December 2010 was definitely the most stressful month of my entire career life. I was just recently transferred to another territory that basically threw my cortisol levels on overdrive. Fact: I'm based in the field so the pressure is crazier than normal office drones in the corporate hive. With days of insomnia and loose leaf teas, the hubby and I finally decided to have a getaway with our lil munchkin and spend the holidays in the island of Panglao in Bohol.
What the heck, I spent my entire incentive on the trip and opted to go full blast. This is the first and only time we will ever spend our holidays alone as one family so I decided to go all out. I'll earn the money back anyways.
This is also the first time my little rock dragon rode an airplane so it was really quite a feat for him and I was on the verge of fury and exhaustion when he started throwing tantrums on board because of the pressure in his ears. Luckily, he slept through it just when we landed in Tagbilaran Airport.
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| Rock Dragon giving his "thumbs up" after a breakfast of lolly and soda at the airport lounge. So much of a picky eater. |
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| Gingerly anticipating the plane's take off. |
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| Not so happy with the ears. |
I've never been much happier with other local airline services, than with Philippine Airlines. Aside from the miles accrual by being a Mabuhay Miles member, the service is really different. I'm not against with any other airline provider out there, but I've always been partial to the country's flag carrier.
I got in touch with a travel agency online to avail of their services and tours in Bohol. My first ever Bohol trip in 2010 was last January with a couple of friends from work, but it turned out to be a massacre (story to follow in another post) and I only got to enjoy it when we separated from the group's resident tyrant (good riddance, you chink primate!) and decided to explore Bohol all to ourselves. That was the time when I decided I wanted to bring along my hubbydubby and rock dragon within the year. Getting the service of a reputable agency makes things a lot easier especially if traveling with a kid in tow. I wouldn't mind to pay a little extra for the comforts of a nice airconditioned transport and a friendly local guide/driver to make our holiday smoother and hassle-free.
But beware. Some agencies out there have hidden charges that they normally don't publish and then you get the surprise of your life when the tab comes and you see a surcharge for items they never tell you first hand. We actually went first to a travel agency stationed at an SM mall and asked for a quotation. I was horrified to find out tha tfor a 4D-3N stay at Bohol Beach Club flying via PAL, we were charged at around PhP 48,000.00 plus exclusive of tax and services charges and the tour is not yet included. I loudly complained to the travel agent who was looking at me disinterestedly... like, hello? I ain't gonna pay for THAT amount just to be sleeping at a standard accommodation! I'd rather backpack my way to Vietnam or Singapore, thank you. She quipped that it is still "negotiable" and asked for my email address and said she will notify me once there are price arrangements but I know she'll never do that. I wanted to strangle her with my LV bag straps when I left the shop. Bahh. Humbug!
Luckily, after much canvassing online, I stumbled through
http://www.boholdaytour.com/ and immediately got in touch with the site admin. I was happy to have booked with them, the rates are affordable within the budget AND with no hidden charges at all. The agent (and later I soon found out is also the owner) was very accommodating and completely trust worthy (send me a PM if you're interested to get in touch with him on your next Bohol get-away) that he never asked for a down payment upon closing our deal through email exchanges and text messages. The service is also really great, our tour guide/driver was very careful in driving and he catered to our wishes, even deviating from our planned itinerary for the day to do some errands like shopping for grocery items we need at the hotel.
Our first day in Bohol consisted of touring Tagbilaran City and a part of Panglao Island. We arrived at Tagbilaran Airport around 10:00 AM and our first pit stop is at Mag Aso Falls. It's around a 30-minute drive from the airport and really nothing special to see except for a steep (and slippery!) climb up and down the stone stairs just to get to the waters. The interesting fact about it is that the falls are actually surrounded by limestones (think: chalk) and the waters are really cold. My kiddo wanted to take a plunge when he saw the water but recoiled upon coming into contact with it and complained it's "too cold!" Harhar. Save for some Caucasians dating with some exotic local, we just opted for a photo op and proceeded to have lunch at a seafood/chinese resto in the city --- the place I really forgot where exactly it is coz I was sleeping all throughout the drive.
