White sand, blue sky...Boracay! Oct 2-9, 2011

Chinese National Day Holiday, again? Yes, it's been a year already. Time flies when you're missing having fun.  Do you remember the significance of this holiday? It celebrates the founding of the People's Republic of China (PRC) on October 1, 1949. This holiday lasts a whole week, one of the so-called Golden Weeks in China. I hope this all sounds familiar. 


Anyway, Vivian had the week off school and we took advantage of it by going to Boracay, the Philippines, on our first ever mother/daughter vacation. 


Getting there was a bit of an adventure. We started on October 2 by flying from Shanghai to Guangzhou, historically known as Canton. Everybody go, "Aahhhh, yeah! I've heard of that place." After a false start, we had had to switch planes because the first one was "broken"(glad it was noticed while the plane was still on the ground!), we arrived without further incident in Guangzhou where we were to spend the night. 


Guangzhou is on the Pearl River in southern China,  conveniently located 120km northwest of Hong Kong. For you English teachers, grads and students, pay attention. This is an example of foreshadowing. With a population of "only" 12.7 million compared to Shanghai's 24, Guangzhou has a more manageable feel. There didn't seem to be a lot to do, unless we had wanted to go check out the Statue of Five Goats (a genuine attraction), so Vivian and I stayed in our hotel room and admired the view. 

Wait, it gets better if it's closer.

Our room had all the modern conveniences.

I didn't know if I should have been nervous or reassured.

As you've probably guessed by now, Vivian and I weren't staying at a Western-style hotel.We lived to tell the tale and flew out to Manila, the Philippines, the next day.

Vivian expressing her Asian heritage in Guangzhou Airport.

I guess all that enthusiasm tuckered her right out.

We flew China Southern Airlines whose pre-recorded safety announcements professed that the "captain, purser and every crew member cherish[ed] every opportunity to serve" us. If you say so...

Arriving in Manila

Yes, it did look a little moist, didn't it?

Ah ha! So this is why we had had to spend the night in Guangzhou instead of Manila. Nothing like a typhoon to put a damper (ar, ar) on holiday plans.

In true domino effect, staying in Guangzhou instead of Manila meant we missed our scheduled flight from Manila to Caticlan and had to fly stand-by. 

Vivian exhibiting patience.


I passed the time by counting the number of Asian couples in matching T-shirts. Mercifully, it was only a two-hour, eight-couples wait.  

I love these kinds of planes where they ask how much you weigh (more than you think!) so they know where to seat you. Nobody fib!

Arriving in Caticlan

This is actually a misnomer. We weren't in Boracay yet! 

Vivian was all smiles anyway. 

We still had to take a boat to get to the island of Boracay.

The dock

Note the gang plank

The ferry

No kidding. Glad I wore my sensible pumps. I really did.

Despite those news headlines running through my head ( "Dozens Drown After Overloaded Ferry Sinks"), we made it to the island of Boracay and its ferry terminal, where we caught a cab (all terms used loosely) to get us close to our hotel. We walked from the main road to the hotel as motorized vehicles are not allowed on the beach foot path. Phew! I think we had run out of modes of transportation. 

Boracay ferry terminal

The road to our hotel

Ya gotta love the welcoming fruit punch.

A little bedraggled, but we made it!

It only took two full days!

Our first hotel room

That's right, first. We had to move because of plumbing issues. 
Not my fault!

Now for the second room

Yes, it did look very similar to the first one, just one floor higher.

Day time shots

Our balcony

The pool you couldn't see because Vivian was in the way.

More of the pool 

We only went in it once. Why swim there when we had the most amazing beach right across the foot path? Photos coming soon...


Vivian demonstrated the various amenities of our room.

The do not disturb sign

The mini bar

The T.V.

The pillow
Ooooo, so fancy, I know. She just couldn't help herself.


Making our way out of the room

The second floor hallway

The main floor hallway

The stairs leading from the main floor to the second

The front of our hotel, "Le Soleil de Boracay"
We were right on the beach foot path.

It got a little crowded at night. I was definitely in the minority. So what else is new for me in Asia?

O.K. Busted. You caught the continuity errors. These photos were taken on different days. 

Speaking of continuity, I will move on, in thematic rather than chronological order. 

Boracay's big draw was, of course, the beaches and the sunshine. We had lots of both. The beach we stayed on was called White Beach. Creative name, I know. 


It's a long, wide beach on the southwest side of the island. Why write a thousand words when I can just start showing you the pictures?

I know! So gorgeous! 

Now look left...

...now right...

