Isa Aplaya Maganda (A Beautiful Beach)

Magandang gabi (good evening), kumusta kayo? (how are you all?).  This is going to be a very simple webpage, for it is just to demonstrate some photos of an extremely perfect beach.  Before I came here I saw photos of Boracay, and it seemed that this was the tourist hypocenter of the Philippines.  So, being the grump that I am, I figured I would skip it ... that there would be just too many tourists to be enjoyable, or that it would already be ruined. 

However, everytime I met a traveller, a tourist, a sex-tourist, a Philippino, everyone ... they all unanimously loved their visit to Boracay, and said I had to go.  So I thought I would give it a chance.  "White Beach" on Boracay is said to be the best beach in Asia.  I have seen some nice beaches, but, after having seen White Beach, I would not be surprised if it is the best beach in the entire world.  There simply could not be a better beach ... it is perfect.

Yes, there are some problems.  The prices are quite high (my room there was the single most expensive room I ever had in a years worth of my travels in Asia) if you are on a budget, and people do bother you all the time to rent their boat, or go sailing, or buy some glasses, etc.
Self portrait.
click to enlarge

However, even though there are soooo many tourists, the place is still, in my opinion, unspoiled.  The people are really nice, you get the same prices as Filipinos, and if you want to economize, particularly with meals, you can eat for Filipino prices.  This is the place where I had the wonderful experience with the family (the cockfighting webpage I sent).  So, I am telling every single person that is on this list that if you ever wanted to go to a beautiful beach location, then this is it.  You can fly to Manila and connect immediately to a flight that lands you in Caticlan.  From there you are only a fifteen minute, fourty cent ferry and a fourty cent moto-tricycle ride away from White Beach.  Perhaps some photos will do the place more justice than my lame explanations.

Click on photos to enlarge, then "back" to return

With a western orientation, White Beach yields perfect sunsets.
The water is crystal clear and the sand is snow white.
Hotels are as little as 25 bucks (for a double room bungalow) with TV and aircon.  You can stay cheaper (16 is about the min) or, if you want to spend more for extreme luxury then the sky is the limt.
There are many activities to do (thouth they are comically expensive for Asia), like sailing, snorkeling, parasailing, cockfighting, and many more.  On the other side of the island is great windsurfing and kitesurfing.


I set my camera on a perch and put on the timer (a must due to the slow shutter speeds) but then I was annoyed that some goofy tourist was going to ruin my shot by walking by.  Instead, I got a really cool, ghostly figure in the shot.
If just kicking back and relaxing is your thing then this is the place.
Boracay is a great place to party.  There are all kinds of discos, nightspots, and bars.  Here I am having a tequila picnic.  This type of partying probably didn't help my sickness.

So, come one come all to Boracay.