A 200-Peso Accommodation in Boracay?

                  When I have an upcoming trip I prefer to plan everything way ahead, while others just let things flow. I couldn't afford to be the other kind of traveler because usually there's money and time constraints. I wouldn't want to miss the must-do's and the must-sees in a place because I may not be able to go back to that destination in this lifetime.
                  I had been planning a trip to Myanmar  but for some reason it didn't push thru, so was my plan B which was Vietnam. Since I already had vacation leaves approved (which I didn't want to cancel otherwise I might have to wait for weeks or maybe months to get approved for long vacations if there would be no available slots) I decided to finally go to Boracay instead. I booked the tickets less than two weeks before the trip, something I wouldn't normally do. I researched for the cheapest accommodations but I found the rates way beyond my budget , which was not a surprise at all since my trip was scheduled a week after the Holy Week Talk about a bad case of itchy feet! I gave up and decided to just look for one when I get to Boracay. At the back of my mind I was actually counting on what I'd read from one blog that there are lesser known accommodations in the island that are so affordable but are off the radar.I listed them down. I also read from another blogger (blissfulguro.com) that there's even a local that rents out her place to tourists. The blogger even bragged about having brought the rate of the room from P1200 to 700.
                                                         Boracay At last! wasn't able to take pictures when I arrived because I was busy looking for a place to stay

         
                 It was getting dark when I arrived at the Philippines' most famous island.I took the trike from Cagban port to Station 3 where the cheapest Boracay accommodations are said to be located.I paid P20 for the ride (it would be P100 for a special trip). The trike driver dropped me off at the "Talipapa" and I walked thru an alley that led me to Station 3.Since it was already dark when I reached the beach front I could not see how white the sand was which believe it or not was the main reason I chose Boracay. I tried to feel the sand between my toes and it seemed coarse not like the way it's always been described.The first place I decided to check was the house of a local where Blissfulguro stayed at.She was so good at giving directions (must be her forte since she's a teacher) that I found the place in no time.She actually posted a series of pictures in her blog which showed the buildings and signs that led to the house. I'm not gonna mention the house owner's name and you'll definitely find out why. The house is hidden few meters from the beach front. An old lady saw me standing outside her house.She came down the stairs to meet me.She turned out to be the owner. I told her I'd read about her place from a blog. She immediately showed me the available room. It's a spacious room with three beds. She quoted P1500. I asked if she could give me a discount but she wouldn't yield. I remember Blissfulguro saying that she was able to haggle the price down before she could even show her killer moves. I thought of showing mine but I figured it would be to no avail as the "old lady" added that she would give me the room for P1500 even if it's for 3 people but that I should not use the other beds.What she said ticked me off. Why would I use the other two beds when I was alone and only had a backpack on me. She also said that I could not find any cheaper places since it was a peak-season. I dashed away as she was getting on my nerves already. She was right though, it was a peak-season and I started to panic as it was already 7pm and I still had no place to stay.I continued walking along Station 3.The places I passed by looked pricey and it really bothered me because this part of Boracay was suppose to be backpacker friendly but again maybe not during the peak-season.

This is the sign you'll see outside the guesthouse

 

The 200-Peso Bed at the "Tree House" guest house

 

View from my room at the Tree House Guest house

                 Few hundred meters from the "old lady's" place was a familiar sign. It says  "Tree House". It was one of those accommodations mentioned on another blog. "Tree House "offers a dorm type accommodation. I asked an employee who was standing outside if they had an  available dorm type rooms but I was told they only had private rooms which  I couldn't afford either. She suggested I walk farther because there's another "Tree House" towards the end of Station 3. Good thing the other place had a dorm type room available , not only that it cost P200 per night.Whaaaaat? P200 for a room few steps away from the less crowded beach of Station3 ? I got excited and checked the room right away. I found it to be OK. I mean for 200 pesos I shouldn't expect too much. I booked 2 nights.

Carrying my things all day since my room doesn't have a lock.

The crowd-free and algae-free beach outside "Tree House" guesthouse

                  For a dorm type  room it was clutter-free .The sheets looked clean.There was only one ceiling fan for 4 people but that was fine because it wasn't hot.No ensuit bathroom but that wasn't an issue either because the shared bathroom was right next door. I took a shower as I was going to explore Boracay's night life. When I was about to leave I found out that the door's lock was broken and  worse is  that I realized that there wasn't a fence that separated the property from the residential area at the back. Anyone could pass by our room anytime or worse might break into it. I ended up carrying my backpack all night and when I slept I was hugging it so freakin' tight as the cabinets had no locks either..Cheap as it seemed ,with its downside it made me wonder if there are still things that come cheap in an overly commercialized destination like Boracay.

