Cebu – Bohol Series: 1. Cebu City Tour

Daghang Salamat Cebu!

A week of vacation leave was finally over, and it was so fast. I really thought that our 5-day Cebu-Bohol trip would be long but because of our tight itinerary, we were always on the go and feels like we need more time to stay. It was so “Bitin”.

I originally started organizing this trip with my friend Arjie (I miss you much) however she is already in Malaysia. So it was four of us, Hal, Kaye, Jeck and I who were successful to pack our bags and get ready for our full packed trip.

Kaye, Jeck, Myself and Hal.

It was Sunday morning, my Hal and I had arrived Cebu at around 9:00 am. We had an earlier flight and need to wait for Kaye and Jeck so we decided to go straight to Pier to book for Ferry tickets for us. We chose Oceanjet open air ride for cheapest fare. Early bird catches promo tickets for 420php only. It’s only 400php base on my research so I guess they increase fare already. Obviously, hehe! Just book 2 days in advance and you’ll pay lesser. I’ll show you my summary of expenses and our itinerary. But please read first to see how it goes. :p

We went straight to Sampaguita Suites - Plaza Garcia and booked for Barkada room that’s good for 4 pax. We asked Kaye and Jeck to go straight to the hotel to drop their things so we can take our lunch and begin our DIY Cebu City tour.

Our not yet messy room.

I do recommend this place because it’s in the center of the city. Easy access on grocery stores, shops, carinderia and other shops you want to see. However there's no complimentary water in the suites.

And because we wanted to save, a good research helped us a lot in doing our own city tour. And since we are just near the Magellan’s Cross, we started our tour from there.

Inside above is the painting that illustrates the event happened in the location.

Many vendors and ladies in skirts that will ask you to buy candles
and they will dance and pray for you.

I thought the Magellan' Cross is big. I quite expect a bit but then I am still so glad that those places that I've learned only from History books and in pictures are already in front of me. I felt such a kid. :)

Just look around (in front and at the back) and you will see the Basilica Del Santo Niño and the Municipal Hall.

Cebu City Hall

Basilica Del Santo Niño

In front of the Museum, no picture taking allowed inside.

The Basilica was founded by Fr. Andres de Urdaneta on April 28, 1565. You can also check the Museum inside that also showcases the Christianity of Cebu City. Of course, different images of Sto Niño will be found inside.

We took a cab to bring us to Casa Gorordo Museum, nothing much to see here (well this is my opinion because I already saw this antique furniture’s in other old houses museums and I expect something else.) Hmmnn, maybe things that I haven’t seen yet or a detailed tour guide to explain the items inside in details could help to make it more worth it. Or maybe because it's just the four of us and no much tourist exploring the place that’s why they just let us roam around the place. J

Tired and sweating but still wanted a good pose.

Then we walk and just asked locals where are the Yap Sandiego Ancestral House and the Heritage Monument.

The Ancestral house was privately owned by Yap and Florido which is their ancestors and was passed on from generations to generations until Val Sandiego took in charge of maintaining the house and vows to protect the ancestral house. The place is much known to art and antique collectors. We even saw some Chinese videographers shooting at the back of the house during the visit. The caretaker told that the present owners even sleep on the house at least once a week.

We even had a chance to take a picture of the owner of the Ancestral House.

And then we saw the Cebu Heritage Monument just a few walks away.

Then we walked again towards the Cebu Cathedral and the Cathedral Museum that also illustrates how Catholicism emerges in Cebu.

The Cathedral was the seat of the Archdiocese of Cebu. It was established as archdiocese in 1934. Only the bell tower and the baroque façade are the fragments of the old cathedral that was destroyed from World War II. And see, I did my research on this one. ;p

By the way, the Museum will show you the collections of old Cathedral items and photographs.

And since we still had much time to go to Taoist Temple, we took a jeepney and habal-habal going to the location. Don’t forget to ask locals on how to go there so you can easily find your way. It’s hot and we are all literally sweating up hard but we continue our adventure.

We spend longer time in the temple, a full rest and then we went straight to SM Cebu for our dinner. We chose to eat at Marina Lechon as recommended. And yes, it’s affordable and a good pick for dinner. We also didn't hesitate to eat in some local "carinderias" to save more during our stay.

The rice wrapped in banana leaves is called puso.

We thought that we need to buy "pasalubong" since we might not have enough time tomorrow, we are lucky because locals told that Taboan Market is still open even past 8pm. Don’t forget to check other dried fish stores to compare prices and quality. We manage to get a good deal in where to buy Danggit and Dried Mangoes. Price ranges from 550 per kilo of Danggit up (for other dried fish and squids) and 3 for 100 for the dried mangoes.

I forgot to take pictures in the market so here are some of our pasalubongs instead.

And that ends our DIY city tour.

What I’ve learned from our Cebu City Tour:

There’s not much difference in Manila and Cebu City, each street resembles some famous streets in Manila, I enjoyed the sites actually. I get to compare and I guess one visible comparison is it’s cleaner in Cebu because there are more trees also in the area.

They warned us to be extra careful for the taxi drivers and some locals wherein they don’t like some Tagalog speakers in their city. Some negative feedbacks that I’m glad I don’t believe much were that they are rude to those who can’t speak or understand Visaya. They said that since Tagalog speakers often make fool of their language and tone, they also do the same in their territory. I really don’t believe that. If you are nice and know how to show respect to your fellow Filipinos, though you are born and raised in different locations and dialect, you can communicate well and build good relationship to them. We didn’t experience any bad treatment for any locals in Cebu; all were kind to help us out. It’s true to be extra careful in taking a cab there which is same here in Manila. There are really “pasaways” that could take advantage especially for newbies. Again, always be alert but be kind to ask.

There are also lots of beggars and homeless in the City, I kept on asking hal if it’s the same in Manila such as Quiapo or Recto since I don’t go there often. He said yes, it’s the same but it’s just that there are lots of tourists (especially foreigners) that they all around the area and can beg more. We should do something especially our government about it.

And also this view is visible in every corner of the street. Make ready of your 1 peso coin if you are thirsty and it's easy.

Ignore the Siopao stand besides it and I want to show you their ATM – “Automatic Tubig Machine.” It’s so cool that it’s a hit in every corner of the streets. Clever business idea right? ;p

Wondering how much did we spent for our day 1? Here’s the summary: