·        What a great weekend!!! I’ve gone out of Luzon and ticked off two of my must-visit places in the Philippines. J  To think that was a very, very cheap trip (kami pa!J).  We got promo-rated airplane tickets; stayed at the houses/toured by our close friends; and got promo-rated boat rides (ang swerte lang talaga). So despite some of the expected rains for some hours during the trip, fantabulous everything talaga!

·        Actually, I don’t know which I am most happy about — being on two airplane rides (Manila-Cebu and Cebu-Manila) or visiting most of the tourists spots in Cebu and Bohol . Hahaha! J But, one thing is for sure, I was super happy to have reunited with my lawschool bestfriend whom I have not seen since 2004!

·        Based on our trip, I can say that Cebu is really an over rated tourist destination (sorry to my Cebuano friends!); while Bohol is very much under rated.  The former is like Metro Manila in more ways than one.  The latter is very diverse, clean, and beautiful! 

·        Fantabulous places/experiences we visited/did:

1.    Panglao Beach, Bohol - I would actually rate Panglao Beach as the second best beach I’ve visited in this country (trailing behind Palawan).  Panglao is so much better than Boracay, Puerto Galera, Bataan, Batangas, and Pagudpud/Mairaira!  Cream sand that looks and ‘feels’ like polvoron (not white eh, yet very soft and fine); super clear waters; clean/maintained surroundings; and not that crowded. 

2.    Kawasan Falls in Cebu - I super liked Kawasan Falls ‘coz it was such an adventure to go under the strong falls and swim around the clear waters.  Misadventure nga lang that nadulas ako and accidentally pushed Kris off the balsa (thank goodness for lifesavers)!

3.    Chocolate Hills of Bohol – Great sight!  Ang dami pala nung Hills J

4.    Loboc River Cruise in Bohol – Parang Wild River Cruise ng Disneyland, CA, only natural river and walang mga mechanical animals/people. So great to ride aboard a boat-balsa while eating non-stop (eat-all-you can native buffet).  All natural, ang linis, and lush greeneries!  We got to see pa that stupid unfinished bridge Atty. Quimbo talked about in Transportation Law class — the almost complete bridge across the Loboc River that would ram straight onto an old church (ang labo that near finishing lang nila na-realize na “oops, we can’t go any further because a very old church is blocking the path”).

5.    See the Tarsiers in Cebu – They’re so small and cute; but icky that rat-like ang tails nila. They are like smaller versions of Australia’s koala bears with big eyes (same branch-hugging, tamad-moving creatures).

·        Amazing, we’ve had little time to go to all our ‘target areas’ that we’ve been to all the tourist spots of Bohol in just 8 hours!  Record setting tour! Our target areas include all of the spots shown in the Tagalog flick Close to You — ahahahaha, binuking ang tripping! 

·        Next stop: Bicol or Davao!  In the meantime, save and live like a pauper again to afford another trip in the near future.