Cebu City is the oldest city and next to Metro Manila in terms of business and urbanization. There are now several direct flights from other parts of the world to Cebu, which serves as one’s easier access to the south. It is like the central region for the southern part of the Philippines. Technically, this was my second landing in Cebu. The first one was when we needed to take the ferry to Tagbilaran, Bohol from SM Cebu City in 2006 so that was all we saw and I think the mall was way smaller then. Wow, that’s exactly a decade ago!
Since we arrived around 9 AM, we thought of taking breakfast in the airport before facing the busy world of Cebu City and all we could find was Jollibee. Jollibee it is! Then we were also so glad to find a good-looking bus waiting just outside the door. It was very affordable at 25.00 PHP and bound to SM Cebu City.
The trip’s ultimate goal was to do fast-and-the-furious island hopping between the provinces’ picturesque islands (Cebu and Leyte). To prepare for this quite tiring journey, I bought vitamins for me and Dad to take (yeah, I should have started taking it a long time ago and not just during the trip). Anyway, we had to condition our mindsets that we can survive these almost-daily-3:30 AM call times. And yes, we did!
I checked for hotels in Agoda which should be near to the North Bus Terminal where we had to board the bus to travel to the north of Cebu to continue our island hopping. I found a hotel with a good rating and more than a thousand reviews, the Diplomat Hotel. However, even my Cebuano friends said the hotel is rather old and we were able to confirm it after staying there for 2 nights. As I have mentioned in my review, “since the hotel is considered old, the rooms seem not to have been properly maintained as the toilet is heavily stained, which then looked like it was not cleaned well. The sink showed signs that it was not cleaned on a regular basis, too.” Plus, the air-conditioning was not working well either due to its noisy nature.
We lacked sleep on our first day because me and Dad left our hometown, Baguio City, at 11:30 PM (4-5 hours to the airport + 1.5 hours flight). We checked-in to the hotel by noon and our minds were active but our bodies clearly screamed for sleep. Timber! A two-hour nap was the standard for a rest in between activities.
Around 3 PM, we headed for our late lunch and we cannot just miss to eat what Cebu is really known for, the lechon. I asked my friend Zilah which is the famous place for such and she recommended CnT Lechon, which was just a cross away from SM Cebu City. Well, maybe we went at the not-so-ideal time because the lechon was not crispy anymore. I would recommend for future diners to eat lechon during correct meal timings then maybe you will get the best servings.
For the rest of the afternoon, we just planned for a couple of the historical aspects of the city and then to experience the Sky Adventure at dusk (this is even more important for us).
| Date | Place | Preview |
|---|---|---|
| August 30, 2016 | Cebu City |  |
| August 31, 2016 | Danasan Eco Adventure Park |  |
| September 1, 2016 | Bantayan Island |  |
| September 2, 2016 | Malapascua Island |  |
| September 2, 2016 | Kalanggaman Island |  |
| September 3, 2016 | Leyte |  |
Places Visited
August 30, 2016
August 30, 2016
Basilica del Santo Niño
It would be funny (or perhaps unacceptable) to visit Cebu and not visit the oldest of the oldest. This is the oldest city so it was just appropriate for us to visit the places that make it the oldest city such as the Basilica del Santo Niño and Magellan’s Cross. Our hotel was not too far from this place but we came from Parkmall, which was a lot farther, since we booked our tickets there for our next day activity. A lot of peddlers in uniform surround the historical site but they were not annoying us. They just let us be. We just took a photo of the exterior and asked for directions to the famous cross, with my friend Mikee forgetting exactly what to ask “Where is the … what should I ask again?” Whaaat?
Wow! What an adventure you had!
The area you thought to be a beach shore may be the Cebu Port area. Just a walking distance from Magellan’s cross, you would find the Plaza Independencia which is located near Port San Pedro, which is also near the Malacanang de Sugbu.
The sticky rice wrapped in banana leaves is what we call “puso”, or the hanging rice, it’s quite common here in Cebu. 🙂
You are right! It sure looked like the Cebu Port Area. I see, so it is called puso. Thanks!