I was supposed to write a mini tele-novela of my trip back in the Philippines last December but I got bogged down by other things. So in lieu of that, I’ll just post some pics here of Panglao, an island off Tagbilaran, Bohol, where I went with my mum and a family friend.

Click on the images to see a bigger view of the picture.

We stayed at Alona Kew Beach Resort. It was okay but I was expecting so much more – I was expecting it to be beachfront! Anyway, it was cheap – around P3,000 per night for the double room (could sleep up to 4 people), breakfast included. The staircase that you see in the picture leads to the swimming pool, fresh water, of course! Following that path in between the two cottages will lead you to Alona Beach. The beach was named after the Filipina actress Alona Alegre as she was the first to walk topless :bigeyes2: on that beach while filming a movie!

See? This is the beach! Sand is white … powdery fine … never gets hot … very long stretch. The beachfront has bars and restaurants but most importantly, diving centres. See, Panglao, or Bohol for that matter is famous as a diving resort island. Most tourists, local or overseas, visit the island to go diving. If you stay a weekend, you could actually get a beginner’s PADI licence!

These are the boats that carry the people to the bigger ones, which brings you to the actual dive site. I was supposed to get an introductory course but seeing that we were there 2 days after the tsunami, I didn’t because one of the diving instructor said, “the sea is disturbed…” There were people who still went though.

So, I jumped right into the water and was so thrilled to see how crystalline clear it was!!! I remember it was very, very salty, by the way :yikes: See for yourself in this picture on the right. I took it when the water was just above my ankles. As you walk farther and farther, the view becomes dimmer but you could still make out what’s underneath – like starfishes, etc. My mum wanted to pick one up but I told her not to “wake” them up! In all honesty, I was scared that they might stick into my skin and suck like leeches! I don’t know why I get that impression from starfishes…

The east side of the island has more rocky edges … I collected some of these pebbles and dried corals on the way … near the Alona Palm Beach Resort, more posh beach resort (my first choice but it was fully booked), the local people were practising a dance of some sort. I am not sure if this was actually for the Sinulog festival that happens every January in Cebu. Whatever it is they were practising for, it sure looks like they are dancing YMCA to me! :slaphappy:

Finally, no good set of holiday pictures are complete without the night shots. It is actually a challenge for amateur holiday photographers because with an instamatic camera, (inang, may gumagamit pa ba nito?) one could hardly make out the subject of the picture. Well, this one I took wasn’t actually at night, it just after the sun had set and I had already stuffed myself with 5 skewers of pork BBQ!!! :tongue2: Yummy!

Anyway, I hope I have enticed you to visit Panglao Island or the Philippines for that matter. With 7,107 islands, (high tide :sly: he he) I’m sure your visit will be memorable!

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