Wednesday, May 16, 2007

Boracay: Taking the Boat


This past weekend we went to Boracay with a group of friends/family. While we were planning, we got the brilliant idea to take the boat (MBRS Lines) down and the plane for the return. This, in hindsight, was not such a good idea.

The ship leaves Manila at 17:30 and reaches Boracay at 8:30 the next morning. Usually you can eat dinner, have a couple of drinks in the bar, and then go to sleep. Upon awaking, you are already in Boracay.

We have taken the boat to Boracay before in 2003. At that time, it was low season, meaning the boat was practically empty. This time, the boat was oversold. Apparently one of the owners was running for office and gave free passes to potential voters. There were people mashed into every corner you can imagine. To reach our cabin, you had to step over tons of sleeping people. As a result, the bathrooms all smelled like death (worst smell you can imagine), the aircon didn't work, and there were piles of garbage all over the ship.

The president of the boat line will be at our house on Sunday so we will talk to him then. For now, I will never, ever take MBRS Lines to Boracay. If you are so inspired to do so, http://www.mbrslines.com/ is the website. Bring earplugs and a portable fan.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

April last year we went to boracay we took the boat mbrs also. It wasn't that crowded. and if you wake up early next morning you'll see the fishermen with thier small boats and sail in romblon i think. Enjoy your stay in boracay.

jonnifer said...

Hmm, let's not take this to Boracay. Too bad, boats are cool!