Tuesday, March 27, 2012

Bohol Adventure: Bohol Bee Farm and Blood Compact Site

                Bohol Adventure: Day 1
                Bohol Adventure: Sunrise (Day 2)


It was our second day at Bohol. We stayed at Lost Horizon Beach Resort located at Alona Beach, Panglao Island. I had a great sleep but had to wake up early to catch the sunrise.

Countryside tour din namin that day. Thank God nakisama ang weather dahil maaraw at maganda panahon. Mas naappreciate ko yung ganda ng place.

We did not avail any package for this trip. Instead, we rented a van for the entire day and we separately pay the entrance fees. Mas mura kasi yun. Supposedly, yung van sana ng resort yung kukunin namin. 3500 pesos siya. Kaya lang may kakilala pala yung isa naming kasama (Pastora Precy) na mas mura that's why we opted for that. We rented the van for 3000 pesos for the entire day inclusive of gas na yun. Ayos! :) To have an idea of how much it cost us for this countryside tour, I'll give you a summary sa last part ng aking Day 2 blog. :)


DESTINATION 1: BOHOL BEE FARM

It was a 5-10 minute ride from the beach. Upon entering the place, we were welcomed by arrays of plants and vegetables that were being grown in the place. Bohol Bee Farm is known for its organic goods.



Mukhang bee lang dito si papa dahil sa shades nya. Haha! :))


Not only do they serve healthy foods, they also have different accommodations to choose from. One could stay at Bohol Bee Farm, commune with nature and enjoy its amenities. Halos puro green ang makikita mo sa place due to the plants and trees that they were growing. Very relaxing talaga.



BBF's swimming pool




Relax muna si mama




Some of the organic plants that they were growing

Part of the place were souvenirs and handicraft shops. Locals sold their handmade products to the tourists who visited the place. Meron sumbrero, pamaypay, tsinelas, and many others. A tour in Bohol Bee Farm would not be complete without tasting their famous organic ice cream. Instead of sugar, honey ang ginagamit nilang pampatamis. One can choose from several flavors like Buko, Mango, Pandan, Avocado, Malunggay at marami pa. Hindi ko na kasi matandaan yung ibang flavor. But I chose Buko at it tasted great. Super sarap. Kakaiba din yung cone na ginamit since it was made from casava. Totaly unique and organic. For a price of 60 pesos, sulit na sulit na. :)



The weavers




Their ice cream is a must-try. :)



DESTINATION 2: BLOOD COMPACT SITE

Next stop was the Blood Compact Site. I did not expect na along the road lang pala yun. Nagulat na lang ako  nung tinabi na ni kuya driver ang van at binuksan na ang pinto. Hehe! I wasn't totally wowed by the monument. Afterall, meron din nyan ang Manila. However, the view from the site was breathtaking. Dun ako nag-enjoy. The sea was calm. It made me thank God for His beautiful creations. Hindi ko akalaing may ganun kagandang tubig. Iba kasi yung color. May part na blue, may green at may part na nagmmix sila. Plus the luscious greens na nakapaligid sa dagat. Ang galing talaga! :)



Crossing the bridge connecting Tagbilaran and Panglao Island




Meet the tourists..







The scenic view






Tip: May makikita kayong Souvenir Shop halos sa tapat ng Blood Compact Site. Tatawid ka lang ng kalsada at makikita mo na siya. Among all the souvenir shops we went to, doon ang pinakamura. Bohol T-shirts were sold for 150 pesos while sa ibang shops 200-250 pesos binibenta pero same shirt din naman with the one at the Blood Compact Site. After our tour, bumalik pa kami dun para bumili ng souvenirs dahil namahalan kami sa iba. :)




Monday, March 26, 2012

Bohol Adventure: Sunrise (Day 2)

Read first Bohol Adventure: My first airplane ride and Bohol Adventure: Day 1


Since it was my dream to take photos of sunrise, I woke up at 5am.

Yung mga locals lang ang makikitang pagala-gala sa beach. Yung mga bangkero nag-pprepare na for their island hopping. We were invited by one of the bangkeros to try the famous island hopping and dolphin watching kaya lang hindi na kaya sa time. Instead, my dad and I promised na babalik kami dun after 2 years para masubukan naman.

According kay Manong Bangkero, 1500-1800 ang rent sa isang buong bangka. It can load up to 15 passengers. Usually, naguumpisang umalis yung bangka ng 5am para makita talaga yung dolphins. 6am-7am lang daw nagpapakita ang dolphins kaya maaga talaga dapat. 


