Lost In The City: Bohol... Arrivals, Dauis, Panglao City and Bohol Bee Farm (Day 1)

Bohol: The Famous Hills and Everything Else Untold

Bohol has always been famous for Tarsiers, the Chocloate Hills and Panglao Island. To most tourists, it is a single day trip from Cebu with an overnight stay at the maximum. They get to see the famous sights and possibly check out the beach before heading out. However, one of the joys of traveling, is venturing into the unknown and making unexpected discoveries. I wanted to see Bohol for all its worth, from the tourist spots, to the roads less traveled.

The Chocolate Hills

There were 6 of us on this trip: me, my brother, my grandparents and my two younger cousins. We were here last July, for 4 days and 3 nights. Airphil Express got us to Tagbilaran Airport around lunch time without delays. The airport is very small & basic and can get crowded even with just 2 planes arriving at the same time. It is centrally located, being only 5 minutes away from the city center and 30 minutes away from Panglao Island. Having weighed the pros and cons of the airport, I would actually be ecstatic if we had one of these in Cavite!

To get to the city center you can, (a) take a tricycle for P 50, (b) haggle with mini van drivers just outside the terminal or (c) have your hotel pick you up for free. Throughout my stay, I didn't see a single taxi in the province. The main modes of transportation are jeepneys, tricycles, motorcycles and baby buses.

First time ko, on time, won't be my last time

Tagbilaran Airport

Although most tourists tend to stay in Panglao Island, my grandparents weren't exactly beach bums and preferred to be in the city. We stayed at Darunday Manor for P 1,300 per room per night plus P 250 for extra bed. It includes free breakfast, free round trip airport transfers and free wifi. The location is very good as it's just a 2 minute walk to a church, 5 minutes walk to two malls & the busy main street. Also, a 24-hour convenience store is across the street and we had no problems sleeping at night because the area was peaceful.

On the downside, the rooms are small and a little worn out. They don't provided basic amenities like tooth brush or shampoo and there is no ref. Breakfast was absolutely garbage. The staff are always smiling and polite but service was inefficient.

We chose this hotel for the price, location and because of the limited options in Tagbilaran City. Initially, our first choice was MetroCentre, but they were fully booked. Most of the nice hotels are located in Panglao and that is where I recommend you stay at for the nightlife, the dinning options and the beach.

Here's a list of hotels I recommend:

- MetroCentre Hotel (Tagbilaran) (Great location, excellent facilities)

- Darunday Manor (Tagbilaran) (Budget, basic)

- Bohol Bee Farm (Panglao) (Exclusive beach use, lot's of stuff to do)

- Alona Tropical Beach Resort (Panglao) (Budget, Beach and Nightlife)

- Amorita Resort (Panglao) (Expensive, you will really feel you're in a vacation here!)

Darunday Manor

With Extra Bed

Dinning Area

Lobby

I hope you'll excuse me for not going DIY on this trip for the following reasons: (1) my Lola won't be able to handle it and (2) the tourist sites in Bohol are spread out, and transportation options are sparse.

So I did the next best thing, I arranged for a car and driver rental from Naldix Tours. Our driver Jeffry arrived with a Nissan Urvan at the hotel lobby around 1 pm for our Panglao Tour costing P 1,800. What I liked about the arrangement is that we got to choose which sites to go to and how much time to spend there.

We had lunch at Chicken Ati-atihan, a famous native restaurant. Their specialty is chicken inasal with unlimited rice. We also got chicken sisig, fried rice and chicharon bulaklak. The food is affordable and tasty although you won't notice any distinct Boholano flavor which makes it no different from restaurants in Luzon offering the same.

Chicken Inasal

Chicharon Bulaklak, favorite ko!

Chicken Skin

Our first stop is Dauis Church and it's Miracle Well. The church was built during the Spanish era and is located at the town of Dauis in Panglao Island overlooking Tagbilaran City. The exterior is pleasant to look at architecturally but it's what's inside that made it famous. At the foot of the main altar is an old well with healing powers and a seemingly endless supply of water. A bottled version of the water from the well is available for consumption from the church for a little donation. Also inside, are wall paintings on the ceiling of saints and Biblical re-enactments. At the back of the church is a nice view of the Panglao waters and at the side is a heritage house displaying artifacts from the church.

