A  Boracay supermarket  is selling the 750ml  bottle of Antonov Vodka at P134.00( $2.91 ) and the cheapest vodka available  is the small 375ml bottle in the middle , the Cossack brand which is selling at P34.00($0.73)

The Philippines most famous rum brand,  Tanduay Rum sells at P34.00( $ 0.73 ) per 375ml, and the bigger bottle , the 750ml is priced at P69.00 ($1.50 ) at a local Boracay supermarket.

The 750ml White Castle Whiskey , which is made in the Philippines ,  sells at P62.00    ($ 1.34 ) and the Matador Brandy , 375ml,  sells at P38.00 ( $0.82 ).

The Tequila mix on the left sells at a high price of P226.00 ($4.91) , but the small bottle in the middle, the Ginebra Gin , is the cheapest of the cheap at P30.00 ($ 0.65 ) for a 350ml , and the Gilbey’s Gin sells at P170.00 ($3.69 ) for a bottle 750ml size.

On the left , is the Asian Brewery beer brands , Colt 45 at P60.00 ($1.33 ) for 500 ml and beside it is the Coors Light at P48.00 ( $1.04).San Miguel Beer(SMB)  owns 97% of the beer market in the Philippines.The best selling SMB beers are the Red Horse at P42.00 ($0.91) , the Pale Pilsen P29.00 ($0.63) , and the San Miguel Light P39.00 ($0.84)

Another great alcoholic deal on Boracay is the still standing after 15 drinking challenge at Cocomangas Shooter Bar , costing a reasonable P1280.00 ($29.00). This price includes your brass name plate for the wall of fame ,a free t- shirt ,the 15 shots of assorted booze, and  one number for your country to be tallied on the bar’s score board .Now that’s a great deal and tons of fun.

Planning a  vacation ?? If you’re  at home trying to decide where to take your next holiday , think about a trip to  the friendly exotic  Philippines .Generally prices for food ,lodging ,air travel   , and alcohol are very reasonable and one can be on  a limited budget and still really enjoy their vacation in the Philippines.  I mean where else in the world can you buy a mickey of first class rum for .$0.73 cents. You can’t even buy a chocolate bar in Canada for that price.

The  prices for the alcoholic beverages in the pictures  above are the retail  prices I found at a local Boracay supermarket ,which are a little higher than in other parts of the Philippines .Boracay being an isolated island ,  and goods generally cost more due to the hauling costs . So if you were planning  to spend your holiday  in Manila , expect the prices for alcoholic beverags  to be even cheaper than in Boracay ,but still not many would complain about the Boracay price of a San Miguel Beer at $0.63 cents .  

The alcohol prices  I quoted above are from the supermarket shelves , but booze does get more expensive if you plan to hit the bars and nightclubs  ,where prices for rum cokes can reach P120.00($2.40) , and for beers P100.00 ($2.00) is the norm. Filipino’s know how to party  hard ,  so if you want a fun holiday to meet friendly people ,   make your next travel plans to the  Philippines .Party on !!

Yours truly,

John Munro

Picture show’s the poster advertising the new P360 million peso  road down the middle of Boracay ,  which is another excellent project of   President Arroyo’s administration.

The new  road has been built right beside the ocean in some parts . In this photo , if you were going to turn left up ahead ,you would run into the Main Road at the  crossing to boat station number 3 . If you continue straight on the new road , you’ll end up in Bulabog Beach passing through the dead forest.

The circumferential road of Boracay passes behind the dead forest ,  which you can see on the left of the photo .Actually the dead forest is really dead now with no remaining trees standing , only the tree roots sticking out of the water.

The heavy machinery involved with building and carving out the new road on Boracay Island in the Philippines.

Here’s some good news from Boracay or bad news depending on how you look at this new road project . The good news is that the road network on Boracay will eventually become a one way street system with this new circumferential road project of Philippine  President Arroyo , meaning traffic will flow faster along the congested Main Road as all vehicles will be travelling in the same direction . Right now the small two lane Main Road is a mess because when the local tricycles  pull over to let passengers off ,  all traffic behind must stop and wait causing traffic delays .At least with the one way traffic it would allow traffic to always be moving , even if the local transport are dropping people off along the road.

More good news is the fact that the road has opened up access to the middle and back parts of the island . Some land owners will like the increase in people traffic the road will bring . Land values will surely rise ,and business opportunities will be plenty along the road . I remember in the 90’s when  the Main Road was first  built in front of Cocomangas , my reaction was sadness at the loss of the  white sandy pathway for a cement road , but traffic increased to my business because of that road so it ended up being a blessing in disguise.

