The most awaited yearly epic party #LaBoracay still proves to be the main summer go-to destination for the past five years now. All ages, crossing generation gaps, and stature in life are present to witness and party hard it seems.
What went well?
The party organized by Globe dubbed as Sunkissed was well-planned. High Five and thumbs up to their organizers that provided game booths, beach activities during the day and a beachfront film showing in the afternoon until early evening at Boracay White Beach, Station 1.
Concert party with DJs (Mars Miranda, Ron Poe, MVRXX) well known internationally and domestic were present to maneuver the music and sounds which reverberates and liven the party until the wee hours of the morning. Some even retires only after 4 or 5 in the morning. Plenty of opportunity to meet new friends, beware and prepare to get wet and wild at Hydro Party LaBoracay 2017, Foam Party, and Wave Party. No shortage of party mood in the island for five straight days and nights.
Sunsets, as always the beachfront is always a box office. From Stations 1 to 3, all 6 kilometers stretch of the beach front is full of people witnessing the sunset this side of the island. You can see them taking a lot of pictures, selfie, groupie and of course a mandatory sunset picture the Sun being the main attraction this side of the beach.
Food, whew always fun doing “paluto” at D’Talipapa where you can choose what to eat and do your own marketing while expert cooks prepared them for you. After your morning swim, 10 to 15 minutes walk from Station 2 beachfront would bring you to home cook meals.
What went nay?
Availability of rooms, very scarce. Accommodations were booked as early as a year before the event. The rates skyrocketed and went up especially for last minute bookings.
High Priced, over rated menu rates. This was the scene in beachfront restaurants. Expect restaurants to be full and there's a need to wait before you can be seated. Quite noisy and loud crowd from Stations 2 and 3 as resorts decided to hold their own party where in the band, the songs and repertoire seemed like a competition and it sounded too much especially when each resort or resto would want to outdo each other.
Litters all over. I always believe and practice "Leave nothing but footprints" or "Clean as you go" and being there, I got frustrated because there were a lot or irresponsible travellers. Since there were a lot of people for the five days #LaBoracay happened, it cannot be controlled, hence you can see dirt and litters all over. The local government may have ordinances about cleanliness but sadly the travelers took it for granted.
Traffic in the main road. It is fun walking in the beachfront, but when you're pressed for time to be at some place else and can't afford to do sightseeing the main road proves to be the way to go. Unfortunately, the road seem to be always full of transport vehicles. The drivers were a mixed of accommodating ones, irate ones and those that chooses who they want to service. Looks like they preferred foreigners than local travelers.
What’s New?
Themed restaurants such as Boracay Toilet, the island's version of Japan and Taiwan's famous toilet restaurants. The food was nicely done, warm and appetizing. Their menu boasts of witty yucky names but then again, it was cooked just the right way.
Streetmarket at the boundary of Stations 2 and 3 would offers sumptuous feast and international cuisine that you'd be interested to try while there.
The travel to witness LaBoracay2017 event is an eye opener for me. The way to improve and create a more sustainable destination would depend on both the travelers, private entities and the government. It is undeniable that Boracay sand, sea and skies are way better than islands in Bali, Indonesia or Phuket, Thailand. But the way things are going, we will soon be losing tourists to other beach destination because the island became too commercialized and the magic of being in a rustic, serene, clean and relaxed setting became hectic, busy and dirty. I hope I'm wrong and Boracay gets to bounce back in becoming a beach destination of choice to both foreign and local travelers.