Dauis Church facade

The Miracle Well

What's Older, House or Humans?! (Joke, evil!)

Next up, we went to see Bayoyoy the Dwarf, one of the smallest and oldest living person in the Philippines. Bayoyoy suffers from dwarfism and is now in his 60's. He doesn't function properly unlike the most of us, because of his abnormality. Looking at him makes me feel bad. I don't have it in me to post his pictures here because I feel that's exploiting him and it's just not my thing. There is no tourism in seeing a person in a miserable state, so why even promote it, it's despicable to see him as an attraction. Entrance is free but he needs all the donation he can get.

Moving on, we headed to Hinagdanan Cave. Also in Dauis, this underground cave is reached via steep steps supported by steel handles. It is a cave made of limestone which was discovered accidentally by the locals. Inside the small and compact cave, are stalactites hanging from the ceiling and a pond at the center. It is dark, slippery, and humid inside but I didn't see any bats. At the ceiling, is a small opening which allows little light to pass through the cave which formerly was only accessible through the use of a ladder. Entrance fee is P 15, plus parking fee P 20 and a small donation to your guide.

Hindi kinaya ng Galaxy S2 ko ang dilim!

Continuing on with our tour, we then saw the St. Augustine Church, also known as Panglao Church. The church is your typical old, Spanish influenced structure but what's interesting about this place is the adjacent watch tower. Claimed to be the tallest in the Philippines, it looks like it's about to fall because it probably is. Also, I would like to believe that the large open space and numerous benches fill up on weekends as a public gathering place.

Panglao Church

Hindi ba nila to lalagyan ng safety features? Guguho na!

Now it's time for our side trip to an obligatory tourist trap, the Shell Museum. As the name implies, it holds a collection different kinds of seas shells and other ocean treasures. It will probably be interesting for the first 5 minutes of browsing (unless you're a shell collector) then afterwards it becomes boring and you want to make your way to the exit. There's also a souvenir shop inside to ensnare tourists. Entrance costs P 30 and if you just want to see different kinds of shells then go ahead drop by because it won't take too much time, otherwise, skip it.

Snoozzzzzzzze

For our last stop, we go to Bohol Bee Farm. It is an agricultural haven which also functions as a resort and a restaurant. An environment and local community friendly place, there are a few things I could recommend from Bohol Bee Farm. I will start with the ice cream, it's surprisingly a delicious treat, considering that the flavor is malunggay, the other flavors were good as well but malunggay is the best-seller. They also sell organic products like honey, pastry spreads, muffins, polvoron, banana chips, cocoa, and much more which are perfect as pasalubong. The pricing is a little expensive, but we liked most of the stuff we bought especially the honey spread.

I also enjoyed the farm tour which only costs P 30. It's informative, relevant and interactive. We got to learn a ton about how they use natural organic farming to grow their produce. We also got to witness livelihood activities by locals like weaving, sewing and basket making. To top it all, we had a real close encounter with bees.

The only thing I regret, is not being able to dine at their restaurant. We were there around 5 pm, and my companions were still full and didn't want to have early dinner. The accompanying view at sea is both relaxing and inviting. I actually envy the resort guests, because they have exclusive use of these waters.

Dapat meron nito sa Maynila

Malunggay Ice Cream, a must-try!

I'm smiling, but I'm actually really scared right now!

Our driver Jeffry and his daughter

For dinner, we ate at Golden Cowrie restaurant near our hotel. They serve traditional Filipino food at reasonable prices. I don't know if I set my standards too high, but I didn't like the food as much as I thought I would. To me most of the dishes were either too salty or lacked flavor.

After eating, Jeffry dropped us off to our hotel, and so ended our first day with Naldix Tours. Naldix Tours gets a passing grade from me. They offered the cheapest rates among the tour operators I inquired. Our driver / guide is friendly, informative and accommodating. The things I didn't like include (a) being late to pick us up at the hotel, (b) late response to my previous emails and (c) charging a different rate (P 200 more) than what was previously agreed upon in one of the tours.

So so dinner ...

While my companions opted to rest, I went out for a late night stroll of the surrounding area. Safe, quiet, slow paced, and laid back, these were the impressions I got wandering around. I never felt that I was in any danger when exposing my valuables in the open or walking in dark, deserted alleys late at night. Here, I see the province act true to itself and they wouldn't respond any other way. Because strangers, usually never gets this far.