Pinay on the road

Backpacking is not really something most Pinoys delve into. But for those who are travelling on a shoe-string, at the same time like some candid adventures, then it’s the thing you might want to do. 

Anyways here are the places I’ve been to and prices of accommodations stayed at which might be of help to those who are keen to go there:

Brookes’ Point

Puerto Princesa (PP)-Brookes’ point (BP)-P250 (Aircon van) 5 hrs

Accom- BP pension house-P350 (d/b w fan); P650 (w/aircon) 

 *I recommend you take aircon vehicles due to dusty roads, we tried the jeep, and we ended up looking like albinos. This place is really a small town, with nothing much to do, but they have nice view of sunrise on the shore. 

 Puerto Princesa

BP-PP- P250 (Aircon van) 5 hrsIwahig Penal Colony-City Center-P40

*Iwahig penal colony is famous for its unique jail management; prisoners due for release in 5 yrs can stay within the compound with their families with an income.

prisoners of iwahig penal colony

displayed products of the prisoners

   Accom-  

a)Banwa-P450 (w/fan and shared bathroom) with fancy decors that help create the ambiance

b)Manny’s pension house-P500-P600 (fan and shared bathroom) this one’s v simple, wooden house (Mendoza st., walking distance from Banwa)

Sabang

PP-Sabang- P600 (aircon van)

Accom-Mary’s pension house-P600 (you stay in your own cottage/w fan) this is located at the end of the right side of the junction where you will be dropped off, around 30min hike. You can choose a lot of nearby cottages though.

*You can check out the waterfall that flows directly to the sea. Interesting scene. It’s a 1.5 hours trek one way. The information center will tell u about this so u can’t miss this. 

the entrance of the cave

*Subterranean underground river- you only have  to pay P150(for local) P200(for foreigner)  going to the famous underground river… if you opt to go there by just hiking.  It’s only a 2-hour trek, one way. But the interesting part is you may choose the path in going there: monkey trail or the jungle trail. They’re both superb, but I like the monkey trail. U may also choose to take a boat, for a 15min ride, for P600 I think.  

  El Nido

Sabang-El Nido-P600                                                           

Accom-

Hadefe’s cottage- this is highly recommended coz of its beautiful cottage location: you can look at the sunset just in front of your cottage. Btw,Taiyo cafe is good place to hang out for nice food and internet.

sunset in front of the cottage

spectacular view from the top of the cliff

*cliff climbing (P250/pax)-one of activities which I enjoyed, you can see the whole of El Nido islands at the top

 *squid fishing(P600/pax)-though I was not up and running in this activity due to motion sickness, it was really something different, when we went in the middle of the sea at night, and… went squid fishing. Rewarding part was when we grilled the fresh squids-sweet taste.

snorkeling at the big lagoon

 Well, this note is for my friends who have been asking for details and recommendations. I could have missed a lot of things. But u can discover those things for yourselves when you get there. Hehehe.  I really do hope you’d get there one of these days, so we can compare notes, about our appreciation over one of our country’s pride.     

The cuddly Tarsiers were the primary reason why Bohol is the place we long wanted to visit, even before Sagada and Banaue. Aside from its amusing fact that its eyes are bigger than its brains, Tarsiers are becoming endangered. Rita, a Belgian owner of the Nuts Huts told me that some Tarsiers just commit suicide because of depression. Though some find it amusing if not funny. But what’s funny with commiting suicide out of depression? I don’t think it is.. Tarsiers are nocturnal animals, meaning they sleep during the day and are awake during the night. But these are not the cases of Tarsiers who are being used as a Tourist attraction in several restaurants especially in Loboc. They feel harassed by tourists who like to touch and cuddle them.

Intrigued by what Rita told me, I went to one of the Restaurants who offer tourists a free look at Tarsiers. And when I saw, the Tarsier, yes, it was not caged, as emphasized by the restaurant owners. I was later told by the guide who works for the Tarsier Sanctuary (when we visited the place in Carmen, after checking out the restaurant in Loboc), that the Tarsiers were definitely being put into a cage during night time; otherwise they will escape from their captors.

The sanctuary for the Tarsiers has an area of about 7 hectares. A little portion of it is net-covered and has 7 Tarsiers inside for the purpose of letting tourists see the Tarsiers in their natural habitat (no touching allowed).

Comparing the Tarsier I saw at the restaurant, from the ones in the sanctuary, it seemed that the big-eyed little primates were at ease at the sanctuary, while, they looked like harassed and just froze out of fright, clinging to a little branch, anticipating but not wanting to be touched by some stranger who comes into sight.

But who could blame these locals from displaying these cute Tarsiers? They cannot be called illegal, as they are given permits by the DENR, which environmentalists object. But who could stop them? How can they be stopped? There are campaigns about saving these primates from getting extinct. But is it enough? How well is it supported, by whom? Who should be concerned about it? These are simple questions that can simply be answered, in which actions are still yet to be seen.

Anyways, as a whole, Bohol, as a laid back island is the very best place to stay and chill out.

Of course aside from Tarsier, it is known for its Chocolate hills, which I did not miss of course. Our visit however turned out to be a foggy one. It was sunny in the morning. Then it got a bit cloudy during the afternoon. We took a bus from Loboc (Nuts Huts) for the butterfly garden (which has an excellent tour guide. He has thoroughly explained the life cycle of a butterfly. But we didn’t get to see the butterflies in the enclosed garden since it drizzled.) Then we proceeded to the chocolate hills. By the time we arrived at the junction, it was raining heavily. We decided to still proceed since we were in the area already. So we climbed the viewing deck, and viewed the chocolate hills in a haze. Though chilling and looking like wet chicks, I did enjoy that moment despite a debate with Dave about his theory that those hills are not natural. And so I close this sentence with a period.