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Hey there travelmaniacs and Steemitians! I hope you have another great day in your travels! I'm back again for another travel story of mine. I'm now going to continue what I have discussed from Part 1 yesterday. This is now the continuation of my crazy 5-day crazy road and sea trip adventure!
Yesterday, I did mention that I wasn't comfortable with the hostel that I've stayed because it only has one ceiling fan and it didn't do much in giving me some air in my assigned bed. You know what I did?
Around 2:00 A.M., I've decided to check out and proceed to Tom and Tom's Coffee Shop near SM City Cebu by taking a Grab Car.
I stayed here until 5 A.M. Even if I didn't sleep, at least it's airconditioned. I bought a frappucino to keep me awake. I don't wanna sleep because I'm a bit sensitive in watching the bags, especially some important stuff.
After 5 A.M., I head off to the Cebu port to buy a ticket to ride an OceanJet to Tagbilaran City in Bohol. The fare for a one-way trip was P500 or $10.00. The time duration of the Cebu-Tagbilaran trip is approximately 2 hours. I left Cebu around 6:00 A.M. and arrived exactly 8:00 A.M.
Since I have lack of sleep, I've decided to take a nap for the duration of the trip. After arriving at the port, I took a tricycle going to the Island Mall in Tagbilaran. Even if the mall is closed, the Jollibee restaurant was open. I ate some breakfast of corned beef with egg, rice and pineapple juice.
After eating breakfast, I proceed to the Dao Terminal by taking a tricycle from the Island Mall. I paid around P50 for $1.00 for a tricycle ride. It's where I can ride on a bus to Carmen, which is where the Chocolate Hills is. I informed the bus conductor to drop me off at Chocolate Hills, and the bus fare is only P50 or $1.00 for a 2-hour ride.
I didn't sleep in the bus though, because there's a passenger who sat next to me and making sure that she won't snatch my items later on. As I arrived in Carmen, it would be tough for me to walk uphill towards the main entrance of the Chocolate Hills.
What I did was to hire a habal-habal motorcycle to ride me to the entrance for only P20 or $0.40. After an uphill ride to the entrance, I asked the habal-habal rider's contact number for me to be fetched after my sightseeing of the Chocolate Hills. The entrance fee to the Chocolate Hills is P50 or $1.00.
It would take me a hundred steps to reach the top of the sightseeing spot of Chocolate Hills in Bohol. We all agree that going up the stairs is much more harder than going down. It reminds me of climbing up the Osmena Peak with my sis and friends last February 2016.
Even though that it's quite exhausting for me to go all the way up here, but it's all worth it. I had to admit that before I got up here, I was the only member of the family who never went to Bohol and the Chocolate Hills. It's a good feeling that I've finally made it! Bucket list achieved, hurray!
I went down from the top and have some snacks. As I went back to the habal-habal motorcycle driver, he asked me if I wanna do some more of Bohol, and I said yes. He would charge me P500 or $10.00 as a tour guide, and I accept it since it's kind of a reasonable amount.
As we went down, our first stop would be ATV (all-terrain vehicle) riding in the Chocolate Hills. I have to be honest with you guys, this is truly one of the unforgettable moments I've ever had. I have never drive an ATV before, so I take it as an opportunity. The cost for riding an ATV with the tour guide is around P950 or $19.00 for an hour. However, I choose to take only 30 minutes and they charge me P500 or $10.00.
The guide would train me the basics first of driving an all-terrain vehicle. It's damn easy like driving a four-wheel motorcycle. After that, our 30-minute drive begins with the guide riding his motorcycle right before me. Even if it's just for 30 minutes, I've definitely enjoyed it very much. Even if I pay for a one-hour ride, it's absolutely worth the experience!
After the ATV ride, the tour guide took me to some places such as Tarsier Sanctuary, Man-Made Forest, etc.
After my last stop at the Man-Made Forest, I waited on another bus for me to head back to Dao Terminal. I ate my late lunch before heading off to Panglao Island. For me to get there, I have to ride a jeepney and it needs to be filled before heading off. However, there's one stopover where they put some seats in between of us and let other passengers take the ride. It's something that I've never seen before.
I arrived in Panglao Island past 5 P.M. because of that long stopover somewhere. Once again, I am having troubles finding those Bohol and Panglao pictures I stored in my external hard drive and personal computer, because the pics that I have here are published on my Facebook timeline. I transferred all of them from my phone. I checked in to Panglao Island Inn via Booking.com and it was almost P400 or $8.00 per night in an 8-bed mixed dormitory. I was lucky enough to have two beautiful ladies from Europe as my roommates, and I mingled with them a bit. It's just sad that I didn't take a picture with them.
I go to the Alona Beach by night and strolling around. Just like Boracay, the night life was great. I took some time taking a bath at the beach. I spend like 30 minutes before eating dinner and went back to the hostel for me to rest. It's my opportunity to recover after days of lack of sleep.
Day 5: I check out from the Panglao Island Inn to catch up to the Tagbilaran port. I was suppose to be on the first trip which is 7:30 A.M., but I woke up a bit late due to recovering from lack of sleep. I ride on a jeepney again to the port. They only have a couple of trips daily from Tagbilaran to Dumaguete. I booked the last trip which is 12:10 P.M. I paid P700 or $14.00 for the fare, and the duration of the travel is 2 hours and 20 minutes. I arrived at the Dumaguete port at exactly 2:30 P.M.
Since I didn't eat breakfast, I have to go brunch somewhere. I saw a nearby carinderia to eat "lutong bahay" meals that are affordable. After eating, I strolled a bit for an hour before heading to the Dumaguete Ceres bus terminal back to Bacolod City.
The estimated travel time from Dumaguete to Bacolod is approximately 6 hours, depends on traffic condition (more than 5 hours only for private car). The fare is P295 or almost $6.00 for non-aircon, and P380 or almost $8.00 for airconditioned bus. I choose the cheap one, since I like open air more than airconditioned. One hour before the trip, I take an anti-drowsiness medicine to prevent myself from travel sickness.
I left Dumaguete City around 4:30 P.M. and arrived safely to my hometown Bacolod City at exactly 10:30 P.M. with a quick stopover in Mabinay.
If you look at the map above, you see how crazy my road and sea trip was. To me, it was indeed exhausting but exciting at the same time. I've got to experience what it feels like to have road and sea trips everyday, especially if it takes several hours. I hope you guys enjoyed the Part 1 and 2 of my 5-day crazy road and sea adventure from Bacolod to Cebu, Ormoc, Bohol and Dumaguete.
Did you like my travel story for today? I would greatly appreciate if you could leave an upvote of my blog post! Stay tuned for the next one!
Check out my last five travel stories here:
Crazy Road & Sea Trip Part 1: Giant sandwiches in Ormoc City and Cebu getaway
My Manila getaway with mom and sis
Unplanned visit to the Eltoro Zoo De La Castellana, Inc.
Fambam getaway: Isla De Gigantes
Fambam getaway: Campuestohan Highland Resort
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