Amazing Race Christmas 2013, Team KoKo: Boracay

Boracay

As I mentioned in an earlier post, I misread our itinerary and we almost didn't make it to the airport on time. Thankfully, we did, with a few minutes (and I do mean few minutes) to spare. We were the last passengers to be booked for that flight and had separate seats. Sharkteeth and I sat together, but, apparently, kids aren't allowed to be seated near the exit during takeoff. I asked S if she's okay sitting away (second to the last row) from us, reassuring her that she can sit with me as soon as we're airborne, and she acquiesced. When the flight crew went to get her once we were airborne, she was already asleep. (She was physically and emotionally spent, as she was crying on our way to the airport. Masama ang loob kasi her cousins were late and they weren't able to play. Plus when we were leaving, we couldn't find her Lolo Adobo and she wasn't able to say goodbye. Kaluoy.) The trip to Boracay was uneventful. After all, the copilot was Baduday's husband, a former colleague and batchmate, eh ma-Suerte yun, in more ways than one. :) 

When we reached the island, my stress level was increasing again. Kasi di ako nag-book ng hotel. Super-duper peak season, no booking? Wow, lakas ng loob, right? Adding to the complication was our limited budget and the sheer number of tourists. Sa totoo lang, I was prepared to rough it out and matulog sa beach on the first night. Nagdala ako ng anti-insect wipes. Seriously. We inquired at a few hotels, but their prices were out of our budget. When we reached the beach in Station 2, I was a bit desperate na, kasi as you go nearer sa beach, the more expensive the accommodations get. Then we inquired in La Fiesta Resort, which is on the beachfront. It is not a hotel but a family-owned resort. Initially, they quoted 3.5K (two persons) + 500 (for S) per night. TheHusband plainly asked if there's a discount. Sa totoo lang, I wasn't expecting any, given na super-duper peak season and nasa beachfront sila, and I was quite prepared to pay that amount (#desperado), but, happily, the lady at the front desk asked her boss and they gave us a family room for 3K pesos! The room has two queen-sized beds and is air-conditioned, very clean, and spacious. The linens are clean and fresh smelling. There's hot and cold water. There's WiFI, but I was rarely able to connect to it. Mahina na ang connection kasi nasa second floor kami. The TV is so, so, but has cable connection. Kyeber, I don't watch TV naman. They have big cabinets. And there's a small ref. All that for 3K a night. The Christmas miracle at Boracay! Falalalalalalalala!

See the "star" in the middle between the sails? That's Venus.
Picture taken by TheHusband.

We freshened up and had dinner. The place is a few steps away from Gerry's Grill and Starbucks. Pagkakain, I immediately fell asleep. The next day, maaga pa lang, around 6 am, lumabas na kami ni S and strolled on the beach. I fell in love with the place all over again. The last time we were there was in 2009.

Boracay

Boracay is still as beautiful as I remember it, but there were sooooo many people, people of different colors, sizes, and nationalities. And the party scene was roaring. Hindi naman ako mahilig sa party, party, party. #Thanders na! Hehehehe.

The District

Ay, eto ang kwento pa. On our second night, we went out for a stroll. Then a gay guy from Astoria approached us offering a free buffet dinner and a "brief" introduction to their product/brand. I sensed a "con," but really, I'm always gracious sa mga promoters (unless they are from Family First or yung mga nagbebenta ng cosmetics who point out your flaws outright like we're best friends then offer miraculous product), so I took the flyers. TheHusband appeared uninterested. Si S, adik sa buffet. Ako, I don't like buffets kasi I feel compelled to eat more (para sulit), pero since free, go, go, go, but at the back of my mind, I knew that their brief introduction wasn't going to be brief at all. After dinner, they introduced Astoria Plaza's timeshare system. Mark, the salesperson assigned to us, is sooooooo madaldal. Natalo ako. He was alternately funny and serious and quite good at sales. The thing is, kami ang binentahan nya. Dun! Dun sya nagkamali! The concept of the product is quite good and sound, and for constant travelers, it seems a good investment. Kamukat-mukat mo, pasado alas-nueve na! Antok na si S. What surprised me was TheHusband was interested. Eh sya ang taga-"no" ng family; ako ang utuin, so ako lagi ang "yes, yes, yes." Hahahaha! Tingin ko kung may dalang pera 'yun ay nakapag-down kami. Buti na lang wala kaming dala. Actually, we didn't have any ID, ATM, credit card, or even a cent with us -- kasi nga mag-stroll lang kami dapat. So there, sawing umuwi si Mark. Ako, kebs lang, may lost time, pero free dinner naman, which was masarap (again, may vetsin dila ko).

