Bulgaria with Noodles

No, it's not migrants arriving in Italy We decided that we wanted to go on the Whale Shark Tour. We have done several other tours in the Philippines and really this was the only one we had not done. The hotel told us that we had to get up at 5.30am, which we were not too keen about, and they said that the trip would cost us 1,200 pesos each. They also told us that we would probably back at the Bee Farm by 2 or maybe 3pm. Well, we duly got up at the right time and took a tuktuk, one of those three-wheelers that does a passable impression of a WW2 Bren Gun carrier. We soon arrived at Alona Beach, on another part of Panglau island, where the Whale Shark trip was supposed to start. A couple of Filipinos paddled us out to the ship in what looked like a plastic box. More than two hours later, we were still at Alona Beach, waiting for the trip to start! Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum, me hearties! We finally left and had quite a pleasant sail past Virgin Island (R...

Another excellent breakfast One advantage to the Bohol Bee Farm as a holiday venue soon became apparent: the food. Yes, it’s good and there is lots of it. The breakfast buffets are a feast in themselves: home-cured ham, scrambled egg, excellent fish and chicken in breadcrumbs, delicious fruit juices, fresh salads and of course the yummy squash bread and dark brown muffins. In the Philippines, the coffee is usually pretty bad, but here at the Bohol Bee Farm it is hot and tastes as though it has just been brewed. All of this and a sea view, with smiling Filipino waitresses that always say, “Good marneen, sir!” Breakfast was included in the room price, so we have had some serious scoffing in the mornings. I had never eaten salad for breakfast before in my life, but perhaps it is something that I could get used to. The lunch menu was as varied and as exciting as the fare on offer for breakfast. Particularly good were the complimentary starters (pumpkin bread with mango and ...

Alona Beach on Panglau Islan It was of course J.R.R. Tolkien, in The Hobbit , who wrote, “It is a dangerous business going out of your front door.” The truth is that more and more Chinese people are not just going out of their front doors: they are heading overseas for their holidays each year. Should we be celebrating the adventures of these Middle Kingdom (not Middle Earth) Bilbos?  In the Philippines, the waves of Chinese tourists that invade the archipelago, especially during the Chinese New Year holiday, bring lots of tourist dollars. The problems that Mr and Mrs Chen and their children bring with them are not so welcome. (Those who have read An Unexpected Party may recall that Mr Baggins was rather put out by the large number of uninvited dwarves that appeared at Bag End.) For example, the Chinese young men in the next hotel room to ours were talking and laughing loudly on their balcony until after 1am.    Although Chinese children are so well-behav...

The Bohol Bee Farm is not on Bohol: it’s on an island called Panglau. Apart from a couple of hives that are used for demonstrations for tour groups, there are no bees. It also is not a farm, as there are no tractors, cows or pigs. Yes, they do have some horticulture going on, as they grow on site the key ingredients of the delicious salads that are served in the restaurants. During the Chinese New Year, the main crop at Bohol Bee Farm is Chinese tourists. This is a bit of a problem because I have the impression that the staff do not really like the Chinese guests. An elderly Spanish couple, on the other hand, seemed to be very popular with the Filipino staff. The Bee Bakery When we arrived in Manila, an internal flight took us to Tagbileran airport and then a minibus took us to the Bee Farm. It was raining and the Bee Farm seemed to be full of (yes, you guessed it) Chinese tourists. After some greedy goose gobbling, we usually had a rest in our room for an hour or so, be...