The long way to Boracay
Trip Start
May 11, 2010
1
5
27
Trip End
Aug 01, 2010
Boracay Island, Aklan, Philippines
Sunday, May 30, 2010
was rather full and I ended up sharing my seat with two super cute kids, Rex (9) and Victor (7) with their mum on the other side of the corridor. Next thing I knew their mum offered to share their delicious rice cakes with me and before I got a chance to ask if I could take a picture of her cute sons, she had her camera out so she could photograph me and the boys enjoying our breakfast on the go. The bus stopped now and again to pick up more people and cargo, and the locals were always eager to pop by my window to say hi, ask what my name was or, in the case of a toothless old farmer who loaded a basket of unidentified fruit/veg in the bus, enquired how my journey was going - in impeccable English.
Later on Shariff and I caught a ferry from Cebu to Iloilo, and were pleasantly surprised to see that our economy tickets entitled us to individual beds in a cabin of 10, each bed was separated from the corridor with a gold curtain and we even got free sheets and pillows - I slept like a baby for 10 hours! The only practicality that required some adjusting on my part was not being able to stand or walk straight for about 13 hours, as the corridor height seemed to be designed for an average Philippino which unsurprisingly seems to be about a good head or two shorter than me. Which reminds me, the height difference between me and the locals is something they absolutely love laughing at; just today an exceptionally petite shop assistant asked about my height and it turned out she was a whole foot shorter than me; she was in hysterics and couldn't stop giggling.
Arrived at Iloilo ferry port on Sunday morning, ready to battle my way through the zillions of tricycle drivers all eager to take Shariff and I to the bus station on the other side of the town. It seemed we picked a wrong taxi after taking what seemed like the scenic route, but somehow we got to the bus station bang on time to board the next air-con bus to the other side of the island. At some point Shariff asked if i'd heard a chicken; I couldn't hear or see any in the bus, but when we stopped for a break halfway through the journey I noticed a man behind my seat had what seemed like a mysteriously moving plastic bag by his feet. Then a live chicken poked its head out of the top end of the bag and let out a little cackle - mystery resolved!
Later on Sunday Shariff's and my paths parted, as I headed off to Boracay to catch up with Hanne and her friends for a few days of fun, and make the most of the lovely beachside apartment Hanne had booked for us (although the delight of being able to take my first hot water
shower in ages was short-lived, as washing all the dust and dirt off seemed to also make me lost most of my tan off too, boo hoo...)
