Fun Filipino Stylin

Imagine turquoise waters lapping at your feet.
Imagine prickly palms swaying overhead.
Imagine a soft sea breeze caressing your sun soaked body.
Imagine reggae beats wafting in the air.
Imagine an ice cold beer in your hand.

You don't need to imagine it if you are in the Philippines.

For my Chinese New Year holiday I managed to get myself a package (all you wayward old school travelers, don't roll your eyes at me) to the beautiful island of Boracay, in the center of the Philippines, about 2 hours by plane, bus and boat from Manila. Ordinarily, I like to rough it and neurotically plan every step of my vacations, but this time all I wanted was a few days of real rest and relaxation at a reasonable rate, so a friend and I booked 5 days at a lovely beach resort on the White Beach (that's its name, I'm not kidding) of Boracay.

Consistently nominated as one of the world's most beautiful beaches, the beach certainly did not disappoint. When we weren't splayed out on the sand, we were tropical bar hopping and people watching. Oh, and we spent a day on the boat fish watching too (aka snorkeling). We met quite a few random travelers, as Boracay is definitely a tourist spot, but I wouldn't exactly call it a tourist trap as it is not exorbitantly expensive and it manages to retain a lot of charm. Besides, the natives were so friendly! Even the constant echo of "Sunglasses MAAAAAAM" and "Massage MAAAAM" was not irritating. Most of the people we met were all smiles, despite the obvious poverty that they resided in. To my amazement, I learned that the native language lacks a word for depressed or unhappy,leading me to conclude one of two things:

1) They are in serious denial, or
2) Most people are truly happy, or at least content.

I'd like to think it was the latter. Hell, if I was surrounded by such natural wonder all of the time, I think I'd be damn happy!