When in Cebu: Stay at Ohno's Pensionne Haus

There is a new pension house in this side of the central Philippines and it is not only affordable but clean, safe and easily accessible to major establishments and government offices in Cebu. The place is called Ohno's Pensionne Haus.

The pension opened its doors to customers last September 29 with a sober celebration. 

Although small in capacity, the pension house offers modest 20 rooms all with aircon, cable TV, hot and cold shower, telephones and toiletries including soap, shampoo and a Japan-made toothbrush coated with toothpaste. Isn't that cool enough? But wait, the Japanese extras are offered while supplies last. I hope the owner, Ms. Noemi Bumaat-Ohno can extend the availability of the toiletries all throughout.

At the ground floor of the pension house is a wellness center that offers massage and spa, hair treatments and other beauty services.

Ohno's Pensionne Haus
145 M. Velez Street, Guadalupe, Cebu City
Phone: (032) 5056397
All transactions are only for cash basis as of this time while they are still processing their applications with credit card companies.

Location Map of Ohno's Pensionne Haus

ROOM RATES:
Standard: 850 pesos (single bed for 1 pax)
Deluxe: 1,000 pesos (queen size bed for 2 pax)
Superior: 1,200 pesos (2 double beds for 2 pax, max of 3 pax)
Extra person: 250 pesos
Extra bed: 200 pesos

NEXT DESTINATION

Guess. (photo grabbed from wikipedia.com)

HELP THE PEOPLE OF MANILA

Illustration by Anjo Aborlada

Manila and the National Capital Region were flooded this week due to heavy rains. Poor drainage systems and high tides combined with less care for the environment complicated the situation creating a deluge reminiscent of Typhoon Ondoy (international codenamed Ketsana) in 2009.

Please help them, help us in the Philippines.

The safest way to donate is via the Philippine National Red Cross (PNRC). By saying the safest, I mean your donations will not be used by politicians and other entities for personal gains and will directly go to the recipients without fanfare.

For details on how to donate, please follow this link: DONATE.

Frank Lurzano captures Janela Arcos Lelis rescuing their school's flag during a flood
that hits  the town of Malinao in Albay province.

You can also find other means of how to help, especially if you are an alumni of Manila schools or if you belong to an organization, by reading the details of the activities being done by schools, universities, companies and other entities here. Please follow the link: Flood PH: How Can You Help?

Photo courtesy of CNN/Getty Images

CNN/Getty Images

I HAVE LANDED!

Photo by Leo Odtuhan

Travel is little beds and cramped bathrooms. It’s old television sets and slow Internet connections. Travel is extraordinary conversations with ordinary people. It’s waiters, gas station attendants, and housekeepers becoming the most interesting people in the world. It’s churches that are compelling enough to enter. It’s McDonald’s being a luxury. It’s the realization that you may have been born in the wrong country. Travel is a smile that leads to a conversation in broken English. It’s the epiphany that pretty girls smile the same way all over the world. Travel is tipping 10% and being embraced for it. Travel is the same white T-shirt again tomorrow. Travel is accented sex after good wine and too many unfiltered cigarettes. Travel is flowing in the back of a bus with giggly strangers. It’s a street full of bearded backpackers looking down at maps. Travel is wishing for one more bite of whatever that just was. It’s the rediscovery of walking somewhere. It’s sharing a bottle of liquor on an overnight train with a new friend. Travel is “Maybe I don’t have to do it that way when I get back home.” It’s nostalgia for studying abroad that one semester. Travel is realizing that “age thirty” should be shed of its goddamn stigma.

- Nick Miller, Isn't It Pretty To Think So?

Inspired by PHL360, today I decided to make my blog a TRAVEL BLOG and should now focus on the travels I've made and will be making. 

Keep me company.

Anda is Bohol's next destination

If you are in Bohol and you find Panglao Island getting noisier with the influx of tourists and resorts of every kind, there is another destination worth visiting- Anda. Still pristine in every way and with a few tourists around, Anda brags a natural beach with powdery white sands still  pollution-free and open to the public.

About a hundred kilometers from Tagbilaran (almost 3 hours by van for hire), Anda's distance may be a boon, a blessing, to that town. Although resorts have already began sprouting everywhere, still the town is very provincial, a place where people know each other and welcomes you if you are a visitor.

Last year, I made an article about Anda that won me a Lonely Planet Magazine. This was what I've written-

Off the beaten path, somewhere in Anda in the province of Bohol are remnants of a long forgotten history- hanging coffins. Not just your ordinary hanging coffins, I believe.

Several hematite paintings could be seen on the wall of the cave where the remnants are. Facing the Mindanao Sea, could they be ritual symbols for the long voyage? Or some gory acts the details we don't want to know?

Around these islets that is now connected with abundant tropical plants and mangroves good for the next Jurassic Park set, you can visit out of this world coves. A wide cave-like natural structure is now even used for council meetings of hilots and tambalans.

Shhhh, every year, unknown to many, a congregation of herbal doctors and their likes converge at this place in Anda. Go ask your guide about it and they would compare their rituals with that of Siquijor counterparts.

But the excitement starts right when you arrived at the place. You go up to a hilly village before you would be engulfed in a forest full of mangroves and got to taste local cuisine at a station.

Just lovely.

USEFUL INFO:

Bus and V-Hire for Anda are available at Integrated Bus Terminal in Tagbilaran City. Bus fare is 100 pesos while v-hire is 120 pesos. Please note that trip schedules are limited. However, you can take any bus/v-hire to  Ubay via eastern part of Bohol and drop at Guindulman Public Market where habal-habal, tricycles and mini buses are available until 5pm for Anda. Haggling is best advised.

Resorts offer room accommodations. Pension houses are also available in the town proper. Some resorts have Wi-Fi available but some parts of the town have limited access to mobile connection. Globe, Smart and Sun signals however, are strong in the town proper.

For more info, contact Anda Tourist Information Center at telephone (038) 510-8094 or mobile 0948-371-0836, 0999-581-3336, 0917-324-5917. Email them thru their mayor (sosyal!) at asimacio_lguanda@yahoo.com.

Anda's website is andabohol.gov.ph.

Related post: A Rare Experience to Try in Bohol