After an exhausting 10-hour trip from Puerta Galera to Boracay port, I still have not made it to my hotel. It was around midnight that I was stuck at the water taxi waiting area, along with other passengers, waiting for more people to join. I was the only non-Filippino tourist there, and prior to coming to the waiting area, was directed to a tourist booth, where I paid the terminal fee and the environmental fee, much higher than what locals did. As if I am using the better terminal, or polluting the environment more than Filipinos, really.
Fortunately, there I also met Jan, a Filippino girl on vacation, who negotiated the price for me for the bike to get to my hotel at the north end of Boracay. Tip for the future – should have just booked a hostel somewhere at Station 2, where all the busy night life happens, and you can walk among shops and stores, overlooking white palm beach during the day. While it was easy to get a bike to the north part of Boracay from the south (I negotiated for 250 pesos from the port, or 100 – 150 pesos from Station 2), there were only tricycles available at the north end, which means you either had to pay extra to get where you wanted, or say “no special” and wait for other passengers to join, going in the same direction.
I remember I was once negotiating with a bike driver, who wanted to charge me 250 pesos to go to my hotel from Station 2, but we made a deal at 150. On our way there, he asked me “why are you so cheap?”. Man, I am not cheap, you guys are scamming tourists like you get a day extra to your life for every tourist scammed.
Thankfully, during the day I was able to get to Boracay downtown by taking a hop-on hop-off bus, for 50 pesos one way.
Can’t recall if I did anything on my first day in Boracay, but probably I was just sleeping. Second day however, I was walking along the shore when a Hawaiian girl and a Spanish guy randomly called me over for some rum coconut. When have I said no to free drinks?
Ely worked at her aunt’s restaurant in Hawaii, and then chilling for months in Polynesia. Aytron (gosh, I hope I spelled it correctly) was renting out some houses back in Spain and was living in Asia indefinitely, thus making the dream of most backpackers come true. And then there was me, living one day at a time with no sense of financial responsibility, never looking back, not thinking too much about the future, just living the moment as it is.
Similar to how it happened with me, Annika, and Ezra, Aytron and Ely kept meeting up randomly in Asia, with no plans made beforehand. Kinda wishing to continue this tradition, some places can be really boring unless you meet the right people – and these two were definitely the right ones.
We headed to their hostel for a pre-party. Being a good cook, Ely stepped forward to make a fish that me and Aytron were going to get from the local market. We got a 950-gram fish (tuna?? Not sure) for 220 pesos. It was 225 pesos, but Aytron was not giving up, and the lady let us go just to get rid of him.
By the time the fish was ready, the bottle of Filipino rum did its job, and we were also quite ready 😊
I don’t remember much after we headed to the bars and partied. I do remember, however, it was the best party of my life, I danced like “tomorrow does not exiiiiiiist…”, forgot my name and where I live (almost). I never really understood how people party so hard that they lose their dignity and admit their love to the toilet for the rest of the night. Well, a bottle of rum, three tequila shots and 3 bars later, I can proudly claim I now know.
Super drunk, I barely made my way to the taxi motorbikes, and just to remind you again – it was Station 2, and they tried to charge me 300 pesos. Probably saw a young, white, and drunk girl, and decided to make their fortune.
Look for other drunk tourists, boys. I am going there for 100 pesos, not too drunk to get scammed like that. When money is involved, I am always sober.
When it was time to pay, I was holding two bills in front of my eyes, shamefully trying to give 100 to the driver and not 1000, with all the zeros dancing in my eyes.
Next morning, recalculating all my money, I realized I probably was not THAT drunk if I paid the driver correctly, and all my money was in place.
Did I learn my lesson?
Yes.
Did I go and repeat all the same the next day?
Also yes, because taking some alcohol after a wild night helps with the hangover, and I needed it.
Except we got even more people the next day (including Neville Longbottom – he looked extremely alike, and I did not even know his real name). Ely found them on CoachSurfing, and a Filippino girl Kay Anne, well, we met her at the same hostel.
If anyone knows how to party, its Filippino people for sure. Learnt lots of moves there. As they say, whatever happens in Boracay, stays in Boracay 😊
Oh, why did I have everything booked and had to leave?! Whyyyyyyy?!?
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