Around Cebu and Bohol with a Selfie Stick
So this is me. And my little (silly) family.
Right before I got off the car and walked into Soekarno-Hatta Airport for my first ever trip overseas, with a bunch of strangers.
Haha. That’s right.
I was about to fly from Jakarta to Singapore, stay overnight, then take the MRT to Changi Airport in the morning, THEN fly on Silk Air to Cebu in the Philippines with 8 other bloggers whom I never knew before!
Was I excited?
Haha. YES, I was.
Well, at first it did feel kinda weird to not have my husband nor kids around. It’s like, this time it’s just, me? And, I also did wonder about the other bloggers, how they’d be like, and how the trip would turn out =)
But anyway, this trip was just SO timely for me.
My weeks prior to the trip were so mentally and physically draining. Bleh.
And I was so in need of a good break from the daily routines and busyness (not to mention the daily mad traffic in Jakarta!)
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[Photo by Yap Meng]
What I wanted to share in this post is, how thankful I was that my husband handed over to me a selfie stick right before I walked out the door!
“Here! You should bring it! It’ll be useful whenever you want to take group photos!”
And yep, he was right! =)
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In this post, I’ll be sharing photos of me and my newly found (fun) friends as we went around Cebu and Bohol, taken using my phone and this selfie stick!
(Hmm, okay, there’ll be some taken with me extending my arm also la … but mostly were taken using my selfie stick =)
Disclaimer:
The photo quality is not as fantastic as those taken with a DSLR, BUT I love how it managed to capture the whole group and the memories of our Cebu and Bohol trip!
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See!! With the selfie stick, I managed to get everyone’s facial expressions! =)
Location:
In front of an ‘Islands Souvenirs’ store, nearest to Magellan’s Cross.
There’s a big ‘I love Cebu’ signage. Must take a photo at this spot when you’re there! =)
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Ah, there we were.
We just took a boat from Boyla Dive shop in Cebu, and reached Nalusuan Island.
Check out the clear waters!
The weather was fantastic, and I loved loved loved the clear blue sky!
Soooo relaxing!
Info:
– Boat rental (9am – 3pm) : PHP3,500
– Snorkeling masks/fins : PHP300 per person
– Entrance fee to Nalusuan Island : PHP200 per person
– Lunch on Nalusuan Island : PHP550 per person
Fun facts:
If taken with two or more people, it’s no longer called a ‘selfie’, but a ‘wefie’, hehe. According to urbandictionary.com =)
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A quick shot taken just before we got off our two-hour ferry ride, from Cebu Port to Tagbilaran Port!
Tips and info:
> For more info on the ferry operators, prices, etc, do read my earlier post on ‘Getting to Cebu and Bohol from Singapore‘
> They do play a movie during the 2-hour ferry ride, so it wasn’t too ‘boring’ =)
Emm, but if I were traveling with my young kids, I’d choose seats where we can’t see the TV, because the kinds of movies they play are not always ‘children friendly’ (They played ‘Total recall’ and ‘3 idiots’ during our Cebu-Bohol-Cebu ferry ride.
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We cruised down Loboc River while we had our buffet lunch!
The surrounding view was all green and really nice!
I shared a photo of the river and its surrounding in my earlier post titled ‘9 reasons why you should visit Cebu and Bohol‘.
Go and have a read, if you haven’t yeah!
Tips and Info:
> Loboc river cruise lunch prices:
a) Normal : PHP450 / person
b) Premium: PHP550 / person
> You can buy your tickets at the Loboc Ecotourism Centre
> Price above is inclusive of an environment fee payable to the Local Government Unit
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At the top of the highest hill of Chocolate Hills!
It is one of the most famous tourist attraction of Bohol, with … wait for it … 1,268 cone-shaped hills!!
Actually, some even estimate the number to be as high as 1776 hills!
The ‘smallest’ hill is around 30m in height.
The tallest hill is about 120m high!
Now, why are they called ‘Chocolate Hills’ when they’re obviously green?
Because … at the end of the dry season, the grass of these hills turns brown!
Like those cone-shaped Hershey’s Kisses milk chocolates =)
Fun Facts
> Here’s one popular romantic local legend of how the hills were formed:
Long time ago, there’s a handsome young giant named Arogo. He fell in love with a mortal woman. As a mortal, the woman died, and when she did, the giant was so sad, he wept and wept, and his great teardrops turned into the Chocolate Hills.
> Did you notice that there are NO trees nor shrubs grow on the hills? Hmm … interesting, rightttt?
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Haha … This is one of the most fun activities I enjoyed during our Bohol trip!
Here’re the rental rates, as at November 2014.
Hope the info is useful when you’re planning your activities (and spending) in Bohol! =)
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Now.
To end this post, I’d like to share with you the very people with whom I spent 5 days and 4 nights in Cebu and Bohol! =)
9 of us are bloggers of DIFFERENT categories!
(Well almost. Because Johorkaki and My Nosh Pit are both food blogs, winners of 2 different award categories =)
And 3 others are from the Philippines Tourism Board and Singapore Press Holdings (SPH).
The trip was filled with so much fun, silliness, laughters and songs because I think everyone just sort of ‘gelled’ in with each other.
Yes, despite us coming from different backgrounds and ‘age groups’, and having different ‘years of blogging experience’! =)
It truly was an awesome trip!
Go and check out their blogs, listed in alphabetical order, and emmm … check mine too, yeah 🙂
Leonny (Me! The only one who’s married with 3 young kiddos =) :
http://www.oureverydaythings.com
Ally (amazingly traveled to Cebu and Bohol for 5 days and 4 nights, with just a medium-sized backpack!) :
http://allyoffduty.blogspot.sg
Fern (masked lady with amazing drawings!) :
http://nv-fei-xia.blogspot.sg
Jaslin (smiley, petite and makes sure she’s dressed appropriately for all occasions =) :
http://www.justjaslin.com
Joshua (maintains his cool at all times, but ‘seriously lost’ his GoPro at one time!) :
http://seriouslyman.com
Kenny (Serious talk, can. Rowdy and nonsense, also can. Takes amazing photos!)
http://www.gui-tou.com
Kenneth (Appears quiet when in a crowd, but when he writes, he does it so well!)
http://mynoshpit.wordpress.com
Tony (Uncle can also take great photos, write, travel and have fun one!) :
http://johorkaki.blogspot.sg
Smith (Don’t judge a book by its cover guy, a.k.a. Teddy Bear Ah Beng) :
http://www.smithankyou.com
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Special thanks to the Philippine Tourism Promotions Board and Silk Air, and omy.sg and Singapore Blog Awards for making this trip is an awesome one for all of us!!
