By: Carol McGiffin
The only thing I knew about the Philippines was that the wife of a former president famously owned a lot of shoes. I probably couldn’t even have pointed to the islands on a map.
But now, thanks to my brother, who got a job there two years ago, I know more, I’ve been there and I can’t believe I left it so long.
There are no direct flights from the UK to the capital, Manila, but getting there is worth the trouble of a stopover - and it gives you the opportunity to experience another dynamic Asian city, be it Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok, Seoul or Shanghai.
Being used to Asian cities I thought I was prepared for Manila, but when I arrived I quickly realized it is like no other. It’s busier than Bangkok, crazier than Kuala Lumpur, as swish (in parts) as Singapore and easily as happening as Hong Kong.
The city’s sprawling size is mind-blowing. One big bonus is that the airport is very close - in theory it shouldn’t take more than 20 minutes to get to the centre of Manila, although it often does because traffic can be a nightmare.
My other half, Mark, and I were staying in Makati, which is the main business district and shamelessly upmarket - a world away from the extreme and desperate poverty you can’t help but notice on the journey from the airport. Certainly it’s tricky when your hotel room costs more for one night than some of the staff earn in a year, but if the guests didn’t come then they might be earning nothing at all. We made sure we tipped well.
Our hotel was the Makati Shangri-La, a fairly new property with one of the grandest lobbies I have ever seen.
As I walked in, I suddenly felt decidedly out of place and underdressed, having travelled for almost 48 hours and then been ravished by the Philippine heat. So it was straight into the giant walk-in shower and then straight out to explore the cosmopolitan bar scene.
The prices came as a shock - after the skyscraper-high costs in Hong Kong, Manila seemed very reasonable. A glass of wine in an upmarket bar costs about £3. We took root in a bar/restaurant called Spicy Fingers, which stayed open late and had a live band. Live music is huge in the Philippines; almost every bar has a band playing and they really get into it. It was a late night. Late but cheap.
The next day we got up way too late and, of course, missed breakfast (hardly surprising) but, undeterred, set out to explore the city in daylight. Well, explore the shops!
Manila is home to the Mall of Asia, reputed to be the biggest on the whole continent, but it seemed easier to just nip across the road where there were two massive shopping malls. Greenbelt is packed with luxury brands while Glorietta is a more realistic and affordable option.
A few hours were enough for me, so I headed back to the sanctuary of the pool terrace at the Shangri-La and booked massages before dinner for myself and Mark.
That night we didn’t leave the hotel, spending a good few hours in the pool bar before tucking into an all-you-can-eat buffet in the Circles Event Cafe, one of the hotel’s three restaurants. It is the least formal, with a buffet most nights.
Next morning we sped to the domestic airport terminal to get the flight to Boracay, a small island in the Visayas region, about 200 miles south of Manila and the main attraction of our holiday.
The airport for Boracay, Caticlan, is on the island of Panay, a short ferry trip away. As you fly in, you can see how tiny Boracay is, so narrow in the middle that you can literally walk from one side to the other in five minutes. Boracay is famous for its White Beach, consistently voted one of the best in the world. It’s certainly not difficult to see why. The sand is like flour, as soft as feathers and, amazingly, it never gets hot because there’s no iron in it
The beach stretches almost the entire length of the island’s west side and is the main focus for 99 per cent of the tourist activity. Hotels line the beach but none is overly intrusive and there’s still tons of space, unlike some beaches I’ve been to in Thailand that are smothered in sunbeds.
And it’s cleaner than clean because there are rules and people respect them. No smoking (yes, really), no dogs and no littering.
Even though the island is very small, there are lots of areas to explore, which is why we chose to stay in three different hotels.
First up was Fridays, one of the oldest and most established on the island, positioned near Boat Stop 1 at the north end of White Beach. The hotel’s houses are built using only natural materials, primarily bamboo, although its famous sign, which must be one of the most photographed in the world, is moulded driftwood.
Our room was right on the beach and so close to the bar and restaurant that they didn’t mind setting up a table on our terrace for us to have our breakfast. Breakfast always consisted of mangos and mango juice.
The Philippines are famous for mangos and we enjoyed the sweetest, most delicious I’ve ever tasted. One morning I ate five and spent the whole day racing around due to the massive sugar rush.
Fridays is one of the best places to be at sunset. Happy hour runs every day from 3pm till 6pm. They don’t mess about, either - it’s simply two for one and you can have the second drink when you’re ready or, if there are two of you, have one each. Boracay is big on happy hours. Every single bar has one and it’s very competitive, some lasting seven hours. With offers such as ‘All you can drink between 5pm and 8pm for £4’ at the Obama Grill, there doesn’t seem to be any reason not to indulge most nights.
Be warned, though: leave yourself time to eat because the restaurants on the island finish early - round about 10pm.
I was more than happy on White Beach, but we did take a stroll to Bulabog Beach, just a few minutes away on the other side of the island’s narrowest middle section.
Wild, windy and wavy, Bulabog couldn’t have been more different from White Beach where the sea barely moves. Bulabog is perfect for all the wind-based watersports that are offered there and consequently is a haven for young, toned and tanned surfers. It’s more informal and relaxed than White Beach, but it wasn’t for me: I prefer calm serenity to the action-packed and rough and ready, despite the eye-candy.
The main drag for nightlife is a sand road that starts around Boat Stop 1 and carries on all the way down to 3. We never made it down to the far south end, but most of the action goes on around The Mall, a shopping and entertainment centre with bars, fairground rides, restaurants and shops selling everything from spectacles to fashion and pharmacy essentials.
Our favourite bar was the Mango-Ray because it had a Mongolian Barbecue stand where we ate almost every night. Many of the bars along the strip set up live music stages on the beach and there was an awful lot of fire-dancing going on, too. As a result, there’s a strong smell of paraffin everywhere and a feeling that it could all go off any time - so be careful how you light your ciggies!
The second hotel we stayed in was the Boracay Regency. It’s much less back-to-nature than Fridays but right in the middle of everything. As much as we loved Fridays, it was nice to have a bit of modern luxury with a giant, comfy bed, silent air-conditioning and tea and coffee in the minibar. It also had the massive Kai Regency Spa, which I immediately booked in to. My feet emerged ten years younger, my toenails delicately painted in a gorgeous gold.
We had one night left so decided to go mad. Having loved the Makati Shangri-La in Manila, we checked in to a Tree House Villa at the Shangri-La Boracay. The hotel is right at the northern tip of the island on its own headland with a private beach. Although it’s big, because of the amount of space it occupies it doesn’t feel it.
First, a golf buggy ride to the villa. I hate golf buggies - they make you look like a lazy American - but I caved in and accepted the lift, and a good job too. The Tree House Villas are so high up the hill that my ears popped. The view was breathtaking and provided a fitting (if expensive) climax to our time in Boracay.
The room cost so much that for 24 hours we hardly left it. We watched the sunset, filled the Jacuzzi, ordered room service, watched the giant TVs and retired to the biggest bed yet, with the most amazing picture window looking right out over the ocean.
And so for the first time in weeks, we actually made it to breakfast before we checked out and deposited ourselves in the speedboat at the hotel’s private pier. It took us all the way back to Caticlan airport in ten minutes flat.
And despite the long, long three-flight journey home, I’ve already booked my next visit
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Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/article-2005494/Philippines-Eternal-happy-hour-white-sand-beach-burn-feet.html
