Day 10: Movin' On Up...not really
Posted by Brandon Lagao | Posted in The Prodigal Lumpia | Posted on 5/12/2009 10:00:00 PM
Today I switched from my cottage in boat station 3 to a hotel room in boats station 2. Last night I had an epic battle with these annoying little flying bugs. They are harmless but these things just kept coming and coming. It was like a video game or playing Halo or something, how the aliens just kept getting into my room, but I had no idea where from, and with no end to this bombardment in sight. It all started when I was laying on my bed trying to journal a little before dinner and they became attracted to the light above my bed. But soon they started to hit my ceiling fan and would drop onto my bed, my journal, and me. I killed them one by one until I started talking out loud to myself...which signaled to me that I've started to go crazy. This went on for far longer than I would like to mention and I was all over my room, swatting these things with my flip-flops until the floor was covered with them. My floor looked like a WWII battlefield. But still, they slowly started coming back, so I took my bug repellent and sprayed every possible entrance. I don't think that's how bug repellent works, but it seemed to be working. Thank you DEET!
It was sad this morning when I left the Dave's Straw Hat Inn family. We took pics, hugs were exchanged, and I was off to La Carmela Resort Hotel. Boracay is pretty much dominated by White Beach, which is a long white sand beach(go figure), on one side of the island. It is separated by Boat Stations 1, 2, and 3, which are basically imaginary lines on the beach. BS-1 is where all the partying is done, BS-2 is shopping, and BS-3 is more relaxed and cheaper. La Carmela is in BS-2, so now I am more in the middle of everything. My new room isn't much better though and the staff is not as cool, but there are more people, a pool, and a bar. Plus its not as long of a walk to everything now.
My stomach is still pretty messed up, but I found a place in D'mall where the food is actually pretty healthy and easier on my tummy. I went there for lunch yesterday and today and ordered the exact same thing: a bottle of water, a pineapple & coconut smoothie with no sugar, and an asian chicken salad. I'm such a creature of habit, I do the exact same thing back at home, haha.
One of my favorite things to do has been journaling on the beach and listening to music...which is actually what I am doing right now. The sun is setting and the water is still full of people. Oh and I tried my hand at bargaining again today. But this time I was successful, thanks to some genius negotiating tricks! You'd think after getting my degree in Marketing and having years of sales experience that i'd be able to pull it off. So what I did was found two vendors who were selling the same item that I wanted. First, I went to one who had only one color of the item that I wanted. I told him that I bought some earlier from another vendor(which I didn't) and the only reason I was coming o him was because he has a color I wanted(which he did). My target was to pay 800 pesos total for 8 of the same item in different colors. The item was originally offered to me for 200 pesos, but I told him I paid 100 at the other vendor. I admitted that since I wanted the color that only he had, I would pay a little more. Too bad this kid was as stubborn as I am. But luckily his Tita, a massage lady from across the beach path, said something to him in Tagalog that persuaded him. Finally we agreed on 130 pesos. From there I took my one item to the 2nd vendor who had more of a selection, but denied me a few days ago. I told them I paid 110 for mine, but I will buy more from them if they give me each item for 100 pesos each. After a few attempts to get me to pay 150 for each, they agreed to my terms. And in the end I made friends with them as well. So after it was all said and done, I paid an average of 103 pesos each. Not bad if I do say so myself.
And I don't feel bad either cause they obviously wouldn't have sold it to me if they weren't going to make a profit. They just sold it to me for much less than they do to other tourists! So it's a win-win in my eyes, they make some money, and I pay $16 total for something I would have had to pay at least $20 each at Nordstrom's.
I'm all set up for my PADI Open Water Diving Course now too. Tomorrow I start my first day of class and tests I guess. Then in the afternoon we have out first open water dive. I'm excited that this is something I can add to my resume, but even more so that it's something I can add to my lifestyle. Now anytime I am traveling, if they have diving, I can join in as well. I look forward to a fun and educational day tomorrow!
It was sad this morning when I left the Dave's Straw Hat Inn family. We took pics, hugs were exchanged, and I was off to La Carmela Resort Hotel. Boracay is pretty much dominated by White Beach, which is a long white sand beach(go figure), on one side of the island. It is separated by Boat Stations 1, 2, and 3, which are basically imaginary lines on the beach. BS-1 is where all the partying is done, BS-2 is shopping, and BS-3 is more relaxed and cheaper. La Carmela is in BS-2, so now I am more in the middle of everything. My new room isn't much better though and the staff is not as cool, but there are more people, a pool, and a bar. Plus its not as long of a walk to everything now.
My stomach is still pretty messed up, but I found a place in D'mall where the food is actually pretty healthy and easier on my tummy. I went there for lunch yesterday and today and ordered the exact same thing: a bottle of water, a pineapple & coconut smoothie with no sugar, and an asian chicken salad. I'm such a creature of habit, I do the exact same thing back at home, haha.
One of my favorite things to do has been journaling on the beach and listening to music...which is actually what I am doing right now. The sun is setting and the water is still full of people. Oh and I tried my hand at bargaining again today. But this time I was successful, thanks to some genius negotiating tricks! You'd think after getting my degree in Marketing and having years of sales experience that i'd be able to pull it off. So what I did was found two vendors who were selling the same item that I wanted. First, I went to one who had only one color of the item that I wanted. I told him that I bought some earlier from another vendor(which I didn't) and the only reason I was coming o him was because he has a color I wanted(which he did). My target was to pay 800 pesos total for 8 of the same item in different colors. The item was originally offered to me for 200 pesos, but I told him I paid 100 at the other vendor. I admitted that since I wanted the color that only he had, I would pay a little more. Too bad this kid was as stubborn as I am. But luckily his Tita, a massage lady from across the beach path, said something to him in Tagalog that persuaded him. Finally we agreed on 130 pesos. From there I took my one item to the 2nd vendor who had more of a selection, but denied me a few days ago. I told them I paid 110 for mine, but I will buy more from them if they give me each item for 100 pesos each. After a few attempts to get me to pay 150 for each, they agreed to my terms. And in the end I made friends with them as well. So after it was all said and done, I paid an average of 103 pesos each. Not bad if I do say so myself.
And I don't feel bad either cause they obviously wouldn't have sold it to me if they weren't going to make a profit. They just sold it to me for much less than they do to other tourists! So it's a win-win in my eyes, they make some money, and I pay $16 total for something I would have had to pay at least $20 each at Nordstrom's.
I'm all set up for my PADI Open Water Diving Course now too. Tomorrow I start my first day of class and tests I guess. Then in the afternoon we have out first open water dive. I'm excited that this is something I can add to my resume, but even more so that it's something I can add to my lifestyle. Now anytime I am traveling, if they have diving, I can join in as well. I look forward to a fun and educational day tomorrow!
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