Drum Performance at The Drum Tower: Rythmic Combination of Music and Chinese History

                     I find the Chinese way of drum beating fascinating , there's something about it that conveys a different message, unlike other drum beating performances in other parts of the world that sound merely celebratory. When I learned that there's a drum performance at Beijing's Drum Tower I thought it would be worth my time. I decided to spend my last afternoon in Beijing at the imposing tower in the northern part of the city , in Dongcheng District to be exact.


               As early as in the Han Dynasty (206 BC-220) in China, telling the time by drum played an important role in helping people live and work when there was no other way to keep track of the time. As a result, drum towers were built in almost every city throughout the country . The capital city's Drum Tower is a prominent structure.It is a two-storey building that is 48 meters high. The first floor is now used as an office,that's what a lady told us when we entered a room in the ground floor thinking that it was another exhibition hall.Actually, only the second floor contains the drums. Originally, there was one big drum and 24 smaller drums displayed on the second floor, but only the big drum remains.
                                       

                               

               I had a limited time.I scheduled the visit to the drum tower few hours before my return flight to Manila so I had to rush.Good thing the tower was just a walking distance from the subway station.When I got to the ticket booth I was told that the next performance would be at 4:15PM. I hastily climbed the tower through the stairs and I tell you it's not for the physically impaired.The steps are incredibly steep and treacherous. I only had like two minutes to catch my breath before the performance would start.The drummers were already falling in line preparing for their entrance.I was surprised that the drummers were  teenagers.I think there were two girls in the group.Every visitor was quite but obviously excited.One of the drummers started to hit the biggest drum first. He started beating it slowly until the rest of the drummers followed suit by beating the smaller drums. After few minutes they started beating the drums fast.
The show turned out to be well-choreographed. It wasn't just a mere beating of drums.It was also like a rythmic combination of music and chinese history that we were watching and listening to.
The drummers were mesmerizing to watch. You can see their  intense passion for it. I was fascinated by their precise movements. Their hands moved rapidly and fluidly across the drums’ surface creating different sounds. It was definitely worth the 15 yuan that I paid for the ticket. I highly recommend this for those who plan to visit Beijing.

                              

Qianmen , Another Glimpse Into the Old Life in Beijing

        While doing my research for my trip to Beijing I came across photos of a street lined with buildings that resembled old chinese structures. I found out that it is an old mercantile centre of shops in Beijing. Qianmen runs from Jianlou (the Archery Tower) of Zhengyangmen in the north to Tiantan Park in the south.  The street is lined with buildings whose architecture resembles the buildings in the late Qing Dynasty 1644 --- 1911(although I doubt if the buildings are the original structures since there were a lot of demolition that took place in the area before the Olympics).These nice structures are still used as restaurants ,and now some are souvenir stores and shops that house international brands.

       For those who love to shop they can squeeze in a few hours of shopping in their "sightseeing time" as it's easy to drop by at Qianmen.It is near the famous Beijing landmarks and tourist spots like Tian'amen square, Forbidden City and Temple of Heaven. The prices in the shops of Qianmen seemed to be more expensive though compared to the other shopping area of Beijing. There were shops in the Wangfujing area where I bought some souvenirs and a scarf from and the asking prices were lower than the ones in Qianmen.If you couldn't afford to shop at Qianmen you could just marvel at the nice buildings that would make you feel like you've time traveled back to the 17th century. You will also enjoy checking out the interesting and colorful knick knacks inside the souvenir shops.
        Aside from the shops another good reason to visit Qianmen is the gate in Beijing's historic city wall called Zhengyangmen ( Qianmen is actually the colloquial name for Zhengyangmen). 
Zhengyangmen was first built in 1419 .It's consisted of the gatehouse proper and an archery tower. The gate guarded the direct entry into the imperial city. I wanted to go up to the imposing tower but a lady told me that tourists were not allowed ( at least that's how I read her hand gestures). I envied the kids who were waving at everyone below , I wondered how they had gotten up there.The city's first railway station, known as the Qianmen Station, was built just outside the gate.                              
                             

Railway Museum