Island Hopping- Bohol

The third day was our Island hopping day. We rented an outrigger banca (boat) at 2800 pesos for the whole day (about $50).

 We set out very early to catch a glimpse of the dolphins Bohol was famous for. By 6:30, we were already skimming along the waves and getting hit with salty water.  Further down, I could see a lot of boats already gathering.

We were not very lucky at the dolphins. although we saw some clusters, it seemed like a lot of boats (including ours) were there and crowding and chasing after them to get a picture. My friend said that the first time she was there, there were less boats and more dolphins. (oh well)

After a few frustrating minutes of waiting and getting a few glimpses, We decided to go to one island and try our hand at snorkeling. *they had an outrigger with PARADISE as its name... I thought it was so appropriate.... (see my picture of it on top of my blog)

We had some biscuits with us and used them as fish feed. The fishes were biting... and if you were a bit on the pale side... they might think you were bread too and start nibbling at your legs!

After an hour,  we set off again for the virgin islands ... a stretch of very shallow sand dunes that stretches for what seems like a few miles. It was my favorite part of the trip. The waters were very clear and you could really dip yourself into the sea. No coral, no jagged rocks... just pure clean sand!!

AAAAAHHHH.... I wished we could just stay there for the rest of the day!!!... all of us had so much fun splashing around.

I also had fun tinkering with the camera effects and shooting nice pictures of my friends. Sadly, we had to leave by lunch because we in the afternoon, we were scheduled to go visit the BOHOL BEE FARM. Next time though, I would stay here the whole day and pack some sandwiches. They said we could even arrange a beach barbecue if we wanted to... we just had to inform the boatmen. (sigh... next time... next time!!!!!)

Facebook and Blogging

I have been quite busy lately cooking and blogging for my food blog - two ladies and a spoon  (co blogged with my friend Candie) and working at my office. It September and technically the start of our most hectic months.

One thing about food blogging is that you get so much satisfaction in doing and sharing the recipes. I also love that people who read the recipes eventually try to cook.

The food blog really has improved in the short time that we have started writing posts. We even have a facebook fan page now although there is not as many people yet who "like" it.

Food blogging has also improved how I take pictures. REALLY. hahaha. I get so jealous of other blogs who post amazing picture of the food they cook that I want to take great looking pictures as well.

Hopefully. I get to write about the nice day trip we had on the BOHOL BEE FARM on the next post.!

EYES and TEETH

After we had our lunch by a road side cafeteria called TRES HERMANAS (three madams) -- the highlight of which was a forgettable kilawing kalabaw which loosely translated, is... raw carabao meat cured in vinegar (like cheviche)....yes, i know, you are having swirling images of this dish in your head. But it didn't actually LOOK raw... the taste itself  was not bad but not good either.. I tell you something,  faced with no options, -- you eat was is presented. (the rice was undercooked too...). It was my kids' SURVIVOR MOMENT.... hahahaha.

Not deterred, we headed down to the much awaited tarsier reserve.


The reserve itself was very well maintained and you can roam around the grounds freely searching for the tarsier. Most of them are located in the trees and you can search by looking for ones with COVERS on them. (like houses) or in our case, we would go where there was a huge crowd.

Actually, when you get an idea what the "houses" look like, it's very easy to spot and the whole area housed about 10-15 of these houses so you don't need to crowd in one place.

Tarsiers are native to bohol and are the smallest primates. The most notable feature is their HUGE eyes which are the same size as their brain.

my preciiiooouuuuusss..... hehehe.... kindda gollum like eh?

huge eyes (above photos by my friend, Lilibeth Lam)

They so small you can fit one in your hand...

These little buggers are so cute you want to touch one (which is a NO NO)... they actually remind me of koalas... the way they crouch and cling to the branch. Both of them are nocturnal too...

Rules of the reserve : DO NOT TOUCH the tarsiers. NO FLASH photography (since they are nocturnal,  they have sensitive eyes)
The reserve do not charge a fee and just have a "donation" box. (I dropped 200 pesos( $5-) for our group)

Next stop was the hanging bridge.

The only thing you get is the excitement of crossing the bamboo bridge over the height of the river and having it swing. There are two bridges. One is for crossing to the other side and the other is for coming back.

It was pretty hard to take pictures while crossing because of the swinging. I was scared I might lose a grip and my camera would go BYE BYE to the river. It was a good 20 feet high and my sandals kept on getting stuck in between the slats of the bamboo. The boys had a lot of fun jiggling the bridge though. (yeah, ok, they had a lot of fun scaring the heck out of their 7 yr old sister)

Once you get to the other side, there is not much to see. There are few merchants selling local peanut cookies and some coconut sugar. 

Since my friend already had come before, she knew this man who can UNHUSK a coconut with his bare teeth lived there. I think he was featured in several TV programs in several countries already. (do something ODD and you're sure to get on TV). If you have ever seen a coconut, you would know how hard it is to open (most people open it with a machete) and unimaginable to even try doing it with your teeth. 

Looking at him reminded me of the henchmen you see on TV... one of the "bad" guys -- one of those who is always the kidnapper/hold upper or henchmen of some corrupt person. hahahaha

We haggled with him for his "fee"- from 200 pesos to 100 pesos ($5 to $2.5) for him to "perform"

See him do his jawdropping stuff (hear me shout in amazement in the background) in less than 20 seconds.!!!!!

Maybe I should try too...

he actually gripped the coconut with his TEETH

There was more to see in Bohol and we weren't finished yet...

But I have to tell that in the next blog. (LOL)

Of hills, houses and butterflies

The next day, we were scheduled to go on a city tour. We had hired a local van to bring us around (whole day hire with driver is about 2800 pesos  $65-) the van comfortably fitted 9-10 people.

First stop was the famous CHOCOLATE HILLS. these are about 1000 or more hills that dot the landscape. They call them chocolate hills because in the summer, the grass goes dry and brown and then they resemble chocolate. It was monsoon season when we went and the hills were VERY green.

On one hill, they made a structure on top like view deck. You have to CLIMB about 80 steps up the side of the hill to reach the top. (woe to those elderly... they don't have elevators nor escalators). You can take pictures and pose doing a "jumpshot". One of our companions did a jumpshot holding a broom and the picture turned out looking like she was flying over the hills on a broom-- sooo cool!

SHIP HAUS


Not very far from chocolate hills is the newly opened SHIP HAUS (yes, spelled that way). It is a house that is made to look like a ship. the story goes that the owner of the house is a captain of a ship and he built this house a a vacation home. It was so interesting that a lot of people stop by to take pictures of the house. The local government noticed and asked him to open the house to the public.

allll ... aboard!!!!

For a minimal fee, (10 pesos, $.25 cents) you can tour the house. They really went into the concept and dressed the staff in ship uniforms. Inside, you find a living room and a "mess hall" or dining room. When  you go up, they set up "cabins" or rooms. I was told they are open for overnight stays. The cost per room is 500 pesos (about $12-) a night. They have single bed and bunk beds. The decor of each room was very sparse (like a nice hostel) and no private bathroom. All rooms have to use a common bathroom (for the 500 pesos, what did you expect?) the rooms looked clean though.

On the third floor is the "sun deck" where they it up to look like a ship's deck (I guess you can take a picture on the mast doing a "I am king of the world" pose. They have a small "snack bar" where you can buy local delicacies and a souvenier shop.

There's not much to see here actually other than the novelty of the house built like a ship. We had a nicer time in the....

BUTTERFLY CONSERVATION CENTER

Travelling with kids means you have to keep them entertained. The visit to the Butterfly conservatory was really very educational and fun. The moment you step into the place, (a minimal fee is paid) and a guide will take you on a tour. It was pretty interesting to see the difference between a MOTH and a BUTTERFLY. Moths being dull and wolly than butterflies.

can you imagine that moth in your house???

They have a nice collection of sample  butterflies native to the area. The guide will show you the development of the butterfly from larva stage - pupa stage to finally becoming a butterfly.

They have this box where they exhibit LIVE butterfly cocoons... some are gold colored! They say the ones with the most colorful and beautiful cocoons come out ugly while the more plain ones are the  more beautiful ones.... (aint it so? beauty is only skin deep.... hahahaha)

gold cocoons!!!  cute caterpillar!!!

The guide took one of the cocoons and it was alive!!!--- you can see the small pupa moving while it was in our hands. The kids really loved this part.

The next part was when they took as to the butterfly garden and you can see all the butterflies flying around you...

The conservation center also has a cafe. We didn't take our lunch there (although I wished we had). I saw some nice rice toppings and some sizzling pork (we had to take our lunch somewhere else.... a canteen by the side of the road... ughhh....) So, if you ever reach the conservatory by lunch, I suggest you eat before leaving.

In the next blog, I'll tell  about the man with the iron teeth.

Loboc river- BOHOL

When presented with a long weekend holiday, what do people of this country do? They go to the beach!!!
Living in an island country has a lot of benefits. I honestly can say I haven't travelled around every part of this country and visited all the possible areas we can visit. (we have 7100 islands you know)

So, when the government announced a 4 day weekend, me and my friend planned a quick trip for our families (talk about itchy feet!). It was hard to book the other more popular destinations as the flights were booked quite fast. We finally decided on BOHOL. It is an area on the lower part of the Philippines- namely located in the group of Visayan islands. The main city is Tagbilaran (you take a 1 hour domestic flight from Manila) but we were housed on the Panglao island (where most of the resorts are located)-- it is a quick bridge ride away from the airport. There is a more remote island also called Balicasag- (where you need to take a boat)

view from the plane..

The first day of the trip, we arrived mid afternoon and decided to check in to our house rental (owned by a friend) Aside from touring a local church, we decided to go on the LOBOC RIVER NIGHT CRUISE that night. The area where the river cruise was located was very well maintained. It also had WIFI access (yes, really). They had souvenir shops and a local cafe.  (wow, this country is getting somewhere)

view from the dock. courtesy of my friend

As with all night cruises, they had dinner included and some form of entertainment. The dinner was buffet style with some local seafood. The dinner was ok but I guess there were a lot of people coming to the river cruise and the food ran out. (we were early and got our share first) One thing to remember though when travelling at night on a river is to bring INSECT REPELLENT. My friends were great fodder for the mosquitos. (hahahaha). There was also a "soloist" on the boat. (he was actually not that good and sang with a distinctive local accent)

fried crablet.. very tasty!

I was really impressed  the way the local government provided lighting throughout the river so you can see a little of the surroundings as the boat travelled. Near the end, there is  a dock where the locals set up a show. They play the guitars and the others dance. It is set up like a cultural show and you can get down and take pictures with them. At the end of the show, you can opt to drop donations for the community on the provided "drop box".

everyone had a guitar

the kids danced really good

this guy really went into the dancing!

the man with the biggest guitar I have ever seen

I don't have nice pictures of the river as It was too dark to take any good ones. However, I am looking forward to writing about our adventures the following day... where we got to see most of the sights in BOHOL. Here is a good video someone else took of the DAYTIME loboc river cruise

Gone to the dogs and fishes!!!

I have gone to fish spa's before... namely one in Singapore. see HERE for previous post. I only recently discovered they already have them in Manila. Fish spa's are getting popular all over Asia and it finally landed here.

The fish spa are actually small  fishes (or sometimes big fishes) "eating" your dead skin away. They say it has health benefits. (who knows it it is really true) ....If it is your first time, this could turn out to be ticklish.

After participating in our fun run (5k and 21k), we headed out to TIENDESITA'S in pasig with the kids to have our dogs groomed. Beside our regular grooming shop, I noticed a newly opened spa. (this was very unusual because the area where it was located was all PET shops. So the girl handed me a brochure.... DR. fish spa.! and they said they have a promo (since they were newly opened)

The kids wanted to try it too-- so we left the dogs with the groomers (called ANIMALS AND THINGS --they have the same owner and are beside each other) and had lunch. Coming back, the dogs were still having their hair cut so we availed of the services. The fish spa costs 320 pesos ($7)- for  30 mins with free coffee or hot choco and 400 pesos ($9-) for 30 mins with 20 min foot massage. --- the foot massage part was great because after running, you really need a nice foot massage.

The said the fish in the fish spa are imported from Turkey -- the species of fish are very special.  The spa told me they are selling the fish too (they can set up the tank and the fish in your home so you can have a fish spa every day!!!)

The interiors were very CHIC. the chairs were colored purple and silver gray. The ceiling was raised and it added to the ambiance of the place. The glass walls also made it look a lot bigger.

Their services are for both people and dogs. They currently aren't servicing dogs (they are waiting for their permit) but for people, the services range from manicure, pedicure, paraffin hands and feet, acrylic nails, nail art, nail decals, and even air brushed nails. (the groomers are on the other side so you can have the dogs groomed there too)

my son relaxing in one of the chairs.

I don't use acrylic nails so I asked what the other services where- like UV gel, and solar nail... they told me its done for the acrylic nails. some are semipermanent color and some are services for attaching the acrylic nail. (wow.)

The brands they carry are OPI, CHINA GLAZE and ORLY. All very high end brands. These are just some samples of their nail art

I was told this is a full service spa. They have scrubs, whole body massage and even waxing. (I asked why there was stomach waxing listed.... they told me some people have a lot of hair.... even in their stomachs!!! REALLY??)-- they even have cheek waxing.... (for women???)

The room for the full body massage

We were seated on very high padded chairs for the fish spa, below us were the individual fish tanks where you lower you feet. Each person gets his own fish tank (there are currently 3 tanks) so you don't share your tank with anyone else. (except my husband since we were 4 people and he had to share with my daughter). In singapore, the tanks were like pools and you share with other people you don't know. so, in a sense these were better since you don't know where the feet of other people have been.

One interesting note was when I was doing the fish spa, I noticed a catalogue for hair color. I took it and it was actually a catalogue for hair color for DOGS.  They even have "before" and "after" photos of the dogs. It was like in a salon... revive graying hair! (some dogs' hair were dull with aging) and they made them blacker.... ahahahaha.... (I was contemplating dyeing my chowchow to look like a panda... )

they also manicure dogs. here is the color catalogue for color paws

I really like the concept of this spa. You can have a relaxing spa day with your family while waiting for your dogs to get pampered too. OR you can do the spa together. (I don't think colored nails will suit my chow chows though)

For those who like to pamper their dogs AND themselves... here is the perfect spa for you!

If you like to try-- they spa is called ME AND MY CUDDLE SPA-- tiendesitas pet village, pasig. tel: 470-9667, 0918-9173949

First week- the result

Today marks one week of my South beach diet. In total, I only lost 2 pounds. (as compared to my friend, who lost 8 the first week)

It is pretty hard to stick to this diet and I commend anyone who can do 1 week straight. The problem for me  was that my daughter had a party last saturday (weekends are killer~!!!) It was hard to be polite and NOT eat. At the start of the party, the mom of the birthday celebrant kept on asking what I wanted to eat. I answered with a standard-- Oh, anything will be fine....  a few minutes later, pasta with seafood, clams came in, and then some pizza, plus unlimited iced tea. (i was sipping water) I kept up a conversation with the other moms so they would not notice that I was not eating. I also put some pcs of lettuce on my plate and started munching on that.... the problem was, when you thought the food was over, they still came. UUGGHHHHH.

So, I guess SATURDAY was my cheat day. (yes , yes, I succumbed and ate some of the pasta.. which on second thought, never tasted sooooo goooood!!!!)

The first three days of the diet, I was losing 1 lb a day (total 3 lbs). Maybe that was just my body adjusting to the no carb fare. On the 4th-5th day, I lost nothing (and even came back up 1.5 lbs) - This was when I cheated.... It was saturday and me and my husband had a movie date. I ate 1 hotdog with bun.

Thinking about it though, 2lbs is a heathy weight loss. I also started doing the treadmill this week. (thinking maybe it will help me lose some more) I will go on with another week of this and see how it goes. I can't continue on this indefinitely because I will go out of the country soon and it will be just too depressing to NOT taste anything while I am there.

Another thing I noticed was this diet teaches you portion control and proper food choices. I now have a pretty good idea on how much I should consume per meal. Honestly though, the meal they give is like grazing my stomach. You feel you ate but not enough to feel full (you know, it just grazed your stomach... hahahahaha)


MInd over matter..... mind over matter....

If my husband doesn't mind..... it won't matter...!!! But really, any health program is for my OWN health. I want to be as healthy and fabulous as my own mother. (who still ballroom dances 3x a week and is much much slimmer than I am....! She can fit on the jeans of my niece!)

Here's to another week -- !