loboc river cruise

12 august 2011

you can never miss loboc river cruise when you visit the province of bohol. it is a perfect mid-day rest for a whole day country side tour, while enjoying a sumptuous lunch. the starting point of the cruise is just near the town of loboc, 24 kilometers from tagbilaran city.

the tour is just a typical 1 hour river cruise up and down the loboc river, on a floating restaurant, where you will get to enjoy a buffet lunch served with mostly filipino dishes. this a very good way to promote filipino food to foreigners, since bohol is a common spot to be visited by non-pinoy tourists. 

there are small water falls which i think is the mark for the boat to turn around since it cannot go any further. somewhere along, the boat will stop on a jetty where some natives will perform a cultural show to entertain the guests.

this is totally relaxing activity for the day. chill lang. in fact, this was my dad's favorite. not to mention that he ate a lot. ;p

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bohol country side tour

12 august 2011, bohol
chocolate hills, butterfly sanctuary, manmade forrest, tarsier watching, hanging bridge, loboc river cruise, prony the python, baclayon church, blood compact shrine

the countryside tour is the highlight of tourists' visit in bohol. with this 1 day tour, you will get to experience the entirety of bohol and clearly appreciate what the province has to offer. when someone says "bohol", what comes first to your mind? i bet there are two: chocolate hills, and tarsier. these nature's contributions can only be found in this little island. for the tarsier, i mean within the philippines.

we woke up early, had a quick breakfast, and our van arrived to take us to our very exciting countryside tour.

chocolate hills

i've been waiting to see this god's great masterpiece. as soon as i started seeing a number of hills, i just can't help myself but to stare and admire. i was just seeing these creations in books when i was young. but now they were just right in front of my eyes. how amazing is that? :)

it was not summer season yet when we visited, so the hills are not yet chocolatey-ish. the grasses were still green and abundant. i can't imagine how many the hills are. i wanted to climb up on one of those. 

butterfly sanctuary

i've already seen several butterfly houses. this one in bohol is just like a typical butterfly sanctuary, yet worth it to see.

the sanctuary houses 300 species of butterfly native to the province. they do butterfly breeding to conserve the species and raise their population as well. live pupae are also being sold to butterfly enthusiasts who want to raise their own butterfly farm. framed butterflies are also available.

manmade forest

bohol's man-made forest is a 2-kilometer stretch of mahogany trees in loboc and bilar. i believe these trees were carefully planted, as visible with how the trees have uniformly grown in terms of height and spaces between trees. this is a really good sight to see, as you were in the middle of the forest, passing through a concrete road though.

"The terrain from both side of the road goes up; to I don’t know how high. What you see are only the Mahogany trees that look like thousands of sentinels guarding the road, standing erect. No other vegetation is growing among the Mahogany trees. One only sees the brown trunks stretching forth from the earth and the green canopy above. And that’s what makes them look so attractive!" source

tarsier watching

philippine tarsier, the world's smallest primates and endemic to the country can only be found in bohol. the tarsier sanctuary covers a 134 hectares of land that serves as protected habitat to these little creatures. tarsiers are nocturnal. and did you know that a tarsier's eye is larger that its brain? hmmm.

tarsiers have been an extinct and endangered species. before, people used to catch them and sell, or preserve and stuff them. it is its nature to commit suicide when caught. because, they say it does not want to be touched by human.

hanging bridge

for us who live in the city, crossing a river through a bridge is fun. the hanging bridge is not really an attraction, but a simple enjoyment for the tourists who are not used to it. 

the bridges are made of bamboo and supported by huge metal wires. i read that 10 persons are allowed to cross at a time. but when we were there, more that 10 were crossing at the same time. cool right? :p

at the other side of the bridge, food specialties (peanut kisses, etc), shirts and souvenirs are being sold.

loboc river cruise

see main blog entry. click here

prony the python

named after its captor, sofronio salibay, prony is the largest python in captivity. it was captured october 1996, weighing 5 kilos and was 5 feet long. but prony had grown so fast.  it now weighs about 300 kilos and is already 27 feet long!

what does prony eat? goat and pig... and prony wants it alive. or else he will not eat. cool! haha.

we took a picture with prony inside his cage. scary, but worth a try. :p

tapang o!

baclayon church

formerly known as the church of our lady of the immaculate conception, baclayon church is one of the olderst church in the philippines and one of the best preserved jesuit build churches in the region.

the church was completed in 1727. in it is a dungeon, used to punish natives who do not follow the rules of the roman catholic church.

blood compact shrine

sandugo ("one blood") is a blood compact that was performed in bohol between miguel lopez de legaspi and datu sikatuna. it was the first treaty of friendship between the spaniards and the filipinos.

the shrine is in tagbilaran city.

