Summer Bartending sa Boracay 2009

Ever since I started Pinoytender Management Consultancy, I was fortunate to have been invited to different colleges and universities from almost all over the country. The more I was exposed, the more I became determined to reach out to all the schools because I know that there is still room for improvement for some of the students for they might have been introduced to the wrong concept of bartending.

After a conversation with a friend, the idea of organizing a workshop in Boracay suddenly popped up. And why not? But behind my head I asked these questions: Is there still something I can teach to the students of Boracay? How is the bartending scene there? I have only been in Bora once in my life when I was the resident bartender for the Nestea Beach Volley back in 2003. Was it gonna be easy to have a workshop? I knew nobody from there so I will just have to walk in, ask around, and observe.

And so I went there together with my friend for an ocular. Man, it was a very costly ocular, but well worth it. We first had to look for a place to stay. We walked through the different stations until our attention was caught by a very hospitable bar waitress. Of course, we couldn’t refuse her so we decided to have a beer at the bar she was working in which was called Real Maris.

We were introduced to the manager on duty, Vivien Yaguel. After a good conversation she introduced us to Ces Gajisan, her F&B Manager who incidentally finished HRM in Manila.
We had common friends and similar views so I opened up our intention for going to Bora.

At first she was hesitant but eventually she offered to help us achieve our goal. She said that there is really a need for a good bartending seminar. With that, I was very motivated to push through with this project.

We went bar-hopping so that I can observe how the bar scene is as well as how the bartenders are in Bora. After going to about 70 establishments, I said to myself that I can make it happen.

The only problem was the time--I only had 2-3 weeks to conduct it since I was going back to work on ships. Nevertheless, with Ces and Vivien helping me out, I was very confident. Ces introduced me to the head of Boracay’s bartending organization for he can help us with the mobilization of the bartenders as well as the information dissemination. His name was Bong Gelito. After breaking the ice with Bong, we came to terms on how to go about it.

Another fortunate twist in this event is that I didn’t know that the daughter of a high official in Bora was my former student. What a small world! It was like a reunion for us. She helped me in marketing the event. I even had airtime in their local radio station to help promote the event.

With everything set, the day came for SUMMER BARTENDING sa BORA. This was a 3-day event, with a 1 day lecture and 2 day practicals. Attendance wise, as expected, we didn’t meet the magic number because of the short notice, yet it was a successful event because all of the participants were very receptive and eager to learn.

Starting the seminar was the hardest part for almost all the participants were local residents and I was like from another planet. But that wasn’t really a big deal for we all had one common thing running through our veins … BARTENDING.

The highlight of the bartending seminar was the concept of free-pour, since no one really taught them how to pour properly.

After that we had basic flair which was also a success because not all bartenders had the knack for flairtending.

Here are some of the pictures of the event:

SUMMER BARTENDING in BORA doesn’t end here. Get ready for PART 2! Watch out for it!

My Boracay Experience

I never really planned to go there for this summer season for the primary reason of it being too expensive. Not until I read an ad of Zest Air (formerly Air Philippines) in the newspaper and to my surprise, a one way ticket would only cost me P1700 from Manila to Caticlan. I just wanted to try a one way ticket and try to go on ro-ro (roll in-roll out) on my way back just for the adventure. I didn’t book right away coz I wanted to invite a friend of mine so that I wouldn’t be alone in my trip. I was able to have him confirm in joining me after 7 hours. By the time I got back on line…whoa!!! There’s no more available flight for that price!!! The cheapest rate I could find was P2,600 but this time with Cebu Pacific because prices would be as high as P4,000 since it’s the start of the peak season.I went to the new terminal 3 of NAIA which is just 30-45 minutes away from where I stay. I was asked my confirmation ticket which I printed online and a valid Identification Card. After the entrance I had to go through a scanning machine so I had to take off stuff in my pocket as well as my belt and put it in a basket which will go through the scanner. Afterwhich, I went to this other line where in my ticket was processed and since I only had a hand carry, I was weighed together with it. I was surprised because this was the first time I stepped on a weighing scale in an airport. I found out that this was to make sure that the left and right side of the plane would be balanced in terms of weight. Wow!!! Then I proceeded to another terminal and paid a terminal fee of P200. Manila to Caticlan is just almost an hour flight.

Caticlan

Before we went to main boracay…we had to take a ferry boat from Caticlan…I was surprised that we had to pay an environmental fee, a tricycle ride and a ferry ride all for P150. But for the tricycle ride if I may suggest.. you can just walk from the airport to the ferry station.It will only take you 5 minutes!!!But when you reach the terminal you still have to pay a P50 terminal fee.

The ferry ride is just 5-10 minutes. From the dock, we had to take a tricycle again for a 5-10 minute ride for P25 per person. The first fun part of our Boracay experience was that we didn’t have any place to stay. We wanted to just shop around and find the best deal…and lucky for us, while we were in the ferry we met this lady who is a “commissioner” and she recommended a place to stay for only P1000 that me and my friend can split. So we checked out the place…Once we were there, we weren’t really satisfied so we decided to look around…we bumped into another local who led us into this place called Sheena’s which is located in station 2 by the beach front…We checked out the place and we decided this is the place to stay having a better location and our room has a veranda to boot. The price was only P1700. But another interesting part of the trip is we bumped into another person who was alone and looked safe enough and wanted to share the room with us which means we divided the P1700 into 3!!!

