One-night stand in Bora

What do you do when you only have one night in a place called Boracay? Talk about bitin. So armed with my "last night of the world" attitude, I partied like there’s no tomorrow! I didn’t even get to sleep on my big bed in my big room with a terrace at the Boracay Regency. But why sleep and let other’s have the fun?

I arrived in Boracay late Saturday afternoon and left the morning after. I was there to cover Century Tuna Superbods search. As the audience oohhed and aahhed at the parade of bikini-clad bodies, some of the contestants became unwittingly funny when they introduced themselves. I really don’t want to be mean but one moreno guy said, "Hi, I’m (his name) and I just want to say, THE black is in!", and another girl said, "Hi, I’m (her name). I’m this and that blah blah blah and lastly, I’m a badminton (pause for 100 seconds) frek!"

As in most beauty pageants, some of the contestants fumbled in the question and answer portion, though, not as memorable as the introduction part. One judge asked "Does having a fit body make you feel sexual?" to the audience and the contestant’s shock. Thankfully, the contestant knew how to deal with that very awkward question, "Oh I feel sensual."

Before the announcement of winners, sexy Rachel Lobangco clad in her shiny teeny weeny bikini, wowed the crowd with her skills in firedancing. She told me it took two years of hardwork for her to learn the dangerous art of firedancing which, she says, originated in New Zealand. Another sexy firedancer stood out and his, er, her name is Jaydee. She is reputed to be the best firedancer in Boracay (she just won as champion in the most recent firedancing competition in Bora). Jaydee is gay but she has a ballet dancer’s body – tall, thin and flexible. Nakaka-insecure! You can check out performances by Jaydee and the other firedancers at Summer Place, a favorite hang-out in Bora.

Of course Bora is not without the juicy gossips. Maui Taylor and Fil-German model Will Devaughn were spotted canoodling at Hey Jude! And like a butterfly, no, not Maui...Will was later seen flirting in a different bar with a different girl. Ah, Boracay!

I also learned that former senator Gringo Honasan’s son, Kim Honasan, got married last Thursday at Waling-Waling resort but sadly a source told me Gringo didn’t make it for obvious reasons. It would’ve been very traumatic if he was arrested at his own son’s wedding.

Special thanks to DJ Robbie, responsible for the good sounds and sound equipment at bars like Cocomanga’s, Pier One and Summer Place, for the superb welcome. While bar hopping, we also met Jude himself, bartending at his own bar, the popular Hey Jude! For our last stop, it’s gotta be Summer Place! The gang was having so much fun that we partied until sunrise!

There really is something about Boracay. True, I was shocked to arrive to swarms of people that my Bora-based friend jokingly said, "Welcome to Cavite!" If you want privacy, I don’t think you’ll get that in Bora nowadays. Still, being in this island paradise is like being in another place and time. It just has this hedonistic vibe. It makes you let go of all your worries and take all the pleasure in. I don’t party in Manila but when you’re in Bora, it just calls you by name.

This is my second Bora trip in two weeks by the way. Two weekends ago I was on a work-free, four-day Boracay trip for some real R&R. I went with my sisters and cousins. It’s become a summer ritual for us except for the latest addition to the group, my sister Bernadette (who came home from New York after six years), on her first Bora trip! We stayed where we stay every year, Le Soleil de Boracay, because it’s really nice and their staff is so accommodating.

As predicted, my sister didn’t want to leave. We all didn’t want to leave. It didn’t help that the 18-seater plane we rode on our way back was like a roller-coaster ride and smelled of gasoline. We arrived in Manila in a daze, from the plane, from the unlimited shots of shark attacks and kamikazes, from what fantastic memory we have of Boracay.

Going to bed that night, and every night after coming back from a place called Boracay, was difficult knowing that you have work the next day. Reality has come. Argh, moments are really just moments, whether you’re in the island for one-night or three nights, a week. You still have to leave and you can only hope, that when the moment comes again, for it to last just a little longer...

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