For the first time in 3 years, I have traveled on a motorbike all day long. Three years ago, I traveled around Angkor Wat, Cambodia. At that time, I was lucky to find a friendly driver, although he didn't speak English very well. This time I also had a wonderful driver, Arnold, speaking good English. My English teacher, Riza, arranged him to pick me up at the Tagbilaran ferry port. His name was Arnold, but I called him "Annon", because I believed his name was Annon until Riza told me it is not. Anyway, He drove a motorcycle so fast without a helmet that I was a little bit scared. In addition, the whole day long trip gave me a pain in the buttocks. But thanks to Arnold and beautiful scenarys in Bohol, I didn't care much about it.
The first destination was Baclayon Church. It has a small museum upstairs and a good collection of church stuff. It houses some impressive robes worn by bishops(?) in the past. You can enter the church for free, but it is worth visiting the museum upstairs for only 20 pesos. The next destination was a suspension bridge. They didn't take any pesos for the bridge toll. I bought souvenir T-shirts and coconut juice on the other side of the river. The juice was good, but too much in a coconut.
The tarsier cage on Loboc river was close to the suspention bridge. There are only three tarsiers which were very still and quiet on the twigs and some people gathered around them. So I felt sorry for the environment as one of the visiters. The cage seemed to be run by only donations. A staff member working in another cage had me hold a baby monky drinking milk with a baby bottle and took a picture. This happened so suddenly that I couldn't turn it down. Of course, it might be a good memory, but the general rule is "don't touch animals indeliberately".
It was a long ride from the tarsier cage to Chocolate Hills, but, needless to say, it is a must-see in Bohol trip. You can get a good view of many hill from the observation deck. You may like the view in June, because a few of chocolate hills were brown, but most of them were still green in mid-April. Brown ones were just like hills made of real chocolate and it was a pity that I coundn't visit there in the best season. There was a sign indicating that the chocolate hills was one of the new 8 wonders of the world. I had to admit myself susceptable to this kind of tourist hype... Come to think of it, there are more than 800 world heritage sites of UNESCO around the world and the number is still increasing year by year, but the number of the wonders should be limited to only eight. It must be a tough competition.
After Chocolate Hill, we came back to Loboc river and enjoyed cruising by a floating restaurant. It was expensive, 280 pesos per person, and I bought Arnold lunch, but the dishes were just OK. Many villagers living along the river sang songs and showed dances for the guests of the restaurant. Unfortunately it was quite touristy. A friend from my English school told me that was the most memorable attraction to him, but it just reminded me of a Disneyland attraction. I found some ilumination lamps along the river to light up the river at night. So you might be able to get a better view there at night.
After a visit to Blood Compact Site, Arnold told me about gold buried by Japanese during World War II. He said he was a gold hunter and I wished him a good luck. We also visited the Anaconda Cage, which housed a model of Anacond, we headed for Panglao Island. Panglano Island was so close to Bohol Island that we just crossed a strait by motorbike. It was getting darker and darker little by little, but there was one more place to visit on that day. It was Hinagdanan Cave, the best place in Bohol for me. The cave was small, but it had some stalactites and underground water pool. Some Filipinos were swimming there and looked very fun. Although I couldn't have swum myself, because no one watched my valuables, the entrance fee was reasonable and the senary was good with local Filipinos bathing and smiling. All in all, it was the best attraction for me in Bohol.
I stayed in a small hotel near Alona Beach in Panglao Island. I didn't mean to stay there at first, but because I had no reservation for any hotels and it was getting dark outside, I had no choice but to pay 1500 pesos for a simple single room of the hotel. I had heard Alona beach was one of the best in the Philippines before I got there. Actually, it was disappointing and it was sure that Bohol Beach Club next to Alona Beach was better.(I took a glance at it from the next beach.) Moreover, the experience I had in Alona Beach gave me a worse memory.
My Bohol guidebook bought in SM mall said you could watch dolphines and whales in Panglao island. Three years ago, I missed a chance to see whales in New Zealand, because of its high cost. So when I saw a boat driver who said he could take me to whales, I was really excited and got up very early in the moning to depart. He bothered to pick me up at my hotel at 5 in the morning. I saw some boats sailing in the same direction as ours and I thought, although each boat was small, but many people were willing to watch whales. On our way, I saw many dolphines. I had seen dolphines many times before, but never seen wild dolphines. So that was OK, although my priority was whales. After a while later, watching dolphines, my driver asked me if I wanted to go island-hopping. I didn't know what he meant at first, because I had not seen whales yet. Then I asked him to take me to whales. But he told me that whales were off season.... I hate this kind of scams which traps tourists anywhere around the world. I realized that I wasted my time and money.... And the driver continued, "dolphines and whales are same." I was not born yesterday! I was full of fury and ordered him to go back to the beach. After I came back to Cebu, a Philipina told me that dolphines and whales are the same in a language. I didn't know if it was the truth or just a comfort.... In the end, I negotiated with the driver and paid half the price. It was not my day.
After the DOLPHINE watching, I had nothing to do. So I was sitting on a log on the Alona beach, spreading a Bohol Map and reading a Bohol guide. Then a tricycle driver talked to me and gave some advice for the day. He didn't give me no good choices, because I had visited almost all attractions in Bohol, but I got interested in a new attraction, a bee farm. So I asked him to take me there. At the bee farm, a guide took me to a very short, but enjoyable tour. It had a massage cottage, which looked a confortable lodge where to stay at first. Unfortunately, I needed a reservation to get a massage. At the gift shop, I bought a jar of honey for a teacher. On the way back to Alona Beach, I dropped by another beach next Bohol Beach Club. I had heard that Bohol Beach Club was beautiful, but when I talked to the entrance gurd of Bohol Beach Club, I found it was very expensive. That's why I visited the next one, Dumaluan Beach. The beach was crowded with Filipinoes and some venders, but more popular and enjoyable than Bohol Beach Club. I just bought an ice cream from a vender and strolled around, but honestly loved the atomosphere. Actually, I peeped in Bohol Beach Club from there, and it may have been better for visiters who liked the cleanness and calmness to sunbathe. I stayed there only half an hour, but I wished I could have stayed in the lodge on the beach.
When I got back to Alona Beach, I had some time left before meeting Arnold. So I strolled around the beach for a while. I ate lunch in a restaurant for tourists near the beach, but it was very expensive and I didn't even order a drink. In front of a tour agency, I saw a European scuba diver with an artificial leg. I had seen some athletes with artificial limbs, but that was my first time to see an artificial leg scuba diver. I passed by a few kids selling ice cream, too. It must have been a hard job to carry a large bag of ice cream in the heat of Alona beach. After that, I started walking back to my hotel to meet Arnold, but he was waiting for me near the beach. We caught a shower on our way to the ferry port, and took shelter in front of his high school. I didn't leave Bohol yet, so I felt even a shower was a good experience. After half an hour drive, Arnold saw me off in the ferry port. I thought he was just a guide, but now he is an unforgettable man in my memory. I thank him a lot.
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