"Oh, he's so cute!!!", exclaimed the white female tourist behind me, and I turned around to find out the object of her affection (I thought it was me, as usual. LOL). There she was, her face inches away from one of the weirdest-looking creatures on this planet, cooing at the
Philippine tarsier as one would to a baby, perhaps coaxing it to pose for a picture. I could think of a few adjectives to describe these tiny (4 -6 inches) animals, but "cute" would be one of them. To me they appear to be a product of "cross-engineering genes gone wrong" between species of monkeys and mice, or simply put, a little like that
extraterrestrial who wants to phone home. These tarsiers are on exhibit in numerous cages (illegally run, as it turns out) behind many stores on the banks of the Loboc river. You just drive up and there they are, along with lots of tourists staring intently at their brown fur and huge (make that HUGE) eyes. Some tourists can be real dummies, and despite the caretakers' constant pleas not to do so, they insist on touching these nocturnal creatures and using flash photography.
According to the Lonely Planet guidebook, these primates can leap up to five meters; not sure if they bite, but I'm sure they're eager for some payback to tourists who stick their cameras too close and shoot away, flash and all. Everybody needs their beauty sleep undisturbed, imho. Other caged animals present include monkeys, whom the caretakers will take out of their cages and place on your arm for the perfect touristy photo op, for an additional bribe...ahem, fee, of course. Illogical as it would seem, my fear that the monkeys would use my arm as a toilet led me to decline, and I was content to observe them within their own personal confines. Took all of two minutes and then I got bored, so went over to the huge tarsier cardboard cut-out. Call it cheesy, but that's what I call a great photo op :-D. Oh yeah, the illegal part mentioned earlier. I had wondered how these shops were able to lay their hands on the endangered tarsiers, and although I don't have the answer to that, they are in fact illegal and if you've ever in Bohol, do the tarsiers a favor and reserve your viewing for the Tarsier Visitors Center run by the
Philippine Tarsier Foundation.
Our quest for more flora and fauna led us to the
Chocolate Hills, a tourism marketing director's dream. Along with the tarsier, these hills have become ubiquitous icons gracing the tourism brochures of Bohol and are one of the premier attractions in the country. Seemingly ordinary-looking and unnoticeable from the street level, a drive up the hills and then a steep climb up to the topmost viewing platform of the Chocolate Hills complex (built atop one of the hills! Brilliant!) reveals a spectacular, breath taking view of these massive lumps ranging in size from 40 - 120 meters, some of them roundish and others more pointy. Trying to count how many hills there are (as I tried) is an exercise in futility, for they can be seen as far as the eye can see (official sources indicate there are 1,268 hills in total).
There are many theories on how these hills were formed, but I won't bore you with those (Google is your friend). But let's debunk one nasty rumor that has circulated right now: The Chocolate Hills are not fake (all naturally perky, baby), were not created by ingenious tourism officials for your viewing pleasure (although I see clones in a Vegas-like setting happening soon). This is not Stonehenge, people. (Snarky comment). So now, I bet the burning question in your mind is, "Why are they called Chocolate Hills when they are, in fact, green in color?". Dude, the grass only turns brown in the dry season, so you have to stretch our imagination, as we did. Now that would be an even more glorious sight, and something to look forward to on a return visit, perhaps?
"Oh, he's so cute!!!", exclaimed the white female tourist behind me, and I turned around to find out the object of her affection (I thought it was me, as usual. LOL). There she was, her face inches away from one of the weirdest-looking creatures on this planet, cooing at the Philippine tarsier as one would to a baby, perhaps coaxing it to pose for a picture. I could think of a few adjectives to describe these tiny (4 -6 inches) animals, but "cute" would be one of them. To me they appear to be a product of "cross-engineering genes gone wrong" between species of monkeys and mice, or simply put, a little like that extraterrestrial who wants to phone home. These tarsiers are on exhibit in numerous cages (illegally run, as it turns out) behind many stores on the banks of the Loboc river. You just drive up and there they are, along with lots of tourists staring intently at their brown fur and huge (make that HUGE) eyes. Some tourists can be real dummies, and despite the caretakers' constant pleas not to do so, they insist on touching these nocturnal creatures and using flash photography. 
According to the Lonely Planet guidebook, these primates can leap up to five meters; not sure if they bite, but I'm sure they're eager for some payback to tourists who stick their cameras too close and shoot away, flash and all. Everybody needs their beauty sleep undisturbed, imho. Other caged animals present include monkeys, whom the caretakers will take out of their cages and place on your arm for the perfect touristy photo op, for an additional bribe...ahem, fee, of course. Illogical as it would seem, my fear that the monkeys would use my arm as a toilet led me to decline, and I was content to observe them within their own personal confines. Took all of two minutes and then I got bored, so went over to the huge tarsier cardboard cut-out. Call it cheesy, but that's what I call a great photo op :-D. Oh yeah, the illegal part mentioned earlier. I had wondered how these shops were able to lay their hands on the endangered tarsiers, and although I don't have the answer to that, they are in fact illegal and if you've ever in Bohol, do the tarsiers a favor and reserve your viewing for the Tarsier Visitors Center run by the Philippine Tarsier Foundation.
Our quest for more flora and fauna led us to the Chocolate Hills, a tourism marketing director's dream. Along with the tarsier, these hills have become ubiquitous icons gracing the tourism brochures of Bohol and are one of the premier attractions in the country. Seemingly ordinary-looking and unnoticeable from the street level, a drive up the hills and then a steep climb up to the topmost viewing platform of the Chocolate Hills complex (built atop one of the hills! Brilliant!) reveals a spectacular, breath taking view of these massive lumps ranging in size from 40 - 120 meters, some of them roundish and others more pointy. Trying to count how many hills there are (as I tried) is an exercise in futility, for they can be seen as far as the eye can see (official sources indicate there are 1,268 hills in total). 
There are many theories on how these hills were formed, but I won't bore you with those (Google is your friend). But let's debunk one nasty rumor that has circulated right now: The Chocolate Hills are not fake (all naturally perky, baby), were not created by ingenious tourism officials for your viewing pleasure (although I see clones in a Vegas-like setting happening soon). This is not Stonehenge, people. (Snarky comment). So now, I bet the burning question in your mind is, "Why are they called Chocolate Hills when they are, in fact, green in color?". Dude, the grass only turns brown in the dry season, so you have to stretch our imagination, as we did. Now that would be an even more glorious sight, and something to look forward to on a return visit, perhaps?
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