Boracay 1/17/13 - 1/21/13

Boracay is the most popular destination in the Philippines, and for many backpackers that doesn't mean it is one of the best places to go.  More so it just means it's over developed, over priced, and over crowded.  Luckily, we did manage to find a place to stay for pretty cheap compared to many of the other options.  Having said all that, the beach and water are very pretty!  White sands, clear blue water, and sunshine (well, for some of the time).  It's one of the prettiest beaches we've seen thus far.

Don't be fooled though, we were not lucky enough to see this beach every day.  Half of the time we were there it was overcast and rainy, so it looked more like the pictures below.  Amazing how sunshine can make it look like two different places.  We were thankful for the sunshine the two days before we left.

Walking along the main drag on the beach front you see dive shops and hustlers trying to drum up business for their moto-scooter rentals, jet-skis, sailboats, para sailing, snorkeling, etc., and it all seemed very "touristy" in a sense that we wouldn't get the "real" experience.  Perhaps we are just spoiled, seasoned travelers at this point, but it is always a let down to pay money and just be a part of another mediocre tour group.  Therefore, we opted for laying on the beach most days and waiting for Monday when the immigration office opened.  

As mentioned previously, Boracay is crowded with tourists, especially ones who loved having photo shoots on the beach. We thoroughly enjoyed this people watching :-).  Kristin wanted to re-create the pose we saw in almost every picture on the beach:    

When entering the Philippines, you're given a 21 day tourist visa.  There's so much to see though, over 7,000 islands (only 2,000 or so inhabited), that it's nowhere near long enough.  Luckily, it is quite easy to extend those 21 days to 59 days for a tourist, and it was especially straight forward and easy at the Boracay office.  To be honest, it isn't so much that the government is concerned about immigration laws, but more to do with the extra 3,400 pesos ($85 USD) that each tourist adds to the "money pool". 

We enjoyed walking to the ends of the beach where it was somewhat quieter (at the far ends), although from the picture below you can see there were still lots of people along the way.  In addition to relaxing we walked the beach, threw the football, and watched more of SE Asia's wonderful sunsets.  Kristin can't get enough of them, but Matt can ;-).  We also managed to find a place that had cold beers for about $.60 each to help pass the time.   

After we obtained our visa extensions (picked them up a few hours after we dropped them off), it was time the next day to move on to our next destination- Negros Island, more specifically Sipalay.