Chocolate Hills
Posted on October 10, 2009 by Ching under Travel.
Chocolate Hills was our next stop after the Loboc river cruise. Chocolate Hills is another, and perhaps the most popular, tourist destination in Bohol. Travelers from far and wide come to Bohol to see these unusual geological formations that look like giant mole hills. There are over 1,200 individual mounds/hills scattered throughout the Carmen, Batuan and Sagbayan region. The hills are covered in green grass and other foilage which turn brown during the dry season, thus the name Chocolate Hills.
There are two places to enjoy viewing the Chocolate Hills of Bohol: Chocolate Hills Complex in the town of Carmen and Sagbayan Peak in Sagbayan. The Sagbayan Peak is newer and I think is probably farther from Tagbilaran and Panglao. Doracs took us to the Chocolate Hills Complex. There are 214 steps to the observation deck. I didn’t count it. I got the informtion from the Bohol guide book that Tita Esper loaned to mom before we left. Anyway, the taxing climb is totally worth it as the hills are magnificent (even though they are green right now because it is the wet season). The Chocolate Hills (green or brown) are truly a sight to behold. I completely understand why they are one of the top attractions in Bohol.
The Chocolate Hills Complex was pretty crowded the day we were there. Though, it might have been the time of the year because our visit coincided with National Day in China (a popular time for travel/vacation for the Chinese). I wondered if Sagbayan Peak would have been better, and maybe less crowded. From the pictures I’d seen, their viewing deck appears to be larger. Maybe we will go there next time around.
Speaking of the Chocolate Hills, I found out in the Bohol guide that there are two legends about the formation of the Chocolate Hills. One is a myth about two giants who fought for days. They threw stones and sand at each other during their fight. When they were finally exhausted, they made amends and left the mess (the Chocolate Hills) they made behind.
The more popular legend is the love story of Arogo and Aloya (I think this is the one I heard growing up). Arogo was a young giant who fell in love with a mortal girl named Aloya. When Aloya died Arogo was said to have grieved her loss severely, crying many tears. His tears then turned into the Chocolate Hills.
The stories about how the hills came to be are quite imaginative. I’m not really sure how they were formed. One theory says that the hills are the weathered formations of a kind of marine limestone on top of an impermeable layer of clay. However they were made, there’s nothing else quite like the natural wonder that is the Chocolate Hills in the entire world.
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Creature Comforts
Posted on October 9, 2009 by Brian under Family, Life, Travel.
I have been in the Philippines for a week now and I have come to realize that there are certain creature comforts that you come to miss when visiting a counrty like this. In America we take so much for granted and you don’t realize how good you have it until it’s gone.
The first thing I missed was AC. In America we are so used to having AC where ever we go, the mall, the doctor, our work, our home even our cars. Here AC is not a given, it’s a luxury. Only those that can afford such comforts have them. Most businesses have them but some, like the street vendors, are just open to the air and can not afford or do not want such comforts (for practical reasons).
The next thing I missed was hot water and good water pressure. These things we definately take for granted in the US. Everywhere you go you have hot water, you are raised to believe that you need hot water to eliminate the germs when washing your hands, body, dishes and clothes. Here not very many people have hot water in their homes, for that matter not very many businesses have hot water. It just does not occur to them to have hot water, it’s so hot here no one would dare to take a hot shower. I tried to take a hot shower the first time I came across hot water and it about killed me. My body temp was already so high from the heat, I just escallated it when I took the shower. It’s amazing how good a cold shower is when you are in a climate with 100+ temp and 90% humidity. Water pressure here is very low. Everywhere you go, it’s the same. It’s just the way it is.
Most people have big tanks to feed their homes. These tanks are fed by the city water. There are no pressure pumps or anything like that, just a trickle of water that barely can get you wet when you shower. If you want anything stronger then you get a bucket and a dipper and pour it over your head and body.
The next thing I missed was communication, both verbal and technological. In America we all speak the same language and anyone else has to suffer through it or keep to circles that speak their language. Here I am the outsider and everyone speaks a different language (sometime 2 or 3) around me and I am lost. Most of the time I just sit and smile.
I see this alot in America and I now understand and empathize with them. I know enough of the language to follow along in a conversation but only between two people. In large groups or if they are spaeking more than one dialect at a time (which is most of the time) I am lost. I am sure that this is how most foreigners feel as well. They don’t have a firm grasp of our language and we talk fast for them and they cannot follow, so they sit and smile and say nothing.
On the technological front of communication, I miss my cell phone. This is a luxury in the states but we have all become so accustomed to having it. I have found myself a few times looking for my phone to update my Twitter only to immediately realize that I don’t have it.
They have cell phones here (more than in the States) and they use them frequently. However, I did not bring one and would have had to buy a local phone and SIM card if I had chosen to; or I could have brought my Nokia which is a world phone and unlocked, and put a prepaid SIM in it.
The next thing I missed was television and internet. They have it here and it’s Americian cable even; but at my in-laws house, they have not updated and added these comforts yet. Maybe in the next trip. We have internet here as well but we cannot visit a lot of the sites I like back home. No Hulu, no Netflix, no Playlist.com or Pandora. These are all blocked to foreign countries because of license agreements.