Then they'll take you to Balicasag Island for snorkeling and tour. Rental for snorkeling gear is 150. After that, proceed naman daw sa Virgin Island. Lunch can be availed sa islands. It's the tourist's decision na daw kung anong oras gusto bumalik sa alona beach pero normally, 2pm is ok na daw.


Pero sunrise talaga ang main focus ng blog na ito kaya let's go back dun.

After ilang minutes, nakita ko na ang glimpse ni haring araw.


The sunrise at Alona Beach was different. Nahahati kasi yung beach into two. Maliwanag na sa left side ng beach while the right side remained to be dark. It's difference made it beautiful. It was calming and soothing. Watching the sun rise was a great way to start my day.

Dahil umaga pa, masipag pa ako mag-manual setting sa DSLR. Sariling sikap ito. :)

Here were some of my shots:




















Dapat ako din may shot. :)















Nakahuli pa si Kuya Ren ng starfish at si mama naman talangka. Sila na. :)





Hirap iwan ng beach pero kailangan kasi mag-countryside tour naman kami. :) 





Sunday, March 25, 2012

Bohol Adventure: Day 1

To know how my entire trip went, read this first: Bohol Adventure: My first airplane ride

We were supposed to arrive at Tagbilaran Airport by 10:55am. However, due to airport congestion, we were delayed by almost 20 minutes. 

It was a 45-minute drive from the airport going to Lost Horizon Beach Resort located along the Alona Beach at Panglao Island. Pagbaba ko pa lang sa van, I was in great awe to see the great scenery. The water was clear, blue-green in color and serene. Parang gusto ko na agad ibaba lahat ng gamit ko at maligo sa beach. It was very inviting.

Though makulimlim ang weather, maganda pa din ang beach. The sand was fine. Ang sarap maglakad. 

My first glimpse of Alona Beach 


We were early for our check-in time and there was still guests occupying our room. I took this opportunity to have a glimpse of the entire beach. We strolled along Alona Beach to look for foods to eat, places to go and activities to try.

We arrived at Bohol ng Monday that's why it is not too crowded. Mostly foreigners were the visitors of the place. Some were having the normal sun bathing (kahit wala masyadong sun). Others were reading books. Others were having their nude bathing. Hehe!


Rendcel with the serene beach as the background


Notice the clouds? Makulimlim talaga that day. Pero kung ganito naman kaganda yung lugar, walang makulimlim sa akin. Enjoy kung enjoy! :)


Yey! That's me and the great Alona beach. :)


See the colors of the water? Yun pa lang sulit na ang Bohol trip ko. Nakaka-relax...


After strolling the entire beach, we decided to have our lunch.We ate at the first carideria that we saw. Unfortunately, we did not enjoyed our experience. The service was slow, foods were not served hot, foods did not satisfy my taste and my friend's food was spoiled. :(

After lunch, we were finally able to go to our rooms and changes clothes to swim. It drizzled for a while but after 20-30 minutes, it stopped at syempre, sugod agad kami sa beach. 

Mejo makipot yung shore sa tapat ng Lost Horizon that's why we decided to walk going to the left most side of the beach where we saw a wider shoreline. Some posh resorts could also be found there. We decided to stay there and enjoy the beauty of the beach.  

The water was shallow. Halos 50 meters na kami from the shoreline pero hanggang bewang ko pa din kaya na-enjoy ko talaga siya. My cousin naman enjoyed looking for starfish. Sa linaw ng tubig, madaling makakita ng starfish. :)

Ang utak sa aming Bohol Adventure. Thank you Ate Min and Kuya Gio! :)

Hindi halata ang saya nila. Hahaha! At napagtripan pa nila yung bangka. :))

After spending time at the beach, lumipat naman kami sa private pool ng resort. Infairness sa Lost Horizon, it's a budget friendly resort with a well-maintained pool. Hindi masyadong kalakihan yung pool pero ok pa din for a change of venue after magsawa sa beach. Afterall, yung beach naman yung pinaka-star ng place. May jacuzzi din yung resort. How cool was that?! :)

Dinner time came and we decided to try the "Paluto" style. Parang eto yung sikat sa Alona Beach pag dinner. Kahit saan ka magpunta may ganun eh. You can choose kung ano yung gusto mong ipaluto, from meat to seafood products. 
Pili mode kung ano ang kakainin namin for dinner. That's the "Paluto"  Style 

Regarding the food, the taste was just ok. Nothing special. Ordinary na inihaw. The servings were smaller than my expectations. Mabagal din yung serving. As a matter of fact, nakalimutan nila yung order ni Kuya Gio kaya bumalik na lang siya sa resort para dun bumili ng food. For me parang hindi sulit yung binayad pero yung iba sa amin nag-enjoy naman so ok pa din. But I told them that we should try other paluto the next day.

