Your Ultimate Guide for an Adventure to Boracay 2.0

Wazzup Pilipinas!

Boracay 2.0 just opened and it is back for good. What happened? Well, last April 2018, Boracay was closed to all tourists, including the Filipinos. While it started a national debate, the closure was aimed to rehabilitate one of the world’s best beaches. And after six long months of clean-up brigades and reconstructions, the island reopened for tourism on October 26, 2018. More importantly, to be aligned with the government’s goal of keeping the island clean, there are new rules and guidelines established for tourists to follow.

Here are some travel tips to guide you on your Boracay 2.0 adventure.

Get to Know the Island

Just like any other trip, it is important to know some facts about your destination. Here are some facts that can help you decide where to stay, dine, and relax during your Boracay escapade.

Location: Boracay is an island in Malay, Aklan.

Language: The locals are fluent speakers of English and Filipino. Their native dialects are Aklanon and Ati.

Currency and mode of payment: Philippine peso (PHP) is the main currency of Boracay. Most establishments accept cash-only, but some establishments accept US dollars and credit cards.

Geography: Boracay has three barangays - Yapak, Manoc-Manoc, and Balabag. Yapak is the northernmost barangay. It houses Diniwid Beach and the famous Puka Beach. Barangay Balabag is in the middle, where you can find Stations 1 and 2. Barangay Manoc-Manoc is in the south of the island, where you can find and hire jetties in the Cagban Port. It is also the main entrance to the island if you are coming from Caticlan Port. This southern barangay also has the newly developed Station 3.


Book Your Stay in An Accredited Hotel

Before the clean-up closure, you can go to the island and book your hotel when you get there.

Some even just find transient rooms from various local houses to stay for a day or two. Now, if you want to enjoy Boracay 2.0, you have to show proof of your hotel booking or reservation from a Department of Tourism registered and accredited hotel.

They have a strict NO BOOKING, NO ENTRY policy to ensure the safety of the guests. This is a way to control the population of flocking tourists who want to experience Boracay’s white beaches and amazing sunset.

Here are some of the well-loved accredited hotels according to various booking sites.

The Coast Boracay
Shangri-La’s Boracay Resort and Spa
The Lind Boracay
Henann Palm Beach Resort
Crimson Resort and Spa Boracay
Discovery Shores Boracay
Henann Crystal Sands Resort
Hue Hotels and Resort Boracay Managed by HII
Villa Caemilla Beach Boutique Hotel
Astoria Current

Fly Cheaper Through the Kalibo Airport

Getting to Boracay is still pretty much the same. From Manila, you can either choose to land in Kalibo or Caticlan airport. Take note that Kalibo airport is two hours farther than Caticlan airport, but airlines carry much cheaper rates. Either way, you need to go to the Caticlan Port next. The Caticlan Port is the main gateway to Boracay Island. Upon arrival, you can take a tricycle or if provided, your private van going to your hotel.

Once you are on the island, getting around is usually via tricycle rides. The tricycle is like Boracay’s version of a taxi. Rides are now regulated and have fixed fare rates, which can range from 20 to 200 Philippine pesos depending on your destination.

Explore Coves and Smaller Islands Through Island Hopping

Aside from the main island’s white-sand beaches, Boracay also offers smaller coves and islands that are equally beautiful and stunning. Some of the famous destinations include the Crystal Cove Island, Crocodile Island, and parts of the Puka Beach. However, Crystal Cove Island is still closed at the moment.

Also, take note that you will not come down from your boat at Crocodile Island. You can take pictures and admire the view from your boat. The final stop is in Puka Beach, or you can ask the boatman to take you to a snorkeling site.

