Connectivity in Boracay
While my wife and I were on our way to the tropical island paradise known as Boracay, a strange sight greeted us upon arrival. Here is a picture of it (Click on it to get a better view).
(I also have another picture of the Addict Mobile sailboats and a giant Globe Balloon but I have yet to sort out the other pictures).
The entire seascape was covered with sailboats with either Smart or Addict Mobile sails. When, we got down we headed directly to our resort and was delighted to find GPRS service available on our Globe Handsets. When we were here seven (7) years ago, we could not even get a decent CMTS signal. I immediately logged into my Yahoo Messenger account on my mobile.
On our first afternoon out, we were walking towards an area called D’Mall (with a nice collection of shops and restaurants near Boat Station 2). On our way there, we saw at least three (3) different cybercafes along the way. When we got to the D’Mall, we were greeted by our friends and we went to this restaurant (I forgot the name but it is known as a popular surfers’ hangout) in the inner part of the island (we had to pass a really rocky road). Upon sitting down, I immediately caught sight of a WiFi base station. The proprietor immediately mentioned that the WiFi here is free. Wow! Sorry for me no laptop.
The next day I met my friend again and hung out in their resort. I sat down and openned his laptop (with PLDT WeRoam connectivity). To my surprise, the connection was pretty good. I was able to catch up on a few emails (but was not able to write a blog entry due to lack of time and a LOT of important email to read).
After four (4) days here, it was time to head for our next stop the Queen city of the south, Cebu (but constantly disputed by my wife). On our way out, there was this giant Globe balloon. I asked around and found out that this was for the launching of Worldpass (in which Globe is the member partner) in Boracay island. I got a brochure and saw a large number of WiFi hotspots around the island. Connectivity galore.
At the end of the trip, it is pretty clear that Boracay island has a great deal of Internet connectivity options. Maybe on my next trip to Boracay, I should bring my laptop and get PLDT WeRoam. Hmmmm… Maybe not. But, I wouldn’t mind working off Boracay on an extended basis.
