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A Southeast Asian Country in the Western Pacific, The Philippines comprises of more than 7,107 islands. Being in this country for the very first time, I flew via SKYTRAX 4 Star Airline —Philippine Airlines and was truly satisfied with their services, especially their in-flight meal.
We touched down at Cebu to meet the world’s largest whale sharks. We choose to stay in Sumilon Island for one night before departing to Oslob to swim with the whale sharks.
During the half day tour in Cebu, we wandered around the historical streets and visited Santo Nino Church, Maggellan’s Cross, Fort San Pedro. I was impressed by the Heritage of the Cebu monument built by sculptor Edgardo Castrillo, which beautifully captures the colourful history of Cebu. Casa Gorordo Museum was the home of Juan Gorodo, first Filipino Bishop of Cebu, a place worth visiting.
Sumilon Bluewater Island Resort has its own private beach, from the hotel room, guests can have direct access to coral reef beach, is a perfect resort for honeymoon couples and best friend trips. After having a SPA in this secret heaven, I had a very restful good sleep.
The next day early in the morning, was a highlight of the trip — swimming with the whale sharks. During the 30-minutes adventure, we were lucky enough to see 3 huge whale sharks from a very close distance. Each of them were around 50 feet, the encounter was very exciting and remarkable. In Oslob, beside swimming with the whale sharks, picturesque Kawasan Fall was a spot recommended for natural and outdoor sport lovers.
Another gem of Philippine, Bohol Island, is Philippine’s 10th largest Island, a tropical haven of natural beauty from hills to beaches. We took a bamboo raft to have our lunch before proceeding to Chocolate Hill. The extraordinary landscape of The Chocolate Hills is unique; looking like a lot of chocolates scattered all over the hill area.
Another wild life we encountered during this trip were the dolphins, watching the dolphins swimming in the beautiful seawater was an amazing experience. At Balicasag Island, we enjoyed ourselves scuba diving and snorkelling, seeing sea turtles and colourful fishes swimming, which was a dreamy experience. The white and beautiful beaches with fine sands was a perfect place to spend a leisure evening before heading back.
With thousands of idyllic and unique islands, The Philippines is a relatively undiscovered travel destination. If you still do not have any travel plans for 2019, we highly recommend Cebu and Bohol to you. You will surely fall in love with these hidden treasures.
