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Dauis Church in Bohol
(Dauis Church)

While the province of Bohol houses one of the oldest churches in the Philippines, I didn’t expect that there will be too many churches (and even chapels) that are worth the visit. I recall one of my random conversations with a local who lives in Balicasag Island that Boholanos, regardless of their status quo, feel that they are very blessed because of their flourishing faith. Hence, they are protected from typhoons (although I think that it’s a combination of faith + mountains that shield them) and other untoward events. And it follows that there are Bible verses marked on all the tricycles in Bohol. However, we have managed to squeeze in to our schedule a visit only to a couple of immaculate and classic churches.

    DAUIS CHURCH (Church of Our Lady of the Assumption)

My visit to Dauis Church was memorable because it was the first church in Bohol I’ve stepped in. Since my good friend’s wedding was solemnized there, all the more that it will be painted in my memory.

Dauis Church in Bohol

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bees of bohol bee farm

The bee farm experience starts with finding your way to one of the important representations of provincial life in Bohol. It’s like a sanctuary hidden in all those greeneries, hence, it’s better to ask a local to drive for you. It was good that our arrival coincided with the first batch of the farm tour. The P20 fee/person for the 20 to 30 minutes glimpse of farm life is very reasonable. They let us use the woven (buri) hats for free in the entire duration of the tour for a more “in the farm feel”.

Bee culture
["Babae or lalaki ba si Jollibee?" (Is Jollibee (the mascot) female or male?), asked by the guide. Not only the kids, but all of us were glued to our guide's bits of information. Understandably, there was the is-that-true-i-will-google-that-later trivial stuff moment. The interesting parts were when he was telling us how to differentiate a female (has distinct stripes (so is Jollibee!) and stingers) from a male bee (with larger eyes), the reproduction cycle, and more. We even had the chance to hold that tray of bees without stinging us.]

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Tarsiers of Loboc, Bohol (Who would have thought that he was actually asleep? How we wish we can have this kind of non-blinking ability in rare occasions.)

I am swinging back to my Bohol series.

For the longest time I’ve imagined meeting the souvenir keychain tarsier in flesh. And yes, if you can imagine it, it can happen.

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Chocolate Hills

Continued from the peek a boo with the dolphins and snorkeling in Balicasag Island

My senior companions could have foregone the visit to Chocolate Hills had it not been THE Chocolate Hills. What discouraged them was the tiring walk to the viewing deck. (In one of our neighbor towns in Laguna, there’s a church situated on a hill which requires at least 100 steps to get inside it. So, the experience was very reminiscent.) I was catching my breath when we went to the viewing deck at the town of Carmen (Bohol). What fueled me to “climb” better was the (embarrassing) thought of losing to my mother’s and aunts’ stamina in braving the numerous steps to the top.

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Colour Me Happy, Singapore
(You may read the entire post here.)

Thank you for your comments and response as I trimmed by anonymity last time to a certain extent. Here’s another article from me as a guest blogger in Singapore’s community page, a project by Ministry of Information, Culture and Arts (MICA) of Singapore. Apparently, it has been published on the colorful day of Valentine’s Day. While I did not write about the V Day, I spoke about some of the vibrant attractions in the Lion City.

Click the links to read (and leave a comment) about Colour Me Happy, Singapore and How to map a culturally enriching Chinatown experience?

Happy reading!

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