Bohol, Philippines I: Around Loboc and Chocolate Hills

Goodbye Cebu and Hello Bohol! :)

We had lunch while cruising down Loboc River. I especially love the salad because of the ube bits. See the bowl with purple stuff? That's ube, purple yam which is not purple potatoes nor purple sweet potatoes (which I thought it was). And it's ubiquitous in Filipino desserts! Ube ice cream, ube rice cakes topped with grated coconut, ube with halo halo (Filipino dessert with mixtures of shaved ice and evaporated milk to which are added various boiled sweet beans, jello and fruits), and many more. Yummmm. Apparently the colour purple also symbolizes prosperity because it's the colour of 100 peso bill.

We made two stops along the way, first at a waterfall and then another at a floating platform where locals sang with ukeleles and danced. They danced the bamboo stick dance at an amazingly fast pace and invited us to join in, at a much slower speed of course. It was a really joyous atmosphere, channelling a rather Hawaiian feel.

Then we headed to the Tarsier Conservation Area to see the tarsiers. Philippine tarsier measures only about 85 to 160 millimetres in height, making it one of the smallest primates.Compare it to the surrounding leaves, it is around the size of two or three leaves. You will easily miss it if you don't peel your eyes wide open!

Their huge eyes are actually fixed in their skulls so they cannot turn in their sockets but a special adaptation in the neck allows the tarsiers to rotate their heads 180 degrees. These huge eyes allow the nocturnal animal to have excellent vision at night. When we visited them in the day, some of the tarsiers had their eyes closed. We were told not to take photographs with flash because it would damage their eyesight.

Besides using urine to mark their territory, urine is also used in the mating process. When they are ready to mate, female tarsiers will urinate on the tree branch for males to smell. If he likes it, they will mate and only one offspring is produced after each mating process.

P.S. don't you think this creature looks awfully like Master Yoda of Star Wars?

Finally we arrived at one of the most famous attractions in Bohol, the Chocolate Hills! We had to climb up a flight of stairs to get this view of the chocolate hills and we were all amazed by the seemingly endless hills. There are 214 steps to the top where a bell used to be (it fell during the Bohol earthquake) and couples would climb up to ring it. 214 because... February 14th is Valentine's Day.

Approximately 1,268 to 1,776 individual mounds spread over an area of more than 50 square kilometers. These dome-shaped hills are actually made of limestones covered in grass. The grass turns chocolatey brown during dry season (May, June), hence giving the place its name.

There's a legend behind the formation of Chocolate Hills. There was once a giant named Arogo who was extremely powerful and youthful. Arogo fell in love with Aloya, who was a simple mortal. Arogo kidnapped her and locked her in a tower but Aloya died. Her death caused Arogo much pain and misery, and in his sorrow he could not stop crying. When his tears dried, the Chocolate Hills were formed.

Next up was a ride on the ATV (All Terrain Vehicle) around the chocolate hills. I was really looking forward to it. I started off alright but suddenly I lost control over the bumps on the road and was driving towards the bush beside the road. I immediately pressed down on the brakes but my ATV refused to restart. Thankfully the staff drove along with us, so I had to signal for help. I think after the traumatic fall off the mountain in New Zealand where I broke my arm, whenever I feel slightly out of control, I stop. There was some trouble with my ATV too because after it stopped, it couldn't restart. Finally after about 2/3 fixes (meaning I stopped by the edge of the road 2/3 times), it could finally go and stop normally.

Knowing that my ATV worked okay, I relaxed and the ride was much more enjoyable. I was lagging behind the group and Smith and YM decided to follow me so that I would be safe. So touched :') The scenery along the way was gorgeous, especially because the sun was setting gracefully behind the chocolate hills. I wish I had captured it but I didn't bring my camera along.

As night fell, we dragged our tired bodies to Bluewater Panglao Beach Resort where we were staying for two nights but one look and we were all jolted awake. It was aaaaamazingly beautiful!! We couldn't stop exclaiming at how stunning this place was. My goodness. TWO queen sized beds in one room, Jaslin was like "I can't decide which bed to sleep in!" LOL. Thank you omy and Philippines Tourism Board for this. :') I... might never want to stay in backpackers again... HAHA.

This trip was made possible by the lovely people from Philippines Tourism Promotions Board, SilkAir, omy.sg and Singapore Blog Awards 2014.

Cebu, Philippines II: Around Mactan Island

Can you tell what word we are forming? :)

After breakfast at our hotel, we headed to BOYLA dive shop where we got our goggles for snorkeling at Hilutungan Island. There are numerous islands surrounding Mactan Island as you can see from the map above, providing ample snorkeling and diving opportunities.

The first thing I noticed when we were going to our boat was how clear the water was! Well you've heard me gush about the blue waters in New Zealand, Philippines waters can easily rival. We had to take a small row boat out to the bigger one cos it couldn't come any nearer to the shore due to the low tide. The small row boat immediately started sinking after Smith stepped on board HAHA kidding. But water did seep through a hole and I worriedly asked whether we would sink. His reply, "There's only one way to find out."

We reached the big boat safely and the captain heaved up the heavy anchor while posing for the camera. :D

SEEEEEEE HOW CLEAR THE WATER IS???