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| The steep AND slippery stone climb to and from the falls |
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| No, they're not Korean nationals. |
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| Our lil Rock Dragon was not too happy with the thought of not swimming here |
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| Ryu: " Mooommm! It's too cold!!" |
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| The Mag Aso Falls |
Next destination in the itinerary is a tour of Tagbilaran City. Seriously... who needs a tour of the city? But since we needed to buy pasalubong for people back home in Manila, we decided to shop at Island City Mall in Tagbilaran. The city only has 2 big malls -- Island City Mall and the Bohol QM or Quality Mall. The cheaper-priced famous Bohol peanut kisses are not found in Aproniana Souvenir Shop or any other souvenir shops scattered in the popular tourist destinations elsewhere in the island, but are instead found in -- tada!-- groceries and market stalls. We scoured the place and asked for directions from the guards and I found myself hording 4 bagfuls of peanut kisses (retailed at P 7.50 each compared to P 10.00/piece outside, 1 bag contains 16 packs of the pastry and is only worth P 115.00 while it is sold at around P 120- 130 outside), and I was instantly drawn to the Piaya (an ultimate favorite) while my lil rock dragon is scratching his head for lack of milk pastillas in the grocery pantry --- he is a pastillas addict! We ended up giving in to his requests of riding a bump car for 20 minutes while I window shopped and found out that the mall is pretty much fine coz at least you get what you need and want from the shops inside; popular brands also grace the space so I think if I decide to play hermit in Bohol I could survive there. LOL.
The sun was quite moody during out Panglao Island tour, at one minute it was shining and then the next minute it was hiding and a drizzle was suddenly on us. So we decided to cut the trip short and forego with the Hinagdanan Cave Tour (ugh I hate caves and bat droppings) and Panglao Watchtower (I didn't want us to be climbing up and down steep steps anymore) and just stick to what is near and more accessible. We went directly to the house of an infamous 63-yr old man who never seems to grow old due to a condition popularly known as
dwarfism. Although there are many types of dwarfism, I was not able to take note of his coz I was busy looking after my lil rock dragon who is naturally a bully, for fear that he might do something untoward to the old guy. The 63-yr old dwarf is named Bayoyoy and is the third in his family to be suffering from such genetic defect. His sister was kind enough to let us play with him and took pictures. I was honestly not too happy with this visit, since I felt it was kinda awkward to make an ill person a center of "tourist destination" and make money out of it but since we were already there, I reluctantly obliged.
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| He was happy to be taller... oh my lil bully. |
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| Curiously sneeking a peek |
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| And yes, they made a "tarp" out of the poor man's condition |
After saying our goodbyes to the kind family of Bayoyoy, we went to visit and pay our respects to the Our Lady of Assumption in Dauis Church. Bohol is quite popular with its centuries-old churches, and the locals are still able to preserve most of the original parts of these edifices, save for some minor re-painting and roof patchwork. The Dauis Church is actually my most favorite church in Bohol. There's a certain old world charm to the place, and the sprawling backyard lawn overlooks a part of Panglao Island's waters. The church is also famous for its natural spring water that is thought to be miraculous. The spring is surprisingly not in any way salty, given the fact that the place is adjacent to a body of seawater. And, much to my amusement... it's right in front of the altar inside the church itself.
Dauis Church is comparable to all the other Catholic structures found all over the province --- architecture is on baroque and neo-classical design but my most favorite part of all is the Cafe Lawis and the nice, cozy mini "park" found outside (which actually reminds me of The Mango Farm in Antipolo).
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| The famous spring inside the Church |
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| Altar of the Our Lady of Assumption |
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| Padre Damaso's pulpit where he gives out sermons on heaven, hell and indulgencias |
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| Neo-Classical Baroque style painting of the ceiling |
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| Rustic, Old World charm |
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| These capiz lanterns provide lighting at night |
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| Reminds me of The Mango Farm in Antipolo but this one has a splendid view of the sea |
We didn't get to have drinks or dessert at Cafe Lawis coz we were still full from our lunch break. Instead, we went to an ostrich farm (geez, so sorry I forgot the name) and saw different kinds of wildlife including tarsiers and a pawikan. There were also wild cats and peacocks, to name a few. The tarsiers are housed in a separate walk-in cage together with a flying lemur. The hubby was the only one who got to enjoy, while me and lil rock dragon are already tired from the tour and wanted to rest.
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| The Ostrich Farm |
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| The hubby lifting the farm's resident python |
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| Up close and personal with an ostrich, the world's largest bird |
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| some duck in the farm |
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| It's actually not allowed to hold tarsiers, but the ones found in the farm are used to being handled by humans. |
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Our first day was already full, we ended up at around 4:00 PM and then decided to skip the other destinations in the itinerary and just proceed to our home sweet home for the next 2 nights in Bohol -- Bohol Bee Farm.
Separate post to follow.
Seeing the world through a tarsier's eyes... is not really nice.
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