visit Cebu

[BrandPhilippines]

for those needing room accommodations in Cebu, please email & check us out thru http://www.cebuprovince.com

[HKman]

Plantation Bay, Shangri-La and Hilton are great hotels and if you want beach. If you want somewhere near the city you may book at Marriot.

 

Abaca is the ultimate in serenity, located beside Shangri-La. I find Hilton too "fake", trying to put in a beach in so small an area, and the food choices are so-so, although the Manny O private label was interesting. Shangri-La still provides the perfect mix for luxury, F&B, and a decent, albeit man made, beach.

[jerk811]

Try reading this blog guyz..very informative...

 

http://cebunightlifegalore.blogspot.com/

[jlx]

Abaca is the ultimate in serenity, located beside Shangri-La. I find Hilton too "fake", trying to put in a beach in so small an area, and the food choices are so-so, although the Manny O private label was interesting. Shangri-La still provides the perfect mix for luxury, F&B, and a decent, albeit man made, beach.

took the time to browse through it and i will admit that it's quite informative. i dont much of the flesh trade but i can certainly attest that at least some of it holds true.

 

still do take things with caution or a seed of doubt. remember this on this person's POV and different ppl have different expectations. As little as I know about the trade i do know some info are not quite accurate. it was mentioned that Peter Lim owns one of the bars. Actually he owns more than 1. Several infact. Whenever he's around you're sure to see more than a simple innocent dancing with their clothes on.

 

This is to each his own but let's do a short POV of Paseo to show a different side of things

Paseo has a big open space (no airconditioning) affordable food and cheap booze and some dancing if this is what you're looking for. It does not look attractive to me at all. In fact it reminds me of a warehouse similar to Duty Free in Angeles though this one with dim lights. or perhaps think of Dampa Libis it's a big space but with less opening. One of my college friends took a part time job there when paseo was still new. heard stories about the place so asked him about what's there and what's to go and i specifically remember him telling me adamantly not go and that it's not a safe place to be since riots/frat wars do happen quite commonly. one day my friend dragged me there and i ended up feeling restless. also saw a girl infront of me lose a bag as well as hanphones that were just on the table infront of her. first i saw it on the table then the next thing i knew i knew it's poof! didnt even notice who took it.

 

Night market. it's not even remotely cheap. in fact mahal cya: And limted stalls too. there's nothing much too buy. Yea there is RC Goldline but then RC does not really sell cheap phones. I know the family who ows RC but even with my discount I'm still usually better of buying phone elsewhere. Some shop in sm can actually sell that very same phone for a lower price.

 

 

should be enough to give you an idea on what i'm talking about......

[Richmond]

There is a small Japanese restaurant in front of Paseo it is opened only from 6pm to 2am daily their food are quite good but aren't cheap.

[schizo]

love this place.. sarap ng lechon kahit walang sauce.. :thumbsupsmiley:

[simpatiko]

Ill be visiting the place for the first time tomorrow night. Am a bit excited to see the other side of the country.

[sk3rmo]

love this place.. sarap ng lechon kahit walang sauce.. :thumbsupsmiley:

 

Yes, they don't serve it the way we have it here in Manila (Or Luzon for that matter!).

Its best with just vinegar and chopped garlic. Yummy =)

 

CNT Lechon and Edna Kang's are top favorites!!

Edited March 6, 2009 by sk3rmo

[dirt]

if you are a bit adventurous and have much time on hand.. you may try to go south of cebu and can even have a day tour at dumaguete...

 

there are a lot of places and specialties waiting for you and of course. the beach is also nice...

 

Carcar for their chicharon.

 

Sibonga for the up the hill monastery with the miraculous Virgin Mary.

 

Old Churches in all most all towns in south of cebu.. Boljoon, Oslob, Argao, etc...

 

Their are also water falls in the area.. just try to Kawasan falls...

 

And of course Sumilon Island.. it is an isolated island of the coast of cebu and dumaguete..it is a marine sanctuary so snorkeling and diving is its main attraction but the beach and the resort is also nice...it also has a sand bar depending on the tide and current.

[tashaseyes]

ano po pinakamalapit na beach sa fuente circle?

