A Wedding at Boracay

Sunset at Willy’s Rock

Boracay

It took me some time before I was able to visit Boracay years ago and it has been a once or twice a year adventure for me since then.  The first one was to join Boracay Skyathon last April (Read Here) and this one was to attend a friend’s wedding in Early November.  I’ve actually booked this flight way back in January when the wedding date was finalized.  I’m not a fan of attending weddings but seeing one in the fine white sands of Boracay would be quite an experience.

Boracay Garden Resort

Boracay Garden Resort

My place of resident for my three days was Boracay Garden Resort which is one of the resort under Regency Group.  The hotel was really spacious and so was my room, which had an overlooking view of the poolside.  I was able to get a package of around P8K for the whole stay which included breakfast and dinner buffet plus all the pick up and transfers.  Upon arriving, I had the Regency speedboat all to myself.  My room was situated just a few steps away from the gym and maybe just 10 meters away from the beach.  I was also able to use the gym to do my assigned run and had an overlooking view of the pool.

No to Lazy Days

A Bum’s Life

Sunset Watching

I didn’t plan anything special for this trip apart from the wedding so most of the time, I was just lazing around, taking a walk around the beach, Jonah’s shake, appreciating the sunset and of course, eating… and eating a lot. I always wondered what’s the area after station one so went pass station 1 passing through the walkway and I ended up in a restaurant which had a view of the beach from a higher perspective.  The unique part is that you get to ride a wooden elevator to reach the restaurant.  The view was really splendid.

Nami Restaurant

The Wedding

At the Wedding Venue at Seawind

The whole of Saturday was spent for the wedding with the first half of the day for preparation and the afternoon was for the church wedding and the reception.  The Church was nearby the Seawind Resort which was the area of the reception.  It was cool to be in longs sleeves and formal clothes in the beach and to add to the experience, I walked all the way from Sea Breeze in Station 1 to my Hotel in Station 2 in this attire.  The church wedding was at 2 pm and there were some photo opportunities after at the beach front which I missed since I preferred to go back to the hotel to rest first and go back during the reception at 6 pm just in time to catch the sunset.

I just can’t get enough of the sunset

I’m a friend of the bride She, who was one of my then staff in SGV turned friend and we’ve been in touch even after she left for Cayman Islands and Ireland for work.  That’s the story about my friend base – most of them are abroad.   The good part is that I get a lot of pasalubong and assistance in collecting my Starbucks mug collections.  She has indeed gone a long way.  I’ve met Ken a few years ago and he can be good and interesting in conversation as he has also done his fair share of travel.  When She informed me about the wedding, I immediately booked my flight.

The Newly Weds

It was fun watching the wedding ceremony and the banquet dinner and funny how our table was the last to answer the trivia questions which made us the last to eat but because of that, we also have chocolates as prizes. Neat competition, Right? Losers get the prize.  The beach was such a calm place to hold the reception and watching the program was really entertaining.

With She and her friends from McDonalds

All Good Trips Have to End

Leaving

That’s where the fun part ends as the next part really was the stressful part.  Upon checking in at Caticlan airport, I was informed that my flight was supposed to be the next day which was printed in my revised ticket but was never mentioned to me when it was rebooked by PAL.  I rarely complain in this blog but PAL rebooking my flight without my consent was really a breach of trust.  I could have taken a cancelled or delayed flight but this was worst.  So I insisted that I should take the flight the same day and there was a breach of procedure on their part on the rebooking.  I was wait listed for the next flight in Caticlan but they couldn’t accommodate additional passengers so I was diverted to Kalibo for a 5:15 pm flight which I was able to take.  I arrived in Manila the same day but not after being stressed out for a whole day of uncertainty of my flight.  I sent a complain letter both to PAL and Airphil and to date I haven’t received a reply.  Oh well, lesson learned and I’m now moving past this experience.