Bohol

This trip is part of a longer tour: It starts in Vienna/Austria, takes me to Kuala Lumpur/Malaysia, to Miri/Malaysia, then on to Jakarta/Indonesia, Karawang/Indonesia, Manila/Philippines, Tagbilaran/Philippines. Via Kuala Lumpur I go to Abu Dhabi for a few days and finally back to Germany.

Travel information

.All information is non-binding and without guarantee.

I do not receive any commissions or discounts for my reviews on my travels

Entry/Visa

For information on entry see

https://www.skybirdfly.blog/post/more-fun-in-the-philippines

Taxi

Curiously, there are no official taxis at the airport. It is private providers or travel agencies that provide the transport. So I take one of the private vehicles. The fare and the driver - as it turns out later - are reputable. The tour goes directly to my hotel.

Sweet Home Boutique *-Star-Hotel

My raiting: ***

Adresse: Corner J. Borja and Remolador Streets, 6300 Tagbilaran, Bohol

Although the lobby is a bit cramped, I give this hotel 3 stars. The clean rooms are between 22 sqm and 29 sqm, have their own bathroom, air conditioning, WiFi and a restaurant café in the lobby. The staff is friendly and helpful, e.g. when looking for day trips.

Tagbilaran, provincial capital of Bohol

Tagbilaran is the provincial capital of Bohol. It has 105,000 inhabitants. Panglao Airport is about 17 km away in the south. Tagbilaran is 630 km southeast of Manila and about 72 km south of Cebu. There is also a ferry between Tagbilaran and Cebu.

Curiously, there are no official taxis at the airport. It is private providers or travel agencies that provide transport. In the city, tuk-tuks and minibuses provide local public transport.

The ferry port connects the city with other islands, for example you can travel from here to neighboring Cebu. However, you have to buy a ticket in the surrounding agencies, otherwise you cannot pass the gate to the port.

Very close to the harbor you can still find simple dwellings on the water. However, the area is currently undergoing extensive renovation, so it is only a matter of time before these motifs disappear.

The Blood Compact Monument*** on Tagbilaran East Road is a bronze monument commemorating the first treaty between the Philippines and Spain. Miguel Lopez de Legaspi and Raja Sikatuna signed a blood pact of peace and friendship. History tells us something different: the blood remained.

The monument was originally placed directly on the street. It is no longer there. It was moved a few hundred meters. There is barrier-free access there.

Cats Café

My raiting: **

Recommended: outdoor terrace with a view of the bay.

If you walk from Tagbilaran on the Tagbilaran Songculan Bridge towards Panglao Island, you will come across Totolan Street 1. On the left is the Cats Café. At first I thought it was just a normal café run by a fanatical cat lover. Possibly with pictures of her favorites on the walls, maybe even a few sculptures.

Accordingly, I take the steps of the newly constructed building and stumble up the high steps. The Tagbilaran coastline spills out in front of my feet, offering a magnificent view of the city.

OK, the heavy traffic to and from the bridge is a bit annoying, the noise and exhaust fumes are a pain in the lungs. The café has seating inside and outside.

The first thing I notice is that you have to take your shoes off when you enter the café. I almost stepped on one of the cats lying around.

Who would have expected that? Just in time, I see that the café is teeming with cats and kittens.

I order a milkshake and sit down at one of the surrounding tables. The owner of the café joins me. She is from Australia and has taken up the idea of ​​the cat café from Japan. It is relatively well attended. All the children are beside themselves, they absolutely want to carry one of the kittens around. They don't seem to mind, perhaps the kittens have simply given up on it.

And that's my problem: the cats are everywhere, which seems problematic to me for hygiene reasons. But everyone has to decide that for themselves. I sip my shake half-heartedly.

Jollibee

My raiting: **

A bee as a mascot.

Jollibee is a Filipino fast food chain founded in 1975 and is extremely popular in the Philippines.

You can find branches on practically every corner and in every mall. The range includes burgers, chicken, fries, spaghetti, ice cream, all with a Filipino flavor.

Try the restaurant. You will be surprised by the extremely lively background noise. McDonalds and Burger King are a retirement home compared to that.

The American burger chains are trying in vain to wrest market share from Jollibee.

The mascot - a bee - embodies Filipino optimism.

St. Joseph Cathedral

The St. Joseph Cathedral **** on Circumferential Rd., Tagbilaran glows white in the afternoon sun.

As always, the church is full of believers in one of the countless services. As always, I don't understand anything because the sermons are held in Tagalog. But that doesn't matter because anyone with even a hint of religious awareness can guess the content and procedures.

After the mass, I go to Plaza José Rizal, which lies between the church and the National Museum of the Philippines, Bohol.