...now at me...

I'm on the beach!

Now back at the boats...

...now at Viv...

She's wearing my hat!

(Apologies to the Old Spice Guy)

I was ready to live on White Beach. Nothing like the ocean, as far as I'm concerned. 


Vivian and I went on those little boats, or paraws, on two separate occasions. One was just a sailing jaunt back and forth across the Sulu Sea. Doesn't that sound romantic? The other was an island-hopping excursion around Boracay island where we also went snorkelling. It was fantastic! No photos of those sailing adventures because I was afraid of getting my camera wet. You'll just have to use your imagination.


So, I know you've been wondering, "What is a paraw exactly?" Once I got the spelling right Wikipeida came to my rescue:

Paraws are known to sail between 11 to 17 knots (20~31 km/h). The outriggers, made of wood or more commonly, bamboo, may be straight or curve upward much like skiis and provide stability.

Construction
Traditionally these boats have been made from different types of wood. Modern implementations now use Marine Plywood for its availability. The lines for boats have used Abaca or Manila Hemp, but have fallen out of use in favor of synthetic rope.

The two outriggers are usually made from bamboo or various kinds of wood. They are attached to the boat via tarik (akas).[Known as trampolines on modern multi-hulled boats, the paraw trampolines are made of synthetic knotted rope. Yeah, comfort was an issue.]

The main sail may be made of anything from woven mats, cloth, canvas even plastic cloth. Traditionally, the main sail is similar to a lateen rig [like a Sunfish boat] and is attached to a vertical and horizontal spar. The sail differs from a traditional lateen rig in that the vertical spar is parallel to the mast and does not suffer from bad tack. The sail's spar may be as long as the mast, unattached and may appear to be longer than the mast when attached to it.The paraw is also equipped with a foresail or jib.           

It is not exactly equipped for keeping photographic equipment dry, but man! what a fabulous way to skim across turquoise waters. Thanks, Dad, for making me take sailing lessons. I wanted to take the "tiller" (two steering ropes), but I actually thought better of it, not being familiar with the waters and the fact that it was "honking hard" as P and W would say. Can you tell I really enjoyed the sailing parts of our vacation? Vivian was a very good sport and indulged me. 


What else did we do? Well, we went to D'Mall, the local "mall" (as if you couldn't tell by the name), which was just a short walk down the beach foot path.

Sights along the foot path.

Great sense of balance and posture

I saw these vendors everywhere. What was in those buckets?

Yogurt-type drink with...

...syrups to flavour it.

I get it now!

Two different "aisles" in the "mall"

Lots of great shops and restaurants

Vivian contemplated her breakfast choices at Lemon Cafe.

My amazing selection.

Our meal came to a whopping 700 pesos or $16.47.

Another place we tried out.

Vivian, while she didn't go crazy, really loved these crepes.

One night we went to a Greek place.

We left with our eyelashes intact.

I still prefer the Danforth. 

Our favourite place was a Spanish restaurant called "Dos Mestizos". Although not right on the beach foot path, it was definitely worth the short walk we had to make. We liked it so much we went twice. These photos were taken our last night in Boracay.

Close up of the beautiful tile

The colour reminded me of our kitchen back in Toronto.

At the bar, no room anywhere else to sit.

How do you spell happiness?

T-a-p-a-s

The open kitchen

The musicians

What else did we do at night? One evening we went to a Fish Spa. You remember how last Christmas I went to one with all the guys, right? Now it was Vivian's turn to experience the unique sensation of the "therafish". 

So far, so good....

...then the fish really went to town, as evidenced by Vivian's reaction.

Don't worry, she was fine, with baby soft feet after.

Nom, nom, nom!

An old Fish Spa pro

We checked out the local market at night.

 Produce

Easter eggs? No, hard boiled eggs already dyed for ease of identification.

Small packets of liquid soap, face wash and shampoo so you don't have to put out big bucks to buy the large size that also take up a lot of space.

There was one night when we visited friends who were staying at the Shangri-La Resort at the end of the island. Viv and I took a local "taxi" to get there.

Hang on!

Another night, we walked along the beach foot path to catch the sunset near a local landmark called Willy's Rock. 

Willy's Rock and the most crowded section 

and time of day for White Beach

Vivian took the following photos. She actually knew how to adjust my camera to make the sunset colours really pop...

...and how to make it look like her mother was ingesting people.

Delicious!

What a lovely place.

The best part was having uninterrupted one-on-one time with Vivian without having to be in full-blown "mum mode". I sure hope we can have this kind of time together again soon.