Christmas in Paradise
Trip Start
Aug 13, 2008
1
9
Trip End
Ongoing
Badian Island, Central Visayas, Philippines
Saturday, December 25, 2010
Badian is a fantastic getaway where everything is geared toward relaxation of body and mind and was the absolute perfect spot for our honeymoon. The conscious absence of TVs, phones, internet and even clocks allow you to wind down completely, whilst the peaceful island setting and abundance of flowers make it truly idyllic. If all this wasn’t enough, they also served up some of the most fantastic, flavoursome food we’d ever had the pleasure to gorge on! We did our very best to eat 3 times a day, every day but sometimes it just wasn’t physically possible (the all-incusive bar probably didn’t help matters!).
Our first full day in paradise was Christmas Eve. After a hearty breakfast we headed over to the Coral Garden, the resort’s private stretch of beach with a pristine coral reef for snorkeling just 10 metres off the shore. Charlie was in her element, bobbing along and snapping away with her camera. Unfortunately, she got a little carried away and stayed out for longer than she expected in the mid-day sun, resulting in a few difficulties sitting down for the next few days!
The weather was great so we set out on the resort’s small yacht for a few drinks at sea and a spot of dolphin-watching. Just as we got out into the open waters, the wind picked up, making it increasingly difficult to spot dolphins amongst the choppy waters. Our captain was just making his apologies for a fruitless search when we had our first encounter: 2 spinner dolphins swam across in front of us. Over the next twenty minutes or so we were joined by a few more spinners as well as some melon-head dolphins.
Despite us both having seen dolphins before, it was a great sensation and an adrenaline rush, particularly after the long wait (and a few beers!). In fact, we were so excited that we forgot about taking photos, despite being armed with 3 cameras!? I managed to get one video whilst Charlie – kitted up with her big camera and snazzy new zoom lens – captured one more by luck than judgement, as she wasn’t even holding the camera to her face! It was a cracking way to spend Christmas Eve, and slightly different to the traditional all-day sesh in the Hogs!
Christmas morning came and we were lucky enough to have a stocking to open, courtesy of the two dancing Santas that had serenaded us with ukuleles during dinner by the pool the night before! The customary Crimbo morning fuzzy heads were soon treated with a couple of glasses of buck’s fizz and some stocking goodies – we even had satsumas! The remainder of the day was shared out equally between lounging by the pool drinking cocktails, paddling in the pool drinking cocktails, relaxing on our balcony drinking cocktails and eating sumptuous meals whilst drinking cocktails!
As the time drifted along through the week, we put our feet up and unwound further and further, lounging around and basking in the warm but pleasant sunshine with occasional cooling shower. Our room was also a grand, cosy pad of wooden beams and comfy furniture where we could enjoy breakfast in bed as well as the impeccable service which was highly-attentive but never intrusive.
A glass-bottomed boat ride over the Coral Garden allowed us a glimpse into the stunning natural beauty of the waters around the island without getting wet, and we were also given the opportunity to plant our very own ‘love tree’ on the island. As the harpist played out ‘Unchained Melody’ and we were served a freshly-opened, heart-carved coconut to commemorate the young life of a coconut tree as a symbol of our love, we both ignored the fact they had spelt my name wrong on the plaque!
Our final day on cloud nine was possibly the finest, and was certainly a fitting way to end what had been a wonderful week. In the day we headed down to the Thalasso Waterfalls to kick back one last time in the natural pools and the dry sauna, whilst at night we again ventured out on the private yacht, this time for a candlelit dinner. Attended to by our own personal waitress – not to mention the acoustic guitarist and speedboat driver who made trips back to shore to ensure the 2 main courses of our 5-course feast were served hot! – we sat there sipping red wine, watching a distant thunderstorm light up the sky as we gently bobbed on the water.
We reluctantly took the speedboat off the island, waved farewell by the owners and staff, and headed to the airport for a brief stay in Manila before heading back to the real world (well, as ‘real world’ as you can get in Medan!?). Our pre-trip plans to have a big night out in Manila to see in the new year were scrapped: not only were we far too relaxed to venture out into a bustling throb of revelers, but 2010 had been such a special year, we really didn’t want to celebrate its close!
