Tuesday, October 30, 2007

Cebu - A Fusion of Everything






Plantation Bay, Mactan, Cebu


How could I best describe my Cebu trip? Traffic. Educational. Historical. Gastronomically satisfying. Relaxing. In my three day stay there, I have visited three cities - Cebu City, Mandaue City and Lapu-Lapu City. I have shared to you interesting places in my previous posts and now it is time to wrap things up.

Cebu is truly an amazing City. It is called Queen City of the South because it offers almost everything a place could offer. It is truly a fusion of everything - of cultures, of modern and old, of people and interests.

The downside however is the traffic. As in any modern City, traffic is really heavy in Cebu. It took us around two hours from the Mactan Airport to our hotel in Cebu. And a city tour of almost 4 hours took us nearly 6 hours to finish. But then again, you just have to make the most of the traffic situation and be amazed of the landscapes and progress of the City.

The three cities that I have visited offers something different. Cebu City is famous for its historical places such as Magellan's Cross, Heritage of Cebu, Basilica Minore del Santo Niño, Fort San Pedro and Taoist temple. Mandaue City, on the other hand, is famous for making handcrafted guitars, fashion accessories and furnitures. Lapu-lapu City is well known because of Mactan Island and of course the Lapu-lapu monument.

Connecting Mandaue City from Lapu-lapu City are the Multi-Million Marcelo Fernan Bridge (shown below) and the older Cebu-Mactan Bridge.



A Cebu tourist will have plenty of things to do here. With its highly urbanized metropolitan atmosphere in the City proper and a tropical, relaxing ambiance in the beach fronts - Cebu truly is a tourists delight. As a sample of mixed views, you just cant help but relax at the sight of the beautiful man-made beach and pools at the Plantation Bay on the three photos above and yet be mesmerized by the ingenuity in the photo of a building in Regency Crown Suites where there is an upside down car in its facade.

And don't let me get started on the food. Cebu is famous for its "Su To Kil". It means Sugba, Tuwa and Kilawin. (Inihaw, Tinola and Sinukaan in Tagalog). We had a dinner at one of the famous Su To Kil Restaurants in Lapu-lapu City (No Problem Restaurant) where you can order your fresh sea-foods and they will cook it the way you like them to be cooked. Ang Sarap.

What else? Of course the pasalubong. Cebu is famous for its danggit and pusit that can be bought in its local market and even at the airport. They are packed in vacuum sealed plastics so that the arid smell would not fill the air. The of course there are the world famous dried mangoes and native biscuits and other delicacies.

So there. The urban cities of Cebu. I highly recommend the place but when I do get back, I'll try and visit the other parts of Cebu such as the Moalboal, Bantayan and Badian.

37 comments:

  1. Aren't the delicacies a bit pricey for tourists? :)

    I'd love some dried mangoes. Danggit - okay na rin, dipped in vinegar with sili, plus sinangag, sunny side up egg and coffee.. yum!

    So where's your next destination then? :)

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  2. @ Rhodora - I'll be in Siquijor. Perfect for the halloween.

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  3. Glad you enjoyed Cebu. It really is a photographer's delight.

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  4. Ang ganda ng second pic. Sana makapunta ko ng Cebu.

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  5. ah.. i remmber cebu..grbe.. bagets pa ko nun.. hay.. i mis d mango.. shamrk at ofcors daing! did u save some for me?! haha

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  6. Talagang inuna pa talaga ang traffic ha. Hehe. At least you were able to tour the city. Ganda nung footbridge to the island sa Plantation Bay.

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  7. Kumusta naman ang libot ng libot. May trabaho ka pa ba? Puro ka travel ah.

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  8. @ ray patrick - thank you, Cebu is really awesome for photographers, too bad i ain't one of them but i am sure ferdz will have a great time there.

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  9. @ atribida - punta ka na, maganda talaga dun. thnx for dropping by.

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  10. @ mrs j - actually ang dami pa samin danggit at pusit, gusto mo padalhan kita?

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  11. @ ferdz - parang manila na rin kasi sa traffic pero enjoy pa rin naman ako.

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  12. @ r o - bumabawi lang sa libot kasi tagal ko din di nagtravel because of work and studies di ba? anyways, may trabaho pa naman kahit paano. thanx for dropping by.

