We Messed Up In The Island of Bilang-Bilangan

Hey Hivers! @baby.magic here and I'm hoping everyone is doing fine today. In this post, I'm gonna share to you my experiences on life in the island of Bilang-Bilangan.

So let's get to it.

This was way back in 2011, about 11 years ago me and my drinking buddies were at a convenience store in Apas, Cebu drinking.. again. Everyday after work we would always stop by this store to relieve some stress from work through beer chugging.

One time, we were discussing about doing something that would leave an impact to people's lives. You could say it was just drunk-talk and that we didn't really mean it. 'Coz on a normal day, we would just talk about funny stuff and sharing some funny stories but this day was different.

We somehow got into an agreement that we would do an outreach program, help the less fortunate kind-of-stuff. Not that we were well-off but we had a decent job and a decent pay and we were just wasting our money on alcohol and don't forget.. cigarettes. But the big question was who do we help and where?

So one of us suggested an island in the province of Bohol. He tells us that life on that particular island is tough and people living there don't get the same comfort as the people living in the city. Not that all city-dwellers are all living a comfortable life but I think you know what I mean.

So we decided that we were gonna go to that island to do a feeding program for the kids. And we had big plans on how we were gonna go about it.

So the day finally came and we were all geared up and ready to go to this island that was still a mystery to us, except for our friend who suggested it.

And the name of the island is Bilang-Bilangan.

From the port of Cebu, you need to travel to the port of Tubigon..

.. and then from there take a small boat (bangka) to take you to the island. About two and a half hours of travel by sea from Cebu to Bilang-Bilangan Island.

When we got to the island's port..

.. we immediately see the living conditions of the people on that island. Most of the houses were made out of light materials. There was nothing fancy about this island, it was just another case of poverty in this country that hasn't been addressed yet.

So we got off the boat and went directly to the house that we were gonna stay for the night, which also happens to be the house of the island's chieftain.

And they showed us their hospitality, Islander style.

The plan was to do the feeding program the next day and we were planning on preparing something special for the kids, something that will leave an impact on their lives. So you see, it wasn't just drunk-talk.. we actuallly meant it.

But since there was nothing on the island but boats and some old houses, we got bored right away. So being the drunkards that we are we decided to buy beer and started chugging. And sure enough, we got drunk.

And then we decided to mingle with more of the locals and what better way than a game of basketball. There is always a bet when your playing basketball in the Philippines. The reason behind it is so that you would take the game seriously and you won't have any excuse if you lost. Now, we won the first game even though we were playing drunk and then they asked for a rematch but this time doubling up the ante. Needless to say, we lost the rematch. What did you expect from a group of drunk players pitted against a team of well-conditioned Fisherfolks. I think they let us win the first game though

So back to the chieftain's house and back to some more beer chugging.

So we drank all night and we were having a really great time with the locals, so much that we lost track of time and our funds. We just wanted to enjoy our stay in the island, can you blame us.

So next day comes and time to feed the kids. Now, originally we wanted to cook fried chicken and spaghetti for the kids because we wanted it to be special and we wanted to leave an impact on their lives.

But there was one minor problem.

We spent all our money on beer the night before.

Yeah, it was just a minor problem alright.

So instead of fried chicken and spaghetti we decided to just prepare Rice stew (Arroz caldo or Lugaw) and chocolate rice porridge (Champorado). There's still chicken in it and there's also chocolate. So it was still special, at least for us, but I'm not so sure with the kids though. But hey, free food is free food. And food really tastes great when it's free.

If the kids only knew what was originally planned for them and what happened to the money that was intended for them. I think they would have fed us to the SHARKS. But they didn't know so on with the feeding program.

All the kids in the island lined up, they were so excited about it. I think they were probably expecting fried chicken and spaghetti... not "Lugaw" and "Champorado".

Seeing all the kids smiles and how happy they were receiving their "Lugaw" and "Champorado" from us made us realised that even a little gesture of generosity can leave an impact on these little kids lives.

Well, that's one way of justifying how we messed up their special meal.

This is the group who messed up the feeding program.

So our work in the island is done and it's time to go home. But before that, the locals wanted to show us their little secret paradise.

A sandbar just 30 minutes away from the island. So unto the sandbar we go.

The locals say this is their version of Boracay. They told us this place is very special to them because a lot of memories have been made here by the people living in the island and now we are a part of those memories.

The Messed Up Boys

Starfish for those who don't know what a starfish looks like

Small fishes swimming, obviously.

After our time in the sandbar it was finally time to go home. So we bid goodbye to the beautiful people of Bilang-Bilangan Island and they were just all smiles. I think I heard one of the kids shouted "Next time bring fried chicken and spaghetti" but I'm not really sure.

Anywho, they dropped us in the port of Tubigon and we took some final pictures before boarding the boat going back to Cebu.

Our time in the island was short but it was definitely, as they say, one for the books. And that pretty much sums it up.

Thank you for making it to the end of this post I hope you enjoyed reading it.

And my name is @baby.magic & that's it for now. Jah bless!

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All photos belongs to me.