All posts tagged: boracay

Notes from a first flight

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Feb. 23, 2022, quickly jotted down on my notebook: Everything takes on a whole new meaning after two years and three months. The airport coffee, though shockingly bitter, becomes a sweet reminder that you are, in fact, waiting for a flight. The check-in counters are not just another hurdle to go through but are gates that will open up to a world that has been closed for over two years. Your sister’s luggage–filled to the brim at 20.4 kg because she has forgotten how to pack light–goes ahead, making its way through the conveyor belt, tentative, like you. On the plane, the flight attendants whose svelte figures used to mock your cookie-filled… uhm, cuteness, are now wrapped in blue PPE, looking no different from health workers. They are there to take care of you, after all, which is a comforting thought in the middle of a pandemic. “Are we in the clouds? It’s so white!” the kid in front of you asks as she fidgets endlessly in her seat. She talks non-stop to her very …

Boracay: There and Back Again

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Boracay is the toast of the town now, bagging international awards here and there. But there was a time–and we saw it then, on a family vacation in the early ’90s–when the island was less crowded and the beachfront was bigger and cleaner. It has changed a lot today, but the best things have stayed the same: the sand is still super fine, the sunset can still silence anyone, and the waters still gleam turquoise in the sun.   ==================== If Boracay were an ex-boyfriend, he’s the kind you’ll come back to no matter how many times you think you’ve found a better guy. You could wander, hopping from island to island–which is tempting in a country with 7,107 of them– but in the end, you’ll find yourself back in Boracay’s arms, knowing in your heart, it’s The One. Unfortunately, when the summer fever hits, you’ll find that you’re not the only one who has come to that conclusion; fortunately, love would teach you to live with the fact that you have to share the …