PANGLAO ISLAND BOHOL BASIC INFORMATION AND TUTORIALS

How to get to Panglao and what to expect in Panglao, Bohol?

Across the bridge from Taglibaran, PANGLAO boasts beautiful beaches, first-rate diving and historic Spanish churches. The whole island is enjoying increasing popularity, nowhere more so than Alona Beach, and while there is now a great choice of hotels and restaurants, this also means higher room and food prices. The best quieter stretches of white sand are Bolod Beach, San Isidro Beach, Bikini
Beach and Doljo Beach.

Arrival and information
It’s not hard to find a taxi, van or tricycle at the airport or pier in Tagbilaran to whisk you across the bridge and out to Panglao. If you negotiate a little you won’t pay more than P500 for a taxi to Alona, or P250 for a tricycle. A cheaper but less convenient alternative is to take a bus from the Dao Integrated Terminal to Panglao. To get around the island (and Bohol) you can rent a motorbike in Alona or from your resort from around P400 per day.

Seashine Tours (T038/502-9038) next to the tourist information centre can book all ferry tickets, as well as arrange day-trips around Bohol, van hire, and boat trips (P1500–2500 for a boat for the day).

There’s a BPI ATM next to Jugali’s in Alona, but don’t count on it having cash. There are also plenty of places to change money in Alona – Jad-ski, a small shop on the main road, offers competitive rates.

The only place on Alona Beach which changes travellers’ cheques is the tourist centre (daily 9am–9pm) near the beach opposite the Alona Kew restaurant. It’s really just a glorified shop, but there’s also internet avaible here for P60 per hour.

Many beach resorts and restaurants also have wi-fi for customers. Laundry can be done at Dada’s, next to the tourist information centre. In case of any trouble, head for the tourist assistance centre, opposite Rona’s Corner.

Accommodation
Hotel prices have gone skywards in Alona, and there are hardly any budget options actually on the beach, but if you don’t mind a short walk to the sea, there are still a few cheapies out there. For those who prefer to be away from the buzz at Alona, there are some fantastic resorts dotted around Panglao, although most are in the mid-range to high price bracket.

NADINE LUSTRE VS KATHRYN BERNARDO - WHO RULES PHILIPPINE SHOWBIZ

Kathryn Bernardo has been comfortably sitting as the princess of Philippine Show business. The success of her teleserye, the Princess and I, got her noticed. It can be argue though that it was primarily brought upon by the loveteam of KatNiel.

Ironically, it was the love team of Kathryn and Enrique Gil that was originally being groomed, but the masses have spoken, and so KatNiel was born.

The ultra success of Got To Believe bannered by the loveteam, catapulted her to attain impressive popularity.

Out of nowhere, comes Nadine Lustre. Argument in favor with Nadine, she clearly has more box office success, owing to the might of movies such as Diary ng Panget and Talk Back and You're Dead.

What if there were no love teams? And who has real talents, not fabricated ones.

Samples?

KATHRYN BERNARDO SINGING



NADINE LUSTRE SINGING


It's always difficult to find clips of some celebrity singing that we are sure that are not lipsynched. Assuming both clips features real voices, let's all be honest, both of them are not exceptional.

Nadine though has the moves, gusto, and guts to do something extra.

How about their dancing skills?



Let's all get real at this point, Kathryn at this point is that the top of the food chain. But Nadine has serious moves in her. She is a real contender.

How real, ABS-CBN signed her (along with her loveteam).

This is an interesting move. They may not really go in the open and have them in opposing terms. But this is ABS-CBN's insurance move, in case KatNiel, fans out.

PAGSANJAN FALLS TOURIST DESTINATION INFORMATION

Serving as the capital of Laguna province from 1688 to 1858, the town of PAGSANJAN lies 101km from Manila and is home to a few old wooden houses, an unusually ornamental stone gate – or Puerta Real – and a pretty Romanesque church.

The gate sits on the road to Santa Cruz (Rizal St) and was completed in 1880, while Our Lady of Guadalupe Church, dating from 1690 but remodelled in the nineteenth century, is at the end of Rizal Street. The town’s main claim to fame these days is as the staging point for the dazzling Pagsanjan Falls, chosen by Francis Ford Coppola as the location for the final scenes in Apocalypse Now in 1975.

Most tourists come not for the Hollywood nostalgia value, however, but to take one of the popular bangka trips (daily 7am–5pm; minimum P970) down the fourteen rapids of the Bombongan River. The rapids are at their most thrilling in the wet season; during the dry season the ride is more sedate.

You don’t need to be especially daring to do the trip, though you will get wet, so bring a change of clothes. All ticket sales are supervised by the local tourism office in the municipal building (daily 8am–5pm; T049/808-3544) in the centre of town, opposite the church; ignore touts who try and sell tickets on the street. Most visitors pay P1000 for the ride; boats leave from the bridge behind the building.

It usually takes around 45 minutes to shoot 5.38km through the dramatic gorge; when you get closer to the actual 30m-high falls, you can ride a bamboo raft (balsa) to go directly below the cascade into the cavern known as Devil’s Cave, another thirty minutes or so (this is an additional P250 per head).