The Philippines: Uncut (Part I)

Riding a boat to Boracay Island as the sun begins to
drop below the horizon.

It's been ages since I've posted because I have been taking time to absorb Korean culture without cranking out an immediate commentary. Christmas--a difficult time absent one's family but a period made all the more bearable by great friends--has come and gone. Two days ago, I returned from an awesome vacation in the Philippines. We visited Boracay and Manila, and I found Manila had a very western feel; it was almost like having a little slice of the U.S. again, except with a dose of Filipino culture. Here's the first dose of what went down!

A boat passes by us as we head to Boracay Island.

I'm kind of hooked on these sunsets in the
Philippines. BEAUTIFUL! 

A local man taking what appeared to be a regular
ferry trip to White Beach.

My favorite shot, taken en route to Boracay.

The Paradise Bay Beach & Watersport Resort. I recommend it! You'll
never believe what an absurdly low price we paid for this place! 

Ok I had to use a camera filter at least once--this is a part of the
beach to which we had private access from our resort :-)

Just looks like a big rock, you say? Well, we waded out to
this place and explored around and inside of it for a while.
Since our cave trekking trip got canceled due to high winds,
we needed to make up for it! 

We ate at a cool lunch place on White Beach in Boracay. It
featured vivid signs like this one, which is more literal for
me than the owners probably imagined (seafood allergy). 

Now moving on to Manila...

This sign has clearly seen better days, as it's supposed to read
 "People's Park in the Sky." This park provides a great view
of Tagaytay City, an area south of Manila. Getting here was...
let's just say...an experience! 

My hot mess travel companions :-p

Yep, another sunset

That's it with the sunsets--I promise! 

SO...MUCH...ENGLISH!!! I hardly knew what to do with myself.

More details on what we did while in the Philippines are to follow in Part II of The Philippines: Uncut. Stay posted (pun intended)!

-WTRJ