That's me holding onto the side of the boat for dear life. The current was so strong, I was afraid of being swept away. Also because Kenny told us there were trigger fishes below us, a.k.a. scary fishes that can bite off your flesh. :S

Finally I calmed down and stuck my head into the water and I gasped. It was like a whole new world~ a new fantastic point of view~~~ *burst into song*

There were so many fishes right below me!! Too bad I had no underwater camera which is a big regret of this trip. I can't really tell you what fishes I saw but there were seriously SOOO many.

Then Kenny said that there were more fishes at the other side of the boat so I swam over with him and he was right! I think I saw some swordfish..? Or was I only dreaming~~?

We bought fresh coconuts from the locals who would row over to the coconut trees on the island, climb up the tree and row over the coconuts to us.

And then we went to Nalusuan Island for lunch! There was a lonnnggggg walkway and we stopped for photos about a thousand times? YM, our chaperone, was super pek chek (Singlish, meaning frustrated? It's not really a translatable word). Would you just look at how beautiful the island is, I felt that I had no urgent desire to go to Maldives after seeing what Philippines has to offer, at a fraction of the cost!

Our lunch contained a lot of things I cannot eat hahaha. Grilled marinated chicken, fish, squid and prawn. There was a band singing songs for diners and we had a good time swaying along to the rhythm.

Then we went to the sandbar which floods during high tide and is a beach on low tide to bond via a photo taking session. First picture of this post was taken there! There were many small fishes swimming around us, I tried to catch one but failed miserably.

Finally it was time to say goodbye to the amazing blue waters and head back to shore.

All of us were pretty tired and I dozed off. When we were reached, Joshua left his GoPro behind on the boat and happily went off! Hazel saw it and secretly pocketed his GoPro. This seriously blur man only realised when we were on the minibus to our next destination. Even our guide played along, he was like "Oh ok, I'll call the dive shop to let them know. If they find it, they'll send it to the hotel." But the others burst out laughing at his depressed expression and gave the game away, but not before getting him to guess who had his GoPro. We got closer over little things like this haha.

Since The Philippines was occupied by the Spanish once upon a time, the guitar making industry in Lapu-Lapu City (on Mactan Island) started when the Spanish friars assigned in Cebu needed to repair their guitars. They commissioned the locals to make and repair guitars which marks the start of the guitar industry in Cebu.

Most of the guitar manufacturers are family-owned enterprises passed on from one generation to another, including the one we visited, Susing's Guitar. You can go the backyard to see the craftsmen at work, to understand how the guitars are made step by step.

I'm sad to say I left Cebu without a guitar though I want to learn how to play it. Kenny bought a cocolele though which is like a ukelele but the backing is a coconut shell. It's so cute! He let me play with it during the rest of the trip and I had a great time annoying everyone with a repeat telecast of "Count on Me" by Bruno Mars. Just the chorus by the way HAHAHA.

Next stop was Avatar jewelry shop, we were too late to see how they make the jewelries unfortunately. There are necklaces, rings, bracelets, bags, etc. Heaven for the ladies...

...but hell for the guys.

We were extremely late for our visit to Ralfe Gourmet Chocolate Factory, felt so sorry because they waited really long for us. We were allowed to sample all the chocolate around the room which is like a dream come true! :D

The roasted cocoa nibs are pounded into cocoa mass or cocoa liquor which is 100% unsweetened chocolate. We tried it  and it is extremely bitter so imagine how much sugar is added to the chocolate we eat. :(

The beautiful lady in the photo is the president of the chocolate factory, Ms Raquel. She's extremely warm and she told us that how her grandmother taught her how to plant cocoa and make chocolate. Oh she drinks unsweetened hot chocolate every morning!

We also visited their cafe, TCC where they sell their chocolates, chocolate cookies, cakes.. :d It's a really cosy place, great place for dates!

I'll end off the post with a video done by omy.sg about our trip in Cebu! Brings back happy memories whenever I watch it, enjoy and listen to me speak in Chinese hohoho.


This trip was made possible by the lovely people from Philippines Tourism Promotions Board, SilkAir, omy.sg and Singapore Blog Awards 2014.

Madame Tussauds Singapore

I recently paid a visit to Madame Tussauds where wax figures come to live!

It's amazing how well made the wax figures are, the skin, the hair, even the wrinkles..

The history of Madame Tussauds dates back to 1770 in Paris. It was here that Madame Tussaud learnt to model wax likenesses under the tutelage of her mentor, Dr Philippe Curtius. At the age of 17, she became art tutor to King Louis XVI’s sister at the Palace Of Versailles and then, during the French Revolution, was hastily forced to prove her allegiance to the feudalistic nobles by making the death masks of executed aristocrats.

Madame Tussauds’ exhibition was a kind of travelling newspaper, providing insight into global events and bringing the ordinary public face-to-face with the people in the headlines.

The wax figures range from politicians, athletes, celebrities.. We had fun posing and snapping photos. :p Here are some, I shall not spoil the fun by posting all.

If you would like to get up close and personal with these A-listers, ticket can be purchase HERE at a cheaper price.

Thanks WTS Travel & Tours for the invite. :)