Asianshark Adventures: Kayaking in Bohol

Day 1

Bohol is somewhat in the middle of the Philippines, just across the sea from Cebu, which is the more famous location. Which also means Bohol is more pristine and less crowded than Cebu.

Here I am in Bohol Philippines for some sea kayaking action. It's good to stay away from Singapore (my homeland) for now, due to the haze hitting very unhealthy levels. And with everybody talking and complaining about it everyday, it does dampen your moods somewhat. And you can't do anything outdoors in Singapore now! You even have to think twice about walking to the nearby coffee shop for a meal! Hope my family and friends back at home are fine.

Flew Tiger Airways to Manilla, then flew Cebu Pacific to Bohol. I must say I was impressed with the service standards of Cebu Pacific! Perhaps it's because I had low expectations of domestic airlines, but they looked more like an international carrier (later I found out that they are also an international airline). There was even a little game during the 1hr flight with freebies given away! Wonder if SIA will ever do that, with the famed SIA stewardess doubling up as game show hostess.

Arrived in Bohol Tagbilaran City. You can see traces of Spanish influence throughout, with churches and statues of Spanish figures. Philippines is a largely Catholic population, there are bible quotes printed at the back of every taxi. Philippines was colonised by many countries: Spanish, then Americans, Japanese, Americans again and finally independence. I think they came here because of the beautiful beaches!

First sight of a beach in Bohol and it blew me away! Makes me wonder why didn't I visit the Philippines earlier. What I really liked was that there were local kids and families playing in the water, jumping off the boats and doing backflips. Many so-called renowned beaches in the world have been colonised by tourists with the locals left with just selling drinks and souvenirs on the beach. Think Patong Beach in Phuket.

Anyway there was a little girl who sold me an ice cream at the beach. It was the kind of green bean "potong stick" sold in Singapore, for 20 ps. I readily bought from her, to support her pocket-money making efforts and....weather was really hot.

Dinner was at the Bee Farm. Wll it used to be a bee farm, now it's an organic farm growing and selling vegetables and fruits. Totally rustic and charming. The pizza is good! And try the lemon grass drink, it comers with a stick of lemon grass to chew. Heard of corn coffee? It's made from corn but has a coffee aroma, sold in the souvenir shop.

Day 2

Today was the start of the kayaking programme. From Duljo Point (the southwestern point of Panglao island) we would kayak to Virgin Islands about 5km away. Lunch there and back.

You really need to be on the waters to appreciate the beauty of Philippines waters! It was turquoise blue, yet clear and shallow enough to see the seagrass and starfish on the seabed. It was...therapeutic.

Views from the kayak.

Virgin Islands....you need to be a virgin to be on the island. Just kidding. It is a narrow strip of sandy land that gets 50% flooded during high tides. During low tides, there's corals and seagrass that stretches 1km wide around the island.

Some locals catch sea urchins and sell them to tourists on the island. I've seen many sea urchins while diving, most are ugly....no thanks I'm not eating sea urchins!