Ever since we arrived in Seoul, many of our expat friends have been recommending Boracay to us. Certainly one of the Philippine’s most popular tourist destinations, this small 7 km long island is also known among the expat community to be a good value, fairly near Seoul, full of “sun and fun” activities…and for many foreigners here a welcome chance to communicate easily in English. Our helper, Rona, is from the Philippines and her family remains there while she lives and works in Seoul. During our years here, I have become increasingly curious about her home country, its culture, food, history and political climate under Duterte, but I’ve also been reluctant to vacation there knowing she can’t easily do the same. Zoe, who came to Seoul during her long SPS spring break, provided the perfect excuse for our visit since she could split her time in Asia between Seoul and a side trip to Boracay and relax after months of stress and cold weather in NH. Bill supported this plan as well so off we went in mid March 2018.
The flight from Seoul was an easy 5 hours to Kalibo and then we road by van for 2 hours to a small marina on the mainland just off of Boracay. A quick ride in a speed boat brought us to the Shangri-La hotel’s private dock. It was late in the evening for most of our journey so we couldn’t see much except the moon on the water and lights along the beachfront, but the tropical breeze felt wonderful and the beds that greeted us were mighty comfortable.
Sunrise brought soothing views of blue water and palm trees. The Shangri-La property is nicely landscaped and offers expansive views of blue water and gorgeous sunsets.
The Shangri-La’s breakfast spread did not disappoint our foodie “Zoe” and she eagerly dove into the fresh fruit, muesli, omelette, pastries…in fact, a bit of everything practically. We got a giggle out of the donut wall which was quite an attraction for the hotel’s “little” guests. The assortment of various honeys and fresh jams drew me in every morning, as did the Korean egg toast!
All around us we could hear snip-its of Russian, Chinese, French, Brazilian, but oddly no English. The resort was not very full which suited us just fine and we quickly slipped into “vacation mode”, donning bathing suits and headed to the beach. Since we had packed light in carry-on luggage and the sun was strong and our bodies pale, we quickly ran out of the travel size sunscreen. When I tried to buy more, I discovered the entire resort and dive shop was completely sold out of this essential item! For this sun-conscious “Korean” mama, this posed a MAJOR problem and so I decided to journey into town and procure a supply. Needless to say, Zoe and Bill had minimal interest in this “activity”. I left them dozing on lounge chairs with ear buds and took the hotel shuttle into the center of town.
The peaceful and remote setting of the Shangri-La, with its private beach and upscale accommodations, quickly gave way to a bustling tourist hub just 10 minutes away. The one lane road that led into the center of town was jammed with “tricycles”, the Filipino motorized version of a “tuk tuk”, motorcycles, cars and small vans. All of these vehicles together made quite a cacophonous sound and the exhaust fumes as we waited in traffic were less than pleasant. A sponge for anything “new”, however, I was engrossed in the scenes around me, taking in the brightly colored, western clothing, bounty of fresh tropical fruit for sale and English signage which was such a welcome change after living in Seoul. The houses and shops lining this main corridor were simple and obviously catered to tourists, many of whom are Korean so Korean BBQ restaurants were also aplenty.
I was dropped in the middle of a busy street and pointed towards what looked like an arcade of street shops with a police check point restricting access to whom exactly I couldn’t tell. I did know from talking with Rona, who avidly supports Duterte and his efforts to rid her country of drugs, that crime rates are high and I needed to be “on guard” a bit as I walked around. The police, however, didn’t seem to be checking anything as I passed by so clearly I didn’t pose a “threat”.
This area was akin to an outdoor shopping mall, with eating venues, clothing shops, bars, and lots and lots of tourists from countries all around the world. I found a drugstore, selected the sunscreen easily, but then learned I needed local currency to complete the purchase so had to go back out through the police check point, find an ATM, guess at the amount of Philippine pesos I needed, and then thread my way back to the pharmacy only to discover it had folded up for “rest time”, rolling down its bars. Again, being able to communicate in English made it easy to overcome this obstacle since I merely had to call out to into the shop and remind them of my earlier visit…not something I’m brave enough to do in Seoul. Sunscreen in hand, I wandered a bit more out to the main beachfront of White Beach, making a note that we should return in the evening to take in the views and nightlife. All in all, it was a good “recon” trip that clearly confirmed our decision to stay at the Shangri-La rather than in the center of town.
