Boracay - 22 Years Ago

I visited Boracay August 1988 - that was 22 years ago.  Kalibo (Aklan) was the airport of access.  From there, I took a public transport to the Kalibo seashore where a motorized banca awaited to transport me to the island.  A time window was essential in order to arrive at the island during a high tide.  We arrived at a wrong time.  We had to land at a “special area” on the other side of the island where we had to wallow thigh-deep in the water because the banca could not make it farther to the shore; the rocks were very sharp it would rip the boat’s hull.  Then we had to walk to be able to get to the best part of the island.

The inconvenience was easily forgotten after I reached the area where the white sand beach stretched several kilometers.  I said to myself, “this is indeed paradise!”  The sight of the beach was awesome.  It was so overwhelming.  There were no permanent concrete structures, only small cottages and nipa huts.  There was no electricity.  By nightfall everyone used oil lamps and torches.   You can imagine how people lived in the past without electricity.  The smell of the sea in the evening was so inviting.  I walked through some dark areas saturated with coconut trees; I bumped into some guys whom I thought were locals until I realized they’re foreigners when I heard their greetings.  I bode the time until dawn just sitting in the seashore.  The sea breeze feels refreshing and invigorating. Cellular phone was not in the vocabulary at that time, the only means of communication was a VHF radio.

It was already dawn when I headed towards the sea shore; it was still dark because of the thick clouds. One of the most wondrous sights was the magnificent sunrise, although the sun was partly obscured.  There were already several people swimming and bathing.  There were topless Caucasian girls on the beach, what a sight indeed!  But I heard the government had begun to impose restrictions on the areas allowed for topless.  I wish it wasn’t implemented.

Daylight came, it wasn’t hot, and it rained the whole morning.  I sat in the shade drinking rum and coke until I got a little bit tipsy.  It’s not difficult to recover after you take a dip in the water.  I built castles in the sand, I ran along the seashore, I allowed a mongrel to chase me around the coconut trees, nearly ripped the towel I wrapped around my waist, I ate native delicacy, I swam and snorkeled and did whatever I wanted to do.  Nobody cared.  I lost track of my expenses I paid but I’m pretty sure my five-day stay there didn’t cost me much.

My holiday was cut short after I got a message from the cottage attendant that I have phone-relay through their VHF radio.  I went to their “office” and was disappointed to learn that I was required to be in Manila ASAP because I am due to depart for overseas assignment within 3 days.

I haven’t been to Boracay ever since.  I heard that the place had improved greatly.  The accommodation is better than before.  The amenities are more developed and modern.  Seeing the advertisement pictures in the internet today would give you the impression the island is prosperous and booming. But I think too much commercialization in the island will do more harm than good in the ecological point of view.  Despite the comfort and luxury Boracay can offer these days, the experience I had on my first and only visit to the island cannot be replaced and will remain in my memory forever.  – August 2010.

When Everyone Is Asleep

My vehicle became disabled for several days recently and the only way to get a ride from my home to my workplace is to walk from my house to the gate where a waiting shed stands. It would be okay on daytime or evening but when you do this at 3:00 o'clock in the morning is a different story. Well, of course you can phone a cab but giving directions to a cab dispatcher is quite difficult. The pool of water in the street where the subdivision's drainage system has failed made the situation more complicated. Cabs refuse to pass the area saying the water is deep. Some cab charges 30 pesos on top of the meter reading.

Not considering the difficulty I encounterd reaching the dry road avoiding the pool of water, the eeriness and the sound of the dogs barking (sometimes howling) makes you ask, "are they barking at me or are they howling at someone else?". And what about the boa I mentioned in my previous blog? Lots of fear factor that needed to be overcome.

At the waiting shed, the streetlight near the shed is most of the time out. The danger is iminent when you hang out there for a long period of time waiting for a taxi to pass. Tricycles rarely pass at this hour of the early morning. I cannot imagine the same risk other people take, especially the women who goes out at this early hour of the morning heading to work.

I remember one time when I was driving my vehicle. I saw a girl with a nursing uniform waiting for a ride in a dark part of the road. I could be a good samaritan and give her a lift but on the second thought I might be mistaken for a "kidnapper". Thinking clearly, I was one hundred percent sure she would decline my offer for a ride. I was also afraid I would scare her if try to slow down the vehicle in front of her. She might scream and run for help and my presence would be a ground for accusation per circumstancial.

I just shook my head in frustration and passed the girl in nurses' uniform without slowing down, feeling sorry for the situation.

Telegram

There used to be two big names here that offer telegraph and telegram services. The nation relied on this service for its main communication. People relied on this for airport and pier arrivals of people, cargoes, merchandise and money transfers. Bottom line, our economy depends on this service.

A “social telegram” is for special occasions. In those days, getting a social telegram is a big deal. A “regalo gram” is a gift sent thru telegram. You get to choose from a catalogue which item you want to send. A “singing telegram” is when the delivery guy sings a song to the recipient. All these are the essentials of the decade’s social communication.

The later generations are actually not familiar of what I am discussing here. They sure miss the sweet thrill of waiting for the arrival of a social telegram. They have not experienced the process of going to a telegram counter to file a message; the annoyance of falling in line for sending an urgent message; the feeling of having a box full of telegram files received.

With the advent of cellular phones, the first industry affected were the pager companies, then the telegraph and telegram communication followed. An enormous loss for some companies, for the benefit of other company’s technological advancement. The cellular phone era has made a huge impact on the economy. What used to be an hour’s wait for a message seem to be incredibly overcome by a cellular phone’s “instant” messaging.

Before we leave this world’s high-technology competition, we will see more advancement and development that would leave the cellular phone era obsolete.