Travel Lounge

The terrain of Panglao Island ranges from plain, hilly to mountainous. Panglao Island is of Maribojoc Limestone which is youngest among the limestone units occurring extensively in the western portion of the Province of Bohol. It is flat, poorly bedded, cream to buff to brownish yellow. One of the geological features found in the protected area is the “Hinangdanan Cave” found in Bingag, Duis which features an underground water source. Panglao Island has no rivers and lakes and has this water source in the cave.

An estimated 1,500-2,500 mollusks are believed to be found in the waters of Panglao and Balicasag. Inventoried were about 1,200 decapods and 6,000 species of mollusks were identified in a study area of only about 15, 000 hectares. In comparison the Mediterranean Sea has yielded only 2,024 species in a 300 million hectare area.

Ideal Things to do while in Panglao:

1. Diving – Best thing to do in Panglao

2. Cave Exploration (Hinagdanan Cave)

3. Beach Hopping

4. Spa and Massage

5. Visit the Churches

6. You should try Sa-ang - SA-ANG is a famous food of the region. It is a seashell and the creature inside is a delicious treat. It can be bought at the stores which lined the road going to Duljo.

7. Odd Brew of “tuba” – must try

8. Check out DOLJO Beach

9. Check out the smallest man of Panglao Island

10. Snorkeling – Balicasag island

11. Check out Panglao Watchtower, Bohol’s tallest

12. Check out Hanging Bridges in Bohol

Famous Hotels in Panglao

1. Panglao Island Nature Resort

2. Alona Kew

3. Bohol Diver’s Garden

4. La Residencia

Dangers in Panglao Island:

1. Beware of Sea Urchins

2. More Sea Urchins…

For more underwater pictures (corals, underwater plants, fish etc.) please CLICK here.

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The pictures above are randomly taken within Manila.

Contrary to what many people might assume, the recurring traffic, fervent and unpredictable weather and inexorable pollution are not Manila is all about. For many people Manila is still a wonderland. Living in Manila is tantamount to independent and fun-spree living. Manila is a place of vigor, challenge and flavor. As modern and efficient as anywhere in Asia the apparent city madness can be found for example in good hotels, quality restaurants and entertainment, wide variety of shopping centers, a mixture of extreme opulence and low-down poverty, ardent nightlife, a spectacle of delicacies, food and undeniably fascinating culture. I remember I once asked an Indian friend the first time he got here “So, how do you find the Philippines so far?” he abruptly replied “Oh man, its great to be here, I love it. Its nothing I have ever imagined and the women are extremely beautiful” LOL! See, you gotta visit Manila and find out for yourself get ready to wonder and fall in love with Manila - our very own city - a wonderland indeed.

I know that this is a little bit late but what the heck, I want to share this wondrous vacation to all of you. After Pagudpud Ilocos Norte our next stop was at Tuguegarao City Cagayan Valley. There are a lot of odd things in the northern part of the Philippines but it was amazing. Everything is slow up north, like the way they drive and the way they cross the street, man, everything is slow, Im not sure if we are just accustomed to the city life that everything moves in a fraction of a second thats why we find them slow or they are really slow as the cars are running in an average of 40 kph regardless of which thoroughfare, nevertheless it was a wonderful break from reality. In the next coming days, I will be posting the beautiful old churches, Callao Cave and Pinacanauan river we have visited up north.

It is a fact that there is an ongoing World Food Crisis and it seems that there is no easy way to fix this problem. Good news though, a team of researchers are putting a Genomics project to hasten the modern rice genetics. On a simpler note, it is a search for strains of rice that have traits like higher yields, desease resistance and a wider range of nutrients. The project advocates the pursuit of Super Hybrids. Rice is the main staple food for more than half the world’s population. The world’s population has increased precipitously and its an underlying fact that rice production can hardly keep up. This project if not antagonized by inevitable constraints could definitely make a difference in the long run.

