Wanderlusts in Cebu, Philippines

(A very, very late post. Wrote this about 2 months ago. I’m not one to have patience to take high profile, artsy partsy photos, or even just photos for that matter, so all photos were stolen from my travel companions. Hihi.)

Ah the wonders of this country. I have been to several cities in the Philippines but I feel like I’m only starting to really discover it. Some cities are worth visiting twice. Let’s start with the Queen City of the South, Cebu!

        

Although most would say travel to Cebu preferably on the third weekend of January for some fair share of the famed Sinulog Festival, I’d like to think Cebu is a well known travel destination to locals and foreigners alike that there may be no better time to go than now. Well, except maybe for typhoon season…but you get it.

So here’s the scenario. 3 days and 2 nights in one of the most vibrant cities in this country of 7,107 islands. Really, since our flight lands at 6pm, it’s more like just 2 days 2 nights and a few hours. So what to do with a place so enticing and exciting with such limited amount of time. Well, with a carefully planned out and seemingly flexible itinerary, I lived the best out of town weekend I’ve had to date.

First Stop: FOOD 

As the great Julia Child once said, “People who love to eat are the best people.” The biggest reason why we were so excited about this trip was because of our immense palate satisfying, food coma inducing, project busog extravaganza! And where else to go first but Larsian Barbeque. This place was the haven of grilled Filipino food. Pork BBQ, Chicken and Pork isaw or intestine, Liver, Gizzard, Chicken feet fondly known as Adidas, seafood like clams and shrimp, bangus, and my personal favorite, chorize de Cebu and more. My tummy’s rumbling just writing about it. We were almost teary eyed (not from the smoke, of course… okay, maybe a little bit from the smoke) upon entering the place. What most impressed me, aside from the fact that it was filled with the smiliest of people, was the system they seemed to have mastered. Tables were color coded as some kind of legend to the stall owners. This tactic made it easy for them to serve our meal without mix ups even though we were seated about a good 30 feet from our chosen stall and about 15 feet from the communal grill. There were guys who gave us plates and plastic gloves (because why use utensils, right? ) as well as condiments and glasses for a 1.5 liter of Mountain Dew we got for free!!! And then there were ladies who served us a basket of the famous puso (ketupat in other Asian countries) or rice wrapped in banana or young coconut leaves and steamed to perfection. Each basket consists of 20 of these babies and you’re free to divulge as many as you would like for P4.00 per piece. Heavenly. And the best part? It cost me only P140 (per person for a group of 3 EXAGGERATEDLY FAMISHED NOT EXACTLY PETITE GIRLS) for the hearty meal. Instant food coma at the best price! I could go on and on but there’s more of Cebu to explore. We haven’t even discussed Lechon! Oh goodness…

        

Okay, okay, so next stop Cebu Nightlife. We all know that this city’s most alive during the Sinulog Festival but who ever said Cebu’s party scene stopped rocking any other time of the year, eh? I tell you, I have been in and around Metro Manila partying for a good part my college years but partying in Cebu? By far, the best rager I’ve ever been to. I can’t explain as much, but people are more outrageous I guess, even wilder, if you may, but in a good sense. They’re nicer and pleasant to the eyes, too, which never hurt anybody. 🙂 Kind of a refreshing change from the somewhat judgy socialites and wannabe socialites we have here in Metro Manila. Try going to the IT Park, City Time Square, or Crossroads and be acquainted to the friendliest, most fun people I have ever met. The cost? P200 to P300 entrance fees plus liquor for about P100 to P200 cheaper than in Manila. But since we are very resourceful young ladies, we got ourselves in LIV Superclub’s VIP guestlist and partied away till the morning for FREE. If you know anyone who’s Cebuano and maybe tight with some of the club owners around then maximize your opportunity and party at a good price!

       

Day 1 err 2?

