Manila and Boracay
Travel Archive - the world is big
I went to The Philippines in 2009, it was my first time to experience island countries in Southeast Asia which is commonly known as the exotic and exciting paradise.
Philippines consists of thousands of islands, countless beaches, but my trip was for business, so I ended up spending most of my time in office buildings and hotel conference rooms in the capital city Manila. Despite the intense work schedules, I managed to spend a day to tour the historical part of the city and visited San Agustin Church, Manila Cathedral, and Fort Santiago which were the most important historic sites in Manila. Those were built in 1500s and went through several times of destruction and reconstruction during the time of Spanish Empire and World War II. Even though I loved to explore the historical charm each time I visited a new place, Metro Manila was more impressive with its vibrant night life and street food. There were parties everywhere! Cover bands performed in every restaurant and bar, mixed crowds of locals and tourists all came out sitting outside in the balmy, warm summer night enjoying music and delicious street food.
Sisig, which is a typical Filipino dish that can be found everywhere on the street, is hot, sizzling pig face with lots of herbs and chili peppers seasoning and a runny egg on top. Spicy,chewy, and fatty, possibly the best thing one could ever eat with a cold beer!
During the weekend, I flew over to Boracay for beaches. I remembered reading from a travel magazine that Boracay was awarded as the best island in the world that year, and famous for many things. Well, I happened to be in the country, why not to go check it out! I didn’t have time to see everything, but there were 2 things I wanted to check out – one is the white beach, the other is scuba diving. I remembered taking a short flight, a local motorized tricycle, then a boat to get to the beach. There are many small islands around Boracay, the main one has all the water activities and great nightlife experiences. The scenery is beautiful! I must admit that it’s the most beautiful beach I have seen, it still is! Among all the beaches I have visited - in Southeast Asia I went back to visit a few more times later, in Mediterranean, Europe, North and South Americas. I didn’t find anywhere that was as calm, gentle, and fine as Boracay beaches.
It’s so true that Boracay was such a lush tropical paradise, and diverse, too. It’s a place that attracts people around the world, some people visit, and visit again, eventually settle down and live there. My diving coach was just like that. I forgot his name but remembered the story he shared - he came from Singapore and wanted to dive for the rest of his life, he was looking for beach that looks like a paradise and settled in Boracay. Learning and trying scuba diving just came naturally when staying in a place like that, you always wondering what’s like under the paradise. The lessons were short but very intense. I had to digest lots of knowledge, to learn about the gear, and to practice the skills in a very short period given my limited time there.
The diving group had 7 people including the diving master, we flopped off a boat into the middle of ocean. The deepest point I went down was about 35 feet below the water where I saw some really cool eels, I don’t know the kind, but they were dark purple color and teeth were visible when I swam close to them, I was reaching out to them before they slipped into corals and rocks. It was astonishing! It felt like landing on a foreign planet that is so full of bright colors. It’s so stunning that at some point, you would just forget that you are a human that must use gear to dive and breath! A couple of year later, I did scuba diving in other places, but the experiences in Boracay always seem to be more dazzling!
