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Blogs from Tagbilaran, Bohol, Philippines, Asia
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Bohol: Beautifully brillant with a typhoon named Pablo
Published: December 5th 2012Asia » Philippines » Bohol » Tagbilaran
December 5th 2012
After five wonderful days on the Island of Malapascua, it was time to carry on the journey to a new locale. Continuing our pursuit of rest, relaxation and the ultimate tan, we headed to Bohol and the Peacock Garden Resort. Yes, our plan required that we stay the course and not overextend ourselves in order to achieve our goal of total relaxation and enjoy a bit of opulence. Gritty stuff, but we have the drive to succeed. We climbed aboard a small skiff and headed out a few hundred yards to a larger craft which took us to Maya on Cebu, then a three hour ride to Cebu City to catch the ferry to Tagbilaran City, Bohol. Getting around the Philippines takes time and patience as there are no direct routes given the 7000 or ... read more
Bohol and Northern Luzon - World's smallest monkey, largest captive snake and 1400+ chocolate mountains !!
Published: November 12th 2012Asia » Philippines » Bohol » Tagbilaran
November 12th 2012
Day 59 (Sun 4thNov) Woke up early again, starting to become a bit of a habit. Was showered and fed and out the door by 8. Walked to the bus stop where I was told there were minivans going to Baguio City, from there I could go up the west coast to Vigan. Hopped on the minivan, paid and waited to leave Banaue. Once the minivan was filled we left. I’d been told it was 6 to 6 ½ hours on good roads. Funny that as it ended up being nearer 8 and the road was terrifying. It seems there’s a huge mountain range in between where I was going from and too. The road was very windy and had horrible drops off the side, at some points off both sides. The drops in areas were ... read more
March 23rd 2011
For the past three weeks we have been island-hopping around the Central Philippines. Its somewhat ironic that we have had no rain virtually for our entire trip but as soon as we get to the amazing beaches it starts to belt down! We first arrived in the capital of the region, a city called Cebu, and then got the first bus up to an island off the North Coast called Malapascua. Its a bit of a paradise, what with the golden sands and turqouise waters, and strangely it even had an Irish pub. Sarah did her first dive since qualifying way back in Indonesia (she saw loads but can't remember what they were), and we just relaxed, playing cards, drinking beer and chilling out. We also had our first introduction to the ladyboy scene. Seriously, half ... read more
It's one of those motorbikin' kinda days
Published: October 14th 2011Asia » Philippines » Bohol » Tagbilaran
February 26th 2011
So today was somewhat of an adventure. We walked to hand back in the beer bottle, got back our 10 pesos, and got a trike for 30 pesos to the bus terminal. There we got a bus for 50 pesos each to take us to the Chocolate HIlls, a 2-hour journey. The bus was absolutely packed -- three to a seat, some hanging out the sides, and a couple on the roof. We went through some pretty scenery and I thoroughly enjoyed the ride there. We were dropped off on the side of the road and started walking up a hill. There we had to pay for tickets to enter, then kept walking up to find a little restaurant, souvenir shop, and a couple lookout points. We walked up to the top, snapped a couple of ... read more
February 25th 2011
This morning we took the slowest trike ever to Alona beach. It almost didn't make it up the hill what with three passengers -- Ronald and I in the seats and some lady sitting behind the driver on his motorcycle. Luckily we made it there by 8:15 with just enough time to order sandwiches to go and for me to try on a wetsuit. We got in a little boat that took us to our big boat and headed off. Our first dive was at Diver's Heaven, the second at Black Forest, and the third I think at Marine Sanctuary and they were really nice dives though throughout the day nobody really knew what was going on, The divemasters didn't really explain anything to us about hand signs or what we were going to be doing, ... read more
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February 24th 2011
This morning at 7 am we left our big backpacks at the hostel and checked out. We ended up having to pay double what we thought we would because it turns out they charge per 12 hours, not per night. So we left, slightly enraged, to find a bus/jeepney to the pier. We first took one to Colon and then had to switch and pay again to get to the pier. 7 the first time, 7.50 the second...boo. When we walked to the pier we noticed another company, Wessam, and they had cheaper prices. Boo again. It would have been cheaper to come down to the dock to research. Walking into the pier you have to put your bags through an x-ray machine, then you go through and get a pat-down, then a dog sniffs your ... read more
April 11th 2010
frühmorgens um 4:30 uhr ging es los nach siguijor-stadt, um um 7 uhr die fähre nach tagbilaran zu bekommen, wir wollten nicht nochmal die fähre verpassen *g die überfahrt dauerte diesmal etwas länger und so kamen wir erst um halb 10 in tagbilaran an und checkten gleich ziemlich zentral im nisa´s travellers inn ein (http://www.nisatravellersinn.com/). da um die ecke gleich wieder ein shopping center war, schauten wir auch noch dort vorbei, wir mussten uns auch noch schwimmschuhe für palau besorgen. am abend schauten wir uns im kino "alice im wunderland" an und wenn ich mich recht erinnere, kostete die eintrittskarte pro nase an die 2 euro und wir hatten freie sitzwahl - so könnte es auch zuhause sein *g am nächsten tag mussten wir schon wieder weiter, wir hatten nur mehr 3 tage auf den philippinen ... read more
October 11th 2009
Tarsier : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philippine_Tarsier We went to the Chocolate Hills and saw the Tarsiers at the Tarsier Center back in April. Our guide was cool, did a good job taking us all over Bohol on his trike. The best part? Going shopping at the old lady's Native Craft store. I don't remember the name but it's downtown Tagbilaranm near McD's. She had a big story about each item for sale. She sold me a ''stuffed tarsier", only one problem. It was just sawdust glue and coconut fibers. I bought it anyway. My wife found a nice handbag she loved. The old woman said it was seasnake skin. Iit is just leather, stamped leather. My honey loves it anyway. She doesn't care. We have been twice. The first time was a disaster. All my fault and no explanation. ... read more
June 1st 2009
Date: 6 May 2009 Venue: Tagbilaran City, Bohol, Philippines Activity: Post-Workshop Tour, MODEL 2009 (Europe-Philippines International Workshop on Modeling, Simulation and Grid Computing), May 4 -6, 2009, Bohol, Philippines From the photo collection of Raffy Saldana (http://raffysaldana.blogspot.com) Notes: "The Sandugo is a blood compact, performed in native-Bohol style between the traveling Spanish explorer Miguel López de Legazpi and Datu Sikatuna of Bohol on March 16, 1565 in the Philippines to seal their friendship as part of the native customs. The pact was entered into by López de Legazpi for the purpose of insuring friendly relations between the Spaniards and the Filipinos. This is considered as the first international treaty of friendship between two people of different races, a Filipino and a Spaniard. "Sandugo" is a Visayan amalgamation term "isang dugo" which... read more
Like a Zillion Things to Do for Bohol, part I
Published: March 4th 2009Asia » Philippines » Bohol » Tagbilaran
February 3rd 2009
1. After a taxi, bus, ferry, Scorpions soundtracked jeepney and a motorbike ride catch a glimpse of a cow in the dark on a dirt track that leads to the 500 steps which, hopefully in the end, will take you to the hippy jungle retreat Nuts Huts. Check into their "Honeymoon in Vegas" room. 2. The next day, trek back to Loboc to catch a jeepney to see the world's cutest or, more officially put the world's smallest, primate,the endangered tarsier. Refuse every argument that says that the tarsiers have bull sized eyes in order to catch insects when its dark. Instead decide that the tarsiers need night vision so that they can see the straw of their Pina Colada drink while they hang out by the pool in the night and feast on mangoes and ... read more
