Day 3... Island tour, and much more!!

Last night, I stopped by the local grocery store on my way back to the resort and picked up a Philippino issue of OK magazine!  A great way to end a great day!

This morning I woke up to blue skies and warm weather!!  Glorious!   I headed out my door and was greeted by Ariel, my chauffer, who drove me to the clubhouse for breakfast! When I arrived, Romel was waiting for me in the lobby and said, "Miss Dolly has aranged for your breakfast to be taken care of during your stay!!" Umm, amazing!

There was a family of 5 and 2 older gentlemen in their 70's eating on the patio... One of the men said, "Excuse me, did I overhear you are from California?" Turns out he is from the Philippines but lives in Irvine (about 10 minutes from where I grew up). They said "please join us for breakfast!" Turns out I had breakfast with a guy from orange county and a Philippino politician who works with the President!  People served us as if we were kings and queens!  I guess I was technically sitting with "philippino royalty!"

When I was finished eating, I walked over to find Romel, who was standing with this wrapped box!! 

He said, "My aunt owns a bakery and she made these black forest chocolate cupcakes just for you! And these are butterscotch candies! They are famous here in the Philippines!  I saw you looking at them near the port yesterday so I brought them too!"  I couldn't believe his thoughtfulness.  He said "Miss Dolly told us to take care of you, so that is what we will do!"  THANK YOU Dolly!

Then, he walked me over to a group of hotel guests and introduced me, saying, "This is my friends Jill.  She will be joining us on our island tour today!"  He then pulled me aside and said, "This is a very expensive tour, but you don't have to pay!"  Are you serious?! What did I do to deserve this?!  I was so excited by this point and couldn't wait to see what we were going to do!

We were taken, in a shuttle, to the fish market, where the group of people I was going with were buying fresh seafood to have prepared for a picnic!

They actually bought the lobster above, and the fish below!

Then we boarded the boat and off we went!  The whole gang! They were such a fun group to hang with for the day!

Romel and I

Our first stop... Snorkeling about a 1/4 mile off the shore of Boracay!   There was a fee to rent the snorkeling gear, but Romel said, "You don't pay! Miss Dolly is taking care of this!" :)

I was the 2nd to jump in the 20-25 ft deep, crystal clear water! Most of the group couldn't swim and suited up with life vests! I, on the other hand, got my workout!! The fish were stunnng, in all different shapes and sizes! My favorite were about 3 inches long and were the most gorgeous shade of electric blue you've ever seen! I also spotted 2 dinner-plate-sized starfish!!

As we were getting back into the boat, this Philippino man paddled over, on his surfboard, to cut us fresh coconuts for coconut juice!

After snorkeling, we boated over to Crystal Cove Island for some picture oops...

I loved that they took me into their group so quickly, as if I were one of their friends, and always asked me to be in their pictures!

We ventured down spiral staircases into underground caves...

It was dangerous, but don't worry!  We had a security guard for this cave! hahaha! Definitely the most interesting "get-up" I've ever seen a security guard wearing!!

We crawled through really small tunnels...

 The girls stuck close while the boys went exploring in the caves!

We were all hungry and ready for some lunch, so we boated over to Magic Island, a really small island, probably less than a 1/4 mile wide! 

They had the seafood they had bought, earlier in the day, prepared by a cook on the island!! I was content with my bag of philippino chips for lunch, but they invited me to eat with them, and I couldn't refuse!! Would you?! Look at this lobster?!! 

mmmm, fresh shrimpies!

Remember that fish on the scale in the fish market?!  Here's what it looks like all cooked up!  D-licious! 

 During lunch I learned that they were all born in Brazil, but live and work in Japan... Which explained why the Japanese looking people of the group were speaking perfect Portugese!! They were such a fun and spunky group of people to share my day with!!


After our island picnic, Romel and I headed back to the resort and were met by Dolly in the on-site restaurant! It was the first time I had seen her since the airport!  I thanked her profusely and went on and on about how wonderful this place was!  I told her I was heading to my room for a shower and she asked, "Have you had a massage yet?!"  I think you all know where this is going... She said, "Go and shower and I'll send a masseuse to your room in 30 minutes!" I was speechless!  A masseuse in my room, all for free?!  I feel so undeserving of this treatment!

It gets BETTER though!!! As I was leaving she said, "After your massage, get all dolled up and come to the clubhouse!  You're coming to my home for dinner tonight!"  I told her I would love to come, and that she was out of control! She laughed and said, "I told you I would take care of you, didn't I?!"

Sure enough, I heard a knock on my door 30 minutes later! My masseuse was here!!

My massage felt sooo good, and was incredibly relaxing!!

I got ready and went down to the clubhouse. When I got there, Dolly invited me upstairs, in her office, while she met with a bunch of important people: the mayor, the captain of boracay, the CEO of the hotel and the owner! We ended up sitting around the conference table for an hour or so, just charting away! They were very interested in my opinion of the philippines and what I thought the biggest draws were for tourists.  They're working on an upcoming tourist campaign!!   I even came up with a slogan: "7 islands in 7 days, and 7000 more to discover on day 8!"  They started clapping when I said it!  Not bad huh?!

We went back to Dollys house for drinks and some appetizers, which were prepared by 2 of her 4 housekeepers!!!  I guess when you have a 9,000 square foot house, you need a few!  Me on the other hand, I prefer my little 250 square foot studio in Korea, and the fact that it only takes me a couple minutes to clean it!

Left to right: Ike (the resort director), Sumit (Dollys husband), Dolly and Me!

I snapped this picture of their back patio and pool, which happens to be on a cliff overlooking the ocean! STUNNING!!

