Hello Spider House
We were awoken by our hotel courtesy wake- up call at 3:30 AM and left what we called home for the past 4 nights and made our way to Cebu International airport. The flight to Manila was a little over an hour. We debarked the plane via stairs instead of the Jetway like we are accustomed to. This made it a bit tricky for my heavy carry-on(s).
We were awoken by our hotel courtesy wake- up call at 3:30 AM and left what we called home for the past 4 nights and made our way to Cebu International airport. The flight to Manila was a little over an hour. We debarked the plane via stairs instead of the Jetway like we are accustomed to. This made it a bit tricky for my heavy carry-on(s).
We got our luggage and had to exit Manila airport only to
renter it for our connecting flight to Kalibo.
It was a frenzy outside their airport with lines of travelers waiting to
get in. Basically, you cannot enter the
airport without showing an ID and your flight information, so this definitely
holds up the process. Luckily for us,
there was no line for domestic flights as their was for the international
departure, (which I am not looking forward to when we leave the country.)
Airport security was a short 2 man gig with one working
machine. We didn't have to take off our
shoes or remove our laptops from the case.
Once in the airport terminal, we grabbed a quick sio bao and
shu mai for an “on the go” light
breakfast to fulfill our stomach.
The flight to Kalibo was a short 45 minute air travel. We got our luggage and we found the Island
Express staff member holding a white board with our names on it for the ongoing
travel to Boracay. The airport transfer to
the shuttle was supposed to be 45 minutes but it closer an hour and a half. The ride was scenic as we passed through
coastal towns with beautiful views of hills, cliffs and the ocean. Falling power lines and palm trees made it
evident that this area was affected by typhoon Yolanda. A couple times, I thought our aggressive bus
driver was going to hit walking pedestrians and trikes as constantly
accelerated the gas and slammed his breaks throughout the journey.
Once we arrived at Caticlan and Cagban jetty port, we paid
our fees: environmental fee and terminal fee.
We boarded a small bangkas, a small mototorized outrigger
boat along with other tourists. Our
luggage was placed on the roof compartment of the boat. The short journey took less than 15 minutes and
we arrived at Boracay island in no time.
The aggressive porters waiting for us at the island quickly boarded our
boat and removed our baggage. They held
our baggage hostage and wouldn’t give it back to us without a mandatory
tip. I thought that was bad business practices
in poor reflection of our transfer company.
I’m all for voluntarily tipping porters but in this case, it was
outright forceful.
We herded into non AC enclosed “jeepneys” and it was hot and
stuffed. I thought I was going to pass
out until I was able to get my window open.
On top of all that, my luggage had to be the one to fall of the roof
rack onto the street. Luckily, only my aerosol
hairspray and toothpaste got crushed. I’m
grateful one of the passengers noticed, otherwise I would be without any
luggage.
On our transfer, we befriended a nice Singaporean Chinese couple,
Jasmine and Sky which we hung out with during part of our stay in Boracay. They were younger than us but we clicked
right away.
To my surprise, there was no direct entry from the road to
the Spider House Resort on Diniwid Beach.
We were greeted by staff members that helped us with our luggage through
the beach path, over stairs and into the cliff cove that led us to the actual
entrance to the Spider House resort.
Our “Superior” room had an amazing panoramic picturesque view of the beachfront and the ocean. I think this is the coolest non-traditional hotel we have stayed at. The “rustic-chic” room was open aired with a separate sleeping area, an extra bed and a lounge area. The bathroom was also open with a beautiful mirror adorned with seashells. We went from having separate tubs and showers in the last 3 hotels to not having a real shower at all. It was your typical Southeast Asian shower with no curtains or doors and only a hand held shower head.
Our “Superior” room had an amazing panoramic picturesque view of the beachfront and the ocean. I think this is the coolest non-traditional hotel we have stayed at. The “rustic-chic” room was open aired with a separate sleeping area, an extra bed and a lounge area. The bathroom was also open with a beautiful mirror adorned with seashells. We went from having separate tubs and showers in the last 3 hotels to not having a real shower at all. It was your typical Southeast Asian shower with no curtains or doors and only a hand held shower head.
We settled in and immediately had our welcome drink of
choice, Pina Colada for me and San Miguel beer for the Mo and joined our new
friends for lunch. We were too exhausted
to venture out so we stayed at the resort.
The Mo and I shared fried calamari, prawn masala and chicken adobo. Everything was great although I was hoping
the chicken adobo was more traditional with bones and skins instead of the
chicken breast that was used.
Upon arrival at check-in, we were advised that due to the
typhoon, the resort still had no electricity and was operating on a generator
only. Power was available only between
5:00 PM and 6:00 AM. Therefore, we had
no hot water, no frozen drinks, no internet unless it was during that time
slot. The restaurant is also known for
their sushi and since they had no constant refrigeration, they didn't serve
sushi at all during our stay there.
We spent the afternoon swimming in the ocean by the spider house and laying on the bamboo float anchored in the ocean. It was great to unwind and relax.