So originally we had planned a three hour bus ride to the town of Oslob to swim with some sick (figuratively of course, you idiot) whale sharks. Well after the night we had, no one was going to catch a three hour bus ride to anywhere. So instead we stayed in the city to take the ultimate historical and cultural experience. And since we decided to head out at the same time as oh, you know, lunch time, we set on in search of what Anthony Bourdain called the best pig ever, Cebu Lechon! There are 2 famous places to get Cebu Lechon, CnT and Zubuchon. On that mighty Saturday noon, we rode a cab to CnT in Ayala Center (because the one in Guadalupe ran out of Lechon!) and had indeed the best pig ever! I swear I don’t even eat Lechon here in Manila but I LOVED CEBU LECHON. Amazing. A kilo of lechon cost about P500 but would serve a company of 8, depending on how much of an animal you all are.

After another mind blowing meal, we headed to Basilica Sto. Nino which was the endpoint for the famous Sinulog Festival. The rustic structure and breathtaking architecture of old Catholic churches always get me and the well-kept, not to mention enormous Sto. Nino Church was no exception. It was home to Magellan’s Cross. Around the church and the cross was the magnificent Cebuano culture. The place was after all, located in Downtown Cebu, one of the busiest areas in the city.

                                            

A few blocks from the Church plaza was Plaza Independencia and Fort San Pedro. It was built as a military defense structure during the Spanish occupation and served as an army camp in World War II. Fort San Pedro today is home to antique structures, hand made crafts, and murals depicting historical events, most especially, how Ferdinand Magellan first discovered the Philippines and how he battled his way in.

    

      

Next on our city tour was the well talked about Crown Regency for a bit of the extreme. Crown regency is Cebu highest building with 40 floors.The structure offers heart pounding activities such as the Edge Coaster, Zipline, and Skywalk for P450 each. We opted for the Skywalk and I being dead afraid of heights slowly suffered the most excruciating 15 minutes of my life! The charming and wittingly comedic Cebuano guides made the time worth the anxiety. Thanks to their earthquake jokes and pick up lines in an effort to keep the mood light, I could have fallen off the edge of the building with a huge grin on my face. They were also very insistent in trying to overcome my fear that I feel like I almost did. But I am never doing that again! :))

    

The final stop in our crazed city adventure was a place called the Topps.  It’s a picnic site overlooking the entire city. It was anything but ordinary. This time we actually shed tears at the glorious sight. The stars, the city lights, the perfect weather was apt enough to give off the most romantic vibe. Entrance fee is P100 and food stalls are availabe onsite but if you’d like a nicer dinner overlooking the city, there’s a small bed and breakfast on the way down called Delice. Entrees range from about P300 to P600 a pop but very tasty and the view is surreal.  I suggest you rent a car or hire a cab driver for the night because this place is literally on a mountain and it would be impossible to go back and forth without a ride. If you’re more adventurous, you can try the habal habal or motor cycle, but brace yourself for a bumpy ride. Oh and maybe bring a sweater or jacket, it was about 14C when were up there, perfect for cuddling!

           

Day 3

Our last day in Cebu started early at 3am. We had initially planned to take the bus to Oslob but opted to hire a cab instead. The ride was about 2 and a half to 3 hours long, and though we only had a few hours left on the island, we weren’t going to pass up this chance. We arrived at the beach around 6am and booked a bangka for P500 per person (P1000 for foreigners). I’ve gone swimming with these whale sharks before in Donsol, Bicol which was why I thought this time was no different and just as exciting. WRONG. In Donsol, we rode the boat for about 30 minutes before even hints of the sharks were in sight, and once there, we hurriedly jumped off board to swim 30 feet to where the shark actually was before diving down. It was all in haste and quite frankly, a bit more heart stopping since the sharks there were bigger and the waters deeper. In Oslob, the best part was that the water was clear as the sky and you can see them very well. We rode the boat only for like 2 minutes and the sharks were all there. (Most say it’s because the fishermen have cultured them by feeding them constantly so they just never leave and never go any further down the sea. Of course, the fishermen say otherwise. It’s a you say potato, I say tomato kind of thing going on). The boat was also far smaller than in Donsol that the sharks could easily trample over it, not that they ever did, these gentle freaks of nature. So when we jumped off the tiny boat, the fish was right there in front of our eyes I almost climbed back up the boat in surprise. It was awesome mostly because I loved animals and nature but the thing was like right there and I just didn’t know whether I should swim to it or away from it. Like you had no way out, they were everywhere! It’s funny once you think about it really. ha. haha.

