Sunrise on Bolabog Beach
Boracay Island: the land of the perfect shores: where the sands are so fine, clumps of it could be mistaken for polvoron.
Boracay is considered the party paradise of Manila's harried yuppies. Whenever they get tired of the city life, many a corporate slave from Makati has tried escaping to the shores of Boracay.
Thus, it is not surprising that quite a few have decided to make the permanent move to Boracay, or "Bora," as the tourists call it.
Just as an aside, while the tourists call the island "Bora", the locals actually abhor the nickname. In fact, they are so allergic to it, that there was a local ordinance passed, barring local businesses from using "Bora" in their business names or promotions. The locals would prefer to call the place by its full name, "Boracay," or, "Isla."
That aside, I'd like to tell a little story about an ad girl. She told me the story of how she, as an ad agency veteran, a copywriter and creative worker for an undisclosed ad company in Metro Manila, would spend most, if not all of her bonuses escaping to Boracay. At her age, mid-twenties, she was bored and burned out from her life in Metro Manila. She's had it with trying to escape from her problems by running to Boracay; so she figured it was high time to make the move. She found a job at a prestigious spa on the island, and in a series of serendipitious events, found herself moving to Boracay. A total uproot.
Despite the move to the so-called "Sin Capital" of the country, she found that the island "cured" her of the hedonistic life. It was not long before she gave up her old hedonistic practices. She found herself turning to simpler joys. She realized that her restlessness started to get easier to cure. Instead of turning to booze to forget the things she was dealing with, she learned that the itch of boredom or stress could be cured by simple joys like watching the sun rise, the sun set, or... The moon rise. Things that nature gifted her with were the better diversions from the wear and tear of daily living. Soon, she found herself letting go of booze, partying, and even... Meat. In fact, she found that the people she was trying to escape from were the very people she started missing. Her life did a good 180-degree turn from being the partying Ad Agency girl to the serene island girl that she is today.
Did she regret it? No. In fact, she was the first to welcome me to the island. Gave me a list of places to go to for cheap, as well as things to do to protect myself. It was like a serene initiation of sorts, from one survivor of the corporate world to the new island refugee.
Take note, leaving the comforts of the city and holing up in paradise isn't for everybody. Some will get restless. Others may never want to leave. For those who have decided to move to The Isla and have not left since, it may well be paradise.
How about you? Would Boracay captivate you to the point that you never want to leave? Or would it just be like a wistful daydream that you can go back to when life drags you down?
It's all up to you, really. Like everything else in life, Boracay will be what you want it to be for you. The bottom line is, it IS a place to rest. For a while or for the rest of your life.
Here's to rest, and here's to your own defining moments in life.
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