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panglao island tour

10 august 2011, bohol

dauis church, hinagdanan cave, shell museum, bohol bee farm

since we arrived in the morning and we cannot check in yet, we had a short panglao tour as indicated in kuya dodong's itinerary. it was a bit raining that morning, but we still went on with  the tour.

dauis church

the church of our lady of the assumption, also known as dauis church is located in the town of dauis in panglao. it is an old church, built during the spanish regime. there were some devotees, mostly are of old age, when we arrived in the church.  

there is a well, known for its water’s healing power, at the foot of the main altar. local history tells that this well originated from the spanish era.the church is near the shorelines but the water in the well is not salty (according to our driver-guide).  i was not able to take pictures inside the church, because i was wearing shorts and i have to put on something to cover which i did not bother doing. hehe.

http://www.bohol-philippines.com/dauis-church.html

http://www.bohol-philippines.com/dauis-church.html

hinagdanan cave

this cave is so called 'hinagdanan' because stairs were created to reach it. it is an underground cave, discovered by the owner of the land. he got curious when he discovered holes in the ground and was amazed when saw that there is actually a cave under his terrain.

in the cave is a body of water, about 12-15ft, very inviting for swimming :)

a tour guide led us to the cave. he was really funny and lively. he also took the pictures of us.he always shouts 'fantabulous!' after he takes a shot.

my louie

after the cave tour

there are souvenir shops within the area. shirts are available for as low as 100 pesos. we bought our shirts here. :)

nova shell museum

i haven't seen a shell collection as many as what nova shell museum has. from the biggest to the tiniest (needs magnifying glass) shell, and shells gathered from the rich island of bohol and other places are being stored here.

we had a short tour in the museum, to give us a little knowledge about shells. there is a shell in this museum that costs hundreds of dollars because it is very rare. there is also these little shells that can only be found in balicasag island in bohol.

bohol bee farm

our last stop was bohol bee farm. we were not able to have the tour to see the bees, because it was raining. we just had lunch there and see the amenities.

the food was great! it was a bit pricey but it was worth it. i love the apple-banana shake!

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the living room

05 february 2011, coron, palawan

while looking for a place where we can have dinner and drink afterwards, we thought of subasco - it is a restobar just along the highway going to town proper. it was introduced to us by annie in our first day. we went there and inquired. we decided to find other place for dinner and just go back to subasco for a drink.

walking along, we passed by the living room. curiously, we hopped in and see what it offers. the place is really interesting because it is actually a real living room! it felt so homey and comfortable, and so we had our dinner.

food prices are affordable. it also offers beer and imported chips. the owner is a foreigner, and was so nice. food is great. board and card games are available. you can watch movie or listen to music kung sound trip ang gusto mo. this place is cool. :)

we spent hours in here and did not go back to subasco. we just played the very famous 'truth' game (hindi na sinama ang dare, puro foreigners andun e. hehe) and had a happy bonding.

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jack's ridge resort and restaurant

09 october 2010, davao city

because of the thrilling experience at zipcity, we got hungry. we decided to eat at jack's ridge. 

jack's ridge resort and restaurant is located at shrine hills in matina. it is a very popular site for locals and tourists. taklobo restaurant, kai’s bar, karlo’s coffee, kool kats pool, bmw piano bar and penmar hal are only some of the tambayans. there is no entrance fee, you can eat to your preferred resto, or just hang out and take pictures. this place is a perfect spot to overlook the whole city. perfect ambiance, perfect view.

photo courtesy of http://www.pueblophilippines.com

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