The Most Recent Bitchy Get-Away

The trip has been planned as early as June; that’s the bitchy trademark, super super ahead with planning. And since I tagged it as a bitchy get-away you may have assumed that this would be with Yeth and Jingle. Originally it was, but Yeth recently had been very sickly she was advised by her Mom to take this one off. And because the plane tickets were already purchased and our hotel reservation was likewise paid, Jingle and I decided to still push it through; half-hearted of course because one head is out. Surely less pictures, less fun and hmm, less enjoyment. Jingle and I though are still positive that Yeth will be with us next time…

I needed to spend the night of August 27 in Jingle’s house so I won’t be late on our 2:30 AM trip to the Airport; our flight was scheduled at 5:10 AM and since there will be no buses yet by that time going to Metro Manila, Jingle borrowed the Revo of Ate Cynthia to ferry us to NAIA Terminal 3. Of course, we barely slept since I had a long chat with her sister Dyna who I haven’t met for months already. By 2:00 AM we prepared and by 5:10 AM we’re already boarding the plane which will bring us to Caticlan airport in an hour’s time. The excitement was as if it would be my first time in Boracay… can’t wait to tour Jingle around in my would-be yearly destination (it was Baguio before but I changed it now to Bora). We arrived at Bora a few minutes after 6:00 AM, and yes, Bora is still majestic even during the first few hours of the day!

All were arranged already (early check-in at SUR Hotel and round-trip land and boat transfers from Caticlan to the island) so we were not hassled by carrying our stuffs and loading them in the boat and the van service (thanks to that SUR personnel assigned to us!). Upon arriving in the hotel we immediately proceeded in our room, left our stuff and ate our breakfast in the dining area. Yes, I will recommend SUR to you guys ~ the place was cozy, their staff are accommodating, the rates are affordable and most importantly, it’s in Boat Station 1. While waiting for our breakfast, we went to the beach front, brought our cameras and took pictures left and right while a native guy was talking to us offering the usual adventure packages in Bora ~ parasailing, banana boat ride, island hopping, reef walking etc. Jingle and I opted to have reef walking and immediately closed the deal with the native. After our breakfast, we headed to the other side of the island where all these adventures are being done. If there’s one thing that we bitches are fond of doing, that is to try a little adventure from time to time ~ and indeed, reef walking was really an adventure! Imagine being 15 feet under the sea level, complete with schools of fishes and coral reefs not to mention, the possibility of a shark attack (not sure if Bora is shark infested). But it was really worth it, must I say. The 30 minutes of withstanding the underwater pressure is incomparable to the joy of seeing the life under the sea! Truly, nature has its way of amazing me.

After the reef walking, Jingle and I went to D’ Mall to (1) look for a photo processing store to transfer the pictures from the film to a CD (this we found out would take three days) since we didn’t have an underwater camera (the film was actually part of the 2K reef walking package for two pax); (2) to check-out “pasalubongs” and (3) to have our lunch. While Jingle was encouraging me to have my hair braided, I opted not to and instead settled for a headband. Jingle bought some shirts, key chains and some other items while I just accompanied her (I can’t buy my folks things from Bora since my press release was that I am going to Negros Occidental). We agreed though to buy shirts with Boracay hand-paints from Lonely Planet as souvenirs. Lunch time came and we had it in that famous Hawaiian Restaurant (sorry I’m not really good in names) in Station 1. Dessert was the crepe from Crazy Crepes from D’ Mall (oohhlala, after I failed to try it with Grace and Ryan on my second visit I finally tasted it!)

We then went back to our hotel room to catch some afternoon nap but I decided to wander around thinking resting idly in the hotel is a waste of time since we only have an overnight stay. I walked and walked till I reached the dead-end of Station 1 ~ the hill connecting Station 1 and the Yapak Island. I spent some 45 minutes of quiet time just contemplating while looking at the sea and then headed back to the hotel. Was surprised to see Jingle waiting for me in the hotel lobby and she claimed she’s been there the whole time that I was out (she said after a few minutes when I told her I am to go out she also got up from sleeping). We then went to Willy’s Rock to take pictures (again!). We then proceeded to Jonah’s Restaurant for her to have a taste of the island’s famous banana-mango milkshake. Truly, it was Nirvana sipping the fantastic milkshake! Just beside the Jonah’s there were some natives selling grilled stuff (hotdogs, isaw, tenga ng baboy, etc.) and yes, we splurged in these grilled foods and skipped dinner since we’re already full. Can you just imagine where your Php 200.00 can take you on these street foods which are being sold Php 10.00 – Php 40.00 per stick? We then had a few more dipping in the Boracay sea before calling it a day! We originally planned for a night-out but we’re both tired already we opted to just sleep. Jingle was joking I was already dreaming as early as 8:00 PM hehehe…

