Bangers & Mash

This is the life!

I said this to myself as I was lying on the king size bed in Room 1 of Friday's Boracay Resort enjoying a delicious chocolate truffle that was left for us by the Housekeeping staff that turned down our bed for the night.

I repeated the same words while lying on the powdery white sand as water met the shores.

Either it's all this pent up stress, or it felt real great to be pampered (or both). After years of working in sales and customer service, it was refreshing to be on the receiving end this time around.

One of the biggest things I've ever won in a raffle was this recent 2 days, 3 nights stay(I was lucky because the one picked before me already left) at the posh Friday's Boracay Resort. Initially the trip was planned for the 29th of September, but thanks to typhoon Milenyo we had to move it to the 13th of October.

The flight to Caticlan was surprisingly smooth. A few minutes after we arrived, Rob and I were met by Rey who shuttled us to the dock. He accompanied us on the bangka and engaged us in friendly conversation. It made the ride much more comfortable.

As we reached the beach front of Friday's, a welcoming party awaited us and we were given leis and drinks. Our bags were carried for us, and we even had our names on their welcome board. Man!

At the reception counter, we checked in but were told that since it was still early, our room was not ready yet. A temporary room was assigned to us. Wow! Even the temporary room would have been acceptable quarters for our stay. We took a nap and were advised a few hours later that the room was ready.

Once we got to the room...boy! What a room! I then realized that we should have brought the kids with us. Aside from the king size bed, there were 2 other single beds that would have been perfect for them. Plus, being in station 1, the kids could safely run around and frolick about.

Eating at the resort need not be too heavy on the budget, as long as you strategically know what to order. Abilidad lang yan! Their Bangers & Mash(grilled sausages with mashed potatoes and onion gravy)was already filling for two plus we ordered another dish of less value with their very own chips...pwede na, yummy pa! But of course, we still had most of our meals at D'Mall.

Rob fell in love instantly with their Happy Hour which was from 3pm to 6pm. So wherever we were on the island, we would make it a point to be back at the resort before 6pm. Drinking by the beach...the greatest!

The distance from the resort to the hustle and bustle of station 2 made it a bit difficult to go to and fro. The first day, we took a stroll and later realized it wasn't a stroll..but rather, a hike? =) The first night, after leaving Bom Bom bar at around 1:30am, we made the mistake of walking back by the beach--except that, there was no beach! It was ultra high tide--one wherein you could no longer walk on the sand as the water was already by the edges of the resorts. If only we had a video of us playing patintero with the waves...Anyway, the walks began taking its toll on Rob's feet and so the next few times we took the trike instead.

D'Mall has certainly developed from the last time we were there which was January 2005. Aside from the many new shops and eating places, there is a wall climbing facility, a small ferris wheel??, Hobbit House?!, and even Cindy's fastfood! (Meron pa ba nun sa Manila?)

Another thing that has improved tremendously is the talent. There has been an increase in acoustic and reggae artists and this makes the night spots even more livelier. We hung out at Bom Bom bar (for some reason, the heavy bass noise of Cocomangas and Pier One were no longer inviting--signs of age huh? =)) Anyway, the sight of shirtless Ryan in dread locks and an eight pack, plus non-stop alcoholic drinks made the ladies (and some men, i'm sure!)swoon. But other than aesthetics, what was impressive was that any given moment someone would sit by the stage with bongo drums and would bang away and make it much more fun. At one time we counted a total of 6 bongo drummers by the stage.

This time, I wasn't able to reach Station 3 where the Talipapa and the good buys were. But there were still a few shops at D'Mall where you could buy stuff at reasonable, haggled down prices. Good enough.

As usual, since I hardly tan, I devoted a few hours that Saturday and then again Sunday morning to basking in the sun. The water was nice and lukewarm which made swimming perfect. It was bad too since I didn't even bother to put sunblock Sunday morning in the hopes that I would at least have something to show for my few days in paradise. I was pretty successful...in roasting my skin enough to have a slight reddish color. I now confirmed that so far that October is the best month to go to Boracay. Its nice and windy, the water temperature is just right, and its not too crowded.

We left the island around 12:30pm that Sunday. We said goodbye to our few days of "living the life". It was time to get back to reality and what really mattered...the kids!! Though the plane ride back was dreadful (with my upchuck reflex making itself visible!eww!), an hours sacrifice compared to about 60 hours of enjoyment made it all worthwhile.

Rob and I hope to be able to return to this fabulous resort, but this time, with the kids. Our wish is that we would be able to let them have their turn to enjoy "the life" that is Boracay. Next year perhaps?...

written 10-18-2006