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Lonely planet, as they often do, nailed it:

Beautiful Boricay manages to meet, exceed or defy expectations. It rarely disappoints.

That’s surprising since this is likely the single most touristy destination on all of Philippines 7100 tropical islands.

A beach holiday is low on my personal priority list. But the 5 nights flew by. Very relaxing.

Once or twice a day I ran the beach. Mid-day I went exploring. It’s a small island. I covered most of it.

I recommend Boracay if ever you get the chance to visit. Solo, no go. Bring a date or come with a group.

It’s definitely good for kids. A safe beach.

Considerations:

• you still need barter for everything on the beach
• touts and hawkers are annoying
• quality of most goods/services is low
• there’s no reliable tourist information
• there are no hostels here — a shame since it was first “discovered” by backpackers
• motorized roadways are Hellish

Recommendations:

• 99% of tourists stick to White Beach. If you leave that strip, even to either end of the Beach, life improves.

north end of the main beach

south end of main beach

• if you are looking to save Pesos, the best value White Beach accommodation is in a quiet dead end alley near Station 3. The top pick is Dave’s Straw Hat Inn. Recommended by Lonely Planet, it’s usually full. Prices are now up to $35 / night or more. Others nearby are almost as good and half the price.

• I stayed in the ($19 including breakfast) fan rooms at Orchid Inn. If you come with 2-3 people, better are the upscale Orchid Inn Private Villas (3ys old). Compare others against that option. Prices vary wildly. Barter.

• I did finally see dormitory beds for about $8.

• Hundreds of restaurants on the beach did not impress me. The only one I can recommend is the German hangout, Kurts.

Be careful with the famed buffets. Food often sits long, under-heated. The famed Mongolian barbecues are better.

• Dana would like Boracay — Starbucks is here.

Stay out of the ocean. Fish pee in it. ☺ … I have no idea what all those happy people are doing out in sailboats.

The two activities I was willing to pay money for did not seem to be open during my stay:

• Ariel’s Point
• Ride the Zorb (not actually affiliated with the original Zorb, New Zealand)

More of my photos:

• White Beach
• Bulabog Beach
• Boracay random

related:

• 10 Commandments on the Beach

• Lonely Planet – Boracay – Fantasy vs. Reality

Read the latest from Kate Greatest – Canadian? Australian? What’s the difference?

Kate had a tasty birthday at Dundarave Beach in West Vancouver.

Rockin's Jerk Chicken Wings

She was pleased the whole fam damily could celebrate on a perfect day.

Kate and Zoe

Rockin' Ronnie's cooking the envy of the beach

Jake

... the family that swims together ...

See more photos from Kate’s Birthday

See more RANDOM Shewchuk photos.

Kate and her daughter Zoe are taking in a chick flik this afternoon. Then the family is doing a beach barbecue picnic to celebrate her 29th birthday.

It’s partly a wedding anniversary celebration, too. She married some old, forgetful guy named Stanley about this time of year, decades ago.

I really enjoyed a complimentary outdoor Salmon dinner yesterday.

… The event is organized by Robert Clark, sustainable fish advocate and chef of divine cuisine, who teamed up with Pacific Salmon Foundation to celebrate pink salmon as one of British Columbia’s most sustainable seafoods. A total of 1.5 tonnes of free, barbecued-to-perfection pinks were prepared and served by chefs to hundreds of visitors …

Rockin’ was one of the chef / evangelists.

Denzel had a booth selling their barbecue sauces. He’s attending Barbecue on the Bow next weekend.

The weather was perfect.

more photos

Rockin’ Ronnie revisits his barbecue pilgrimage.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

(via Barbecue Secrets)

Why aren’t you celebrating Father’s Day there?

A tour of Rockin’ Ronnie’s BBQ buffet at the Fairmont Pacific Rim, Vancouver.

Click PLAY or check it out on YouTube.

I couldn’t resist.

… two thick and juicy boneless white meat chicken filets (Original Recipe® or Grilled), two pieces of bacon, two melted slices of Monterey Jack and pepper jack cheese and Colonel’s Sauce. …

It’s as disgustingly delicious as it looks!

… the sodium content is high — a whopping 1,380 milligrams — more than a half-teaspoon’s worth of salt. For comparison’s sake, the American Heart Association recommends people eat less than 1,500 mg of sodium in an entire day.

Considering the rising consciousness on healthy eating — from rules that will require calorie counts on menus nationwide to Jamie Oliver teaching kids in West Virginia to make better food choices — it was pretty gutsy of KFC to market a product that sandwiches bacon and mayo-based sauce between two pieces of fried chicken.

Still, KFC’s new creation might surprise you a little on the nutritional front. At 540 calories, the Double Down, though not exactly a dieting food, is 90 calories lighter than McDonald’s Premium Crispy Chicken Club Sandwich. …

NPR – The Nutritional Lowdown On KFC’s Double Down

UPDATE – Is it really 540 calories? Or more like 1190 calories?

This crime against humanity will not be sold in Canada. America’s rank as the most obese major nation is safe, for now.

And just in case Wendy’s wants to challenge, KFC has this “sandwich” in the lab …

(via This is why you’re Fat)

From Rockin’

… It’s a day-long corporate teambuilding workshop that teaches participants about championship barbecue in a fun, relaxing atmosphere with plenty of room for socializing.

I think it’s the only event of its kind in the world. …

Barbecue Academy now booking into this fall!

His team won BEST BURGER IN THE UNIVERSE … or something like that. At Whistler recently.

Just yesterday I took in a Gymnastics Coaching Web Seminar. It was excellent.

Today I see that Ron Shewchuk is taking barbecue instruction online.

Rockin’ Ronnie’s EMPLOYEE COMMUNICATION COOKOUT

‘Everything I Know About Communication, I Learned From Barbecue.’

Hosted by Ron (Rockin’ Ronnie) Shewchuk, Master Communicator, Barbecue Evangelist and author of his third cookbook, Barbecue Secrets DELUXE!

communitelligence

Price $195.00