Ok, enough about Manila, let's talk about Boracay!
So the second half of our vacation was spent on the stunning island of Boracay. As soon as we landed, we couldn't help but be taken aback by the sheer beauty of it all. The White Beach at Boracay beats every other beach I've been to, hands down. The weather was perfection and every picture I took just looked like a postcard.
Seriously.
I can't believe I woke up to this view every morning. It was like a dream.
... and every evening was just as magical, as the sky was transformed by a crazy beautiful sunset.
Did I mention it's beautiful at Boracay?
This is the beach at dusk, just as all the restaurants and hotels begin their lavish outdoor buffet services and night events.
The hopping night life.
Thought this was kinda funny. 'Obama Grill' in Boracay, Philippines. :)
A view of all the shops and restaurants along Boat Station 2, White Beach.
There were tons and tons of jewelery stalls and street vendors.
Sigh~ I miss my vacation...
We stayed at Le Soleil de Boracay hotel, which was right on the beach front, in the middle of Boat Station 2, which is where most of the action is. The hotel itself was really nice, with a gorgeous pool, clean rooms, a gym, great room service, and genuinely kind, friendly staff. A great choice!
As soon as we checked into our room, we were each served with an incredibly refreshing frozen ice tea. I don't know how they got that froth on the top, but it was dairy free, icy, sweet, and just yum.
The hotel fee also included a breakfast buffet every morning, which served a mix of Western (cereal, scrambled eggs, pancakes) & Filipino (fish & rice) foods. There weren't many vegan options besides fresh fruit and bread rolls (I made sure they were vegan), but I was more than satisfied. Every day, I started the day off with two huge plates of tropical fruit and either some bread or congee, a rice porridge. Not bad. Not bad at all.
Those little green things are 'kalamansi' which are like very small, sour oranges. I liked to squeeze them over my papaya.
Watermelon, pineapple, banana, and congee rice porridge. I was being experimental and put a dollop of sweet strawberry jam in my savory rice porridge. haha.
We ate a lot of fruit on this trip. Not just whole fruit for breakfast, but also fresh fruit juices and smoothies, in-between meals and also for dessert. :) When you're perfecting the art of being a beach bum, a must-have (in addition to having a good book or a sketchpad) is an icy tall glass of tropical fruit smoothie.
banana smoothie
Mango smoothie (half empty you say? no, it's half full.)
A "veggie juice" I got at a cafe that used many local veggies that I can't remember or spell...
Watermelon smoothie
Another mango smoothie...
Ok, we did drink water too...
Here's a fruit smoothie stall that I frequented.
It's kind of amazing how much energy I had on this trip. Maybe it was all the raw fruit, the change of scenery, the sunny weather, or just that life was just gooood, but I was quite bursting with energy. I was waking up around or before 7 AM every morning, which is actually earlier than I do in Korea.
On one of the mornings, I even woke up at the crack of dawn (4:30 AM) to see the sun rise over the ocean horizon! Boracay is a tall, slim island, about 1km wide, so I was able to walk from our hotel which is on the West coast of the island, to the East coast in about 15 minutes. The sunrise was so moving~ It was pretty much just me, God, and a stray dog, saying hello to a brand new day. And then later that same day, back on the West side, I got to see the sun go down over the ocean again. That was a first.
On another morning, I got up to run 6-7km along the beach. Even by 9am, the sun was hot and I got a little pink on my shoulders and arms. It was also my first time running on sand, so that was intense. By the end, I was literally drenched in sweat, but I felt sooo alive!
And you know the best part of the run? Quenching my thirst and replenishing my electrolytes with fresh coconut water ('buko') and promptly jumping in the ocean.
On this vacation, I was also determined to take a yoga class, so after a little asking around, I found 'True Food,' an Indian restaurant with daily yoga classes at 9am. On the second floor, they cleared away the dining area, and created a very calming yoga space that is wide open and directly faces the ocean.
There were 7 students in total, with maybe half local residents, and half visitors like me. The instructor, Kate, was so nice and welcoming, and she helped me do my very first yoga head stand! :) sweeet~
And that's not all! I have more photos to share, but I'm all blogged-out for today. Peas and love~