Our villa cottage

Have I ever dreamed of owning a house like this? You bet! This little rustic villa cottage set in abundant green & serenity (well, almost. you'll know later why..) was our home for three nights in Panglao, the adjoining island of Bohol. It was love at first sight when I discovered it online and the real thing didn't disappoint.

What I also like about it is that there are only three more cottages, which gave us a lot of privacy, and the warm hospitality given by the owners, Bob & Sid. There isn't a reception area (which I innocently asked about when we were met at the front gate) so whenever we needed something, we just had to walk a few steps to the house of the married couple! And the fresh flowers on the bed and found in the towels basket were such a nice touch! I loved it so much that I placed the flowers next to my pillows while I slept. 

But nothing is perfect and there definitely is no perfect hotel/resort...hmm...maybe if I pay like a few hundred dollars a night (still I doubt it). What I didn't like about this place is the lack of hot shower. Even the cheaper and really ugly bed & breakfast we were staying in Tagbilaran city has hot shower and they even changed our towels every day. But here, we would have to use them for three days before they would change it. Not a big deal to me though, as we could hang them on the clothes line besides our cottage to dry. 

Another issue I had was the NOISE that I didn't expect! Okay, maybe because I'm from the city and have the misconception that the countryside or rural area is serene & quiet. But when you have the presence of mad barking dogs and crowing roosters (who says that roosters only crow in the early morning?!) from the neighbours at night, they can create more ruckus than anything else in the city! And the worst thing was I couldn't shout at those animals to keep their snout or beak shut so that I could get a decent sleep! And those animals had no sense of time as they were going on their noisy business all the way till the wee hours in the morning...! 

So although I really loved climbing up & down the wooden stairs in the cottage, and reading my book at night on the balcony, and the feeling of being surrounded by nature, I was glad that we didn't stay there on New Year's Eve. When we were leaving, the owners let on that nobody can sleep that day. Why? Because Filipinos go crazy on eves - Xmas eve, New Year's Eve - they set off cheap fireworks they buy at stores or stalls, blast on their music, sing at the top of their voice from midnight till they are satisfied that they have kept everyone up. 

Why do I sound like I know so well? Because that was what happened on Xmas Eve (well, similar) at our first hotel - a live band near our hotel started playing at 2 am and woke me up in my bed on the 12th floor and I had to call front desk a few times before I could move to another room (twice actually) so that I could actually catch a wink! 

If that happened near a big four star hotel in the city, I can't imagine what the commotion would be like around our cottage, with the thin walls and openness...

Well, some people might say, "If you can't beat them, join them" but I've only lived in places that celebrate significant days with a lot more calmness and consideration, so going without sleep, no matter how special that day is, is out of the question. 絶対無理。