Showing posts with label Bohol. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Bohol. Show all posts

Sunday, November 6, 2016

Do-It-Yourself (DIY) Trip to Panglao, Bohol Day 3 & 4

9:04 PM
View at Bohol Bee Farm
On to the next 2 days of my Bohol trip with my parents...

DAY 3 - HENNAN RESORT

 For our 3rd day, I was planning to do a SEA tour to do island hopping and snorkeling at Balicasag Island unfortunately I had to work until the wee hours of the morning to submit a needed report. Thus, I was unable to do the SEA tour because you have to be up by 5am and be at the sea by 6am. You can also have the opportunity to see the dolphins if the tides were not too strong.

In lieu of the SEA tour, we spent the afternoon wandering at the Alona beach and got a Henna Tattoo for Pp 200. I am a huge fans of Henna tattoo and cannot resist the urge to get one at all ;)
Original Design of the Tattoo Artist and I just let him go with his inspiration
After that, we spent the rest of our time at Hennan Resort instead. Taking advantage of their amenities and fulfilling lunch.
 


If you can't afford to stay at Hennan Resort like we couldn't, don't fret because they allow you to do a day tour with use of their amenities for only Php 800 pesos per person including towels, toiletries, locker and shower room. The lockers are limited and fortunately, not many people were there and we got a spot.

The guests have limited access to certain pools and those available are those near the beach front, Jacuzzi, AND you have the access to enjoy the beach as well plus the lounge areas.
Hennan Resort Beach Front

Jacuzzi with My Mom
There is also a bar by the pool where you can get a drink and lounge as well in the pool all you want.
Bar by the Pool and they are open until 12mn
We ordered a margarita pizza, a fave of mine :)
Margarita Pizza!!!
View of the Pool at night with the focal point at mom and I :)
DAY 4 - HINAGDANAN CAVE

My mom wanted to see the famous Hinagdanan Cave and we rode a tricycle for a fee of Php 250 back and forth. There is no entrance fee but you can give a tip to the local volunteer tour guides.
The cave has a lagoon inside and people can swim in it. It is not too deep during low tide around 3 feet and around 15 feet or so at high tide.
I was too afraid of the dark and the unknown thus, I let only my feet enter the water. It was cold but seems refreshing. Some say it has health benefits but I was too scared to see it through. If you are going to visit Hinagdanan Cave and want to try it, don't forget to bring your swimwear and not just your birthday suit! 

This was already our last site to visit in Panglao and we ended the trip of course, with nothing but good food which is back to our favorite resort --> Hennan Resort
Lapu Lapu Fillet with Saffron Rice
I must say it is better to eat ala carte than the usual lunch buffet at the Sea Breeze Cafe of Hennan Resort because this TLapu Lapu with saffron rice was to die for!!!

After this lunch, we had to go and catch our flight back to Manila and we were a bit sad to go after spending a really relaxing passed 4 days (even with pulling an all nighter for work). I recommend this highly for the country loving, beach enthusiast traveler. Happy trip ahead of you!
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Tuesday, November 1, 2016

Do-It-Yourself (DIY) Trip to Panglao, Bohol Day 1 & 2

10:21 PM
This trip was a request by my mom as she has heard many great stories from our relatives and friends on the beauty of Bohol, I, on the other hand, was not too excited about it because my work requires me to travel locally and Bohol was one of the provinces I have already been assigned to. Though, not Panglao specifically but the town across the river which is Tagbilaran.

Now, this was not some big planned trip but ever since last year; we try to have at least one travel which I will share in another entry (Hong Kong-Macau Christmas Vacation)! We booked our tickets via a Trade & Travel Show 2016 held at MOA last April 8, 2016. There were really good finds there especially if you want to book cheaper PAL, Cebu Pacific and Air Asia plane tickets and do a DIY as we did or just get a land travel near your dates of travel.

We booked our tickets on that day and our trip was held last September 28-October 1, 2016. We arrived around late afternoon but the plane ride was better since this was my first out-of-town trip with my parents riding a plane and it was also a first to arrive via Tagbilaran airport (I usually arrive through fastcraft from Cebu to Tagbilaran for about 2 hours ride. Worth spending time there as well if you have longer time and if you plan to exit through Cebu back to Manila!)