The only bad news would be for the people that sought peace and tranquility by building on the backside of Boracay .The road will surely bring heavy noise pollution to some of the  quiet isolated properties. But like everything in life you can’t keep all of the people happy .The new road is a badly  needed infrastructure project for Boracay so tourism  can continue to grow to the one million arrival mark .

Yours truly,

John Munro

The good times for our special family night out started at the beautiful lobby of Boracay’s 200 million dollar Shangri la Hotel ,  which is well worth a visit .

Start Boracay’s best buffet  meal off with the cold salad bar .

Follow the salad bar with my favorite part of the buffet , tuna or salmon sashimi , or sushi .

Top chef s from around the globe prepare your delicious dinner at the Boracay Shangri la .

Save some room for the main course . So many choices to fill your hungry stomach you’ll be in heaven.

To end your beautiful dinner try some desert at the Shangri la’s chocolate fountain .

For special occasions I like to take the family out to what I think is Boracay’s best buffet dinner at the Bintana Restaurant at the new 5 star Shangri la Hotel .It’s not cheap (P1,400.00 net)but it’s worth it as you get what you pay for and that’s delicious food and lots of it.With international chefs and first class service ,  everyone will enjoy a night out at this  200 million dollar hotel which  is Boracay’s only true 5 star hotel.The trick to saving some cash on your  bill  is to drink  the glasses of house water ,  because if you order ice tea with your buffet that will cost you P160.00 plus plus per glass . If    you ‘re a family of five than all those ice tea’s will surely add up .

Right now until March 21, the buffet is at P1,100.00 net , as the Shangri la is putting on  a promotional buffet dinner rate to celebrate their first  year anniversary party . Congratulations to the Shang for turning one year and hopefully many more birthday’s to come .

There are many buffet dinner’s being offered along Boracay’s White Beach but none compare to the Shangri la .I had a personal tour of the Shangri la’s kitchens  and I can vouch that they are nothing but world class offering the best hygiene techniques.Along White Beach some buffet’s are very cheap like P 200.00 for all you can eat ,  but you might end up on the toilet all night as those fly by night operations are not the cleanest on the island.

On your next visit to Boracay ,   celebrate life with a gourmet buffet dinner at the Shangri la Hotel ,you won’t be disappointed.Enjoy the finest that Boracay offers.

Yours truly,

John Munro

Picture shows my dad and brother walking along Boracay’s main pathway back in 1986 ,where tourists could stroll  from Cocomangas to Jonah’s Fruit-shakes. Today in 2010(check photo below), if you tried to stroll along the same path you’d be killed by heavy vehicular traffic.

Picture above  shows the pathway of Boracay  in 1986 going through the heart of Barangay Balabag. No cars or motorbikes to be seen , only bicycles and people walking about on the pure white sands of Boracay. Absolute paradise!!! Picture below is from 2010  taken from the same spot (What a difference 24 years makes).

Horses were a common sight along Boracay’s beach trail back in 1986 .The above photo taken right out front of Cocomangas Shooter Bar .Below is the  2010 photo taken from the same spot . I preferred the horse back mode of transport!!!

What was Boracay like back in the year 1986 ? I inevitably get this question from a visitor every night while working  at Cocomangas Shooter Bar in the beautiful Philippines.  Boracay in 1986 was  paradise to perfection with the whitest sand of any beach I’d ever seen on the planet . The quality of the white sand along White Beach had a perfect powdery feel to it like no other beach in Asia or quite possibly the world . The island was a special place in 86 with no cars ,no roads , no telephones ,no Internet,no daily newspapers, and hardly any tourists, just friendly locals. 

 I recently returned  to Canada to visit my sick mom and to help with  cleaning  out her apartment as she is moving into an independent living facility in Vancouver. While at home my mom  gave away all her photo’s which she had accumulated over the years and that’s where i found the  old photo’s of Boracay from 1986 , shown above . When I saw the photo’s I remembered how unbelievably beautiful Boracay was and I said to myself , it’s no wonder why I   stayed here all these years .Imagine an island with no roads , just white sand trails passing through the villages . It really was a paradise island like you see only in pictures or in a Hollywood movie.

One day in the early 90’s I awoke to dump trucks dumping dirt over top of the beautiful white sand trail which ran in front of Cocomangas. It was a sad day for me as i knew what the future was going to bring , a cement road with tons of traffic .The paradise island of Boracay really started to change when we got electrical power in 1992  . Electricity enabled builders to build faster with power tools and resorts offered better rooms with air conditioning and swimming pools .Commercialism arrived in the mid 90’s and Boracay has never looked back .

To the newcomer , Boracay is still a beautiful paradise island in the Philippines ,  but to the old timers there’s nothing like the old days … 

Yours truly,

John Munro