Last Day in Boracay, Eating Blue Marlin Steak

"Things end but memories last forever"

Time really moves quickly when you are having a great fun holiday. The next day we woke up, it was already the last day of our holiday. It seems that the sky was feeling gloomy too because it was a totally cloudy day. We feel you, sky! There were not many people on the beach that day too. I suppose a lot of water activities are postponed because the weather was not good that day. 

We decided to have a good meal to celebrate the end of our holiday in Boracay. So in our last day in Boracay, we were eating the blue marlin steak. Oh boy, look at the size of that fish steak. It makes me curious enough to google what kind of fish is a blue marlin. Turns out the fish is really huge. No wonder a slab of blue marlin steak is as big as this plate. Well, we are not complaining, of course. Yum! 

We also tried the popular Filipino dessert called "halo-halo". The meaning of "halo-halo" is mixed together. The dessert is basically a mixture various ingredients like sweet beans, jelly, fruits, nata de coco and shaved ice. Evaporated milk and syrup will be added on top of all the ingredients. This kinda reminds me of Indonesian dessert called "Es Campur". The dessert is obviously super sweet. So it is recommended to share "halo-halo" with your friends. Best friends share the calories. Hehehe.

We took one last walk around the beach near our hotel, Sur Beach Resort Boracay, before we checked out from the resort. Even though there is no clear blue sky, thankfully, it was not raining. 

One last shot of the beautiful white sandy beach of Boracay island. 

"How lucky I am, having something that makes saying goodbye so hard."

- Winnie the Pooh

Lunch at Puka Shell Beach in Boracay

In our last trip to Boracay, we joined a day island-hopping tour package from our hotel, Sur Beach Resort Boracay. The day island-hopping tour package include a stop over at Puka Shell Beach where they will recommend certain restaurants to have lunch. The lunch is not included in the package so you will need to fork your own money to buy lunch. It is not compulsory to eat in the restaurant though. If you want to, you can bring your lunch from the main island of Boracay and have a picnic here instead. But we were too lazy to pack ourselves some food so we just decided to try out one of the restaurants available at Puka Shell Beach in Boracay. Our option fell on a seafood restaurant named Puka Grande. 

Puka Grande Restaurant receives a lot of good review over at Tripadvisor. If you are lazy to wait for the food, you can make your order first and then just play around on the beach. The waiter/ waitress will call you over once the food are served on the table. What a nice service! 

Our food for lunch at Puka Shell Beach consist of a big plate of garlic rice (we are hungry monsters).

The garlic rice is served together with the Filipino local dish called Sinigang. Sinigang is basically a soup or stew characterised by its sour and savoury taste most often associated with tamarind. There are a lot of variations to Sinigang. The one that we order is called Sinigang na Baboy because it use pork inside the soup. 

Another local Filipino dish that we managed to try at Puka Grande is the Chicken Adobo. Adobo is technically a popular way of cooking in the Philippines. In this case, the chicken is marinated in vinegar, soy sauce and garlic, which is browned in oil and simmered in the marinade. Does that sound like the Chinese's Kungpao chicken? Hahaha. 

We were starving so we finished the whole thing in the lightning speed. After the satisfying meal, we spent the rest of the time at Puka Shell beach wandering around. The beach was named Puka Shell beach because there are countless number of puka shell you can find among the sand here. Say hello to the Puka shell! 

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Island Hopping Experience in Boracay Islands

My island hopping experience in Boracay islands has been unforgettable. This is basically a must-do whenever you are visiting Boracay. We arranged for an island hopping tour via our hotel, Sur Beach Resort Boracay. Most island hopping tours in Boracay include Crocodile Island, Crystal Cove, and Puka Shell Beach in their itinerary. The price depends on the number of persons and the size of the boat. The island hopping tour usually lasts for at least three hours. Myboracayguide.com offers a 4 hours private island hopping for a minimum 3 persons. Total cost per person is 2,000 PHP (equivalent to approx. USD 43).

The beaches in Boracay islands are very clean and white. You can literally spend a whole day just sitting on the beach and gazing to the ocean. 

Our local tour guide told us to walk around the beach to see the other side of the island. He said you can see how clear the water is without the need to plunge into the ocean. 

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The local tour guide was not joking. When we reached the other part of the island, we can see the sands and rocks below the sea water. 

We came closer to the beach to take closer picture of the clear seawater. You can do a top-up to borrow snorkelling equipments and ask the guide to bring you to best snorkelling spots around Boracay islands. 

This island is actually too little to be inhabited by humans. I suppose that's why it is easier to preserve the beauty of the nature here. Unfortunately, we are the main cause of nature's destruction most of the times. =(

When you are visiting Crocodile island, do watch out for the "floating market". Entrepreneurial locals will approach your boat and offer you to buy coconut or ice cream. Both are nice to enjoy under the hot sun. Nom!