We started our adventure on a Thursday…

Food

We were so hungry from the trip that we decided to have a pizza in the old reliable Shakey’s.

I ordered a beer for P45, a pitcher of Iced tea at P160 for my 2 friends and a combo pizza for P660 plus service charge and government taxes for everybody. Well it wasn’t really the best deal in town but we just had to eat. Boracay island is divided into 3 sections called Station 1-2-3. But more or less the prices of food or meals would range from P60-P180 and above…There are also buffets from P250 and above. Here in Bora there are a variety of restaurants: German, Italian, Mediterranean, Filipino, Japanese, etc. For the whole trip we ate in Real Maris which is a resort Hotel in Station 1,another old reliable Andok’s, had pizza at Aria which is beside Hey Jude, which is one of the hang out place for night owls, we had buffet in a restaurant by the beachfront which I forgot, breakfast at Paradiso grill, O, and if you are on a tight budget, I was surprised to see a budget mart and a bakeshop just by the main road by the end of “d’mall” as well as some carinderia that have decent food as well.

There is this one resto called Smoke which serves the best deal in bulalo at P185.

Beverages

Now this aspect of the trip is very interesting. For local beers, starting price would be P45, other would price it at P66 and above. There is this one bar though called “hobbit house” which amazed me coz it offers a lot of international beers that I know since I have an exposure for international brands working on a ship. Brands like Murphy’s, Dos xx, Kilkenny’s, etc… I recommend this for other nationalities who would miss there own beer brands while in bora…although it doesn’t come as cheap…it is priced the same as in other countries if you would convert it…so it’s still a decent deal. Here’s a catch…some bars would offer a happy hour from 4pm – 9pm. This can either be a buy one take one, a beer by the bucket or a 30% off on cocktails!!! So you better check your watch.

Bars

What is the best bar to go to in Bora? I cannot really single out one since people hop from one bar to the other.

Well I may not yet be the authority but this is as far as I have seen during my stay…

If you just want a bar to chill and meet people, here are some suggested bars to check out :Hey Jude is one the first bars to check out since it is situated right in the heart of the Bora strip. Then there’s Juice bar, a corner bar with a nice R&B and house selection, then’ there’s Summer place in between station 2 and 3 and Cocomangas in station 1…both these bars are places that is mostly flocked by foreigners…I wonder why….Then if you want to let loose and party you can go to station 1 and check out Guilly’s and Club Paraw. Another bar in station 1 that you can check out is Fridays’ (not related to the international brand), which is an institution in bora.If you want to listen to solo singers and jam as well, you may try Hobbit house, Charles’ bar, and Paradiso grill.

There are still a lot of bars in bora..these are just some that made a difference in my stay.

Party in Bora starts from 5pm to 5am..but then again… who knows???

Accommodation

Okay, I almost forgot to include this but in this aspect of the trip you can book early online or do as we did and shop around. Prices may range from P500 to P5,000 per day. Some resort hotels that you can check are: Real Maris, Boracay Regency, Boracay Peninsula, Discovery, Mandarin, Patio Pacific, Red Coconut, etc, etc.

Just ask the services they offer.

Activities

Well aside from eating, drinking, and partying, one can still have options in bora. In the day you can go diving, banana, boating, jet skiing, riding the ATV island hopping, skim boarding, hiking, snorkeling, swimming, sun bathing, having a henna tattoo, or simply just lay on the sand with a beer in hand while staring at that beautiful sunset.

Shopping

I had to include this topic although I myself didn’t do any shopping myself for there might be interested people about this topic. There would be 4 places to shop for souvenirs, clothes, hats, trinkets, and other stuff that you might fancy: along the beach front, d’mall, talipapa and by the town area. Bargaining is a gift so test it in bora. Almost everything is here including load for you prepaid sim and internet café in case you need to check your mail so do not worry about it. There are also airline offices here so if in case you plan to rebook never fear….

This is one that made my boracay experience all the more interesting. Once you are in bora, you would feel a mix that you are in the Philippines but you are not…do you get my drift?? Different nationalities flock bora and some have stayed and lived there. Boracaynon is what you would call a native or a local that was born there but other migrants have stayed and worked there as well. Regardless of which …people are friendly and down to earth. Some are hustlers, but that’s part of the business although they are tamer than those I have encountered in some Caribbean countries.

And once you made friends in your first trip, you would still keep in touch with them until your next trip, and so on and so on.

Conclusion

Actually, I forgot to tell that we started our trip on Thursday morning and planned to go back Sunday. But instead of taking the ro-ro we ended up taking the plane again going back to Manila but not until Tuesday for the price of P3,900++!!!

If you wish to go to Bora for this long have a budget of around P15000 and maybe a credit card or atm in your wallet and you will be fine. It’s really worth the trip and it’s very addictive that you just want to keep coming back.