Holy Week in Panglao Resort

( Second of two parts )

#4 On Good Friday we went to see the tarsier, the world’s smallest monkey, the man-made forest, the Chocolate Hills and we visited seven beautiful churches. We posed for souvenir photos with the tarsier, after all it’s the world’s smallest. But there was nothing riveting about the experience.

Quite frankly, I think the biggest attraction of Bohol is its man-made forest. It’s straight from another era when the world was cooler and greener because people didn’t cut trees to enrich themselves. We went down the van and posed for souvenir photos like comebacking supermodels. If you want to see Bohol – you’ve got to experience this place.

#5 Perhaps I was too prepared to be overwhelmed by the much-talked about Chocolate Hills. I was ready to gape – never mind if a whole bunch of dead leaves would enter my mouth upon seeing the hills. Our driver, Mang Enteng reported that the original count of 1,268 hills has been increased to 1774 because other municipalities said that they too have Chocolate hills. Was I disappointed because two huge Hills in the front row from the viewing deck had burnt grass that they looked like badly cooked choco candies.

#6 The churches were simply divine. You must visit the churches of Bohol. I only saw seven, I cannot imagine how beautiful the others are.

#7 Alona Beach. This is the strip that would remind you of Boracay in the late ’70s. Bars, stores, restaurants are starting to fill up the strip. People are kind and divers are everywhere. Yes, Bohol is one of the best dive sites. Chai, our tour master took good care of us. He prepared our dinner by the beach under the stars and the moon. Chai was a gracious host.

Oh by the way, Alona Beach is named after Alona Alegre. In the ’70s, she shot a movie in this area with Fernando Poe Jr. According to Chai, Alona was the first woman to have ever donned a two-piece bikini in this place and everytime the locals would like to watch the shooting or when they wanted to see Alona they would say, "dalhin mo ko doon kay Alona." From then on, the beach became known as the Alona Beach.

"Sa fiesta namin, sana makarating dito si Alona. Matagal na naming siyang hindi nakikita," Chai said.

On the plane coming home to Manila, I thanked God for bringing me to Bohol. What a beautiful place He created down there. After take off, I searched for other familiar islands that I would visit in the future. I saw Siquijor, Dumaguete, Cebu and I swear I saw a group of graceful dolphins dancing in the air. They must have been rejoicing for Christ has risen again.

The Boulevard of Billboards

It used to be Hi-Way 54. Today it’s EDSA where two People Power revolutions happened. To us probinsyanos, who live in its periphery (and not in the Sampaloc area where most of my Waray kababayans are), EDSA is the most convenient point of reference for one not to get lost or to identify one’s locations. "Sa kanto ng EDSA-Malibay," or "baba ka sa EDSA-Guadalupe" or "magkita tayo sa EDSA-Farmers Market" or "get a jeep when you reach EDSA-Kamias."

But today EDSA has become the Billboard Hi-way or the Boulevard of a Thousand Billboards.

The next time you hit EDSA, look anywhere, and chances are you are smiling back at Lea Salonga (Bayo) or you’re staring at Luis Manzano (Human) or you’re wondering at how effortless beauty can be like Gretchen Barretto’s (Plain & Prints). Each billboard has a message for you. And you cannot ignore them because even if you’re annoyed you see them with your eyes closed. Clothing companies want you to wear their clothes, TV shows insist that you watch them, telecommunication companies say that they’re the best. Soap companies whisper that they smell the best, shampoos of all colors and textures are responsible for making your hair shiniest; everyone is seducing everyone in EDSA. You have to be clean, you have to be beautiful, you have to wear the best jeans and shirts, you have to watch the best shows, you have to watch the best movies – if you were to believe every billboard in EDSA – then EDSA must be fairyland – but it only takes a couple of minutes to realize that in your old car, your body is starting to sweat, and that your shirt is starting to shrink and that your pair of jeans is beginning to smell and you are starting to be in a rage because whatever they say, traffic is horrendous – traffic is a killer in the Boulevard of Billboards.

Q Club London

My good friend Mylene Kho called me recently to inform me that her line of fabulous shirts, Quadro, is now called Q Club London. She decided to rename the shirtline to have an international appeal but Mylene assured me that her shirts are still priced reasonably even if all the research materials and design models are from London as provided by a Paris based consultant. The look of the shirts is now very clubby.

Q Club London unveiled its new logo during the culminating of the recently-concluded Quadro Icons Search. Hero Angeles and Melissa Roque bagged the titles of Male and Female Quadro Icons 2003. They will be part of Q Club London’s ads.