Bohol - my new favourite place
After swimming with whale sharks I arrived in Bohol and Alona Beach with some new friends from the boat trip over to the island. Turned out that there were more dive fanaticts on board the boat. I bunked up with one of the girls, Grace, for the first night and as we arrived at the dive shop the next morning we recognised two others, Michele and JB, from the boat that we spent the day with.
We went for a 2 dive promo around Balicasag island that we paid 2250P (400 SEK/€40) for. The diving was amazing. First a beautiful, massive wall and then a multi level reef with lots of marine life. Unfortunately the pictures do not do it justice at all.
After the dive Grace and I headed up to Loboc river and the most amazing hostel I have stayed in so far on my trip called the Fox & the Firefly Cottages. It was just by thr river and had outdoor shower and toilet huts that I loved. After just a few hours I had already decided to stay another night. The next morning Michele and JB joined us and we headed out for a road trip with our mopeds for the day.
Our first stop was at the zip line over the Loboc river that me and JB went on. They offered to sell us photos afterwards but I said no thanks as there was only one I liked - on the rest I looked like a bee!
We drove through rice fields and the man made forest before reaching the chocolate hills.
We took the steps to the top of the hill but there was so much construction on the platform that all pictures ended up with fences in them and in all honesty the best pictures seemed to be from the parking lot.
Our next stop was a little road side restaurant where they had about 20 different pots of food to choose from. We kind of overwhelmed the girl behind the counter as we ordered in plate after plate with the various dishes. It was really amazing, the best places are always the little local road side places.
After that we headed over to Tarsien Conservation Area to visit one of the smallest primates in the world: tarsier. As we entered it said "no flash photography" on several signs and as I went to take my first shot the flash went off and I got yelled at, woopsie.
We finished the day with a firefly watching paddle board session on the river which was amazing.
The next morning the girls and I, JB thought it was too early, started the day at 6am with a yoga session at the hostel. As we finished JB joined us for breakfast and as Michele went back to bed the rest of us went on a 13km mountain bike tour around part of the island.
We drove past rice fields and through little villages in the jungle, past the river with some amazing views. We got to an awkward narrow crossing which Grace and I crossed in a not so very glamorous way which our tour guide took a photo of. As I went "oh no, there's evidence of this", JB that was behind us said "and I've got it on video". Shortly after I hear abang behind me and as I turn I see JB on the ground. He stands, brushes himself off and says "I got that on video as well".
We stopped to see how they make the roof for the traditional Philippinese cottages. We also met a lot of the local kids that were very happy to see us.
Our final stop was the smith shop, where they make 22 traditional Philippinese knives every day.
It might not sound like much but I loved this place. A lot of it was thanks to the hostel which, as it only has two private cottages and one 6 bed dorm, so it fills up really quickly. But Bohol has such a vast variety in scenery, from amazing beaches surrounded by fantastic reefs to rivers and jungles. I almost didn't make it here as the people I spoke to previously said that you only needed one day to see it all. Yes, by all means if all you want to see is the Chocolate Hills and Tarsiers then a day is enough but if you really want to see Bohol you need at least three days and then you still only will only have seen a fraction of the island. It is without a doubt my favourite place in the Philippines and I am so happy I didn't skip it.
We went for a 2 dive promo around Balicasag island that we paid 2250P (400 SEK/€40) for. The diving was amazing. First a beautiful, massive wall and then a multi level reef with lots of marine life. Unfortunately the pictures do not do it justice at all.
After the dive Grace and I headed up to Loboc river and the most amazing hostel I have stayed in so far on my trip called the Fox & the Firefly Cottages. It was just by thr river and had outdoor shower and toilet huts that I loved. After just a few hours I had already decided to stay another night. The next morning Michele and JB joined us and we headed out for a road trip with our mopeds for the day.
Our first stop was at the zip line over the Loboc river that me and JB went on. They offered to sell us photos afterwards but I said no thanks as there was only one I liked - on the rest I looked like a bee!
We drove through rice fields and the man made forest before reaching the chocolate hills.
We took the steps to the top of the hill but there was so much construction on the platform that all pictures ended up with fences in them and in all honesty the best pictures seemed to be from the parking lot.
Our next stop was a little road side restaurant where they had about 20 different pots of food to choose from. We kind of overwhelmed the girl behind the counter as we ordered in plate after plate with the various dishes. It was really amazing, the best places are always the little local road side places.
After that we headed over to Tarsien Conservation Area to visit one of the smallest primates in the world: tarsier. As we entered it said "no flash photography" on several signs and as I went to take my first shot the flash went off and I got yelled at, woopsie.
We finished the day with a firefly watching paddle board session on the river which was amazing.
The next morning the girls and I, JB thought it was too early, started the day at 6am with a yoga session at the hostel. As we finished JB joined us for breakfast and as Michele went back to bed the rest of us went on a 13km mountain bike tour around part of the island.
We drove past rice fields and through little villages in the jungle, past the river with some amazing views. We got to an awkward narrow crossing which Grace and I crossed in a not so very glamorous way which our tour guide took a photo of. As I went "oh no, there's evidence of this", JB that was behind us said "and I've got it on video". Shortly after I hear abang behind me and as I turn I see JB on the ground. He stands, brushes himself off and says "I got that on video as well".
We stopped to see how they make the roof for the traditional Philippinese cottages. We also met a lot of the local kids that were very happy to see us.
Our final stop was the smith shop, where they make 22 traditional Philippinese knives every day.
It might not sound like much but I loved this place. A lot of it was thanks to the hostel which, as it only has two private cottages and one 6 bed dorm, so it fills up really quickly. But Bohol has such a vast variety in scenery, from amazing beaches surrounded by fantastic reefs to rivers and jungles. I almost didn't make it here as the people I spoke to previously said that you only needed one day to see it all. Yes, by all means if all you want to see is the Chocolate Hills and Tarsiers then a day is enough but if you really want to see Bohol you need at least three days and then you still only will only have seen a fraction of the island. It is without a doubt my favourite place in the Philippines and I am so happy I didn't skip it.
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