Living a FantAsy(a)

Beautiful Boracay may no longer be called “private,” but nestled in it is an enclave that ensnares that word.

Rambling up a cove on Boracay’s Station 3, like a vine that meanders from the beach toward the sun, is Asya Premier Suites. All of 20 suites, including two presidential suites, perched on terraced hilltops overlooking the ocean, Asya looks like a private vacation estate, even if it is a five-star resort.

In fact, a European couple and their child made Asya their home for the last three months, a refuge from the freezing climes of their country. The father occasionally leaves for business trips, while the mother has taken English lessons not far from the resort. Their little girl just frolics by the pool and the beach, her skin as rosy as the watermelon juice served ice-cold in the resort.

Though most of us like to cavort with the sand, the sea and the sun, and rough it up during the day, we like to retreat to the luxury of a soft bed, a hot foamy tub and frozen margaritas at the end of the day. And if we can, our own private cocoon whose view mesmerizes at dusk and energizes at dawn, where your neighbors are shrubs and where passersby are crickets and fireflies; where the only ones who toot their horns are geckos and the only intruders, cable TV and WiFi.

That would be a fantasy.

You can live your fantasy at Asya. Though pricey, it isn’t just a paradise. It’s a private one. The privacy here is almost wicked. At any time of the day, you can take a dip in the huge circular pool and rub elbows with no one. The only ripples you feel will be from your energized limbs, as they slice through the water.

Or you can walk down to the beach, where no sound competes with the lullaby of the waves.

If you stroll up the beach, Asya is about 20 to 30 minutes away from D’Mall and Boracay’s strip of bars and restaurants. So you hardly see any passersby on Asya’s beachfront except for the occasional talangka scurrying across the powdery white sands.

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After a smooth 35-minute flight via Seair, we arrived at the Caticlan Airport in Antique. With a modern Asian theme, the airport’s terminal is now air-conditioned, with clean restrooms (whose floors are even bordered by pebbles for that tropical feel) and waiting lounges that even boast of an Illy coffee bar! Unlike in Manila, there isn’t a flock of vendors and fixers waiting to pounce on you when you emerge from the terminal. (Although I wish there were hawkers selling live alimango).

Asya representatives led by Gerald whisked us to an air-conditioned van that took us on a three-minute ride to a private jetty, where a speedboat was waiting for us. We coasted for five minutes on calm seas before docking in a private cove. The cove is near a cliff from where some Asya guests dive into the blue yonder.

We were driven for some 10 minutes through lush tropical foliage to get to the resort. Asya’s façade is a concrete curtain. You have to peek inside to behold what lies beyond and beneath. The open-air lobby resembles the lanai of a Filipino home, with plants as walls, and woven rattan furniture, whose pattern is akin to that of a bilao. Stylist and floral architect Rachy Cuna has embellished the resort with homespun Filipino accessories of world-class craftmanship.

Off the lobby are concrete steps leading down to the villas, the pool, the restaurants and the beach. The steps are so huge they could be platforms, with bubbling water running through their center.

You can walk to your suite, or take a golf cart, depending on where it is perched.

A sulihiya-style headboard and sulihiya-patterned throw pillows make your bed look like a throne. Accordion-like louvered shutters separate the receiving area from the bedroom. The receiving area opens up to a terrace that overlooks the resort and the ocean beyond it.

“The owners want guests to feel like they’re sharing their own home with them,” says Asya resident manager Sabrina Salvador.

Service in the resort is the type our kababayans in the provinces  especially Ilonggos  are known for, softly friendly but not over-chummy; polite yet accommodating. The poolside bar serves great tapas (like sisig spring rolls), while the restaurant Palay (which has palay stalks as centerpieces) serves the best Filipino breakfast of Boracay chorizo, fried rice and eggs, bar none.

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Boracay takes pains to keep its beaches as pristine as possible, in order not to lose its world-renowned allure. Nowadays, you can no longer eat, drink or smoke on the beach (just like in Honolulu) so the white stretch of sand is mercifully clear of plastic bottles, wrappers and cigarette butts. What I miss are the freelance masahistas on the beach that give you a heavenly massage for P200. Most of the resorts and spas now contract these masahistas; and for an hour’s massage, you pay Manila rates of about P400, and for 90 minutes, P450.

We had lunch at D’Talipapa, where you buy fresh fish and meat in a market and have them cooked at nearby eateries, which charge a cooking fee. Not practical if you are a party of two, because you can still rack up a total bill of P1,000 for marketing and cooking. I suggest you instead try the many specialty restaurants on the island  for the same price.

For a romantic dinner, head for the Tides at Discovery Shores and dine alfresco under the stars. My husband and I booked in advance for a dinner for two and when we got to our table, lo and behold, there was a framed photograph of the two of us together to welcome us. Not my husband’s idea  Discovery’s.

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We took the shuttle back to Asya, which at midnight is cloaked by silence. We walked through the gardens to our suite, with crickets, stars from above and soft lights below, guiding us.

We awoke refreshed the following day  what is it about the provinces that makes it easy to rise early? We had enough time to walk around the limestone rock formations on one side of Asya’s beachfront, like a Japanese garden on white sand  and soak in more sun. Our going-away present was a pair of red throw pillows, with Asya’s trademark sulihiya pattern, with our names embroidered on them,

Soon, the Asya front desk was gently reminding us it was time to go back to reality  our 11 a.m. flight back to Manila.

Reality was tough  but made so much lighter after a three-day, two-night fantAsy(a).

(For inquiries, call 02-893-5276 in Manila and 036-288-1790 in Boracay.)

(You may e-mail me at [email protected].)