Enjoy Water Activities to Your Heart’s Content

Before the closure, the Philippine government said that most water sports activities would be banned. Fortunately, they reconsidered and still allowed most activities that tourists can enjoy. While scuba diving is no longer permitted, here are some of the water activities that you can try in Boracay:

Stand up Paddle
Parasailing
Jet Ski Rides
Freediving
Banana Boat Rides
Mermaid Lessons
Paraw Sailing

Fill Your Belly with Yummy Seafood Meals

Boracay Island always served the best seafood cuisine in the area. From fine dining restaurants to local shops, you can be satisfied with their food. Here are some of the best restaurants where you can choose the best crabs, lobster, and shrimp menus:

Forno Osteria Josper-Grilled Steaks at Discovery Shores Boracay
Indigo Seafood Platter
Prisma Cocktails and Drinks
Sands Dining

But if you are on a strict budget, D’ Talipapa never disappoints. D’ Talipapa is Boracay’s famous market in Station 2. You can choose and buy fresh seafood and have the nearest eatery prepare and cook them for you at an affordable cost. If you are in a hurry, you can pass by D’ Mall, Boracay’s version of a shopping center, and buy yourself a quick meal at Andoks.

Also, a Boracay escapade will not be complete without trying these popular local treats:

Jonah’s Fruit Shake
Halo Mango
Calamansi Muffin from Real Coffee and Tea Cafe’s
Merly’s BBQ Chori Burger

Follow The New Rules and Regulations Imposed By the Government

Following the clean-up and rehabilitation drive, Boracay also started to impose new rules and regulations to keep the island clean and safe. Here are some of the activities restricted or prohibited on the island:

No drinking of alcohol on the beach
No smoking
No illegal drugs
No pets
No loud music
No fire dancing
No umbrella pitching, beach beds, and chairs

Putting sand in containers as souvenirs is prohibited.

Fireworks are only up to 9:00 PM.

Drones should have special permits to be allowed.

Enjoy the fresh air, clean environment, and the magnificent view of the Boracay 2.0. Make memories and make sure to capture precious moments. Bask in the sun, relax, and most of all, have fun! If you want more great travel tips, you can visit travel sites such as touristsecrets.com.

About the Author

Rach is an author and an avid traveler. She loves writing about travel tips and updates on various famous destination sites around the world. This wanderer soul has already traveled to more than 10 countries, which are mostly in Asia. When she is not writing, you can be sure to see Rach shooting photos of wildlife animals or extreme sports events.

How Staff Leasing Works for Your Business

Wazzup Pilipinas!

Staff leasing is a form of outsourcing service wherein you hire a third-party provider to perform certain job functions. Apart from staffing, the provider also takes care of setting up the working space for your leased team, replete with all the necessary equipment and facilities to ensure that employees are productive and efficient at work.

It’s also the responsibility of your staff leasing partner to oversee the business operations on your behalf.

Through staff leasing, you and your team can focus on key management aspects, which can help fuel growth and generate income for the business. The benefit of leasing is that you can expand your business even overseas, for example, you don't need to apply for Singapore citizenship if you want to expand your business operations there, you can outsource your workforce there to manage your business operations. Here are primary outsourcing benefits that should motivate you to consider staff leasing:

1. Staff leasing allows you to scale up or down as needed.

With staff leasing, you can hire just a few staff or a small team first, if that’s just what you need. You’re not obligated to sign up for something that you don’t need just as yet. At the same time, staff leasing is a great business strategy for when you need utmost flexibility in scaling your workforce depending on your evolving needs or on the number of available resources you have.

So as your business expands, and the need for more support staff arises, you can then turn to outsourcing to augment your offshore team. Professional Employer Organizations (PEOs)—or companies that offer staff leasing services—have a large pool of talent available that can be tapped immediately in case you need more leased employees.

2. Staff leasing is a money-saver.

Staff leasing is ideal for startup companies that have a limited budget but still need to begin operations at full speed.

It’s true that you need to put your business ideas out there in the market as quickly as possible, making it necessary to have the best talent on board. However, you also know that getting the most qualified professionals don’t come cheap. You’re in a constant bid to attract the top-performing talent who can help you gain a competitive advantage over other players in your industry.