[jlx]

ano po pinakamalapit na beach sa fuente circle?

the port aka pier but of course you can't swim there. the nearest beach for swimming will be the ones in mactan. they're all lined up for you to choose from. so no need to mention names.

[kanski]

hi jlx! based on what i've read that you suggest, i've decided to just take a cab going around the city instead of getting a guide to bring us around once i and my family get here. now, can i ask you a favor and comment on my half-day tour plan?

 

starting at plantation bay after lunch, we plan to go to the lapu-lapu monument, cross the bridge to cebu city, proceed towards the cathedral to view the sto. niño, then go to the shrine of magellan's cross and have dinner probably at ayala mall.

 

question is, is this feasible for one whole afternoon? another question- did i miss out on a must-see tourist site/attraction?

 

hope you can help me out.

[benallos]

Cebu is a nice place o live. Well currently I live in Cebu City. This is a destination Hub in the Visayas.

[jlx]

hi jlx! based on what i've read that you suggest, i've decided to just take a cab going around the city instead of getting a guide to bring us around once i and my family get here. now, can i ask you a favor and comment on my half-day tour plan?

 

starting at plantation bay after lunch, we plan to go to the lapu-lapu monument, cross the bridge to cebu city, proceed towards the cathedral to view the sto. niño, then go to the shrine of magellan's cross and have dinner probably at ayala mall.

 

question is, is this feasible for one whole afternoon? another question- did i miss out on a must-see tourist site/attraction?

 

hope you can help me out.

yes it is feasible. very much so. i don't really know what you would consider a must see tourist attraction. what sort of things are you into to begin with? what i can say though is that those mentioned previously are the typical tourist attraction within cebu city and mactan. on another note the typical tour i give any of our visitors or family friends both filipino and chinese alike would be the sto niño church/magellans cross, fort san pedro, casa gorordo (if we go here then we usually drop by heritage monument) and taoist temple. in some cases if they're into temples i bring them to buddhist temples too. i usually don't bother with lapu-lapu monument as it is out of the way and not really much to see unless you're having lunch there or at least already in that area.

 

btw magellan's cross is at the back of sto niño church so that will just be an extra 10 mins on average. depending of course on how long it takes you to take the pictures.

 

dinner in ayala is okay.

[kanski]

hey thanks for the reply. forgot to mention that i was more into historical attractions moreso since i will be travelling with my grade school-aged kid. but really, i was open to anything you can suggest and see if i can work it out into the time that we have.

 

hope you don't mind further clarifications:

 

does the lapu-lapu monument mark the place where he slew magellan? sorry, have no idea.

 

what could be seen in or what is the significance of casa gorodo and the heritage monument?

 

and lastly, would you know if there are any showrooms of high end, cebu made furnitures ala cobonpue within the city boundaries? would love to look for a showcase piece to add to my home.

 

sorry if i appear to be taking too much advantage of you.

[jlx]

hey thanks for the reply. forgot to mention that i was more into historical attractions moreso since i will be travelling with my grade school-aged kid. but really, i was open to anything you can suggest and see if i can work it out into the time that we have.

 

hope you don't mind further clarifications:

 

does the lapu-lapu monument mark the place where he slew magellan? sorry, have no idea.

 

what could be seen in or what is the significance of casa gorodo and the heritage monument?

 

and lastly, would you know if there are any showrooms of high end, cebu made furnitures ala cobonpue within the city boundaries? would love to look for a showcase piece to add to my home.

 

sorry if i appear to be taking too much advantage of you.

 

this is a preview to casa gorordo and heritage monument

http://mycebuphotoblog.wordpress.com/2007/...orordo-finally/

there's more to it inside actually. if i remember correctly its 30 pesos for adult and 15 for students and that gives you a guided tour. your can see the things they used to use in the old times. even the wooden box type kubeta:P and there is also a small painting gallery that you can see.

 

as for the cobonpue furnitures i'm not familiar with that but i just went to ayala a few days ago if im not mistaken they are showing some of his furnitures there.