The last thing I miss and probably one of the most important one is a microwave. Oh, they have them here as well, just not as common as you would think. Most everyone just cooks enought for the day and there is no left over. They either give it to neighbors, the elderly or the animals. But we have had some left overs because of the party we had and there was no microwave, so I had to suffer through cold food. Just another thing we take for granted.
All of this has made me realize a few things though, we have a lot of comforts at home and we are blind to other places that may be less fortunate. Some people choose to live this way and will never change. Some long for the ways of America and will do anything to get there and at least have an opportunity to obtain these comforts and a chance at a better life.
Before this trip I considered retiring to the Philippines and thought that it would make my dollar go further. Since my visit, both my wife and I have decided that it’s not worth it. We are not concerned about the comforts so much as the lack of medical care and the increasing heat. We figure that by the time we retire, global warming will make most equatorial location almost unlivable.
All-in-all it’s been an eye opening adventure so far. I have another week to go and I may experience some more that will open my eyes to even more new and wonderful things. I can tell you this though, I am not looking at the conveniences I have the same way ever again.
(Side note: Here you don’t have dogs barking throughout the day and night in your neighbor’s back yard. Instead, it’s roosters! God I hate the sound of roosters. Especially at 5:00 am.)
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Loay and Loboc Adventures
Posted on October 8, 2009 by Ching under Things to Do, Travel.
Tita Susan was able to arrange for a van and driver for us to use for our suroy suroy in Bohol for only P3000 (P3500 after gratuity). I think it was better than arranging for a preset tour because instead of visiting specific attractions, we were able to tell our tour driver Doracs (Elmer Racines aka Dodong Racines, tour driver extraordinaire) exactly what we wanted to see and do so we were able to skip all of the places that we weren’t so keen on visiting specially since our time in Bohol was limited.
Our first stop was Tita Esper’s house in Bohol. She gave an envelope for mom to deliver to her brother Manong Juanity Bunyao. We were worried that we would have trouble finding their house because there are no house numbers in Tocdog, just like in Tabuc. However, it was actually pretty easy to find her house because it is right next to the road. Tita Esper told mom that it is next to the road and directly in front of the sea. Mom recognized it right away. I did too, because I saw the picture of their house that mom posted on Twitpic. The house is grand and looks just like it does in the picture.
We couldn’t stay at Manong Bunyao’s too long because it was almost time for lunch and Tita Susan wanted to treat us to lunch aboard one of Loboc’s floating restaurants. Loboc is a municipality that is right next to Loay.
The Loboc river cruise is the highlight of the Bohol trip for me. We were treated to local and international music, as we enjoyed the lunch buffet aboard one of the floating restaurants. Cruising the beautiful river was nice and peaceful. Having locals sing and dance on a stationary raft partway during the cruise was nice also.
We passed by several other floating restaurants filled with tourists, as the cruise is one of the most popular attractions in Bohol province. The cruise also took us to Busay Falls (another popular attraction), where our floating restaurant turned to go back to the starting point. The entire lunch cruise took about 45 minutes to an hour.
Tita Susan originally wanted us to do a dinner cruise along Loboc. I could tell that it would be magical because they have beautiful lights lined up along the river. Except, we arrive really late on Saturday afternoon and we were all really tired. So we did the lunch cruise on Sunday instead. It was still wonderful, but I would definitely want to go back and try the cruise in the evening. I highly recommend the Loboc river cruise as a must-see/do while in Bohol.
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I’m Held Hostage
Posted on October 8, 2009 by Ching under Family, Travel.
I’m held hostage in the house with three very boring people because it won’t stop raining (okay, so they are boring regardless of the weather but I’m giving them the benefit of the doubt). Ganahan unta mi (ako ra diay kay Brian just wants to relax kuno) manuroy, pero dili mi ka suroy kay mag sigi ra man ug ulan.
The weather has already ruined our plan to go dolphin-watching in Bais yesterday. We are supposed to have a family party today and then go to Park Cafe at the town plaza for some dancing. If it doesn’t quit raining, things might not go quite as well. 🙁
Anyway, this weather is making me long for Alona Beach in Panglao Island (in Bohol province) and the wonderful weather we had while we were there.
Here are some pictures:
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Travel Tip #231
Posted on October 8, 2009 by Ching under Tips, Travel.
When traveling to a third world country and staying at an unfamiliar hotel/resort, the important question is not to ask whether there is wireless internet connectivity (free or otherwise), on-site restaurant, room service, complimentary, breakfast, etc. The most important question (at least for me) is whether the facility has a backup generator in case of a power outage. In third world countries where the infrastructure is dubious at best, power outages (or brown outs as they are known in the Philippines) are quite frequent. In a climate where the heat and humidity is barely tolerable, even in the wet/monsoon season, fans and/or AC units are a necessity specially to those who are not accustomed to the tropical climate.
This is one of the most important things I learned on this trip. Here are some examples of how to ask the question in the native language:
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Tagalog/Filipino: Meron ba kayong backup generator para sa brown out?
Bisaya/Cebuano: Naa moy backup generator para ug mag-brown out?
Now you are ready to embark on your own third world adventure. LOL.
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