Zoe and Bill found the gym in the late afternoon; Zoe to train for lacrosse and Bill to provide “entertainment” for her as he jogged on the treadmill, shaking a bit more than he used to/should as Zoe pointed out. All three of us found the spa for a wonderful massage before a relaxing poolside dinner. The Boracay facial was particularly lovely and the use of honey to massage the skin around the eyes was a surprise but absolutely heavenly. Yet another Asian beauty trick to add to my growing repertoire.
We didn’t really do much the next day but slip further into vacation mode. We spent the morning reading on the beach and then ventured to the poolside cafe for lunch. Our waiter noticed Bill’s Duke Basketball cap and the two of them chatted college basketball for awhile, a treat for Bill who feels very far away from American sports, in fact so much so that he gave away his precious cap! The enthusiastic smile it brought to his face was well worth the loss. After a fair bit of convincing on my part and the “carrot” of a new bikini, I finally convinced SLUG #1 and #2 to go into town for some local fare and to get a sense of the real world vs. the Shangri-La cocoon. Before dinner we found a great bathing suit store and Zoe scored some cute new suits. 
When one needed a strap adjustment, a seamstress was summoned to pin, promising to have the work done by tomorrow morning in the true “pali pali” (quick quick) Korean style we love. Our Portuguese friends Sonia and Paul, who have been to Boracay numerous times for its terrific diving usually stay in the center of town, recommended a Spanish tapas restaurant which we found easily and shared a yummy paella.
After dinner, we strolled along the White Beach where there was plenty of night life and got a taste of why so many tourists flock to Boracay to vacation. The beach bars dotted with bean bag chairs, offering tropical drinks, reggae music and gorgeous sunset views were quite appealing, though we elected not to settle in and party with our 16 yr. old. Another trip perhaps….
By the next day, we had down shifted so much we could barely roll off our lounge chairs to eat lunch, let alone make it to the gym or do some gentle yoga. Bill kindly offered to take a tricycle to town in the morning to pick up Zoe’s altered bathing suit. He shot this brief video which accurately captures the noise pollution generated by these omnipresent vehicles.
Pollution in Boracay, in fact, reached such a critical level last spring that President Duterte ordered the closure of all of Boracay island to non-residents for environmental rehabilitation. Starting in late April 2018, the entire tourism industry in Boracay was shuttered while two new sewage treatment facilities were constructed, algae removed from the waters and the main road widened to alleviate traffic. Rona knows several friends who have been impacted by the closure and had to scramble/move abroad to find other jobs in the service industry. Perhaps this is the sole positive thing about Duterte’s authoritative rule of law? Rona has many upsetting stories about drug abuse and young kids sniffing glue so she is happy with President Duterte’s efforts to curb this industry as well. In fact, most Philippines I’ve met in Seoul support the Duterte and this reminds us to not always view the world from our American perspective.
A few last photos of some Shangri-La moments: Zoe and Bill found a giant Jenga game in the kid’s recreation room and made quite a racquet in the otherwise quiet resort. In fact, we made such a ruckus that the cute Korean couple who were probably on their honeymoon quickly fled the room mid-mancala game. I was laughing too hard to snap any pics of the mayhem that followed this set up picture.
We played several rounds of competitive ping pong, with Zoe ultimately prevailing much to Bill’s surprise. He quickly had to reassert his athletic dominance at the basketball arcade game, celebrating loudly each basket he made.
On our last morning, Zoe and I took out the resorts kayak for awhile, enjoying the calm morning before our return to reality.
On our boat ride back to the mainland, we saw lots of folks enjoying a sail at sunset and wished we’d chartered a ride on this pretty boats. Next time!
seoulfulsojourn.net 