  

By the time we got back to the city it was noon, and once again time to feast on some lechon. This time we tried out Zubuchon in Mango Square. We had high hopes considering this was what Anthony Bourdain actually described as the best pig ever in No Reservations. I am very pleased to say, I disagree, Mr. Bourdain. This pig was a bit too spiced and smoked for my liking, but perfectly fit his western palate. CnT’s was much more filled with native flavors and natural fatty oil of the pig that my Filipino taste tend towards it more. Also, Zubuchon seemed highly commercialized, kind of like a fast food serving a city’s staple dish as opposed to CnT’s homey vibe, with their dishes being served in hot and steamy karinderya type places you just know is so local. Meals in Zubuchon were priced for as low as P99 to P150 a pop but a kilo of lechon was about P200 more expensive than CnT’s. I didn’t really take any pictures since I was somewhat disappointed with it but maybe I should have for comparative purposes. Oh well, you’re welcome to try both and either agree or disagree. 🙂

The final stop to our Discover Cebu all time weekend was the Tabo-an market. I loved it!! I love markets and shopping for food to cook! And this place was just perfect. It is the go to place for Cebu’s trademark dried fish and seafood, as well as native sweets like dried mangoes, shamrock, otap, and other sweets we’d usually bring home as pasablubong. It was also home to my all time fave, the chorizo de Cebu or more commonly known as Cebu Longganisa. Better get a good shower after hanging around Tabo-an because believe it or not the smell of dried fish sticks to EVERYTHING. Hair, clothes, even skin. We smelled like dried fish for hours it was embarrasing! The cost of 1/4 pound of danggit was about P140 and about P100 for longganisa per kilo. 1/4 pounds of danggit was already a bagful so it’s not really as pricey as it seems. My favorite part of this experience was once again the beautiful faces of the friendliest people I have ever met – the Cebuanos. With a huge market selling the exact same stuff at almost the same prices, how do you decide where to buy your goods? Easy. Let the Cebuanos charm their way there and you’ll see. Again, I reiterate, I’m not one for the shots. I should have taken photos with our hilarious vendors. If you ever get the chance to visit Tabo-an, look for the stall in the dead center of it all, if that helps anything.

Alas, the time came where we had run out of places to go with so little time and money to aid at that, we spent our remaining hours trying to leech off WiFi from a nearby Ayala Mall and walking around it pretending like locals, because I swear, I wanted to be one of them. And though I know, there are a ton more places to see like the extravagant Kawasan Falls, the beaches of lavish Mactan, MoalBoal, Bantayan Island and so much more and food to taste like Sutukil and Casa Verde, it was time for me to part ways with Cebu yet another time. Surely, this trip gave me more reason to go back and again. If I haven’t already stressed it enough, the best part of the trip was the people of Cebu. From the cab drivers, street vendors, fishermen, to the ones who served our food or those we just asked for trip advice in random, they were the cheeriest most welcoming people I have met. Immersing myself in the culture is for me the reason why we should travel, and that I definitely did! And not long from now, I would be coming back to Cebu to discover more.

Daghang Salamat, Cebu! Cheers!!!

Sources:

http://hangingrice.com/2014/08/5-most-happening-places-in-cebu/

https://www.onecebu.com/food/articles/puso-hanging-rice.html

http://langyaw.com/2009/09/08/puso-cebus-heart-of-rice/

http://www.choosephilippines.com/do/nightlife/460/exclusive-exciting-cebu-nightlife/