Thus, you might find yourself incurring huge costs on employee salaries and benefits. But why pay too much when you can get the same caliber of talent through staff leasing. Since PEOs are usually located in countries that have a lower cost of living than their clients, they can connect you with a talent pool whose salary brackets fall within reasonable amounts but with work that meets world-class standards.

3. Staff leasing offers efficient solutions for human resource management.

The human resource department performs many functions, including recruiting, onboarding, training, and engaging of employees. Unfortunately, not all aspects of proper employee management can be handled effectively.

It’s possible that you may fall into this trap as you set sight on other priority business activities like sales, marketing, customer service, and several others. However, HR experts will tell you that it’s not a great recipe for business success.

This dilemma wouldn’t happen, though, if you were to take advantage of the services of a staff leasing company. Staff leasing providers have a well-defined HR structure, so there’s already a system for all HR processes.

Here’s a breakdown of how you and your staff leasing partner can approach HR duties:

On Hiring

Employee leasing comes with that much-needed guarantee against bad hires. Businesses agree that the impact of bad hires isn’t limited to financial losses, but that it also extends to lower levels of productivity and staff morale.

Apart from having an established set of pre-employment procedure, what makes staff leasing effective in preventing bad hiring decisions is your involvement in the screening and selection process of recruitment.

Once you’ve communicated your exact workforce requirements to your staff leasing provider, the outsourcing company will be closely coordinating with you with a list of shortlisted candidates. At this point, you may want to participate in interviewing the candidates to gauge their fit for the role, as well as for your business model.

On Employee Training and Assessment

In terms of training, you may choose to have a hand regarding the modules, resources, or timeline that will be used to make sure that your offshore team will be capable of delivering the results you expect.

Moreover, you will still be able to exercise your control over your hired employees since there will be someone from your company—a manager or a team leader—who will be monitoring their performance. This person will also be able to identify any challenges among team members and decide with the outsourcing company on what course of action to take to make things better.

It’s worth noting that upon hiring, the employees will be under the care of the leasing company. Therefore, all matters regarding compensation, benefits, and the like will be the responsibility of your staff leasing provider.

From the above examples, it’s quite easy to see that staff leasing ensures continuity in all HR tasks, which is a good thing if making your employees happy and motivated is a top concern.

Other Factors to Consider

When making business decisions such as whether to employ staff leasing or not, it’s important that you weigh the pros and cons to allow you to have a balanced perspective about the subject.

In a staff leasing arrangement, you’re sharing with your provider, not just the responsibilities, but also the control over certain decision-making processes. If you and your outsourcing company have conflicting rules and policies, you might need to find a middle ground to resolve the differences or look for a provider that would bode well with you.

It’s also more challenging to establish a long-term relationship with leased employees since you may be hiring them only for a temporary project. In such a case, you will have to keep on adjusting your employee development programs now and then.

Parting Shot

All things considered, staff leasing can complement your business model and be instrumental in hitting your targets. Before hiring an outsourcing partner, make sure that you understand everything it entails—how it’s set up, what to expect, and what things you may need to give up.

6 Best Attires for All the “IT Girls” Out There

Wazzup Pilipinas!

Certain outfits will look out of place if worn elsewhere than they are meant to be worn.

Being an It Girl, you can’t afford to look less than your fab self. That goes for when spending a day at the beach or going out for a formal dinner in the evening.

We have selected a few attires for various occasions, so you may wield your fashionista title proudly for many years to come!

Here’s what to wear when…

Going to the beach

Are you the kind of “It Girl” who loves reading on the beach? Sipping a margarita while a mystery unfolds amongst the pages sounds heavenly. Or, you could be someone who is into the excursion, so you can splash around in the water looking like a water nymph.

Either way, the outfit that we have chosen for your beach visit will be perfect for you. You’ll be ready for the camera without looking overdressed. Moreover, it also seems perfectly glam when attending pool parties. So, root around for a pair of high-waist shorts. Pair it with a bikini top for an Insta-worthy look. Then complete it with a visor and a straw bag. We’d say forego the classic straw hat for a visor because it looks so much sportier and unexpected. Check out other beach essentials here.

