wonderful patches of gigantic corals teeming with marine life. I could go on and on about the beautiful underwater scene that would rival the best aquarium channel, but I'd rather you see it for yourself. Banca rental costs P1,000 roundtrip and P500 one way but after some haggling, we got the roundtrip banca ride for P800.

Restaurant meals on the island cost almost as much as the ones here in Manila, and mostly mediocre food at that. What I would recommend though, and not mind paying P50-70 per serving, is the banana shake. I sampled the banana shakes of at least 3 restaurants and every glassful is yumyumyummy. Since most of the resort owners are European or Australian scuba dudes with Filipina wives, menus range from Fish 'n Chips and Steak and Kidney Pies to Tapsilog and Inihaw. Be prepared to shell out P300-500 for a meal for two. We didn't get to explore the island much and I'm pretty sure that there's a cheap place to eat there somewhere, so if you discover one, please let me know. Most of the accomodations do have kitchenettes in them, so if you're looking for a cheap meal, you can buy the ingredients from one of the numerous sari-sari stores cum groceries in Sabang or peddlers for fresh seafood and cook it yourself. A bit laborious but it's easier on the budget.

The return trip is just as effortless and ferry schedules going back to Batangas are the same, with the last ferry leaving at 1:00 from either Sabang or main Puerto Galera port. Be sure to check the boat schedule beforehand, since some trips leaving Sabang get cancelled if the weather gets too wild and if that happens, you'd be told to proceed to the main port to catch the bigger ferries. When you get to the Batangas Pier, you'll find buses going to Cubao or LRT which you can board without prior reservations.

Going ninja during lean season in Puerto Galera is a heckuva lot cheaper than purchasing packaged trips being offered by travel agencies, and all you need to have is some money and a lot of good travel sense.

~all prices are subject to change without prior notice

PINOYTRAVEL TIP #2
Peak season for travel in the Philippines is mid-March to late May. Super peak season is Holy Week (this year it's April 5-11). Budget travelers, stay at home during these dates, as accommodation rates are surely astronomical.

PINOYTRAVEL REMINDER!
Feb. 8, 2004 is the last day of the PTAA Travel Expo 2004 in Megamall. Go there and take advantage of amazing travel promos!

PINOYTRAVEL TIP #1
Be sure to check out PTAA's annual Travel Expo this weekend at the Megatrade Halls. You might just get greatly discounted flight tickets and fabulous travel deals.