It was a spontaneous, last minute idea to leave the blistering cold of Seoul and head to the tropical beaches of Boracay. We bought the tickets for cheap with a last minute deal and were on a flight just two and a half days later. The sun and warmth were such a nice relief, but more than that, it was a much needed break from the city...
At the sandy beaches and in the truly perfect water are where we spent most our time. We didn't care much about the place we stayed at, so we rented a cheap bungalow room just a few paces from where the water meets the land. Our goals for this trip? To relax. And relax we did, with the froofiest drinks possible, our separate Haruki Murikami books, and not enough sunscreen. The drinks were good, and so so cheap... so we made sure to try a whole plethora of them! Lining the length of the long White Beach were beach bars boasting nearly all day happy hour specials with dollar drinks. We like this.
The sky was refreshingly big out there on the island. To see a horizon was a sight for sore eyes! We spent hours simply gazing at the sky and sea and the boats that dotted the expanse. The sunsets were remarkable, I mean, aren't all sunsets pretty remarkable? We would stare until our eyes hurt at that clear passing of time.
One street in from the busy, tourist center of White beach is the real life of Boracay Island. The streets are chaotic and full of darting tricycle traffic. The homes are humble and small, displaying the days wash outside on the laundry lines. The people are busy going about their day as if the stillness of the travelers dream is not just a minutes walk away!
We walked across the island, right at the middle, to reach Bulabug beach on the east coast. A wind surfers dream! It is a quiet, less developed beach than across the way, with gusts of heavy wind to propel those thrill seekers that seemed to congregate at the little beach bars/surf shops.
More from White Beach:
Being such a busy tourist destinations and considered to be one of the top ten beaches in the world, there is a myriad of foreign food options available to suit all nationalities. And it's proper food, generally true to it's ethnicity, thanks to a solid expat scene.
And oh... the stars. I love the stars and the moon and the sun, of course. They are more then just points of light to look at, they are mysterious other worlds that fuel my imagination and feed my love of nature and desire for knowledge. There were so many stars each night, being as we were so far from the city lights. We sat for hours on the beach talking about the stars and the moon, and were lucky enough to see the moon set over the water each night. It was only a few short hours after the sunset and following the same path as it lowered in the sky and illuminated the water in a line that ran straight towards us. We felt lucky for this.
We set out early one day to head to the very north of the island to our destination: Puka Beach. We hired a rickety tricycle and went on a pretty and refreshingly windy fifteen minute ride along the curvy streets, catching even more glimpses of what life is like on that island.
Puka Beach was not altogether deserted, but it was a huge relief from the hordes of travelers that didn't generally venture away from the main stretch of White Beach. So we were pleased to have made the trip. The water was a bit choppy, with nice waves to play in, and that we did! There were just a small number of humble beach bars, made from bamboo and palm, and local children chasing dogs up and down the beach. We stuck around for hours, swimming and playing in the sand, relaxing and filming videos. The sunset was, as usual, incredible. Exceptionally incredible. Isn't it true that a camera can seldom capture that beauty? I wish it could, so I could share those colors with you all, for these photos just do NOT do it justice.
Our final day there we were glad to have a solid cloud cover to save our poor sunburnt skin and even some cool rain to swim around in. There's something fun about swimming in the rain, and the waves seem to grow stronger and larger when a storm approaches... what better reason to stay in the water! I love to swim, I think I was meant to be in water. I find it hard to leave, and even as I feel tired from the long swims I often turn and dive back in when I am already almost fully out of the water. Pisces = fish. Go figure.
And it wouldn't be complete without a dinner of the freshest catch! We chose prawns; jumbo, juicy prawns. You can see our dinner there, bottom row. Thanks shrimpy for feeding us so well...
For a trip we were not planning on it felt like a treat to us, so random and out of the blue. Our life is good if we can live like this! And there is much more adventure quickly around the bend for us, back to the islands in less than a month! I could get used to this....
love love love
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