Pamana Photobooth circa 1930 :)

Our stay was enjoyable, and it was the most relaxing break I had in a long time. Remember,  earthquake, Yolanda, my D&C, my tons of files, marathon gift-wrapping session, JRS? For the first time in months, I was able to sleep for 10 hours straight. Ahhh, what a treat. The sleep alone was a wonderful and priceless Christmas gift. I didn't swim much  -- the most time I spent swimming was on our last day. The food is okay overall, nothing memorable for me though. And oh, there's a Mango outlet there, and the discounts are huge. Pero hindi ko gusto yung isang crew dun.  I was looking for a shift dress, and when she haughtily replied "Ano 'yun [the shift dress]?", she couldn't have looked any more disinterested. Hmmmmpp, nakakawalang-gana sya. Pero may nabili pa rin ako. Hehehehe. Had I known na merong Mango outlet sa Bacolod, dun na lang sana ako bumili. I don't like patronizing shops with staff who seem to think that I owe them for shopping in their store.

Pier
Bye, Boracay!

While waiting inside the bus (going to Iloilo) in Caticlan, TheHusband went off to buy some stuff in Mercury. When he came back, he said, "Punta ka ng Mercury, nagkakagulo sila dun." Akala ko naman may sale or samples or freebies, susugod na sana ako. Then he said, "Andun daw si, sino ba yun, Sam Milby daw." Sus, kung si Papa Piolo pa yun.


La Fiesta Resort
Boracay Island 
Balabag, Malay, Aklan
Phone: +63-36-2884234
Mobile: +63-919-8610886
E-mail: lafiestaresort_boracay@yahoo.com

Amazing Race Christmas 2013, Team KoKo: Manila, Bulacan, and Pampanga

When we booked our Manila Christmas trip last year, we couldn't find any cheap flights back to Dumaguete, but there were cheap flights from Manila to Caticlan. So we decided to go to Boracay and travel by land through Iloilo and Bacolod on our way back. After all, it has been more than 3 years since we last visited Boracay. But wait! Christmas stories muna!

Snow Queen

Per usual, the house was a mess. Kelan ba naman hindi messy ang bahay namin? But it was a new low for us kasi nga out part-time helper was out of commission (biglaang naging lola, so lola duties muna sya). Ang gulo-gulo-gulo-gulo ng bahay. I tried to clean a bit for our family Christmas dinner before we left for Manila. The menu I planned -- that one with poached salmon, roast beef, mashed potatoes, buttered vegetables, and chocolate mousse? Sa pangarap na lang natupad. Hahahaha! Well, to be fair, our family Christmas dinner wasn't a total disaster either -- grilled T-bone steak. Happy tummies. I had to wrap a ton of gifts. Actually more than 50 gifts for TheHusband's officemates and friends and for Sharkteeth's classmates, friends, and teachers. Thank goodness Sharkteeth helped me. My gift box, which I fill throughout the year, got emptied of all, and I do mean all, of its contents. It was crazy. So very crazy. 

TheHusband's gifts

Sharkteeth with her gifts

A few days before our flight, I shipped our things to Bulacan para di na namin dala-dala. I separately shipped our beach outfits (skimpy trunks for TheHusband and string bikini for me. JOKE!!!) to Boracay for the same reason. Hay, sa shipping ako medyo naloka. If my Christmas 2012 was marred by Metrodeal, 2013 was ruined a bit by JRS, a bit lang naman. Sabado na di pa nila na-deliver ang shipment ko, eh yung clothes kong pang-attend ng wedding and all the gifts (which were all yet to be wrapped were in that shipment). While I was having my Kagandahan Showcase (hair treatment, facial, eyebrow contouring, etc.) and was supposed to be relaxing, I had to call JRS and followup. Paulit-ulit. Hanggang naubos na ang battery ko. Hay. Anyhoooo, eventually, they were able to deliver the package naman. Pero sobrang na-stress ako dun.

