J and I spent 3 days in good old Boracay. This time, on Diniwid Beach — which is about 5 minutes walk away from Station 1.
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Travel Agent Advisory
J found a great deal on the internet for Nami Private Villas, and really, the price couldn’t be beat.
Watch out for Ren, one of their travel agents. He is quite a cheat.
In summary:
J finds their website on the net, speaks with Ren, tells Ren I will be calling to confirm details and possibly book.
I call Ren, ask for rates for Room only and Room with Airfare. He gives me costs (99USD per night, transfers included, 8USD per person per breakfast, all taxes included, exhange rate at 56PHP to 1 USD, 120USD per person airfare, 2000PHP downpayment, rest upon delivery of tickets and itenerary) and I ask him if they give actual airline rates or if they have a surcharge for airfare (in which case I would purchase the tickets myself) Ren says no surcharge for tickets purchased from their company. Cool. I tell him I would speak with J and confirm details and dates the next day.
Ren calls the next day to tell me he has booked the tentative dates I gave him and that I should deposit the 2k in their bank account. Heeh, I am a bit peeved because I said I would confirm first. Still, it’s a very good deal so I agree to deposit the amount in one or two days and fax the deposit slip to him.
He then calls me and says he made a mistake and there is a 1000PHP charge for transfers (2 persons). I am starting to get annoyed. Still a good deal, so I agree.
He then faxes trip details and I see he got our return flight time wrong. I point out the mistake and tell him to revise details prior to booking the airtickets. I also ask that he itemize inclusions in their package (which he didn’t BTW, but I had my own computation)
So I pay the downpayment, fax the deposit slip, and we agree to have the travel docs delivered to my office on the first Friday of September. Everythings a ok.
Until I end up reading a newspaper in a client’s reception area and see that the airline we are using has had a promo which started sometime August. Airfare is actually about 5000PHP cheaper than what Ren quoted. Pissy pissy I call the airline and confirm costs, then call Ren to ask why he gave a higher cost when the airline was actually charging lower rates. The fucker stutters and says we agreed on 120USD, I say we agreed on airline rates, hoo ha hoo ha. Finally I speak to his supervisor and he agrees to adjust totals. Fine fine, blood pressure a bit elevated but not boiling.
Then the runner of Travel Online (this is the name of the travel agency from hell) calls and that they have the tickets and will bring them to my office today and that I should prepare full payment. Whoa. Did we not agree on delivery dates. Apparently Ren did advise re delivery dates. No go, boy. Runnergenius then insists that I get the tickets because he might lose them. I say “no prob, you lose them, then I don’t pay until you get replacements” By this time I am strongly considering writing off my downpayment and booking with my old travel agent.
Finally, the much awaited date comes, and the tickets and itenerary get delivered. Wrong return flight time, wrong total cost, and no breakdown. Ren didn’t revise anything. Mia is very pissed. Phone calls, promises, held payments. I wait. To make things clear I run through the breakdown with Ren and confirm costs, then I print a copy of the changes I want and the breakdown and give this to the runner.
The runner returns the next day with the correct ticket details (thankfully), still the wrong cost, and no breakdown. I seethe, try to calm myself, and give Ren a call.
M: Ren, why are you charging me more than what we agreed. And where is the breakdown? Did we not agree that you would send a breakdown???
R: Uh
M: Let’s run through this again. 99USD per night x 2 nights, 8USD breakfast x 2 persons x 2 days, 1000PHP transfers, 5454PHP per person airfare x 2 persons, converted at 56PHP to 1USD. How could you possibly come up with the amount you are asking for?
R: Ayyyy, maaaam. I made a mistake pala. The conversion rate is 57PHP to 1 USD. Nami changed it yesterday, so sorry I had to adjust costs.
M: Are you pulling my leg??? How could Nami change the rate yesterday, yesterday was a fucking Sunday. Besides, you confirmed with them when I gave the downpayment — 2 fucking weeks ago, so they cannot quote a new exchange rate anymore. And ALSO you fucking cheating sleazebag, I refuse to pay for your mistake. Pay for the difference you caused through your own fucking stupidity. You’re a fucking lying inefficient cheat. The transfers, the airfare, the exchange rate??? Ano ka ba!!! I should be charging you for my time goddam it. Fix it. NOW. Or let me speak with your boss. (oops wasn’t very calm was I?)
R: (silence)
M: (silence)
R: Ok, I’ll pay for the difference out of my own pocket…
M: And so you should. If there really is a difference. I’ll have the receipt here revised and give the amount as per the breakdown. (Fucker fucker fucker)
So there. Cheap Rates. Crappy Service. Be vigilant if you intend to book with them.
