The Beach

The Beach, the movie with Leonardo Di Caprio and The Beach, the real, white sand beach, which I truly adore. That is what this blog is about. (not a movie review)

Last night my girlfriend and I watched the movie The Beach. It was an old movie, but thanks to Mark's collection of movies which I copied last weekend, we got to watch it again. I cannot seem to recall much of the details from the movie, when I watched it a couple of years back. I only remember that, One, it has Moby's Porcelain in the soundtrack. Two, it has the All Saints' Pure Shores. Third, there was some romantic scenes done amidst glowing planktons at night. Ok so I still remember the Marijuana plantation. :)

Back in Cebu, I loved going to the beach. I love getting drunk on the beach to be specific. I love the beaches of Cebu. There are lots of beautiful beaches in Cebu. Say that again loudly for me please. haha. I think it is partly because I was grew up loving "water". Our neighbor had a pool which we can use anytime. I almost drowned there several times, and while writing this blog, i remember the times I made tiny strokes to cross the ends of the pool. It was such a nice feeling. Struggling, panting and getting there. Then, I joined the swimming club, where swimming was no longer a pastime but a sport. Goddamn that 100 laps that I made.

We also grew up near the beach. But my sister and I and most of our friends dont swim there because it was dirty. Too bad. I was good at breast stroke and freestyle, but not really into back stroke and butterfly. Years after, I still think I am not that bad at breast stroke. Lol

I also just remembered, that one time i fell while windsurfing. I was around 8 then. No i didnt windsurf, it was my friend's dad, and he asked us to hop in. His board can take us 3 kids then as our weight was practically negligible. Anyway so it was me, my sister and Nino our neighbor, and his dad on that board. We were facing Bohol. When our "ride" made a strong curve, and fell. I was free falling. I think I must have panicked or I still didnt know how to swim them but what I was sure of was that I saw the dark water, and I was falling down. Fortunately, my Ninong went to grab me, and all was well.

Ok now to the movie. The introduction was nice. Richard (Leonardo di Caprio) was looking for something. Something new, something different, and he travelled to Thailand. At first he thought he was on top of things. He knew not to mess with the locals, not to get swayed by the fake items being sold. However, on a very unusual way he met Daffy, a not so sober white guy who gave him a hit. And Francois, a beautiful French woman at the other room, with a boyfriend.

They went on a quest to find this secret island following only Daffy's map and his story. Daffy is dead by this time. He was murdered in his room, but the police had little information and couldnt care less.

So it was just Richard, Francois, and Etienne(Francois' boyfriend) taking the trip back to this hidden paradise.

They got there and they had problems.


When I got my first job around 2003, that is when I started going to the beach. And from 2003 to 2006 I went to quite a few already. I have been to Bantayan, Malapascua, Camotes, Panglao, Samboan, Alcoy, Argao. Our clan is from Samboan, and our relatives have a nice beach house there so it is the most convenient and cheapest, as I need only to go by bus. However, I think I will always want to be in Malapascua. When I go there I always stay at Dano, this is not plugging but, i like where it was situated. It wasnt at the center where people mostly go, it was a few beach walks to the left side of the island. It was more, private.

At one point of my beach outings, I have said to myself, that the beach is god.

I am really at awe everytime I see a long stretch of white sand, and the clean sea and hearing its crashing waves or its calm tide.

Get drunk on the beach. Check. Sleep on the beach. Check. Smoke somethin on the beach. Check


n the movie, these 3 young "adventurers" got to "paradise". But there where some hitches. The marijuana plantation, which at first glance was heaven on earth, was actually a farm owned by AK47 totting locals. But as their leader said.. "Do you think Im going to do you harm? Im just a farmer". It is all business for him. He grows the plants, sells them, sends money to his family. The other group that was there was a kind of a hippie tribe of whites from different parts of Europe. Also a black guy who thinks Christianity and Cricket are the two pillars of "happiness"?check that.

This hippie tribe swore to themselves that they will never go back to the mainland, only when they buy their necessities. Daffy was once one of them. But he fled from the island paradise and went back to bangkok, where he met Richard. It was not so clear, but I think he was killed by either the tribesmen or the farmer's crew. I do not know.

The tribe is lead by Sal or Sol, portrayed by Hilda Swinton. I am a fan of her. (Facebook)

She keeps them together, along with a few stict rules. No one has to know about the island. And no one else must come. That is the deal with the farmers. But as Richard realized it, it is also the only way to keep paradise as paradise. That is one of the main reason also why I didnt, and maybe will never visit this particular beach spot on the Philippines.

They encountered some issues as a group and within themselves. The farmers didnt want them in the island anymore, and in the end, the hippies went back to normalcy, and so did Richard.

I have always wanted to go to Phi Phi Don. That is in Thailand if you dont know. I have been looking at flights to there, and room rates. This was circa 2004. Before the tsunami. I wanted to go there, but I wouldnt want to be staying in a luxurious hotel. I would want to go to a small cottage. Just like that.

Oh and I did jump off a waterfall before. In Borgasok, in Argao, after 4 hours of hiking. I also experienced hiking for approximately 8 hours. I fell sick the next day.

After seeing the movie last night, I begged my girlfriend that we go to Thailand, and do the same. But I thought to myself, If I will go there, I would want to stay there forever. Just like Sol (Tilda). I wouldnt want to go as a tourist and stay there for just a couple of days.


I would want to live in that hippie tribe.