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  13. Lawstude,

    Here is a funny story. Before boarding our flight back to Manila, we pass by the local market there in Cebu to buy danggit. We were in the market for almost an hour because they have to pack our danggit. When we reach the airport, some kids there cover their noses when we pass by. It seems that the smell of danggit got stuck on our clothes. I never felt so humiliated.

    Lesson learned? Do your shopping way ahead of your flight so you have enough time to take a bath and refresh.

    Have a nice day.

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  14. Charming pics, feels like dipping in there. Hope I can go ther someday. ;-)

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  15. oooh, you're one heck-of-a well-traveled lawyer! you're able to visit these wonderful places even in your present job?

    that was amazing!

    oooh cebu. once went there (almost a decade ago) but i was never really able to explore the place (aside from where we stayed, plantation bay). my dad's in a business trip and yours truly was the freeloader. i still was able to enjoy the sights though. and cebu is just beautiful... =)
    thanks for the visit lawstude. really appreciate you dropping by.

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  16. I enjoy this one. The second pic is so picturesque while the last pic with the car on the wall is funny. Have a nice day and happy halloween.

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  17. @ fanny -i could only imagine your horrors hehehe. But in some other cultures, that smell is aphrodisiac. (wait GP pala blog na to)

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  18. @ oscar - thanx for dropping by, like what i have told others. GO.

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  19. @ ruff nurse - thanx for the visit too. i tried my best mixing travel with work. have a nice day too.

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  20. @ carol - i am glad you enjoyed it. happy halloween too.

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  21. @ rhodora - you need to haggle a bit and buy the items at source. Danggit and pusit can be bought per kilo at Taboan Market and you can ask for it to be repacked and vacuum-sealed. Pusit is 500 per kilo while danggit is 350 per kilo. As for delicacies, Shamrock is the best place to go there.

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  22. I don not like Cebu. It was there where Ferdinand Magellan first landed and converted the first Filipinos to Christianity – the dominant religion of the Philippines. Unfortunately, he was murdered 20 days later on this island. What does that say of Cebu?

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  23. pasyal ka pla ng pasyal?? paano mo napagsasabay studies, lablyp at pasyal? hmm.. curious lng kuya.. hehe!

    salamat sa bisita..

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  24. Plantation Bay?! The day rate is exorbitant! hehe

    And oh, they totally ruined it with the slide.

    Benj
    http://atheista.net

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  25. @ anonymous - you don't like Cebu???. How 'bout Batanes, crime rate there is 0%. Thanx for visiting.

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  26. @ krisjasper - i bet u do miss danggit and also balut and bagoong and adobo and butung pakwan and everythng Filipino. Thanx for ropping by.

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  27. @ panyero aryo - glad u like it, nag-iimprove na ba shots ko?

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  28. @ miss kurdapya - sasabihin ko sana time management pero naisip ko wala naman pala ko lablayp at di na rin naman ako nag-aaral, so talagang pasyal lang ako ng pasyal. hehehe.

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  29. @ lateralus - korek ka jan, dollars ang rate nila, at pag nag-stay ka for a day, equivalent to almost P2000 rate nila. thanx for dropping by.

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  30. Lawstude....thanks for visiting my blog...the pictures that you posted in your blog reminds me of my glorious days in Cebu..however,plantation wasn't existed then while I was still in Cebu last 1990's....I miss Cebu so much and hoping to visit it soon..
    pls try to visit: www.mysiquijor.com this is the website that brings you to Siquijor island..

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  31. Ang ganda ng Pilipinas lalo na ang Cebu. Magaganda pa ang mga babae sa Cebu. May otap pa ba?

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  32. hayy... nainggit na naman ako. kelan kaya ako makakatapak sa lupain ng Cebu? :(

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  33. @ aajao - salamat sa pagbisita.

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  34. i will never forget lapu-lapu city, cebu. this is the place where our school was first recognized as one of the best in a national competition. that was in feb 2003 during the National Schools Press Conference (NSPC)

    there is such thing as sudden embrace of heaven, and in this place i first experienced that great moment.

    great shots of the plantation bay. one of my dreams is to visit that awesome place again.

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  35. Try also visiting Malapascua and Camotes Island :)

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