But was the stay at Nami worth the hassle?
Totally.
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We stayed in one of the rooms at Nami’s top floor and the view from the balcony was fantastic. I liked sitting on the balcony chair and looking down at fishermen and people and swimming dogs.
View from Our Balcony
There’s a jacuzzi on the balcony as well, and I finally made use of some of the bath ballistics I bought long long ago. Bought them without even having a bathtub at home. I couldn’t resist.
I found it a bit disconcerting that the water closet cubicle (they had a 3-user bathroom) had a huge clear glass window that gave you a view of the balcony and the beach, and conversely gave people a view of you — taking a dump :S
The beach is very quiet. And I enjoyed walking alone for some muni muni time. Station 1 is a walk away, and Jonah’s shakes makes the trek worth it.
The service was great. You get assigned a personal butler, and Francis was ours. He greeted us on the beach when we got off the banca, and placed puka shell necklaces around our necks. He kept us distracted with his patter while we navigated the cliffside stairs up to where Nami was located (good exercise when you’re sober, but potentially deadly when you’re not). I liked that the staff were friendly but not fawning, and that they would always offer to get me beachtowels, and would carry them for me down the cliff down to Nami’s sunbathing deck, where they would make sure the sunbed cushions were clean and the sunbed properly arranged.
Food’s good, if a bit pricey. I loved their version of Eggs Benedict — using smoked tanguingue instead of ham, and their lychee iced tea shake — which was just the thing to drink after sweating / sunbathing on the sundeck.
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Boracay is nice off-season. No crowds, no large ad banners, less gunk on the beach. You can actually walk and not get bothered by the people.
And maybe because there is more space for them, more dogs come out to play.
You could almost feel you were away “from it all” except the shopping was still in full force.
There’s a huge new DMall sort compound that looks like you took a chunk off Glorietta and transported it to the beach heeh. They even have that ubiquitous Julie’s Bakery (ok, thats more Crossing-Edsa than Ayala hahaha).
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We spent some time at Puka Beach again of course. Can’t miss the Garlic Butter Shrimps (me) and the Grilled Snapper (J).
We found a large driftwood piece on the beach, hung our clothes and sunbathed in peace.
Later on I moved into the shade offered by the plants at the cliffwall, and got bitten by a giant ant.
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J booked a session at Mandala and we spent 3 blissful hours being kneaded, heated, and wrapped. I could call it the marinate/knead/steam human food treatment but really it’s called the Shodhana Karma.
Mandala’s blurb:
Shodhana Karma (an Ayurvedic Tradition) 2:30 hrs
Inspired by the ancient Indian system of well-being called Ayurveda, this 3-part ritual promotes healing and rejuvenation by removing environmental toxins from the body, allowing vital energies to flow freely while indulging the senses with exotic oils and scents.
…as the massage loosens the impurities when the herbalized sesame oil penetrates your cells…as the heat from the sauna coaxes those unwanted toxins and as the ubvartan scrub gently exfoliates your skin…celebrate in the knowledge that you will emerge revitalized
It was great. I took a nice shower using Mandala’s yummy toiletries, and got led into a villa where the therapist placed my feet in a flower bath and massaged me with sesame oil mixed with some sort of ground grain or nut. I could feel the tension seeping out of my shoulders as she kneaded my shoulderblades with a semicircular movement I call the Mandala Secret Move heeh.
Sauna time next. J and I were handed ice packs and placed in a dry sauna for 10 minutes. It was so hot I sweated like a pig and could almost feel my hair sizzling. Then it was time to get out of the sauna and drink iced ginger tea. A shower after that, to rinse off the excess oils.
To my semi-horror I was told to go back into the sauna for more cleansing (torture). More tea after that, and I really needed it.
I was then led into a cubicle that had a bamboo vichy shower over a bed covered with banana leaves. The therapist placed cucumber slices over my eyes and massaged and scrubbed me with a yogurt based scrub. I thought I looked a bit like those large lapulapus with mayonnaise and veggies over them, that people serve over banana leaves during family gatherings. But the scrubbing motions were quite hypnotic and I lost myself in them.
Finally, a full soap and shampoo shower, and we were good to go.
Us. Revitalized 
I also learnt not to use too much of Mandala’s liquid soap on your privates or you end up with a tingly crotch (the soap has mint in it), which is quite distracting, really.
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How great it is to be happy
and relaxed.
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All photos by J.
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