Picture muna kahit gutom na kami kakahintay ng food. :)) 

My dinner for my first night, Inihaw na Liempo 

My family decided to take a walk along the beach to have a glimpse of the nightlife at Alona. Mostly chill mode ang theme ng beach. Some were having acoustic nights, like in our resort. Some parts of the beach had a reggae night naman. I decided not to drink that night kasi baka mahirapan ako magising for the next day. 


Watch out for our Day 2 and Countryside Tour on my next blog entry. :)



Saturday, March 24, 2012

Bohol Adventure: My first airplane ride

Finally, after almost a month, I was able to make a blog on my first Bohol adventure. I got busy with graduation thus, I wasn't able to update my blog.

This trip to Bohol was definitely a memorable one. Aside from the fact that it was my first time to visit a province down South, it was also my first airplane ride. I went with my family and some family friends. Thanks to my cousins, Ate Min and Kuya Gio for initiating this trip and sponsoring our plane tickets and accommodations.

It was Feb. 27 and our flight to Tagbilaran was scheduled at 9:40am. Dahil excited kami, 7:30am pa lang nasa NAIA Terminal 3 na kami. Airphil Express was our carrier.

After checking-in, syempre picture muna. Btw, hindi pa kami kumpleto nyan.

Pictorial muna with papa at NAIA Terminal 3.

Second floor where stores and foods can be found.

Yehey! My first airplane ticket. :)

NAIA Terminal 3's ambiance was impressive. It's spacious and relatively new. I haven't been inside the international airport and terminal 2 but according to some researches I made, pinaka-ok daw ang Terminal 3.

Marami ding selections of foods sa second floor that's why you'll not get worried kung magutom ka man. May Ministop din inside para makabili ng ibang stuffs na baka nakalimutan ilagay sa baggage.

I was very excited to see airplanes up-close and was curious kung san kami dadaan para makapasok sa airplane. Super innocent lang ako. Haha! :)  Since maaga kami, I was able to take some photos and we were also able to eat. If there were things I did not liked about Terminal 3, it were the overpriced foods and the non-functional walkalator.

Savoring my experience. Picture muna while waiting for the plane. :)

Super concentrate ang mag-jowa sa paghintay ng plane. Hehe! :)

After more than an hour of waiting, we finally boarded the plane. I was so excited. I picked a window seat so that I could see the clouds and have an aerial view of the country. I savor every moment of it since it was my first.

Halatang first timer karamihan sa amin kasi sobrang ingay namin sa plane. We were 11 in the group at parang kami lang ang sakay ng airplane sa sobrang kulitan namin. When the plane took off, I got so delighted. Actually, lahat kami sobrang saya.

As we got higher, lalo akong natuwa kasi parang pwede na ako makipag-apir sa clouds. Dati tinatanaw ko lang sila, ngayon magka-level na kami. Hehe! I also discovered na ang ganda pala ng Pilipinas. Ang daming islands at ang tubig, sobrang ganda. May green, blue green at blue.

Sa Maynila lang ang puro bahay at crowded. Hehe! Seeing the aerial view of the country inspired me to work hard to earn money so that I can visit the wonders of the Philippines. 

After more than an hour flight, the pilot announced na medyo ma-dedelay kami ng 10-15 minutes because of the traffic sa Tagbilaran airport. To kill our boredom, which I wasn't, he took us on a tour around Bohol. I saw the aerial view of Chocolate Hills. At dahil dun, lalo akong na-excite puntahan yung place.

We also saw the famous Panglao Island. Sa taas pa lang, ang ganda na ng Bohol. Ang ganda ng tubig. Ang ganda ng forest. What more pa kaya pagbaba...

After touring the entire island, we finally landed sa Tagbilaran airport. Maliit siya ng di hamak sa airport ng Manila pero ok lang. It's a domestic airport naman eh. After getting our baggage, we immediately looked for our hotel transfer at nakita naman namin siya agad. 


Finally, nakasakay din ako ng airplane. Para lang pala siyang bus. Mas sosyal lang. Hehe! 


Infairness to Airphil Express, the airplane was spacious and clean. The temperature was just right. The flight attendants were nice. According to Ate Min who was able to ride Cebu Pacific before, mas gusto na daw nya ngayon ang Airphil dahil well-maintained ang airplane. At dahil jan, Airphil will be my carrier for my next trip. Kelan kaya un??? hehe!

Ang mga makukulit sa airplane. :) Hindi halatang happy sila. :)

Hello clouds! :)

Preparing for touch down. Hello Bohol! :)

Welcome to Tagbilaran Airport! :) 


My next blogs will contain my well-documented Bohol trip.. Bohol Adventure: Day 1