So I
had the good fortune of visiting Boracay twice this year, once in June and more
recently in October,. In the short span
of time between those months, a good deal has changed, more buildings finished
and more stalls were added at the market area or “talipapa”. Those changes are nothing compared from the
last visit in 2004 to this year’s visit 2012.
The beach has become urbanized, commercialized and still disorganized.
After
taking the plane to Kalibo on my latest visit, I took the usual bus and boat
ride to Boracay. In 2004, my pump boat
would have landed me in Station 1, 2 or 3 after the 2 hour bus ride, but now
the air conditioned boat lands me in a port where I have to take a special
trike ride to my destination. So that is a total of three rides from Kalibo to
Boracay which means additional expense for a local like me. In this port,
I am charged a terminal fee and an environment fee total of P175. Upon alighting from the bus, it is not clear
what is required prior to riding the boat.
Several times I was asked to go back outside to settle a fee then
re-enter all over again waiting in line for my turn to have my bags cleared. There should be some clear instructions, in
the form of a signboard or an usher to direct the crowd. The tourists were looking at each other along
with the locals wondering what next to do. The little fees here and there seem
unprofessional so tourists question these fees.
Why not package one total fee for the whole trip so as not to inconvenience and waste these tourist’s
patience and precious time. So that area needs to be improved.
Another
annoying realization is upon paying the bus and boat package fee of P250 I
discover that the adjacent stall charges only P200. When I informed them I would want to check
around for other rates, they outwardly lie that all the rates are the same. So shouldn’t
there be a uniform fee so as not to make the tourists feel duped?
You would
think that by this time, they would have found an efficient way of transporting
tourists to the destination and make them feel good about coming over. Instead they are greeted with unfriendly and
not too smart people who make them go back and forth and confuse them with
lousy instructions. Especially since a
lot of the tourists I encountered were not too fluent english speakers
from Korea, China, Russia and the like.
Upon
reaching the island, you would notice that it has become a busy place like a
place of business. So many restaurants
and fast food outlets belonging to international groups dominated the sea shore
area, which once upon a time was dotted with simple sari-sari stores. Paths of retail shops ran a mile deep from the beach
area to the mains streets at the back. I’m
not totally against it as it gives more choices for the tourists with varied
pricing budgets.
When
one walks farther down station 3, you
would get a glimpse of the old, quiet boracay with nipa-type homes occupied the
uncrowded area. Groups of 3 or 4 were simply sitting around
having drinks and a laid-back conversation minus the fancy lights and loud
music.
What
still remains and still a personal attraction for me is waking up to the sight
and sound of the waves over coffee and the “quaint village feel” that I still
experience when I am there. When I walk
around on my own, I feel safe. When I
can’t sleep and want to look for a snack in the middle of the night, There’s always
a lot of tourists around until the wee hours of the morning. I can just walk out of my hotel room and check
out the 24-hour fast food outlets or food stalls available, something I wouldn’t
be able to do years before. I like that
freedom of walking alone picking up a take-out and chill in my hotel room or
write in peace.
Who
would not be affected by a picturesque sunrise and sunset? I hear of new and
better beach spots such as Bohol, Coron, Quezon, Batanes and the like, but when
I did visit one or two of them, I realized they lacked the charm of Boracay for
me. It’s not just about the place alone
anymore, it is the combination of people, the interaction, and the safe-feeling
that not many beaches can claim.
No
matter how many negative things they say about Boracay, It is till my personal
happy place.
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