BORA!

So the LLDD and L decided to treat themselves this year to a little end-of-summer cum birthday party at Boracay (Visayan translation: bora – meaning “the beautiful people”, and cay – meaning “don’t talk to me here, either”)

This was the LLDD’s first trip to Bora since 1992 when he was still a LLS (lame law student) travelling with his blockmates. That trip was memorable because: (1) it was during an air-traffic controllers’ strike which grounded commercial flights, so we had to ride a rickety private six-seater propeller plane; (2) we were able to get a picture of a bronze Tetchie Agbayani; and (3) a pervert kept on chatting us up.

14 years later, some thoughts:

Excuse me for being pro-indoor plumbing – some people have complained about Boracay’s “overdevelopment”. I’m not one of them yet. Sure, there are a lot more resorts and restaurants and shops, but prices have gone down (relatively), choices have gone way up, and I always think of running water as a good thing. Bora ’92 didn’t have many amenities, and we can’t all be extreme/adventure tourists, can we?

Props – Large-screen open-air World Cup viewing; centralized ferry dock (in ’92, you couldn’t walk the beach without being blocked by boats and ropes every 10 feet); bars that set up on the sand at night; the south side of the island (where you still can have long stretches of beach all to yourself); braiding and tattooing; shops and restos run by cool expats; any beach sport; open-air "malling"; the general feel-good party vibe of the strip.

Booooooo. Booooooo – sailboats with cellphone logos; peddlers who go up to you in the water; lack of public restrooms along the length of the strip; motorcycle noise; overcrowding at the beach center (spread out, people! it's a long beach!)

I still don’t get it – banana boats; bars that hire cover bands; that ferris wheel at d’ mall (for that matter, what kind of lame name is “d’ mall”?)

Ou est la topless? - In ’92, there were topless foreigners EVERYWHERE; this time, I didn’t spot a single one (um, not that I was looking, LLDDL). Did I just come at a bad time? Was a law passed or something? Another thing that's changed: previously conservative Pinays have apparently ditched their maong shorts and one-piece suits and are now very secure and comfortable wearing daring two-piece bikinis (um, not that I was looking, LLDDL).

The LLDDL makes a mean birthday cake

The LLDD thinks the LLDDL would make a great spokesperson for Boracay

When in Bora, the LLDDL chooses to stay at Boracay Tropics Resort Hotel

The LLDDL heroically tries to hide the LLDD's ... um ... ab

Caaaaaa-nnonnnn-baaaaallllllll!!!!!

The LLDD has been known to stalk the LLDDL

mmm...midnight moonlight margaritas