Home to the chocolate hills and the tarsier, Bohol will mesmerize you with its natural beauty — from geological formation to tiny primates only as large as your fist.

We took 1.5 hour ferry trip from Cebu Port to Tagbilaran where we began exploring what Bohol had to offer. Needless to say, there are a number of ways to get to Bohol so just pick whatever is convenient for you. We hired a taxi to take us around the whole day instead of going around by jeepney which would have taken too much time. And besides, it was extremely hot!

The Chocolate Hills got its name because the hills would usually turn brown in the summer which made them look like pieces of chocolate. But when I was there, the hills were all green! I was surprised at how big they were. At the foot of the hills are full-grown trees but the hills tower over them. According to the official count, there are 1,268 hills total. They looked like a bunch of buns waiting to be baked. Now I’ve seen enough hills to last me a lifetime!

Folklore has its way of explaining the unfathomable. So it is for the chocolate hills. One legend says that these hills transformed from the tears of a heartbroken giant; another legend said that the hills came from a stone-throwing fight between two giants. According to experts, the hills' origin is still unclear. The most widely accepted explanation, however,  is that these are weathered limestones built over an impermeable bed of clay.

The tarsier stared at me like a wise old man trapped inside a monkey's body. Its eyes, which are bigger than its brain, were shiny and deep; its knuckles protruded outward and its fingers looked as fragile as toothpicks. As it clung on to the branch, the tarsier exuded a sense of peace like a meditating monk lost in a chant.

For lunch, I recommend you take the a Loboc river cruise. Reasonably priced at $6, the two-hour cruise comes with a lunch buffet, entertainment which I loved and a short "cultural" stopover. The comedian-singer-guitarist on board sang songs by Yoyoy Villame, who is known for his catchy tunes about the Philippines such as "Magellan" and "Philippine Geography".

Half-way through the cruise was a tacky “cultural” stopover. Booming drums and chants greeted us as we walked closer. Half-naked men donning tribal garb posed for photos with the visitors. I felt uncomfortable witnessing this “spectacle”. While I understand that locals need to make a living, they could have thought of a more interactive way of sharing their culture. The stopover felt inauthentic.

After the cruise, we headed to one of Bohol's beaches to relax while waiting for the sun to set. The beach was underwhelming and didn’t live up to the hype so visit Bohol Beach Club instead.

Over all, a day-trip in Bohol only gives you a morsel of what the whole island has to offer but this tiny bite will definitely fulfill your hunger for wonder.