by Wong Sher Maine

IT TOOK a full day of travelling to reach the Philippine beach paradise Boracay. First a three-hour flight from Singapore to Manila, then a domestic flight to Calibo, next a ride in a speeding jeep to Caticlan, and finally aboard a wooden banca boat with outriggers.

There's some truth in the adage that the harder the journey, the sweeter the destination. Walking gingerly down the wooden plank from the boat, it was easy to miss a step because I was looking at the most beautiful sunset in the world.

Boracay, an island 7km long, was one of the Philippines' bestkept secrets until it was discovered by backpackers in the 1980s.

It has since become a magnet for young travellers who want to go off the beaten track to search for that perfect beach and windsurfing mecca.

It was the quest for a perfect windsurfing spot that led me and my travelling companion to Boracay, considered as one of the best in South-east Asia for enthusiasts.

The island attracts windsurfers all year round from Hong Kong, Korea and Europe, who flock to the reef-protected, flat waters of Bulabog Beach, where one can windsurf a few hundred metres out to sea and fall into water that is chest-deep.

The howling gale, so loved by wind worshippers as it sends them flying over the waves, drops to a whisper on the western side of the island at White Beach.

As rough as the waters are at Bulabog Beach, the sheltered 4km-long White Beach is postcard-perfect with its warm, shallow, blue waters as still and clear as a glass pane - perfect for swimming and sunbathing - and the fine sand that squeaks when you walk on it.

White Beach has accommodation from simple huts to expensive hotels. There are also plenty of eating places, tattoo parlours and shops selling trinkets.

Boracay's White Beach caters to the international traveller. Everything from Japanese to Italian and Indian food is available. Nigi Nigi Nu Noos, one of the more popular hang-outs on the beach and a party venue, serves Western breakfasts of huge omelettes, baked beans, toast and sausages.

There are also traditional dishes like squid adobo (soya sauce squid and garlic rice) and tocino (sweet pork) with fried garlic rice.

Other activities which tourists can indulge in include golfing, massages, jet-skiing, banana boating, wake-boarding, parasailing, snorkelling and island hopping.

You can also rent a scrambler motorcycle and whiz around the island.

Photos: Wong Sher Maine, Philippine Tourism Office (Singapore).

This article was first published in The Sunday Times Special. It is produced by the Special Projects Unit, Marketing Division, SPH>