I've always wanted to go, I just can't afford it yet.
I just saw it in pictures and heard about it from family and friends. To me it sounds like paradise on Earth. The way it was described gave the impression of a place of wanton hedonistic pleasure and freedom. I surmise that soft powdery white sands and large bodies of transparent water gives that impression.
Over the course of our experiences with guests from other countries ranging from the US (NYC Manhattan), France, Greece and the Czech Republic, I was quite surprised and intrigued to have heard the word "touristy" about 100% of the time. And it's not just Boracay.
Yes, the Philippines in general is devolving into a superficial commercial culture with expertly concocted paradigms and plastic packaged "experiences".
Soul Searching
People don't just go to places to experience nature and different weather. People go to places to find themselves, to discover who they are in this big big world, to learn from various social paradigms in other nations and to ultimately to get a bigger picture of their role in our collective existence.
Sadly, that notion seems to have evaporated in a paradise made of commercial intent.
Thrill Seeking
The one great thing about adventure is that nobody has ever done it before. It's about going where no one has gone. It's about seeing something not despoiled by the touch of commercial development.
Interestingly, the excitement of feeling genuine new experiences is closely intertwined with the manufactured thrills and frills that resort companies create.
The satisfaction of simplicity in pioneer living, the innovation in difficult situations, the sheer elegance of watching nature's complications, threats and cycles and most of all, being a part of something totally new - like a new and strange family is something that's difficult to grasp.
Authenticity is something that just cannot be manufactured and replicated.
All we can do is make something, paint it as genuine or authentic and mark it with a rubber stamp of approval - then sell it at 300% mark-up.
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Cont. Part 2, Culture
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