Living in the outskirts of Quezon City, I (now) find a lot of places too far or too inaccessible to me. Nowadays, I often just venture out to places I can easily go to.
The same goes when I travel: I pick places that are either centrally located, near a transport hub (preferably a train station), or within easy access to the main purpose of my trip.
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Though school is definitely not out in the Philippines, it is on other parts of the world. Also, it doesn’t mean there’s no more time to have some fun during the weekend, right?
While in Boracay last May, my mermaid friend Ida, told us to check out the Shangri-La Resort in the island, where she was teaches swimming to hotel guests. She said the Alon bar has a nice view of the sunset, and seeing as how we’re such suckers for sunsets and dying for a chance to see the resort, we jumped on the next available shuttle van.
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The District Boracay has three food and beverage outlets: the Vigan Grill, Star Lounge, and Caruso Ristorante Italiano.
My first meal at The District was at Vigan Grill on the day of my arrival, and I was joined by the Ms. Naomi, the Resort Manager. As we wait for the food to arrive, we shared stories of travel and visa frustrations. When my order of grilled prawns and poqui-poqui arrived, I ask why the restaurant is named Vigan Grill. Turns out that the owners of the hotel are from Vigan, and wanted a taste of their home available in the island. I have to say, it’s a very welcome treat, specially if you’re looking for something different to eat in Boracay.
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Sometimes, things just fall into place. The plan was to hold off all travel plans to save money for a bigger trip, but the apprehensions and frustration I felt while waiting for word regarding my Australian tourist visa application resulted in an impulsive purchase of round trip tickets to Roxas City. If I didn’t get the visa, I might as well have a week-long holiday, I thought. Though my travel mate’s plans were only until Thursday, May 30, I opted to go the full week, since I’ll be taking a leave from work. I was thinking about my options, since I have four days until my flight home, when I received an invite for a 3-days, 2-nights stay at The DistrictBoracay. Now isn’t that just lucky?
Back in 2006, I couldn’t think of anyone who would want to travel with me for two weeks in Thailand. That’s why I decided to go alone. I love the freedom of doing whatever I want when I travel, seeing only the places I’m really interested in, eating where ever and whatever I want.
It’s very different now. Travel blogging has led the way for me to meet like-minded people, who are game to go when I think of a trip to make. That also meant I get to tag along with their trips. That’s how this trip came to be.
Much have been said about Carabao Island in Romblon, and it’s really as beautiful as people say. Just 45 minutes by banca from Boracay, it’s a refreshing change from the crowds and endless touts.
Boats from Boracay can cost you about Php 1,500 to 2,000 one-way, but the first offer you’l get from the boatmen would be around Php 4,000. You can do it as a day trip, but it’s best to have the complete experience by staying overnight.
Here’s something I never got to do while in Japan: stay in a capsule hotel. I am intrigued by the concept, but was dissuaded to try it when my friend Rotch said that it was geared towards short stays only — you need to check out and check in again if you’re staying multiple nights. So when I got an invite from Kabayan Hotel to try out their new capsule dorms, I jumped at the opportunity.
Last April, the nice folks of Pueblo de Panay took us to Roxas, to experience firsthand what the city offers. They timed the visit during the Capiztahan, the province’s annual fiesta. I was supposed to go to Capiz last December, but Toronto happened, so I was very happy that I got another invite to go.
Here’s what we did in Roxas on that weekend:
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