Blogs from Bohol, Philippines, Asia - page 8

We arrived in Bohol via OceanJet ferry. Upon arrival our driver & tour guide came to meet us. Took us to our resort, The Bohol Beach Club, checked in, rested for 30 minutes before commencing our countryside tour. We were first taken to the Blood Compact Site then to Baclayon Church before heading to Loboc River for the buffet lunch river cruise. The food served were the traditional Filipino food - it was yummy. The cruise itself was very relaxing. There was a band playing as well and a mini dance floor where people dance to the music. After the cruise, we were taken to see the tarsiers - they are so adorable. I wish I could take one home but apparently they get suicidal when taken away from their natural habitat. In the afternoon, we ... read more

Date: 6 May 2009 Location: Loboc River, Bohol, Philippines MODEL 2009: Europe Philippines International Workshop on Modeling, Simulation and Grid Computing, May 4 - 6, 2009, Holy Name University, Tagbilaran City, Philippines POST-WORKSHOP TOUR: Loboc River Tour, Bohol From the photo collection of Raffy Saldana (http://raffysaldana.blogspot.com) ... read more

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 m... read more

On May 10, 2009 (Sunday) I joined a group of colleagues (Panda Grid Workshop participants) on a boat trip to Pamilacan Island in Bohol, Philippines. From Flushing Meadows Resort (were we stayed) in Panglao Island, Bohol, the boat took us to Pamilacan Island (around 40 minutes, one way). Some of us went scuba diving and the others went snorkeling. The weather was very sunny (we were lucky because in Manila and Luzon there were heavy rains on that day). Pamilacan is a very small island. In the island I was able to take photos of fish being dried on the beach. (Note: I will have a separate entry on our scuba diving and snorkeling experience in Pamilacan Island). Cheers, Raffy Saldana 31 May 2009 ... read more

Cebu City Well we caught a flight from Hong Kong to Cebu City, Philippines and arrived safely. We landed in the Philippines on April 28th and was granted a 21 day visa upon entry. Once we landed at midnight we jumped in a cab and headed straight to our hostel or pension house as they call them here. Now I thought mexico was a ghetto, it's got nothing on Cebu City!! We arrived at our hostel and was greeted by 2 friendly armed guards that stand out front of the hostel. During the day there is 1 armed guard and this isn't just because it's a hostel, but every shop there has one and even the banks have 3 armed guards all with 12 gauge shotguns and pistols with belts of bullets. It was quite shocking ... read more