Dan Eggers asked:


If your Asia tour includes a long stay in the Philippines, we suggest that you add in a visit to Ongpin or Chinatown, which is how most people call it as well, as part of your travel program, especially if you’ll in Manila – the capital city of the country – for a while yet.

Ongpin or Chinatown may not be as popular as other places in the Philippines but that doesn’t mean it shouldn’t be part of your travel schedule. Not only is a visit to Ongpin guaranteed to be delightful in more ways than one, it also won’t cost you much because prices in Ongpin are more affordable than what you’d find in other cities like Makati or even Quezon City.

Ongpin is also mainly a residential town so it’s easier to tour the place rather than other cities, which would require you to take on huge buses and six-wheeler trucks just to cross the street.

Because Ongpin is not that big a town, the streets are mostly narrow, winding and filled with people. If you’re planning to drive your own car to Ongpin, you might be forced then to park somewhere and walk for the rest of the time you’ll be spending in Binondo. But that’s not really much of a punishment – except for your feet, if you’re wearing high heels! – because a lot of people really prefer to wander around Ongpin by foot.

Food Shopping

Fruits – Almost all kinds of fruits are sold in the streets of Ongpin and if you’re feeling a bit adventurous, you could try out some of the exotic fruits being offered by street vendors such as the mangosteen or the huge apple-mango. Highly popular with the Filipino Chinese residents of Ongpin are rambutan, longgans, lanzones and chicos. When you get to Ongpin, be sure that you do try all those fruits and more since one can never get fat with fruits, anyway.

Delicacies – When you get to Ongpin, do be sure that you’ll be able to make a pit stop at any of the Chinese food stores of Ongpin. One of the most popular stores of this type is Eng Bee Tin. There, you’ll be able to find all sorts of Chinese delicacies that people back home would surely be delighted with.

Main Dishes – Tired after walking nonstop for an hour or so? If that’s the case, we suggest that you try relaxing your feet on any of the restaurants located in Ongpin. Try out popular Chinese dishes and the exotic ones as well so your trip to Ongpin will be truly memorable.

Peter Garant asked:

Bohol is by far one of the most popular destinations in the Philippines. With its combined historical and natural sights and a number of high class and budget hotels, this is a must see destination to make your stay in the Philippines complete.

Bohol is as mentioned one of the best tourist destinations that the Philippines has to offer. It is an island located literally in the middle of the Philippines and is part of the Visayas region. It is accessible by boat and by plane. Bohol can be reached from Manila via Cebu which takes about 50 minutes by plane or an overnight boat ride. From Cebu a fast boat to Tagbilaran which is only 1.5 hours, or one of the ferries to either Tubigon or Talibon would be an option too.

The most practical way to reach the island is to catch a ferry boat from Cebu to Tubigoan and take a bus from Tubigon to Tagbilaran. This is a faster and cheaper way to reach the capital compared to a direct boat ride. Bohol belongs to a tropical country prone to typhoons yet its geographical location has helped the island to be shielded from typhoons due to the fact that the surrounding islands blocks the heavy winds prior to reaching Bohol.

Bohol offers a wide range of pristine tourist destinations both natural and historical in category. Beaches, natural parks, wildlife and the famous Chocolate Hills are just a few of the highlights of the island. Bohol is as good as it gets and what better way to spend an unforgettable vacation than to complete it with the right place to stay.

Bohol Hotels offer high quality services and affordable rates. Most of the hotels are resort hotels and are located near white sand beaches. Other hotels are further inland yet are still fashioned out in a nature oriented outlook. Bohol hotels offer comfortable accommodation, recreational and dining services.

These hotels offer tours and transfers around the island so there is no need to worry on how to go about the vacation that has been planned for. There are travel packages offered by most of the Bohol Hotels and lasts for 3 days and 2 nights, but one can always extend if this time frame is not enough. There are a lot of hotels and resorts around the province of Bohol and it is all about choosing the right one and the right place to stay in which suits both your needs and your budget.

when one plans to explore the Philippines in a naturalistic approach , then Bohol is a must see place, especially the world famous Chocolate Hills and the very cute tarsiers only found here.It is one of the best choices amidst all the other islands of the archipelago. Its hotels add up to the beauty of the entire island. Whether you want to stay in a beach resort or in a place near the busy medium sized places like Tagbilaran and Tubigan, Bohol has it all waiting for you.