We had to wake up early since we will have a long trip from Caticlan to Iloilo, our drop-off point going to Negros Occidental (Jingle’s home province). As early as 7:00 AM we were already taking our breakfast and checked-out at around 8:00 AM. By 9:00 AM we were already leaving Caticlan via Ceres Bus Lines for Iloilo. It was a tiring eight-hour ride since (1) the roads in Aklan were zigzagging and (2) the roads in Capiz were rough ones. Much that I wanted to take a nap these two reasons spoiled my plan. By 4:30 PM we were already in Iloilo Port catching Weesam Express which will ferry us for an hour to Bacolod. We arrived in Bacolod by 6:00 PM, took a cab to EB Magalona and reached Jingle’s lair by 7:00 PM. It was their Barangay Fiesta so there was some sort of a Bikini Open pageant. It was probably because I am a new face and Jingle has been visiting them rarely, we were asked to judge the said pageant. Hmmm, natawa ako doon!!! We were three in the judging table; Jingle and I was eyeing Contestant Number 3 but the third judge gave another contestant a perfect score of 10 while Jingle and I gave our bet only a 9+ mark. Averaging the scores, our bet ended up as First Runner Up with the third judge’s bet winning the title. Hmmm, that was okay ~ all was just for the heck of judging! And since I took many pictures of the girls wearing their skimpiest bikinis (some were almost wearing nothing at all), I had an instant “pasalubong” to the sex maniacs in the office!

The third day was expected to be an idle one since it was the Barangay Fiesta and I can't mingle with any of the visitors of the Batchos since I don't know them. In the morning Jingle brought me to the Town Plaza where we went online for a few minutes to check some e-mails and tried the batchoy which they are famous for. I took some photos and we then headed back to their place. In the afternoon, I just took a nap and prepared for the evening’s activity ~ a show from a local band and Viva Hot Babe’s Jennifer Lee. Again, since we were new faces and Jingle’s sister Dyna was a sponsor of the fiesta, we were given VIP seats in the guests’ table (we were actually seated beside Jennifer Lee). Nah, was not fascinated by her… I didn’t even take a picture of her (aanhin ko naman yun?).

My last day in the Western Visayas was spent in Murcia, Negros Occidental where I visited the famous Mambukal Resort. The first part was trekking to the 6th Falls (they actually have seven falls) and mind you, this one’s really tiring. I will not blame my age with the difficulty in reaching this falls, since the trek was really arduous. All the tiredness we felt was paid off when we splurged in the super freezing cold waters of the falls! Now here’s the catch ~ since I didn’t have my usual morning ritual that day, my stomach did not cooperate. Upon reaching the site I am no longer comfortable; I really needed to, sorry for the word, defecate. And so, with only a tissue paper I looked for a comfortable site to give in with this uncalled call of nature. Yes, while doing this I am singing “Sa bukid ay may papel”; thanks to the tissue paper of Jingle’s friend Edward. And as if this blooper isn’t enough, when we were doing our shower I found out I didn’t bring extra underwear and belt to support my loose short. Can you just imagine how I survived the travel for two hours from Murcia to EB Magalona under this dilemma? That wasn’t a good way to end this get-away!

Upon arriving in Jingle’s house we just freshen up (and I wore an undie and put my belt on) and proceeded to Silay International Airport for our 6:00 PM flight back to Manila. For the second time, Jackie Manzano was our flight attendant (when the bitches had our first jaunt Jackie was also our flight attendant).

This trip may be a little pass my average rating since for one thing, Yeth isn’t with us which makes the enjoyment incomplete. But at least, it was an opportunity for me to rewind and relax. And yes, it triggered my and Jingle’s excitement (and hopefully Yeth’s) for our next trip. Next destination: Singapore hopefully! For now, it’s home sweet home and yes, back to reality.