Lustful lips at Plaza José Rizal

My rating: ***

Adresse: Der Platz liegt zwischen der Carlos P. Garcia Ave. und der Bohol Circumferential Rd.

The first thing that strikes me is the large number of pigeons that populate the square. Parents like to visit the place to linger while their children have a lot of fun scaring the birds away. Others feed the intrusive pigeons to pass the time or out of love for animals.

I sit down on one of the many benches and watch the people going about their activities.

A young woman sits to my left and smiles toothlessly at me. I return the smile in a friendly manner, make a few notes in my notebook, enjoy my here and now. Write. Suddenly the woman is standing about three meters in front of me, smiles again, watches me write. I smile back, slightly irritated.

Shortly afterwards, she sits down on the right-hand bench. That makes me suspicious. I decide to leave the place. But she follows me. Should I be worried? I try to go on my way in a somewhat relaxed manner. The street with the numerous shops and malls on the left and right is very busy.

The white doves are tired.

She is still behind me. I increase my walking speed significantly. It seems I am on the run.

She doesn't let herself be shaken off and adjusts her walking speed. I increase it again.

A pedestrian light suddenly turns from green to red. Fearless in desperation, I rush across the street and take refuge in the nearest crowded mall.

Done.

And always: everyone’s dream

It continues towards the bay. The sun is low in the sky and night will soon fall over the land. It is still oppressively hot and humid. An endless line of cars clogs the road. Rush hour traffic. It stretches for several kilometres, all the way to the other side of the bridge. A small fish market presents today's freshly caught produce to commuters passing by.

I am a fan of fish, but I can't stand the smell of it. That's why fish is banned from my menu. I have no idea why it's been like that since I was a child. But I love cheese. People's preferences will probably remain a mystery forever.

I pass an advertising sign that promises the dream of having your own four walls, just like the one in Indonesia. Advertising that appeals to our unfulfilled desires is everywhere, oversized and universal.

It is the longing for a home, the small, safe, familial world of the otherwise soulless struggle for survival for body, psyche and spirit.

Even here in the Philippines. For the majority of the population, this wish will probably always remain a dream. But you can still dream.

The rest is taken care of by the church, the temple, the mosque or whatever.

Amen

Then it's here, the night in Tagbilaran. The streets are full of life. But evenings like this belong to family and friends. Those who can afford it go out and meet in one of the many restaurants. Otherwise, the busy squares with their stalls remain. Everything has its price. But the view over the bay bathed in light belongs to everyone and is free.

Chocolate Hills

My raiting: *****

The hills are a real tourist magnet, with more than a million visitors every year and are known far beyond the borders of Bohol. The more than 1200 grass-covered Chocolate Hills dry out in the summer months and take on a brown color. They look like chocolate hills. The height varies between 30 m and 120 m.

Legenden

Two giants fought and threw stones at each other until they finally gave up from exhaustion and left the island.

A second legend tells of an unhappy love. A giant fell in love with the chief's daughter. When she died, he wept bitterly and the tears became hills.

The third legend tells of a huge water buffalo that ate the fields empty. The villagers collected all their spoiled food, which the water buffalo also ate but could not digest. As it continued on its way, it excreted piles after pile.

The fourth story is again about the love of an overweight giant for a beautiful woman. In order to get her attention, the giant had to lose weight, so he excreted everything and covered the land with his excrement.

My story goes like this: The giants were frustrated by the greed of humans and buried their heads in the sand. All that remained were their big butts, which still stick out of the ground today.

Tourist magnet

Whatever the case, it is still not clear how these hills were formed. There are many hypotheses. One is that a volcano spewed out blocks of stone in prehistoric times. How wonderful that we still cannot solve all the mysteries of the world today.

I drive to the observation deck near the town of Carmen, about 55 km from Tagbilaran. Shortly before reaching my destination, I have to buy a ticket to the platform and then the fun can begin.

There is a souvenir shop and a restaurant here on the platform. If you want to get to the viewing platform, you have to climb about 200 steps.

This sounds easier than it is given the high temperatures and humidity.

Some visitors have therefore put up their umbrellas or parasols as a precaution, because there is nothing people fear more than raindrops or skin tanned by the sun.

Flawless white skin is an ideal of beauty in Asia.

When I reach the top, I am greeted by a magnificent panorama. It suddenly brings the legends mentioned above to life.

At the same time, it tempts tourists to do funny contortions for the countless souvenir photos. It is mostly groups, families and couples who are having fun in the here and now.

Since 2012, the island of Bohol has been recognized as a UNESCO Global Geopark.

Bye, bye, Bohol.