DAY 1 - GAVROCHE CAFE

 After arriving in the airport, you will see a long line on your right but also wondering where all the cabs are. Usually when you get out of the airport, you'll see a long line for taxi bay but here; there are just lots of guests and men in uniforms. Now, I approached the security guard and asked where can I get a cab. He called a driver (a representative from the Department of Tourism and eventually our tour guide for the rest of our stay in Bohol) and we got a van all to ourselves for a fee of Php 600.

We made our hotel reservations at the Panglao Regents Park. We wanted to stay at the Hennan Resort but it was out of our budget since it was worth Php7K++ a night and we were not really focused on doing a resort staycation as we will be out of the room most of the time touring the place.

What was great about the Panglao Regents Park is the early bird rate of 40% discount on the hotel room. Rather than paying more than Php 3K for a family room, we just paid around Php1600 with an extra bed for me since there are 3 of us. My mom and dad got the bed and I got the extra bedding. It was a good set-up and the space was sufficient to move around. Unfortunately, I don't have a picture to show you guys how it looked like but you can view it from their site directly by just clicking the links on the hotels above.

For our first night out in Panglao, our driver referred us to one of the restaurants along Alona beach but let me tell you that it was huge let down because.. Well, let me first tell you that my family loves food and we have been to the best and the worst restaurants, cafe, buffet, etc. Now, this restaurant was along the road to Alona beach and they have a great selection of seafood as you can see the pictures below but the environment was what made it not enjoyable at all.



There were flies everywhere and though it was understandable since we are by the sea but the more horrible thing about it was there were cockroaches flying which sadly landed on our dinner. I was not even able to finish my crab due to this incident and we dejectedly left. With a heavy heart and a half empty stomach, we ventured to a nearby bakery because nothing beats a good bread in our books!
We found ourselves inside Gavroche a French bakery and had some chocolate croissants, muffins, sour dough bread and many more. We did not do a dine-in but we just bought the bread and brought it back to our hotel room. It was a really good meal after what happened to the last restaurant we went too and a good breakfast as well since the bread stayed flavorful even though it was a bit hard since there was no way for us to reheat it.

~o~o~o~o~o~

DAY 2 - COUNTRY SIDE TOUR

On to our next day of trip to Bohol, we have a scheduled countryside day tour. You can see the rates below which we got from our tour guide. We paid Php 2500 for the van and there are separate entrance fees per site you visit:
Tour Rates from our Tour Guide in Panglao

Our first stop was the farthest according to our driver/tour guide and the most sought after tourist site which is the chocolate hills. Along the way, you have to pass by the Man-made forest but I gave it a new name as "Buwis Buhay Forest" (Life Threatening Forest) because we literally have to take a picture on the road where there are cars going up and down the road. We had to run and strike a pose like a top model, take a picture and run back when there is an incoming car.

Man-Made Forest (Buwis Buhay Forest)

After that we went straight to an ARV store where you can rent one or a buggy depending on the number of sites you want to visit. At that time, there was a promo that I get to pay Php 900 for two sites plus one which should have been just Php 900 for two sites. With this, you get a tour guide/creative photographer since this person assist you to take wonderful pictures plus amazing poses.
Picture before bumping the pole
First Stop for a Picture with the Hill

First Stop with my ARV Tour Guide

Jump Shot as a Celebration from Bumping the Pole

Three Sisters

One of the Unique Poses my Tour Guide let me do

The Mini Rice Terraces
I was nervous at first and even bumped a pole on my way but I got the hang of it in the end. The trip last for about an hour but I got back less than an hour because I raced with my tour guide back to the ARV store since I am already comfortable riding it.

