Shopping in Bohol (Part I)

I love shopping. But who doesn't anyway?

My most favorite is window shopping (at the department store or mall) and browse-shopping at my favorite on-line stores because I get to do shopping without spending. But when it comes to spend-shopping, I don't have other choices but to go to Plaza Marcela, BQ Mall and Island City Mall. It's very seldom that I go to Alturas Supermarket and Shoppers Mart anymore.

Plaza Marcela

Located in the heart of Cogon District, Tagbilaran City, Bohol, this store is not too big and not too small. One thing I like about this store is that it is very near my place of work and I can just drop by there anytime or during some quick errands on my way to home from work. The underground parking space is a big plus and it's best during noontime because my car won't get oven-hot and also very convenient during rainy days. The store carries most of the grocery items I usually need too. Fresh vegetables, fishes and meat products are also available. Sometimes I am lucky to get some fresh scallops and crabs.

The department store section of Plaza Marcela used to be my favorite before the presence of the other malls. The store used to carry GUESS? items, but now no more. I haven't been to the fashion section of the store for sometime now though. However, if one is not as choosey as I am, you can find good items there anyway.

The home furnishing section of the store carries the basic items. Since I don't have the need to buy things for my kitchen or house often, I seldom go there anymore. The last time I went there was last November 2006 to buy an oven toaster as a wedding gift for my cousin. Kitchen appliances are available there at reasonable prices though. But I think the place too dusty already. The place needs a thorough dusting job. I always sneeze when I am at that section.

The store manager is my college classmate and everytime I got concerns in the store, I just see him directly.

BQ Mall

The Bohol Quality is a store that I saw grew from a small store into a big store/mall that it is now. Before the existence of the other stores, BQ was the only place to go here in Bohol. Now it is a mall in itself. It is located along CPG avenue, in the heart of Tagbilaran City. It is very near the provincial capitol, cathedral and most of the commercial establishments in the city.

My most frequently visited section of the BQ Mall is of course the grocery section. There are still some items in the BQ supermarket that I don't find in other stores, such as : "Itlong na Maalat" (salted eggs). The salted eggs in BQ are the best I could get here in Bohol; re-sealable plastic bags; Eng Bee Tin hopias; sylvannas; Ormoc pineapples and some other few items.

I also have a BQ VIP Card and supervisors and clerks there are very friendly. The owners are also very friendly (I have know them since I was a little kid though). If I encounter minor problems or if I need assistance, they readily try their best to see to it that I got what I need.

The parking space of the mall is not that convenient for others though. It would require you to drive your car climbing up a steep passage way going to the car park and coming out from the car park. If one is not familiar with the area, most likely your car would get to kiss the sides of the passage way. Luckily I am already used to driving in and out of their carpark and I haven't had an instance that any of the cars I drove there got a scratch.

Opps, it's time for me to prepare lunch now. I will post the continuation of my blog (ICM, Alturas Supermarket, Shoppers Mart and others) about Shopping in Bohol in the next issue. Please keep posted.

See yah!