During my almost 1 month stay in the Philippines, I had the opportunity to visit the internationally acclaimed Philippine tourist destination, Boracay Island. Known for it's white sand beaches, scuba diving, water sports and luxurious resorts at afforadable prices, Boracay Island is easily found in a variety of top 10 best beaches lists on the internet. This trip to the Philippines as a whole, is easily one of the most unforgettable experiences I've ever had. There's so much the country my parents came from has to offer. Believe it or not, this island is one of MANY islands in the Philippines that have this much paradise to offer -- if not more! Although this may seem like the impossible...it's a dream of mine to explore more islands of the Philippines. Here are pictures from my stay in Boracay -- enjoy!


My trip from Cebu to Boracay involved 5 modes of transportation. I took a taxi from my hotel to the Mactan airport in Cebu. From there the flight was about 40 minutes to Kalibo City, Aklan. From Kalibo we rode a van for about an hour and a half to the boat docks. From the docks, it was a 10 minute ride to Boracay. From the Boracay docks, it was a 10 minute pedicab ride to our hotel. Was I being cheap? No. This is the ONLY way to get to Boracay. In the near future, South Korea will create an airport on the island so Korean tourists won't have to rough it to Boracay. Personally, you can't find an area on that island big enough to accomodate a small airport. If you can, then you'd have to destroy a lot of nature that the Philippine government is working hard to preserve. Wusses. Where else in the world can you travel like this?




Mom on the boat ride to Boracay.

We're here...almost.


If you've ever wanted to imagine a pedicab accident, just look at this picture -- upside down. I took this merely seconds before our pedicab rolled upside down. Ironically, the last thing anyone heard before the accident was, "DAMMIT JINRA, PUT MY CAMERA AWAY! IT WILL FALL OUT, YOU WON'T BE ABLE TO TAKE PICTURES TO REST OF YOUR TRIP BECAUSE YOU WILL OWE MOMMY A CAMERA!"
Luckily, I listened.
The girl next to me is my cousin Rica, 4 months pregnant at the time.

The Boracay Peninsula Hotel, the hotel we stayed in. It's owned by Koreans, and they live behind  the pool next to the hotel restaurant -- a Korean restaurant (behind the fountain).

Our room -- middle, first floor. $40 a night here...it wasn't bad. Since it was owned by Koreans, the rooms were like your standard Korean pension place room. Because of our accident and because my mom put in a nice word about Korea, we were able to get a discount on our room. The hotel rooms here are just standard, non-luxury. Luxury room rates are $70 + at other hotels.

LOL what country was I in, again? (This is the side of our hotel facing the 'strip.')

Oh did I mention...our hotel was ON THE BEACH. For $40 a night. A majority of the resorts and hotels here are on the beach. If not on the beach, then a 10 second walk to the beach.

Me everyday I was there. (Just a few steps from our hotel room!)


Me and mom.


Me, mom, Rica, and my Tita Lisa.
Massive sandcastles like this are everywhere on the beach. They're just tourist bait so you can tip someone for taking your picture in front of it. Also take note that it says, "We love Korean People" in Korean, at the bottom of the castle. Lame. WHY DOESN'T IT SAY MAHAL KITA FILIPINO PEOPLE OR MABUHAY?!!?! Oh right, the majority of the tourists are from Korea.
Clubs, bars, and restaurants right on the beach!

On the 'strip' at night.

Non alcoholic drinks on the strip, haha. (Fresh pineapple and mango juice.)






Squinty Time!


Bye bye Boracay!