Next stop is just the neighbor observation deck to view the tallest chocolate hills and the nearest one as well to the deck. We paid about Php 50.00 for the environmental fee. The stairway to the deck is 200 steps and my mom was with me. Take note, she has a hard time climbing up steps due to some health-related concerns but don't worry since there are some stops along the way that she was able to take a rest.
On our way to the top

Taking a Picture on the Rest Stop

You can see the rest stop on the upper left
The view on the top was fantastic, of course! It is what makes people go to Bohol, the Chocolate Hills.
The View on the Deck

The Tallest Chocolate Hill nearest to the Deck


On to our next stop is the Tarsier conservatory which is below this deck. When I say below, I don't mean it literally but it just meant we have to drive down.

We saw a lot of Tarsiers but what was sad is the locals do try to make the Tarsier "work" where they have to nudge the trees a bit so they will wake up for a good picture or make a sound to get their attention. I appreciate the effort for the sake of the picture but I think I don't want to require them to work just for tourists. They are endangered already thus, this may drive them further to extinction. However, it is nice to the little primates up close but I really wouldn't mind them sleeping.
Look closely and you'll see a Tarsier inside

For our 3rd stop, we went to the Loboc River where we had lunch and priced at Php 470 each person but my parents are senior citizens already and they got a privilege of Php 100 off from their ticket. The lunch was alright and nothing too unique. The ride is similar to taking a floating restaurant which I believer the concept is. It's alright of a site for 1st timers to Bohol for the experience.
The Floating Mini-Restaurants
The Tickets to the Buffet Lunch

On to our 4th stop is the butterfly center, it was smaller that what I was expecting but I was delighted all the same. We paid around less a Php 100 for the entrance fee and got a short tour on the development of the butterfly from the eggs to the cocoon. You get to touch them too but I freaked out the entire time I was holding the caterpillars. If only, I just fainted hahahaha!
Caterpillar on my hand :O
The Marshmallow Caterpillar! It was really soft!
They may look spiky now but they will become a beautiful butterfly one day!
Pupae???

We got inside a garden with lots of butterflies as well but they aren't all friendly to humans or not all can be touched by us. Here, we witness again that they must "work" and the butterfly that was assigned to us was already tired. Poor thing! We did not spend much time and just looked around at the different butterflies and bonsai.

After the short tour, you get a souvenir photo where you get a pseudo-butterfly wings. It was a really brilliant idea for the local to this.

This countryside tour we did usually has 10 sites to visit but we only visited about 6-7 because we skipped the python or snake place, the blood compact site and one or two of the churches. We were not really interested to see them but if you are then please go and visit them. If you get into a usual tour package or join a group tour offered locally then you will surely visit those.

The last stop for the day is the Bohol Bee Farm which my mom and I were really looking forward to. There is a farm tour if you wish to see how the products were made, the bee farm itself and many more but we got around past 5pm and the tour was just until 4pm. However, it is alright because my mom and I have toured other farms before so this might be no different.

There is a store for their merchandise and their are breads, muffins, spread, etc. Since you know that we love bread, we got some of them for tomorrow's breakfast. After that we had dinner on the farm's restaurant. They have their own resort as well so you might want to consider staying here as well. The most affordable meal was at Php 195 but I can guarantee you that it was worth every penny because the serving was big and it was definitely filling. I say affordable because if you are in a budget but still want to get the best from the place, you get this meal.
We ordered some appetizers because it says on the menu that it is a sample and we will be able to try different spread offered in the farm. Since we did not buy most of the spreads, this was really a good treat for us.
Appetizer and a sample of the Bee's spreads
Another nice point in Bohol is the fresh fruits so we usually get fresh juices or shakes to accompany our meal. At this time, it was the buko shake since there are a lot of buko trees in the Panglao and this is what can grow mostly on their rich of limestone soil. 
Say Hello to our Tour Guide, Harvy!
For the main course, it is the much awaited salad and roasted chicken. I love love love the fact it was a healthy meal. The salad alone was already stomach filling. I really needed to take the eating to a slower pace because I was already full but I did not want to pass up the chance to finish the whole meal. Teehee!

Unfortunately, I don't have a picture of the famous Bohol Bee Farm ice cream but it is a must try according to my parents. It was unique to the palate and really good to fight the heat. I am not a big fan of ice cream but I trust my parents judgement hahaha! Till the next 2 days of my Bohol-venture!
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