Bohol Island, The Philippines

From the small, peaceful Apo Island, we continued to Bohol. From there, we ventured directly to the adjacent Panglao Peninsula. We were warned that it is very touristy, especially Alona Beach. So we booked accommodation near White Beach, which is supposedly better. But somehow, we didn't really warm up to this place. We rode around on a scooter and checked out the different beaches, but none of them really appealed to us. That's why there are no photos from there.

The most remarkable thing was the scooter trip to the main island of Bohol, where we visited a tartier sanctuary. These are tiny endangered creatures with huge eyes.

In our escape from this tourist metropolis, we ended up on the other side of the island in the small town of Anda. We liked the vibe there much better. It was quieter and there were mostly Filipino tourists with their families (it was the second to last week of summer vacation). From our hostel, which was right on a small beach, we also took various scooter trips for snorkeling or to explore the island with its round Chocolate Hills, which reminded us of the hills on the Ha Giang Loop in Vietnam.

Of course, the same thing happened as in Moalboal. In a curve, we realized that we had no more air in the tire. That's when Rahel also realized what these vulcanizing shops really are that you see on every corner. At first, I thought they were selling handmade things made of volcanic stone... hahaha. No, they don't! They repair broken scooter and car tires, and usually in an old-fashioned way by ironing a piece of rubber onto the hole in the tire with a modified iron. It probably took three times as long as the conventional way, but it was fascinating to watch. However, it should be mentioned that we had a flat tire again the next morning. Whether it was the same hole is another question. ;)

In any case, our tours of the island, away from the tourist crowds, were very exciting and entertaining. The people on the side of the road always gave us a smile and said hello. We really felt like we were on a motorcycle through Vietnam again. However, the Philippines have their own means of transportation. The chepneys are like American school buses with benches inside and all sorts of colors and decorations. They also have tuk-tuk-like vehicles, but they consist of a motorcycle with a sidecar/trailer attached, which they call tricycles.

The Filipinos are also true basketball fanatics. Many of them wear shirts of their NBA teams, or you can watch 30 people in front of a television cheering for their team. It's incredible how many basketball hoops and courts there are in this country. Every small village has at least one. And often they are located in the best places, right by the sea or in the middle of the jungle. Sometimes they have trainings and matches, where half the village watches.

After three days in Anda, unfortunately, our stay in the Philippines was soon coming to an end. We still had to take the bus and ferry back to Cebu, where we will take the plane to the north of Thailand, to Chiang Mai.

Text by Oli

Image processing by Rahel