D' Mall

Cuzin' asked : I wonder what's with the D' in Boracay? The tourist wet market where prime quality of fresh seafoods and dried seafoods can be purchased is called D' Talipapa ( The Market). Ofcourse the famous Boracay beach market is called D' Mall (The Mall) and some establishments in there are using the initial D' + the name of the shop/store.

different variant of dried fish

fish tocino

Look _ _ _



D' Wall, I told ya ! They love the letter D' !










My girls are big fan of tribal arts. Their individualism is quite pronounced now, they want something that is not mass produced, authentic, handcrafted and doesn't have a twin.

There were some vendors ( not many) in the beach which sold original creations, handcrafted by them, but usually pricey for my budget.





I found a similar (above, not the actual shop) tribal store in D' Talipapa and scored some authentic accessories (which were cheaper but nicer) for my girls. Bought and brought home a number of pieces for Myka and Kyla. They could be spotted wearing these pieces, sometimes all together at one time.

Fire Dancers & Sand Castles

We hit Boracay on weekdays and seen not so much of sand castles. Actually, we only saw one, once infront of our hotel. We were told sand castles were only allowed on weekends and with special permits. The island was regulating some environmental protection.






Fire dancers were around though. They were so good, they took our breath away. They put fire on a breezy night at the beach.

random men-walking ads, they too lit the night up in the beach

Without the fire dancers and sand castles, night beach walk wouldn't be complete.

Din-iwid , Boracay

Allright, to some who embrace privacy as part of their getaway, there are numerous other beaches apart from the three stations of the uberly crowded, highly commercialized Boracay White Beach.







One of these is Din-Iwid Beach. This is where our famous Manny Pacquiao's beach house is nestling.








Most of the structures here are located uphill. Resorts like Nami, Microtel, Artista , usually provide shuttles to send their guests to the main island (Boracay White Beach) and back to their hotels here at Din-iwid.


















If I became a celebrity and vacation calls for privacy, maybe I would stay here then. But then again , what is Boracay if not for the long crowded, fun filled white beach?

No More Puka Shells at Puka Beach

Not my first time at Puka Beach, Boracay_ I easily noticed the absence of puka shells in the island. The way I remembered this island was floored by the white pretty puka shells, so abundantly scattered around the beach.





We bought some drinks in a local sari-sari store there and asked the local why there weren't any puka shells in the beach anymore? He said they were out in the stores all over the country. Made into/ commercialized as jewelries, accessories, ornaments , furniture , etc.



He said once in a while, they, the local islanders could still find and pick some puka shells which although still seen around the island were no longer that abundant as they were before.

Puka shells made into a rosary

lots of other pretty shells , for sale in the island

che & bianx w the local children of the island