Stepping into the workplace

For this look, we have kept in mind two things. Firstly, we wanted to modernize the iconic looks of the classic Audrey Hepburn. Secondly, we wanted an outfit that would be perfect for the fall season. Mixing those concepts led us to an inspired 70s best choice ever! For your fall work outfit, we see you dressed in an equestrian style. That means a light blue midi skirt and a black blouse. Then clinch your waist in a brown belt and slip into chunky knee-high boots.


A Formal Dinner

Even if you count yourself amongst the most confident of dressers, fancy dinners may leave you in a tizzy. Should you wear trousers, or would that be gauche? How about a good skirt? But what if it looked too casual? Where on earth should you look for inspiration? Well, we have your fashionable back in this case as well!

For starters, keep in mind that not every restaurant will have the same rules. So, you may have to dress accordingly. However, you’d already know enough not to go waltzing around in your trainers to most posh establishments. The same rule removes casual sweatshirts and anything that comes with a sports logo or in leather. Avoid wearing jeans and sneakers too, even though some Michelin-star restaurants will allow them.

For the prime attire – and the right spot which isn’t by the door or the bathroom – go for a flowy, silk dress. The satiny material will look like royalty and draw all eyes to you. But let your inner rebel out to play by pairing it with not plain but printed heels. While you arrive at the restaurant dressed in a luxe satin number, you can deck your feet in snake-printed heels or something similarly outrageously modern. This unholy pairing may sound unusual but trust us; it will look great!

Breaking out the sneakers

This look is more about how to pull off wearing sneakers and less about where to flaunt them. Sure, the marriage between dresses and sneakers is an unlikely one. It had to fight its way up slowly to the suitcases of fashion influencers and It Girls. Once it had made itself known there, it ended up on the ramps and graced many fashion shows.

But what is it about the look that attracts so many wearers? For one, it is just so darn comfortable. Secondly, it works great as an alternative to the classic stilettos paired with a dress combo. So, you too can pull off this cool, travel-friendly ensemble. Pick a flowy dress with bold '70s prints on it. We’d recommend going for one that has a vintage shirt collar. For extra comfort and a great fit, pick a dress that also has an elastic drawstring-adjustable waist. Complete your attire with a pair of white Valentino trainers. Our opinion? Opt for ones with chunky rubber soles! Finish with a Custom Leather Jacket.

Girl’s night out

What kind of fashionista would you be if you don’t own a pair of black leggings? You likely have a pair in your wardrobe even now. But you may have stopped wearing them even if you continue to buy them and store them. We understand how sad you must feel when you look at them and fail to come up with new ways to flaunt those black leggings of yours.

Don’t want to risk wearing them anywhere formal? We understand, which is why we have come up with a look for when partying out with your girlfriends. Once you fall in love with your leggings again, you can wear them to other events. So, after trying millions of outfits – as we do when going out with friends – head to the spot where your black leggings currently reside. Put them on and then pull on a nice top over your head. For the complete look, you can add some boots to your outfit. Wear your leggings and do it with pride!


From summer into fall

Fall usually brings to mind cozy outfits that look spectacular too. But it can be sad to say goodbye to the summer trends. Maybe you aren’t ready to do that just yet, though. Why should you stow all your latest purchases until next year just because the season changed?

We get that you may not yet be ready to walk away from summer designs just yet. So, we decided to inject the fall fashion into a very a summery look. Have you been parading around wearing shorts with tights in the hotter months? Take them out – it doesn’t matter whether they are lace, silk, or even denim. Wear them over fleece-lined tights.

Did we miss out an important occasion? Let us know, and we’ll throw together other glam attires for you. In the meantime, keep looking fabulous

About the Author:

Michelle Joe is a blogger by choice. She loves to discover the world around her. She likes to share her discoveries, experiences, and express herself through her blogs. You can find her on Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook