Tuesday, June 1, 2010

3 Tarsiers, 1,776 Chocolate Hills and... a Pyramid?

We've been hearing (and reading) about tarsiers, the Blood Compact Site or the "Sanduguan" and the chocolate hills but being able to see them is a different story. The experience is exhilarating! My family and I just got back from a 3D2N Bohol Adventure (May 29-31) and we definitely enjoyed our stay in one of the Philippines' 7107 islands.

We stayed in a place (beachfront resort) named "Pyramid" which is located at Alona Beach, Panglao. Getting there is a breeze. By air, it's a one hour direct flight from Manila to Tagbilaran (Capital City of Bohol) -- there are around 7 flights daily catered by Philippine Airlines, Cebu Pacific and Zest Air. From Tagbilaran airport, Pyramid's van was there, ready to pick us up. It is then a 30-45 minutes worth of land travel until you reach Alona beach in Panglao. The welcoming drink which was a tall glass of tropical fruit juice was refreshing, and as I was sipping, I kept looking around, from the resort cottages, to the pavillion, to the beach. "Am I in a different world?" All I could hear were faint voices from chatting guests and locals, the sound of the waves and a low volumed reggae music. Sigh, I wish city life was as tranquil as this. Moments later we were ushered to our 2 storey cottages, Ramesses 1 A and B (this is where I stayed). It was homey, and you could really feel country living, without sacrificing comfort and convenience. Although much of its furnishings are made from wood and bamboo, everything inside was modern. A panel air conditioner, a cable TV, a clean and spacious bathroom, comfortable sofas to sit on and 2 double sized beds. Not to mention a very fast wi-fi connection.



Anyway, my cousins and I went swimming, played poi, and the usual cam-whoring afterwards. At around 2PM we had lunch at the pavillion of Pyramid. We were flabbergasted when one of the wait staff told us that dishes such as sinigang amounting to 400+ was good for only 1 person (when what he really meant was that it's served on one bowl but good for probably 3-4 people). My auntie "aggressively negotiated" with the person in charge and we ended up having a good meal for the whole family, seems like it was all some communication mishap (the locals speak Bisaya and English.. little Tagalog). They serve pretty good tasting dishes actually, I liked their inihaw na baboy, broccoli in curry sauce and calamares. Their fruit shakes are also really good.


We woke up early the next day with much anticipation of the stuff we're going to do. We availed of the resort's Countryside Tour worth 3200 for all 8 of us. The itinerary are as follows: Chocolate Hills, Loboc River, Baclayon Church and Museum, Tarsier, Bilar Manmade Forest, Hanging Bridge, Python, Blood Compact Shrine.

The sceneries are breathtaking. Saying that the experience was awesome is an understatement. Really cute tarsiers, nature's marvels - Chocolate Hills, the historic "Sanduguan", a really sumptuous lunch on a floating restaurant, one of Asia's oldest churches. The tour ended at around 6:30-7:00 in the evening and we got home soon after. Had dinner by the beach on a candlelit table, slightly angled with the gradient of the beach. Sigh, this reminds me a lot of Boracay and Puerto, and yes, you could still see people outside even at 1AM, ah nightlife. Anyway our feast was an epic of gastronomic proportions. Grilled food (mostly seafood) at their very best! Fresh, tasty and cooked to perfection. Sugpo as big as my ulna, grilled squid with tomatoes and onions, beef-pork-vegetables kebab and a green colored "Parrot Fish". Yum.

Over-all me and my family enjoyed our escapade to Bohol. Nice place, even cooler people and an experience we will never forget.

My Rating for Pyramid Resort
Accomodation: 9/10
Food: 9/10
Staff: 7/10
Value: 8/10
Total: 8.25 

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To Learn More About Pyramid and their tour packages, please visit: Alona-Pyramid