Deviant TravelerPawprints of Albert Egot, Jr.

Dec
2ndBoracay’s Extreme Rides

Life in Boracay is like having crazy time in Las Vegas. What you see there, leave it there.

The night life makes me foreign in my own land as if I drink and dance in the other country’s bar. Every corner is filled with tourists from Russia, Korea, China, and America. So, whatever I want to do in that place, no one cares. I will just leave all the memories I had in that populated island.

Your vacation will not be completed if you miss the extreme  activities or rides both aquatic and terrestrial offered in Boracay. Packages are well advertised by agents and they will sometimes annoy you hehe, so there is no reason to miss these rides.

The Banana Boat was the first ride I tried. It is not new to me since it is available also in Davao specifically in Samal but it was my first ride. It is not something that will take your breath away. The speed is just enough to make your teammates scream. Blame the speedboat that pushes the banana boat if you will find it boring for he is the responsible for all the crazy moves of the ride. His responsibility is to capsize the air-based boat and drive the passengers away. So, don’t forget to exert a little bit effort to hold on. Well, taking off from the boat while on speed is I think will make the experience more memorable.

The next ride I took is the Flyfish. This one took my breath away and drained the last effort I have. The experience is different from riding the mentioned banana boat for it will vertically lift the boat while against the wind. Honestly, my heart was extremely pounding on this one. The assistant advised us to give up if we cannot hold the strip anymore and let the gravity pulls you down. For me, it is stupid to take it off as I believe on the law of motion. Once you fall from a speeding boat, you will surely get your head bang on a moving sea. Have you tried tossing a flat stone on a water surface at full speed? Do you like to bounce on a water? I bet no.

After the exhilarating activities, this time I went 20 feet underwater with a 30 kilograms helmet on my head. The helmet diving is one of the popular amenities here in Boracay. First things first, DO NOT TRY THIS IF YOU HAVE heart problems, claustrophobia, anxiety disorder, high blood pressure, vertigo or any breathing related illnesses. I tell you, they will not alarm you or even brief you if you have these disorders.

My experience was life threatening, I am claustrophobic that will trigger to anxiety attack. I do a lot of extreme activities but this one made me crazy. I fully understood the signs and the things to do underwater while dealing the pressures and the breathing problem. At first, I enjoyed the scene 20 feet below. But when my breathing started to become hard, I slightly panicked and wanted to remove the helmet. I stayed calm because our assistant with an oxygen was taking us pictures. Of course, I don’t wanna die while someone is taking footage. Shame on me hahaha.

I think the assistant diver does not take their job well. I was waving my hand as symbol that I am not comfortable and I wanted him to guide me because I was like fainting. I did follow the ok sign as signal that I wanna go up. The guy instead take me picture. What the F this guy is doing? I wanna go up but took my sign that I was ok and wanted more pictures. So, I forced my self that I was ok even if I struggled in my breathing. Kindly look at the group picture above, among the helmet divers, I am the only one who does not have bubbles. I could breath but it was hard.Then, I tried to reach the stairs leading me to the floating booth. Thanks God, I was able to get rid of it and avoided the over acting panic. lol.

On the next day, my itinerary was to explore the Happy Dream Land resort. A mini enchanted kingdom like carnival where they offer more exciting rides. Go karting was the first thing I tried. It was so good to be on the road again but what made my dreamland experience extreme was the SkySikad or Skybicycle. It is like a roller coaster but the ride is not motorized. You have to manually do the bicycling basics to move the ride on the track. With a height of 30-50 feet, you will surely blow up. At first, my nerve gone wild within me. I could hear the rusty metals that reacted everytime I  stomp while seeing others watching us ( maybe expecting us to fall and die haha). For only 30 pesos? Not bad.

The last thing I did was the plan to explore the highest point of Boracay island. Thanks to the ATV and Buggy for rent. It was my first time to ride such stuff but I did it smoothly. The road to the peak is concrete but requires precautionary measures. Over speeding is discouraged since the road is not consistent and has a lot of dangerous curves.

At the top of mountain, you would see how beautiful the island is. You would have a chance to see the island of Romblon and other neighbooring islands in Visayas. The 360 degree view and the fresh air will sum up everything. I suggest, you do the same thing at around 5pm to witness the orangy effect while the sun is setting down.