One of her housekeepers turned on the karaeoke machine and serenaded us!  He was like the Susan Boyle of the Philippines!  He sang, "You Raise Me Up" by Josh Groban, and if I had closed my eyes, I may have thought it was actually Josh singing... except for when he sang "tis" instead of "this!"  That was a dead giveaway!

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Dolly and I did a little karaeokee ourselves!  I think she was a little tipsy here, as we were picking out a song!  I, on the other hand, only had one glass of wine!  I like to drink responsibly! :)

Dolly asked, "Jill, Do you wanna just stay here tonight? We have a beatiful guestroom upstairs and you can wake up early to see the sunrise over the water!! It's gorgeosu! My response, "Absolutely! Sounds amazing! Thanskyou! So, this was my accommodation for the night...

... complete with my own private bathroom and balcony!

I slept like a baby in one of the most comfortable beds I've ever layed down in!

Day 3 was definitely a jam-packed-amazing-day! I will say though, even after being pampered all day long today, I'd take my simple life in Korea over being oober rich anyday!! This lifestyle is exhausting!!
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Day 2... How Did I Get So Lucky?!

You know you're low maintenance if you can sleep on an airport bench, with a backpack as your pillow, and then get ready in the airport bathroom! It's official... I am definitely low maintenance!

After brushing my teeth and putting a little blush on, I pulled out my ipod and took advantage of the free airport wifi to check on my guy!  Aaron and I chatted, all the way till the line of people boarding was down to maybe 10!  As I walked up to the counter, the flight attendant marked something on my ticket and said, "Your row already boarded, so I gave you a new seat!"  

That's right people, I got upgraded to BUSINESS CLASS because I was late to board!!

Talk about a lucky day!

Economy class has got nothing on the business class!  And I think it's worth mentioning, I had a reclineable chair, a silk feather pillow, my own personal entertainment center, a foot rest, special headphones, a choice of whatever I wanted for breakfast from 6 a bunch of different choices, and any drink, at any time, absolutely FREE!  I could definitely get used to this!  ** And yes, I watched Kendra Wilkinson's E True Hollywood story to top of the luxurious experience!

As if I thought things couldn't get any better.... THEY DID!  When I got off the plane, I met a woman in the domestic airport in Manilla while I was waiting for my flight to Boracay. We started talking, and turns out, she's from Santa Ana (about 5 minutes from where I grew up in California!) and she lives in Boracay with her husband.  I could tell she was filthy rich because she was covered in diamonds and talked about how she's really spoiled in Boracay, and has people to carry her bags and stuff.

So, as I was boarding the plane and saying goodbye to her, she handed me her business card and said, "Jill, This is a magic card!  Don't lose it!  I'll have my driver pick you up at the airport and you can take my speed boat to Boracay!"

I was shocked, and said, "Oh my gosh, Thank you Dolly!"  Then she smiled and said, "I'll take care of you while you're in Boracay!  You're gonna love the Fairways Blue Water Resort!  My husband owns it, and it's on me while you're here!"  I almost fainted!

As I was on the flight, I was thinking... She's really nice, but there's no way she's going to follow through with this?  How am I gonna find "her driver" and how's he gonna know about me?  But, sure enough, I walked out of the airport and spotted this young Philippino guy holding a sign with my name on it!  hahaha! At this point, I knew she was for real, and that I was gonna be in for a real treat! 

This was my first time stepping outside in the Philippines!

Just like she said, a private speed boat came to the harbor, picked me up, and took me to Boracay!

Oh, and I had my own personal boat attendant (along with Romel, who was my personal driver, photographer, and bag carrier!)  Her name was Elda, and she offered me wet towels, water, and cookies from a basket with yellow flowers!  I was seriously living the life friends!

Romel wouldn't let me carry my own bag!  He said he carries Dolly's bags for her, too!  I definitely wasn't complaining!

 

When we got to the port, Romel called for our own personal resort van to come pick us up and take us to the hotel!  After checking in, which was awesome, considering I didn't have to pay anything, Romel took me on a tour of the grounds!  There are 3 PRIVATE BEACHES... for only the resort guests!

The beaches have the most gorgeous, fine, white sand!

There's a resort spa, on the beach, with private massage huts...

... and a gorgeous infiniti edge pool, with no one in it!  AWESOME!  I'm taking advantage of this tonight!

As we were walking back to the front desk, Romel stopped by the bar to introduce me to the bartender, who had a virgin Mai Tai, with an orange slice, waiting for me!  Really people?!! Since when did I look like a princess?!  This treatment is over the top!  Not that I'm complaining!

Romel asked me if I would like to see my room, and of course I did... So, he pointed across this gorgeous green lush hillside, across THE GOLF COURSE and said, "Your room is over there, in that building!  Your room has a view of the golf course!"  Sure beats where I was originally thinking of staying!!!

Not only does my hotel room have a view of the golf course, it has huge glass doors, which can be opened during the day to enjoy it, a kitchenette, 2 beds (who doesn't love getting to mess up 2 beds?!) the most amazing air conditioning (which is a serious comodity around here), cable TV, a balcony...

... a huge bathroom with a rain showerhead shower!!

Oh, and the best part is, if I ever want to go anywhere on the island, I just walk outside my building and tell this guy and he walkie talkies over to a guy to come pick me up and take me for FREE!  Now that's SERVICE!

I was getting spoiled fast, and didn't want to spend my entire vacation living like a princess, so I took a long walk over to the main road and hailed a "tryke" to take me to White Beach, where all the tourists are packed, like sardines, along the white sand beach!

If tomorrow is anything like today, I'm not going to know what to do with myself!  Thank you Jesus for blessing me with such a gorgeous island to enjoy, and for people to take care of me in this way!

P.S. Aaron, I wish you could be here to experience this with me!

P.S.S. I picked the perfect time to write this, because it started pouring down rain as soon as I sat down! 

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