“DELIGHTFULLY TACKY YET UNREFINED”

Hooters is finally OPEN in the Pearl of the Orient Seas. It used to be a question in my mind if they’ll ever consider on opening Hooters here. I heard that there were plans but the franchise cost is too big, I even heard of a different version of the scenario - for Hooters to open here, there should be five branches to open simultaneously on different locations here in Manila and not just one. But hey, for whatever reason, I think its cool that they have finally conquered the Philippines. I have first experienced Hooters when I was living in Florida. Man, they have the best Buffalo wings I have ever tasted in this magnificently beautiful earth. Hooters is also famous in having busty waitresses. This Saturday will definitely be our first Hooters Philippines experience. I’ll tell you more about it afterwards, and OH YES I will not forget the pictures. You’ll find the address below:

HOOTERS PHILLIPPINES

Building D, Units 1 to 6 San Miguel by the Bay
Mall of Asia, Pasay City
www.hootersphilippines.com
Hooters Hotline: 906-956-4066

Ironman exploded into the Box Office over the weekend, grossed an estimated $100.8 million in 4,105 theaters in the United States and Canada making it the highest grossing opening weekend of 2008.  Ironman is played by Robert Downey Jr. (Tony Starks) a billionaire industrialist and a master engineer in weapons, Pepper tots (Gwyneth Paltrow) is his assistant, Jet pilot James Rhodes (Terrence Howard) and Obadiah Stane played by (Jeff Bridges). It’s a Superhero film, directed by John Favreau. It is not like any typical Superhero movies characterized by Superpower abilities that come from within (i.e. Superman, Spiderman and Xmen). As a weapons specialist he built himself a powerful exoskeleton that comes with built-in weapons, rockets and has a flight capability. He has a strong power armor, powered from a miniature arc reactor a fictional power source Starks has invented. His chest is embedded with shrapnel which is protected by electromagnet that gets its energy supply from the arc reactor. It was Saturday when we watched it, prior to that, I wasnt really expecting much from the movie, for one, I was not really sure if Downey could pull it off. It was like I was dragged out of my habitual Saturday escapade just to see the movie. Can you just imagine Robert Downey a superhero and Gwyneth Paltrow together in a movie. Its just odd, I have nothing against Robert Downey jr. he is a very good actor, I just didnt think that he fits to be Ironman. But towards the first 20 minutes of the movie I was already in awe, wanting to see whats going to happen next. And as I watched scene-after-scene, I was magnificently astounded. The effects are superbly put-together. Jeez I wouldnt mind watching it over and over again. Robert Downey jr. is the man, so delightfuly perfect. I cant wait for the second movie which is expected to release in 2010.

I woke up at 9:30 AM and so did he. I hurriedly went to the washroom, brushed my teeth and washed my face. I turned off the washroom lights, shut the door and wiped my face with a towel. I entered the room and he was there lying still, cold and covered with blanket. I sneaked underneath the blanket hugged him closely and stared at his eyes then we snuggled, closed our eyes and fell asleep………….”I’m awake now, yes I am” I was telling him while he was trying to wake me up. I got up, poured some ice tea on a glass and drank it bottoms-up. He put on a shirt grabbed the car keys and hurriedly went to the door. The car is acting strange lately so he needs to take it to the doc. I sat on the bed, turned on the tv, dvd and the speakers. I watched “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” and cried a little. I was cold so I curled up and covered myself with a blanket. It was still getting very cold…yes very cold….I reached for the air conditioner and turned it off. I turned the tv, dvd and speakers off after watching the entire movie and listened to the soundtrack. I lay on the bed for a moment staring off into space, moments later I got up and went to the kitchen. I started to wash the dishes when the door squeaked open, so I turned my head and he uttered “They are closed today so I had the car washed instead” I asked him “Are you hungry?” “yes” he answered briefly. I opened the fridge, took out garlic, onions and tomatoes. I was in tears while chopping the onions……….I hurriedly reached for the door, opened it and stood there for a moment. I went back to the kitchen and splashed my eyes with water. I opened a can of mackerel, turned on the stove and started cooking. After cooking, I sat in front of the computer as I was rumbling with my troubled mind. He is inside the room watching “Topgun” and here I am, just started my day….another lazy Sunday. I guess we are ready for lunch.