Bohol City Tour

Check out day 1 here. 

I forgot to mention that when we hired the tricycle driver to take us from the airport to Panglao, we also got his number. Since we were clueless about trusted tour guides and rates, we still got Kuya Lito to drive us around the next day for our city tour. Yes, we will be touring around inside a tricycle. It's just 1,500Php for the whole day. So what if it's mainit and maalikabok. Us being tourists ended on day 1, we were just plain backpackers at this moment and we liked it this way. It was funny, though, when we found out that hiring a an air-conditioned car for the same distance was just 500 peso more expensive. Lol, it was still a good save, so no regrets on that.

Our tour started around 8:30am. We knew it would be a long day so we packed a bag full of survival essentials (i.e Boy Bawang, extra shirt for my husband and few bottles of water). Speaking of water, did you know that in Bohol, exists an innovation I've never seen anywhere in Luzon? They were these water vendo. For just 1 peso, you can have a glassful of water dispensed for you. A 5-gallon water container is encased inside. You can catch your cold water using the small plastic bags provided near the machine. Well in our case, we used our own very chic containers (empty Gatorade bottle and Angry Birds rollable plastic containers). These vendos should be awarded invention of the century! They're very useful for students on a budget, tricycle drivers and wise frugal kuripot travelers like us!

Whoever invented deserves a Nobel Prize!

I never thought Bohol would be that big. Seriously. If it weren't a spontaneous trip, I would have obsessed for a month or two planning it, making sure I covered every inch of it. So sorry for me, everything is unexpected. My control freak self is on a roller coaster ride of pure spontaneity. I was surprised when Kuya Lito told us we should be arriving on the Chocolate Hills after approximately 2 hours. Huwaaat?? That long? Inside a tricycle? Oh well, the view was not boring anyway and the air was fresh. So moving on... we had our first stop on the famous man-made forest. This forest had mahogany trees planted on a very orderly manner in such density for them to be a forest. Upon entering the stretch of this forest, we noticed a very sudden change of temperature. It's like reaching Baguio all of a sudden, well, no not really. But the air was noticeably cooler and fresher.  

I slept for few minutes during the ride because of the winding road made me dizzy and hungry at the same time. I woke up to another stopover. This time it was a new tourist spot in town called the Shiphaus. It was a retired captain's house renovated to look like a, guess what, ship! Cute eh? Ay-ay Captain! There was an entrance fee of 20 Php per head which was not bad at all (considering I got to use their clean restroom too). The Shiphaus contains some of the captains ship stuffs like captain's hats, flags, miniature ships, globes, steering wheel and uniforms. It was a very informative experience and their staffs were so friendly. 

Their staff will tour you around and take take your pictures at the same time.

After that quick tour, we proceeded to our journey to the Chocolate Hills. It took us another hour I think before we reached Carmen, where the viewing deck was. It was worth it! We quickly climbed the stairs going to the peak after paying an entrance fee of 50Php each. The view was breathtaking, nature never fails to amaze me!

A very nice foreign tourist took this photo. Ang galing ng shot nya! I also took his photo using his camera. Result? Silhouette lang naman. I felt I needed to run away after that.

This was my favorite hill. He sits beside the famous 'most photographed' hill and yet I think he's prettier. Maybe I have a thing for underdogs. 

We took some moments to catch our breath after climbing the peak. I was reminded by my husband to savor the moment rather than take 1000 photos and miss it personally. I always make that mistake before. I used to prioritize photo ops more than appreciating and feeling the experience firsthand. It was a beautiful experience. Sitting down under a shade, resting, drinking, eating and exchanging random stories with my husband. 

Time move on once again. It was lunch time and we still have to head on to 2 more locations before actually eating. Off we rode our trusted service and went to see Bohol's most famous asset: the tarsiers! There's a whole 134 Hectares of land all dedicated to these little fellas, entrance fee was 50Php per head. They're so cute and adorable even when they're sleeping. They are nocturnal beings and the guide asked us to avoid disturbing them for they will hurt themselves and go suicidal when woken up. Heheh, tantrums to the highest level! 

This tarsier didn't mind staying awake for the cameras.

After buying some Peanut Kisses for pasalubong, we, again headed to our next destination. Next stop: the hanging bridge. It's a bridge over a part of Loboc River, made of woven bamboos. But still this one I do not get. So, we went there, paid 20Php each, crossed the first bridge, bought some souvenirs, saw Buko King (formerly famous on Eat Bulaga) selling bukos, crossed the other bridge and left. Was it made a tourist spot to lure tourists into buying souvenirs? Or to see Buko King? Sorry, sarcasm. In my honest opinion, it's just a bridge. If you're afraid of heights - it's not that high. If you're afraid of danger - it's relatively safe. I'm pretty sure there's a history behind these bridges why they're considered important and tourist spot. Maybe it should be shown somewhere so people can appreciate them more.

Sorry bridge if I'm not that impressed.

 It was 1 pm when we reached the Loboc River Cruise. This time we were really really starving. We had to wait for another 30 mins for the boats to arrive. We had to pay 300Php each for the buffet lunch and 100Php each for the entrance fee. As we rode the floating restaurant, we waited for another 30 mins for the food to arrive. It was worth the wait though. The food consisted of pansit, suman, breads, fruits, rice, crabs, shrimps, pork bbq, fried chicken fillets, steamed fish and vegetables. A choice of softdrink or beer also came with the package. Totally worth the price! We cruised along the river while eating while a two-man band sang in the background. There were also a small break during the cruise where the boat had to dock on a makeshift floating stage for us to watch the locals perform. They were group of talented women age ranging from teens to seniors who sang, danced and played small guitars. 

Hagardness! Look how scorching it is!

Colorful lanters above the food table.

Finally! Nom nom nom nom

Aside from beautiful nature, Loboc takes pride from their talented people. Ever heard of Loboc's Children Choir? They're not them, lol. But they're never short of talent either.

We had few more stops after this. Let the photos do the talking, this post is getting longer and longer already, heheh. 

Outside Loboc Church

Blood Compact Shrine. I have yet to research the history of this one.

Baclayon Church Interior. Look how grand it is! It is the second oldest church in our country. It has an equally interesting museum but too bad taking photos was not allowed there.

Baclayon Church exterior. Look how old it is, very very interesting.

That concludes our day tour. It was fun and really tiring. That night, we found ourselves inside a computer shop searching ways on how to go to Cebu. Our hotel had Wifi but searching on an actual desktop is faster than using a phone. And since I didn't bring any data cable for my phone, this is my way of saving data:

Yep, I took a photo of the monitor. Some says this is a blonde's way of printing or saving. Don't judge, this is easier.

With just an hour, we managed to create an itinerary for our Cebu trip. Will it work? Day 3 will be the next entry.