Day Trip Package at Ariel's Point

Having been featured in a lot of travel magazines as a top Boracay attraction, we are curious enough to go to a famous cliff diving spot called Ariel's Point. Ariel's Point basically offers visitors a day trip itinerary to do a cliff diving, kayaking or snorkelling activities in the beautiful Boracay's sea. Its website mentions that the Huffington Post listed Ariel's Point as one of the top cliff diving destinations in the world. In addition, the day trip package at Ariel's Point has also been raved by Fodor's Travel. 

With such an awesome review about Ariel's Point, we decided to give the day trip a go. To begin our day trip, we must first go to Ariel's House. It kinda works like the base for travel arrangement and everything. If you have not bought your ticket for the day trip yet (yes, you can buy it online), you can purchase it here at Ariel's House. It is located at Station 1 on Boracay's White Beach. 

A day trip package to Ariel's Point includes a boat cruise, a BBQ buffet lunch, afternoon snacks, unlimited beverages (including beer and mixed drinks), cliff diving, kayaking, snorkelling, and a souvenir bracelet. The price USD 55 per person. The boat ride to Ariel's Point takes approximately 35 to 40 minutes from Boracay Island. 

This is the bracelet which I am talking about. You can keep it as a souvenir from Ariel's Point I guess. 

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Our two macho friends were thinking to attempt for the cliff diving. While they were mulling over it, the girls are looking around the cliff diving spot. There are five different diving boards and platforms ranging from as low as 3 meters to as high as 15 meters. 

Oh boy, that diving spot is quite high for me. Since I am a scaredy-cat, I think cheering suits me better than diving. Hahaha. Note for the girls (and whoever else interested): This is a perfect place to check out men's chest board because they tend to show off their muscles prior to the plunge. XD

The day trips to Ariel's Point are available every day (if weather permits). It departs once a day from Ariel's House at 11.15AM (registration must be done before 10AM) and return to Boracay's White Beach at 5PM. If you have the time, you should check out Ariel's Point. =)

Grilled Seafood Dinner at Boracay Island

When you are in Boracay island, you do not have to worry about starving to death. Food is everywhere and the seafood is insanely cheap here. Hopefully you are not allergic to seafood because it is really a good chance to enjoy seafood as much as you want. If you do not know which seafood restaurant to go, simply follow your intuition. This can't be helped because there are just too many seafood restaurants along the beach. Well, you can also probably follow the crowd. 

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That night, we decided to have grilled seafood dinner at Gerry's Grill. Gerry's Grill is actually an international franchise. It has its restaurants outside the Philippines too. There is actually one in Singapore, oh my. In addition to Singapore, Gerry's Grill is also available in the USA and Qatar. 

When you are dining at Gerry's Grill, you must order its most favorite dish, inihaw na pusit (a.k.a. grilled squid). The squid served at Boracay is huge. My friend even said that this was the best grilled squid she ever has in her life. Not sure if that's the hunger talked but I agree that the grilled squid is delicious. 

We also ordered prawn and veggies cooked with chili sauce. I could not remember the Tagalog name for this dish. 

Another Filipino's specialities dish that we ordered that night is Sisig. It is basically made from parts of pig's head and liver and it is seasoned with calamansi and chili peppers. Uhm yeah, we totally close eyes on the healthy aspect of our life that night. 

We knew we already had sisig on our our table, but it did not stop us from ordering another plate of lechon (re: grilled pork). A big portion of it too. Oh gosh. =P

We are totally a happy and satisfied customers that night. 

Sunset watching spot in Boracay

If you are wondering whether there are anything to buy in Boracay island, well, apparently there are! We were walking around the beach to wait for the beautiful sunset and we found a lot of random stuff here at Boracay beach. For a start, there is a juice bar, which my friend referred to as "the only place to get your source of vitamin C here". It seems that we have to do more wandering around Boracay beach to find out what they have other than the juice bar. 

Further down from Sur Beach Resort Boracay's hotel, we found a row of shops selling all kind of goods from swimwear, local Boracay souvenirs, ice cream, beach clothes, sunglasses to a mini mart which sells basic daily necessities. 

The mini market sells a lot of stuff from ready-to-eat food to sauces and condiments. We were quite surprised to see Indonesian black sauce in Boracay. This sauce is perfect to be used when you are eating grilled seafood. Especially when combined with chilli.

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With our snacks safe in tow, we walked back to our hotel. The weather was kinda gloomy that day but thankfully it did not rain. There is a praying altar for the Mother Mary set on a natural rock on a beach. It is no wonder as the majority of the citizen in the Philippines are Catholics. 

When you are visiting a beach, you must not miss the sunset. Sunset is a special time from almost anywhere on the island, especially on any of the beaches. The navy sky with orange hues combined with the dark reflection of the sailboats. The scenery taken from the beach of Sur Beach Resort Hotel in Boracay is priceless. If you are thinking of going to sunset watching spot in Boracay, you can consider the beach area around Sur Beach Resort Hotel. 

