To grab a good spot early, I headed straight for the beach as soon as I finished breakfast.
The path to the pool
Boracay’s rainy season runs from June to October. Rain or cloudy skies don’t really get in the way of anything, but a clear day definitely puts you in a better mood. Coming outside the peak season, when there are hardly any visitors around – Koreans aside – and getting fantastic weather on top of that is the icing on the cake.
The infinity pool
This is the pool Shangri-La Resort is so proud of. The water spills over the far edge so that the pool looks like it runs straight into the sea, which is presumably where the name comes from. You’re in a pool, but it feels like being out in the ocean.
Beach chairs
I got there early, so there were plenty of free seats. I took one with a view of the sea.
The pool
This part seems to be aimed at families – there are cute decorations dotted around.
The beach
Emerald-coloured water. Quite something. Being the rainy season, though, the waves on the private beach side were seriously strong. I tried a few times to get in for a swim, but gave up in the end and decided to stick to the pool.
The deep pool
There’s a section where your feet don’t touch the bottom. I’m not a strong swimmer, so I steered clear of it at first, but later I borrowed a kickboard and ended up spending most of my time there.
The pool
With hardly anyone around in the morning, I fired off a bunch of shots with the DSLR. I stayed in the pool until the evening that day, but most of the photos were taken on an iPhone in a waterproof case. Those ones are personal, so I don’t plan to put them on the blog. The waterproof iPhone case cost under 10,000 won and turned out to be useful in all sorts of ways – video, burst shots, the lot. I’d strongly recommend one for playing in the water.
The sky
There are a few clouds, but it was a genuinely clear day. I’d have loved it to stay like this, but the remaining two days weren’t nearly as sunny.
The beach
The beach behind the hotel. The stretch around the hotel gets cleaned, so it’s spotless. White Beach isn’t anywhere near this clean.
Inside the resort
The lawns give off a real golf-course vibe.
A backlit shot
I’m not sure why I even took this one..
Buggy Station
Call them up and a little cart they call a buggy comes to take you straight to your room. The resort is big, so it was handy for getting around.
A hammock
When you get worn out in the pool you can rest in a hammock. Very comfortable.
The pool
The weather was so good it lifted my mood.