Location: Tagbilaran City, Bohol, Philippines

Sav: We woke up today to find out the water in the hostel wasn’t working, so we freshened up with what water was left in our water bottles, and were just about to head upstairs for breakfast when we heard a moan.

There was a guy in our room who looked pretty rough, and at first I assumed he was just hungover from the party the night before, but then we realized something was super wrong. His shoulder was dislocated, he had a huge bloody gash on his face, a swollen eye and scrapes and cuts all over his back. He seemed pretty dazed but managed to explain to us that he had been mugged the night before and didn’t know where to go so he just came back home to the hostel. I’d heard lots of stories and knew that it wasn’t really safe to be outside, especially at night, but hadn’t seen anything happen to someone I knew- so it was definitely a sad reminder for Max and I to be on high alert. He ended up going to the hospital with help from the staff downstairs, and Max and I went upstairs for food.

We visited and had breakfast with Kat (a woman we’d met the night before), ordering iced coffees and eggs benedict on pandesal bread (a local favourite). We shook the rough start to the morning off and caught a cab over to the ferry terminal, since we’d decided even before all this happened to head to a friendlier city on the neighbouring Bohol island. A few hours later on the ferry and we’d arrived!

We were able to walk to the hostel unbothered (except for motorbike cabs offering us rides), which was a really nice change. I realized that in the cumulative two weeks Ive spent in the Philippines I had never walked outside for more than a couple minutes at a time unchaperoned. Finally I was able to take in some of the local flavour, and it definitely was nice to have Max watching my back.

We arrived at the Oasis Balili Ancestral Lodge, where we had a room all to ourselves (a huge luxury while backpacking). Immediately we were greeted by happy and helpful staff, who showed us around the very old traditional house. Old shiny wood and bamboo made up the majority of the building. Even the ceiling had a bamboo herringbone pattern! Windows made of wood and translucent mother of pearl seashells instead of glass were on every wall, letting in a lovely soft light. I was ecstatic to find out our room had AC and a private bathroom. They told us about the all day breakfast and free coffee upstairs, local bbq and karaoke every night at 6pm in the front yard, and swings and outdoor seating all around the house. How is this the same price as a hostel?!

We decided to take advantage of what was left of the light, since we didn’t think it a great idea to explore in the dark. Despite Tagbilaran city being a safer place than Cebu, it still wasn’t super safe. We stopped in a little café for some amazing carrot cake, wandered to a Jollibee (a local fast food chain everyone is extremely proud of) to taste test some fried chicken, and found a bakery to try some local breads we’d been hearing so much about. Apparently our exploring consisted only of food today!

Worth it.

The light was really waning and we wanted to make it back in time for the BBQ and karaoke, although our bellies were stuffed and Max had his fill of karaoke last night! He sang one song and we taste tested a few delicious things (all of which were mysteries to me), before we decided to retire for the night. A few days ago we downloaded a documentary we’ve been excited to watch, so a night in is just the ticket.

Sav