Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
ATI
ATIHAN: KEEP ON GOING, NO TIRING
Ati-Atihan
is a quasi-religious mardi gras held every January in Kalibo. The culmination of the
two-week event is a procession through the streets on the third Sunday of the month, a
sustained three-day, three-night frenzy of carousing and dancing. Transvestites bring out their
best frocks and schoolgirls with hats made of coconuts join aborigines, celebrities and priests
in fancy dress. Throw in the unending beat of massed drums and the average Filipino's
predisposition for a good party, and the result is a flamboyant alfresco rave that claims to be
the biggest and most prolonged in the country. The Ati-Atihan mantra
Hala Bira, Puera Pasma
translates as “Keep on going, no tiring.”
The festival's
origins
can be traced to 1210, when refugees from Borneo fled north to Panay.
Panay's Negrito natives, known as Atis, sold them land and both parties celebrated the deal
with a feast, which was then repeated year on year. The fancy-dress element derives from the
lighter-skinned Borneans blacking up their faces in affectionate imitation of the Atis. Later,
Spanish friars co-opted the festival in honour of the
Santo Niño
, spreading the word among
islanders that the baby Jesus had appeared to help drive off a pirate attack. It was a move
calculated to hasten the propagation of Catholicism throughout the Philippines, and it
worked. Ati-Atihan has since become so popular that similar festivals have cropped up all over
the Visayas. Historians generally agree, however, that the Kalibo Ati-Atihan is the real thing.
6
ARRIVAL AND DEPARTURE
KALIBO
By plane
The 10min tricycle ride into town from the airport,
a distance of about 6km, costs P30. Air Asia, PAL (
T
036 262
3260) and Cebu Pacific (
T
036 262 5407) all have ticket o
ces
at the airport; Cebu Pacific also has an o
ce on Toting Reyes
St, near the junction with Quezon Ave.
Destinations
Busan, South Korea (2 weekly; 4hr 55min);
Cebu (2 daily; 55min); Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (4 weekly:
3hr 35min); Manila (15 daily; 1hr); Seoul, South Korea
(2 daily; 5hr 15min); Taipei, Taiwan (1 daily; 2hr 30min).
By boat
Ferries arrive in Dumaguit, a 15min jeepney ride
outside Kalibo. There are twice-weekly services to Manila
with Moreta Shipping Lines (
T
036 262 3003,
W
moreta
shipping.com), who have a ticket o
ce on Regalado St,
near the junction with Acavedo St. Most other services run
from Caticlan, with buses shuttling passengers from
Kalibo's Ceres Liner terminal to the port (see p.340).
By bus and van
Regular buses and vans serving Caticlan
(the jumping-off point for Boracay) arrive and depart
directly from the airport (P200; 2hr). Cheaper buses and
vans (P100) to Caticlan leave from the Ceres Liner terminal
on Osmeña Ave, from where there are also regular buses
and vans to all other destinations listed. Roll-on-roll-off
services also run from Kalibo bus terminal to Manila (via
Caticlan, ferry to Roxas on Mindoro, bus to Calapan, ferry
to Batangas and bus to Manila) costing P1100 for the
journey (12hr).
Destinations
Caticlan (frequent; 2hr); Iloilo (every 30min;
4-5hr); Roxas (hourly; 2hr); San José (hourly; 4hr).
ACCOMMODATION
Good accommodation can be hard to find during the Ati-Atihan, when rates double or triple, so if you're visiting during the
festival, make sure you've booked a room (and, if you want to fly in, your plane ticket) in advance.
Ati-Atihan County Inn
D. Maagma St
T
036 268 6116.
Government-owned place offering good-value rooms with
a/c, cable TV and hot sho
wers s
et arou
nd a c
ommunal
living area with wi-fi. Dorm
P150
, double
P700
Kalibo Hotel
467 N. Roldan St
T
036 268 4765.
Well-
furnished, airy, a/c rooms in a good location on the eastern
edge of Kalibo, within walking distance of Gaisano Mall
and other shops. Staff are e
cient and helpful,
and c
an
arrange plane and ferry tickets, plus there's wi-fi.
P1232
★
comfortable, stylish rooms and a huge swimming pool.
Latte Coffee Café
an
d
Roz &
Angelique's
are also right next
door (see opposite).
P1600
RB Lodge
G. Pastrana St & N.Roldan St
T
036 268
5200.
Good-value and surprisingly chic little hotel which
has recently opened a second branch just around the corner
from the original. In the original building, the cheapest
fan rooms are small and dark, but the better a/c rooms
(P1150) on the second floor are quiet, nicely furnished and
look over banana palms in the neighbouring backyard.
There's also an internet café and a coffee shop. The new
building on N. Roldan St has equally attractive a/c rooms
with local accents a
nd fu
rnishings at the same price. Free
wi-fi and breakfast.
P800
Marzon
Santa Monica, 2km southeast of town
T
036
268 2188,
W
marzonhotelkalibo.com.
Surprisingly upscale
hotel for this part of the world, and maybe a sign of things
to come. Owned by the same company as
Marzon
in Boracay,
this modern hotel on the road out to the airport has
