Cocktail of fun n' sun

Gustasp and Jeroo Irani visit Boracay Island in the Philippines and unwind against its beachy backdrop with some water sports and chilled beer.

Boracay Island in the Philippines is an idyllic tropical paradise…with a split personality. Paradise might occasionally get a wee bit boring for the hyperactive. So what would you do? Throw in some adventure to spice up the experience, naturally. In Boracay (located off the north-west tip of Panay Island in the heart of the Philippines archipelago), they have redefined the term ‘paradise’ and given it the swagger of an adventurous destination as well.

Even our arrival was laced with a sense of drama and charm, for, Boracay does not have its own airport. We landed in Caticlan, an hour’s flight from Manila, and a five km drive later, we were at the Caticlan boat terminal where welcome drinks and cold towels were pressed into our hands. After a 15-minute ride in a saucy speed boat (there is also a public ferry service), we drew close to the island where we had to jump into the water and wade ashore. No fancy jetty here!

More fun was in store when we hopped into a tricycle taxi which wove down the twisting streets where the leisurely rhythm of village life was immediately apparent. Bikers in racer T-shirts gunned down narrow village streets, while music thumped in small taverns and eateries and the balmy afternoon was wreathed in the aroma of skewered meats.

Fifteen minutes later, we were at our beachfront hotel, the Boracay Regency Beach Resort, soaking in the views — of the bluest of blue oceans curving into a bay rimmed by misty mountains that resembled arms outstretched. The dome of sky above too was an unearthly shade of blue tinged with white scudding clouds, while a white sand beach stretched languidly as though it had recently been brushed with creamy-white paint! A balmy breeze wafted and trailed across our hot faces like soft fingers.

By the seashore

We stepped outside at dusk and realised that Boracay’s almost other-worldly charm has a hip, fun side to it. Neat, thatched, fairy-lit restaurants, cosy cafes, resorts, bars, massage parlours and souvenir shops were set back from the beach aptly called White Beach (on the western side of the island). White Beach has regularly featured amongst the world’s Top 10 beaches in a variety of surveys. Vendors hawked souvenirs and waitstaff of restaurants tried to lure us with displays of the day’s catch, but they were never obtrusive or insistent. Masseuses wandered on the beach offering traditional Filipino hilot massages in sing-song voices. Indeed the Filipinos are a smiling, gentle, musical people who seem to move to an inner rhythm of peace and contentment.

At White Beach, there were restaurants serving everything from wood-fired oven pizzas, fresh seafood cooked in Filipino style, to Mediterranean, Italian and most world cuisines.
Come evening, cocktail parties at swish resorts and live bands in beachfront restaurants thrummed with trance and dance music while on a moonlit night, the silver-frilled surf ebbed and flowed as it has done for centuries. Candle-lit dining tables on the beach created pools of magic. Yes, Boracay has the lively personality of a beautiful woman who knows she is beautiful. Michael Caine discovered this paradise over 40 years ago when the film Too Late The Hero was filmed here.

Boracay has dozens of icing-sugar beaches and many coves; some sizzle with a high fun quotient whereas others stretch invitingly for seekers of tranquillity in the sun. The next morning, we were at Bolabog Beach where holiday makers in large hats were slathering themselves with sun screen before heading for the jet boats, banana boats and other adrenalin-pumping paraphernalia that bobbed on the water. Here we zipped around on a banana boat, went jet skiing which was more than just a mild flirtation with the water, and our heart beat just raced when someone suggested the Flying Fish.

This is essentially a rubber raft that lifts out of the water and bucks like a wild horse even as it is being pulled by a speed boat. Some brave hearts tried it and returned with wobbly knees, minus their glasses but with large smiles painted on their faces. Undersea walk, kite surfing, snorkeling, parasailing and diving amidst the reefs, island hopping, cliff jumping, horseback riding, etc, are the other addictive pleasures offered on the island.

The next morning we were at Happy Dreamland Park, in northern Boracay, a fun park for kids from where we embarked on an ATV (all terrain vehicles, also called quad bikes) ride. After a safety briefing and operating instructions, we donned helmets before embarking on a practice run.

Satisfied that we could handle the bike, we were given the green signal and were soon tearing down the road. (One of us steered the ‘beast’ and the other rode pillion.) We had been warned not to drive above 30 km an hour but as the ATV pitched like a ship in a gale, we bounced like lifeless mannequins, our heads rolling from side to side.

The track dipped and rose but relief was at hand when we stopped at the Ocean Tower View Deck, the highest vantage point on the island, to admire one of the most arresting views of Boracay. Below us, the ocean flared like a shimmering turquoise-blue skirt while on the other side was a golf resort — a smooth carpet of green. In our immediate vicinity and just below us was a lovely terraced villa above which a 300 m zip line stretched for those who want to fly from the mountain to the beach and feel the earth tilting to meet their knee caps!

Back on White Beach for our last evening of magic, we enjoyed the caress of the crisp breeze and the feel of fine grain sand slipping through our toes. We sipped a pre-dinner beer at our favourite beachfront bar where the bartender dispensed bonhomie and bottled cheer. In front of us, a dreamlike blue ocean ebbed and flowed while a line of white sail boats skimmed and bobbed on the swells into a classic spectacular sunset.

Over three idyllic days, we had absorbed the unhurried pace of island life and had fun as well. We left reluctantly the next day with many a backward glance.