I was able to meet and make chika with Onyxx. It was so dyahe kasi nga wala pa yung gift ko for her. Nasa JRS pa. The following day, we went to Pampanga to meet my college friends-roommates. Again, dyahe na naman kasi nga wala pa yung gifts. Uhhhgggg. I have already made kwento about out meetup in a previous post. Per usual, matinding halakhakan na naman. (Cel, ilang meetups na ba ang na-miss mo? Huling meetup yata na magkakasama tayo lahat is yung sa Tagaytay pa eons ago. Hahahaha!) So there, come Monday, attend naman kami ng kasal. It was my godson's wedding. No, hindi pa ako ganun katanda! Just that I was still very young when I became his ninang sa binyag. His bride was so beautiful and radiant. Eh pogi rin naman yung inaanak ko...nasa lahi talaga namin ang ganda genes. Hahahahahahah! Pasensya na, nangangarap lang ng gising. But I realized two things sa wedding: (1) he loves his bride so much, as in so much, and I'll tell you why after the second point; (2) dance genes totally eluded our family. So why did I say that he loves his bride so much? When the newlyweds were introduced, instead of the usual walk, they danced. He was awful, like cringeworthy awful. But that he danced with his bride, despite the family curse of two left feet, speaks volumes of his unconditional love. Chos!
 
Sobrang hectic ang days leading to Christmas. Friends. Malls. Malls. Saka malls. Hahahaha! I wanted to buy mother a birthday cake from Tous les Jours -- pagdating namin dun sa cake shop, isa na lang ang available. Gosh, muntik nang maubusan. Phew. Di mukhang pang-birthday, but what I choice did I have? Nada! 

Rose Inspiration Fresh Cream Cake

Come Christmas day, I was still wrapping gifts for the kids. I wasn't able to mingle much with my family kasi nga nagbabalot pa ako ng regalo and packing our things (to ship home). :( I feel kinda sad that I wasn't able to enjoy Christmas day fully. Ipinagluto pa naman ako ni pudra ng sinampalukang manok. Saka my aunt brought batchoy. All my favorite dishes! I was able to sample each, but I was hoping to eat again before leaving for Manila. You know naman how we are pagdating sa mga flight-flight. Sablay na, sablay pa. Sino ang salarin? ME! When I checked our flight sked to Boracay, I thought that the departure time was a little past 4 pm. Turned out it was 3:15 pm!!! Kalowka! Super-traffic bago makalabas ng NLEX! We weren't able to TheHusband's family get-together. :( Sam was so looking forward to playing with her cousins. We had to be checked in by 2:15 pm, and by 2 pm, we were still in Guadalupe or Buendia. I thought I was going to have a stroke because of the stress. That we might not make it to the flight didn't stress me as much as the thought that we already sent our things to Boracay ahead of us. We briefly toyed with the idea of not going to Boracay anymore and instead proceeding to Baguio. Sam pointed out that we don't even have one piece of thick clothing with us. Thank goodness we got a great cab driver. We made it to the airport with a few minutes to spare. Sabi nga ng friend ko, photofinish! Sya, next time ko na lang i-kwento ang Boracay trip --medyo nag-PTSD ako when I remember the stress sa byahe.  :)

Boracay Soujourn 2009

Off To Paradise!

This picture was taken last year, give or take a few days.

TPS et famille are going to Boracay! Yay! This is becoming an annual thing for us. At the start of each year, we usually promise to do away with vacations, well, not vacation per se, just, you know, the ones that would get a huge chunk of our salary. But the thing is, just as soon as we have made that promise, we think of small excuses to go. For this year, our convenient excuse is that Sharkteeth requested that we go to Boracay instead of a big party for her fifth birthday. I think she loves the place because (a) of water, water, and more water, (b) we have some sort of junk food amnesty program during vacations, (c) there's no school for her for a relatively long stretch, (d) we can build sand castles, and (e) she loves fishes, in fact, her most fervent desire is to be a mermaid. And with the dirt-cheap tickets, it would actually cost us less than a party. *shrewd* I wonder what's going to be our excuse next year.