After the sun set, we decided to look for a place to have dinner. Couldn't believe our eyes when we saw that there is a siomai (re: Indonesian fish dumpling) stall here.  We were not sure if they are the same as those sold in Indonesia though. 

Lunch on the seashore of Boracay island

If you ask what is the first thing that we should do after we are done with check in and everything, of course, it is to enjoy the beauty of the beach and the goodness of local delicacies. Yup, it is to have lunch on the seashore of Boracay island. Good thing is that our hotel for the free and easy trip to Boracay, Sur Beach Resort Boracay offers good seafood lunch on the beach. We made our order of the food to the hotel restaurant and then made our way to the beach to find a place to relax while waiting for our food to be delivered. 

Someone made a pretty good arts on the sands and the word "Boracay" is written on it. Wonder how the person managed to do that, does he or she have some kind of a template? #iamlousyatart

After a good 15 - 30 minutes of waiting, our food finally arrived. A big size of fried calamari for our appetiser. Nothing can go wrong with an order of fried calamari. 

Other than seafood, you can also find the famous Filipino food, roasted suckling pig. It is referred to as "Lechon". Just like its Chinese counterparts, Lechon is served with rice and sauce. The sauce taste more on the sweeter side but I like my roasted suckling pig. The portion given was pretty big. 

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After we had our meal, we just enjoyed our leisure walk on the beach. We walked pretty slow mostly because we were full and we wanted to enjoy the pretty scenery too. There were not many other tourists frolicking on the beach that time. Probably because it was hot. 

My friend managed to take this cool shot near the sunset time. Nice blue fisherman boat with the Boracay water as its background. 

"The sea, once it casts its spell holds one in its net of wonder forever." 

- Jacques Cousteau

Our hotel in Boracay island, Sur Beach Resort Boracay

Once we came out from the jetty terminal at Boracay island, we immediately hire a local transportation called the pedicabs, which is actually a tricycle. This is the fastest way to commute from one place to another in Boracay island. Thankfully our bags are not big and many so we can fit into the pedicabs just nice. We are ready to go to our hotel in Boracay island, Sur Beach Resort Boracay. Woohoo!

I did not really do any research for the hotel because I trusted my friend's decision to stay at Sur Beach Resort Boracay. Turns out the beach resort received a lot of excellent review over at Tripadvisor. 

Our hotel in Boracay island, Sur Beach Resort Boracay looks quite humble from the outside. The beach resort is located far enough from the crowded part of Boracay island. The hotel rates are quite affordable for our budget. But do note that the beach resort fix the rates based on the tourist season. Expect higher price on the high holiday season. For complete rates of Sur Beach Resort Boracay, you can see it here.

My friend and I shared a double bedroom. Our room was fine, not too shabby. The bed is okay. There is wifi in the room. The aircon is working properly. No yucky bugs spotted. 

Let's check out the washroom. The washroom is standard. Not so big and there's not bath tub inside. You can see that the beach resort is not new from the molds in the tiles though. 

The best deal about Sur Beach Resort Boracay is the private access to the beach. You can do some relaxation at the cabanas available around the beach. You can opt to have your food served here instead to the room. If you sign up for the massage session, you can choose to have it done at the cabanas too. 

As the beach resort is located not so near from town, you need to hire a cab (or the tricycle). A taxi ride to town will cost you around 10 pesos. Overall, Sur Beach Resort Boracay is not bad for its price. 

Free and easy trip to Boracay island

The free and easy trip to Boracay island was started with one simple question from our Filipino friend who we met in Taipei "hey guys, I am going to visit Boracay next month, wanna come with me?". We did not even know what and where is Boracay but once we heard Boracay is about sandy beach, blue sea and yummy seafood, we embarked into "you-only-live-once" mojo. Since Boracay is a small island in the Philippines, you need to board a propeller plane to reach the nearest biggest island to Boracay called Panay Island. And since the plane size is smaller, it tends to sway up in the air. And yes, by looking at the color of sky, you can pretty much guess how the flight was. 

Thankfully, we managed to reach Kalibo Airport safe and sound. To tell you the truth, Kalibo Airport was not our main destination. We were supposed to land at Caticlan, which is only 5 minutes away to the jetty (oh yes, the journey is not over yet) instead of Kalibo, which is one and a half hours drive to the jetty. O_o!

We need to go to the jetty because Boracay island is actually separated from the main Panay island by a narrow strait. In order to cross the strait, we need to board boats which are operated by Caticlan jetty port. 

One and a half hours later, we finally reached Caticlan Jetty Port and Passenger Terminal. You can pick up the map of Boracay island here too. 

A lot of tourists are queueing for the jetty tickets so we just follow the line and bought our jetty ticket to Boracay island. 

See things to do in Boracay island here.

The boat that we were going to ride in order to reach Boracay. 

The boat is pretty small and hence, it is quite cramped inside the boat. The boat ride to Boracay is thankfully only 15 minutes. Our friend is busy checking out the map while I...busy dazing out to the sea. Hahaha. 

I wonder what will happen in this free and easy trip to Boracay island.