Even though our friends had to cancel at the last minute due to illness, even though two typhoons were baring down on the Philippines, even though our flights might get canceled, we felt bound and determined to attend the First Annual Alive Not Dead Boracay Beach Party. Okay, so I must have been dreaming about the AND bit, but we still went to Boracy anyway.

Although I get to travel often, this trip to Boracay was the first non-family obligated holiday Savvy and I had taken since Reina was born. In spite of the terrible weather experienced by many in the Philippines, somehow our flights managed to avoid the brunt of it and we were only delayed two hours on our connecting flight to Boracay (the previous day, all flights to the island had been cancelled).

When you travel in the off season to a tropical paradise, there are things you should expect, wind and rain are both a part of that expectation, but we did not anticipate the intensity of the storms. Fortunately, most of the wind and precipitation occurred at night. Still, the impact was awesome. At times, walking back to our resort on the Diniwid Beach, the wind was so fierce we had to lean firmly into it. Several times Reina was blown away. I mean, her hat was blown away. It was quite windy. You get the idea.

Most days we just played on the various beaches that Boracay has to offer. Though Reina was not particular about which patch of sand she plays in, Savvy and I preferred Puka Beach and Diniwin to the famed White Beach. The stretch of sand is impressive along White Beach’s shoreline, but it is so developed, it feels more like being on a boardwalk than on an island paradise. Case in point, the presence of a three-story Starbucks. Add the large number of people on the beach, even in the low season, and the less popular beaches seem all the more charming for their quite seclusion.

We had a great time, but felt we got more bang for the buck when we visited the shores of Thailand. For that matter, we felt holiday travel was cheaper in Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos and Bali too. Oh, and Bali has such great snorkeling sites. Still, I can’t complain about the flight time and almost everyone speaks English. And the people we met were great. So, if you want to go and you would like a photographer to guide you, I won’t refuse any reasonable offers. I’m looking at you DY.

To visit my Boracay photo album, click here.

I’ve a confession to make, and I know for some of you this is going to be hard. I’ve been cheating on alivenotdead.com.

No, no, it’s okay. Take a moment. Let it sink in.

A few months ago, I was approached to write a column for That’s Beijing Kids, a magazine devoted to life in Beijing for people with, you guessed it, kids. Beijing Baba is a regular column in the monthly magazine that is shared by two writers. When the editors found themselves short one father, they searched for a competent, sane writer with kids. Failing in that effort, they contacted me. I know this will chafe some of you, my writing a bi-monthly column and a blog simultaneously, but try to understand, I’m only doing it for the children.

All seriousness aside, if you are interested in the paternal aspect of my life, you can check out the latest story I wrote for the September issue by clicking the link here.

And while I’m on the topic of confessions, I’m also about to take a 10-day trip to Boracay to see if it really does have one of the greatest beaches on earth. That, and I felt AnD needed more beach photos. It will be a hardship. One that I will gladly endure for you. And the children.