Double Dose of Bohol

It's only the first month of the year and I've already been to Bohol twice! It seems like Bohol and I, we've got things going for us this year. Haha.

Simply put, Bohol was breathtaking. But I think it was our adventures and misadventures which made both trips memorable.

To give you an overview, my first trip was memorable but it was a MAJOR disaster. It started out smoothly but ended up really messy (haha, read on to find out more why I say so). Fortunately, my second trip to Bohol made up for the first one.

I was excited to go to Bohol because I've heard so much about its beaches and the sights. Our trip got to a good start, we were checked in at an exceptional hotel, our itinerary was well planned, and we were all looking forward to bonding with one another.

Our flight schedule enabled us to see the sunrise from the plane. We got welcomed at the airport by the hotel staff with a pearl garland. Arrived at a very peaceful and breezy resort hotel.

We were so mesmerized with the place that we explored it even before we got the chance to check-in our rooms.

On our first night, it was in our itinerary that we would dine at Bohol Bee Farm. Again, I was looking forward to dinner because I've read about rave reviews about Bee Farm's organic salad and honey pesto spread.

Before going to Bohol Bee Farm and eating dinner at Bohol Bee Farm

In fairness to the restaurant, everything was delicious. Unfortunately, something was wrong with their food and after dinner, things started to fall apart for our group. Hours after we got back to the hotel, a handful of people from our group got sick and had to be rushed to the hospital to avoid getting dehydrated. As dawn approached, more and more people were getting sick. When morning came, 1/3 of our group was sick and a few more were starting to feel queasy. I thought I was saved from getting ill but I spoke too soon. After breakfast I started feeling sick too. Because of that, I wasn't able to join the activities planned for us that day, a Bohol Countryside tour. Instead, we rushed to the hospital to get ourselves checked for food poisoning.

While in the  hospital, we learned from some of the staff that 1. in the past, some of them also experienced getting sick after eating at Bohol Bee Farm and 2. they've had a handful of cases of people getting sick after eating at Bohol Bee Farm (there were cases of Typhoid Fever and Amoebiasis!). I'm not trying to scare you, I'm just saying BE CAREFUL when visiting Bohol Bee Farm. I didn't want to write about our experience but after my officemates' prodding and all the unreported food contamination cases, I decided that I should do my part and try to inform people about it. Our case was NOT the first but I sure hope that it would be the last.

I pray that their management does something about their food handling and hygiene especially because Bohol Bee Farm is one of the recommended places to visit in Bohol. I do, however, recognize them for owning up to why our group got sick and paying for all the expenses brought about by their food. I would also like to commend the Bellevue Hotel team who tirelessly accompanied our group and gave in to our every request.

Anywaaay, I know this post seems so heavy and stressful. I promise, my next posts on Bohol would be nothing like this. ;) I'll be featuring the much talked about sights and the good food I've tried on my wonderful second time in Bohol. :)