Boracay - small-town feel, big-time beach fun BY ABBIE KOZOLCHYK The Chronicle San FranciscoSomewhere deep among the hat vendors, hair braiders, massage therapists, henna tattoo artists and Korean honeymooners (in matching leisurewear), someone was calling my name.
Again, "Abbie!"
Yelling a bit louder this time - and waving both arms - Roselle suddenly stood out from the crowd. We closed the gap of powdery sand between us and fell into the embrace of long-lost friends - an odd gesture between people who'd met only a night earlier. Except, of course, on Boracay.
On this splash of land in the strait between Panay and Tablas islands, the small-town size and funky, relaxed vibe tend to invite casual spontaneity - and friendship incubation periods that you can measure with an egg timer.
An hour's flight from Manila, Boracay was once the sole province of backpackers but is steadily morphing into something of a hot spot. Still, despite the occasional comparison to the wildly popular Phuket in Thailand (the next Phuket, the Phuket of the Philippines), Boracay's absurdly beautiful beaches and eminently diveable and kiteboardable waters are far from overrun. The island is more like a proto-Phuket, where there's still time to beat the crowds.
I'd met Roselle aboard the Bada Bong, a midnight blue speedboat detailed with multiple, outsize "mud-flap girls" with star-shaped pasties on their upturned breasts. It seemed to have taken a wrong turn at the Sulu Sea, given that almost every other vessel plying the turquoise swirl around the tiny Philippine island was a sailboat or an outrigger canoe.
But no matter. I'd found myself aboard H.M.S. T&A for a sunset cruise much the same way I seemed to find myself in a lot of situations on Boracay - at the invitation of an islander I'd just met, in this case, Bong.
The scion of a local family and general man about town, Bong spent a fair portion of the evening talking up his next big venture: a 24-hour cafe - with direct satellite feed of every conceivable sports channel - to be called the Bada Bling.
Transplants
Meanwhile, the banquette at the front of his boat - and the adjacent beer cooler - were starting to look really good. So I made my way forward and sank into a cushion, where I found another guest who'd had the same idea. As the sky darkened - and the green, violet and blue lights on the island's main drag turned the water just offshore into a flattened disco ball - Roselle and I swapped life stories over San Miguel pilsners.
It turns out she'd been an environmental lawyer in Manila until she fell madly in love with Boracay on vacation, vowed to return regularly - and eventually stayed.
Throughout my visit, I heard endless variations on this theme. And the next day was no exception: When Roselle flagged me down on the beach, she was having lunch with a few other Manila transplants who'd traded in high-profile careers for gigs at Boracay's bars, craft market and community paper, among others.
Making myself comfortable in the seat she'd reflexively added to the table, I asked what had inspired everyone's move. Jack, a former marketing exec turned local directory chief, answered without missing a beat: "Take a look around."
Powdered sugar beach. Bombay Sapphire surf. And vast regiments of palm trees arched seaward just so. The guy had a point.
"Life here is like a vacation 365 days a year," he added. "I work in my flip-flops."
Growth
It was the same with Mama Lee, a onetime model and dental nurse from San Mateo who settled here in 1987 after sailing and island-hopping around the world. "I really just came here to be a beach bum but quickly realized that even beach bums need to make money," she said, cookie-laden oven rack in hand.
Word on the beach was that her baked goods were not to be missed, so I'd proceeded directly from lunch with Roselle to Real Coffee and Tea Café, the restaurant Lee runs with her daughter.
Again, "Abbie!"
Yelling a bit louder this time - and waving both arms - Roselle suddenly stood out from the crowd. We closed the gap of powdery sand between us and fell into the embrace of long-lost friends - an odd gesture between people who'd met only a night earlier. Except, of course, on Boracay.
On this splash of land in the strait between Panay and Tablas islands, the small-town size and funky, relaxed vibe tend to invite casual spontaneity - and friendship incubation periods that you can measure with an egg timer.
An hour's flight from Manila, Boracay was once the sole province of backpackers but is steadily morphing into something of a hot spot. Still, despite the occasional comparison to the wildly popular Phuket in Thailand (the next Phuket, the Phuket of the Philippines), Boracay's absurdly beautiful beaches and eminently diveable and kiteboardable waters are far from overrun. The island is more like a proto-Phuket, where there's still time to beat the crowds.
I'd met Roselle aboard the Bada Bong, a midnight blue speedboat detailed with multiple, outsize "mud-flap girls" with star-shaped pasties on their upturned breasts. It seemed to have taken a wrong turn at the Sulu Sea, given that almost every other vessel plying the turquoise swirl around the tiny Philippine island was a sailboat or an outrigger canoe.
But no matter. I'd found myself aboard H.M.S. T&A for a sunset cruise much the same way I seemed to find myself in a lot of situations on Boracay - at the invitation of an islander I'd just met, in this case, Bong.
The scion of a local family and general man about town, Bong spent a fair portion of the evening talking up his next big venture: a 24-hour cafe - with direct satellite feed of every conceivable sports channel - to be called the Bada Bling.
Transplants
Meanwhile, the banquette at the front of his boat - and the adjacent beer cooler - were starting to look really good. So I made my way forward and sank into a cushion, where I found another guest who'd had the same idea. As the sky darkened - and the green, violet and blue lights on the island's main drag turned the water just offshore into a flattened disco ball - Roselle and I swapped life stories over San Miguel pilsners.
It turns out she'd been an environmental lawyer in Manila until she fell madly in love with Boracay on vacation, vowed to return regularly - and eventually stayed.
Throughout my visit, I heard endless variations on this theme. And the next day was no exception: When Roselle flagged me down on the beach, she was having lunch with a few other Manila transplants who'd traded in high-profile careers for gigs at Boracay's bars, craft market and community paper, among others.
Making myself comfortable in the seat she'd reflexively added to the table, I asked what had inspired everyone's move. Jack, a former marketing exec turned local directory chief, answered without missing a beat: "Take a look around."
Powdered sugar beach. Bombay Sapphire surf. And vast regiments of palm trees arched seaward just so. The guy had a point.
"Life here is like a vacation 365 days a year," he added. "I work in my flip-flops."
Growth
It was the same with Mama Lee, a onetime model and dental nurse from San Mateo who settled here in 1987 after sailing and island-hopping around the world. "I really just came here to be a beach bum but quickly realized that even beach bums need to make money," she said, cookie-laden oven rack in hand.
Word on the beach was that her baked goods were not to be missed, so I'd proceeded directly from lunch with Roselle to Real Coffee and Tea Café, the restaurant Lee runs with her daughter.
No comments:
Post a Comment