 

i'm not too sure about the lapu-lapu monument being erected in the exact place where magellan was killed. there has not been much mention of that over the years but then i guess it's sort of safe to assume that the ppl who erected the statue thought so:P and hate to burst your bubble but this is pretty much what you will see

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lapu_Lapu_shrine

kinda reminds me of rizal park with the statue of rizal. at the least in rizal park i was able to ride that double decker tour bus when i was 6 yrs old:P

[kanski]

this is a preview to casa gorordo and heritage monument

http://mycebuphotoblog.wordpress.com/2007/...orordo-finally/

there's more to it inside actually. if i remember correctly its 30 pesos for adult and 15 for students and that gives you a guided tour. your can see the things they used to use in the old times. even the wooden box type kubeta:P and there is also a small painting gallery that you can see.

 

as for the cobonpue furnitures i'm not familiar with that but i just went to ayala a few days ago if im not mistaken they are showing some of his furnitures there.

 

i'm not too sure about the lapu-lapu monument being erected in the exact place where magellan was killed. there has not been much mention of that over the years but then i guess it's sort of safe to assume that the ppl who erected the statue thought so and hate to burst your bubble but this is pretty much what you will see

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lapu_Lapu_shrine

kinda reminds me of rizal park with the statue of rizal. at the least in rizal park i was able to ride that double decker tour bus when i was 6 yrs old:P

 

 

ha,ha! i know what you mean. i also thought 'what the heck are we doing here?' when my parents actually brought me to the rizal monument in luneta and wouldn't allow me to run around the park after (even if it was still safe back in the 70's). but hey, this is like kanski's revenge, it's my turn to show my kids something historical with them reacting in disgust.

 

thanks again friend.

[jlx]

ha,ha! i know what you mean. i also thought 'what the heck are we doing here?' when my parents actually brought me to the rizal monument in luneta and wouldn't allow me to run around the park after (even if it was still safe back in the 70's). but hey, this is like kanski's revenge, it's my turn to show my kids something historical with them reacting in disgust.

 

thanks again friend.

hahaha. as a kid i didn't exactly think that. all i knew is i was having the time of my life being with my family as it is quite rare for us to be together all the time. dad travelled a lot for biz kc. nonetheless it was still an experience i relished. now that i think about it i should think it was a chore to my parents:P 3 kaya kami. tamad p naman ako maglakad so lagi nagpapakarga. hmmmm kaya siguro may kasama kaming yaya. LOL. i remember whenever they have me walking they have to hold on tight since i have the precondition to wander and get lost. even in cebu whenever we go out sa mall every weekend, almost every week i would have my parents paged 'coz i'd wander and get lost:D

 

dont forget to take lots of pictures though. i wish i have pictures of those times. i can only remember the pics from manila zoo and baguio none from the rizal park=(

Edited March 17, 2009 by jlx

[kanski]

oh i'll take a lot of pictures alright. i always do. travelling has always been what my family does. and of course, pictures and video are staples. otherwise, the kids won't remember the places we've been to. and i won't have momentos of my time with them.

 

will try to post some of them here if they are worthy enough.

 

btw, something tells me it's time for you to visit manila again. time to take some more photos.

[jlx]

oh i'll take a lot of pictures alright. i always do. travelling has always been what my family does. and of course, pictures and video are staples. otherwise, the kids won't remember the places we've been to. and i won't have momentos of my time with them.

 

will try to post some of them here if they are worthy enough.

 

btw, something tells me it's time for you to visit manila again. time to take some more photos.

lol it's not as bad as that sounds. these days i don't do much sightseeing. it's usually shopping galore whenever we go to manila. well at least for my fam whilst i hang out with friends. in my case i prefer resto hopping:P but you're right it's time i go. i plan to actually just haven't decided if it will be for a visit or otherwise. already have plans on leaving my job. within the next few months. i just havent made up my mind if i should pursue a career on my own or not. nonetheless i have to have a dialogue with my fam. nobody will take care of our house if i leave.

[kanski]

come to think of it, if i were not a manileño and i've been to manila, i don't think that there would be anything to attract me to visit manila again. tourist spots? if you've been there, there's no need to go back. shopping? aren't there similar items in your city? same goes for food.

 

but friends, that's always a good reason to come back again and again and again. that's if the grime, traffic and crime are not enough to keep you away.

 

btw, i'm getting a picture of your predicament, though vague. good luck with that.

 

hope everybody else doesn't mind us getting ot.

[jlx]

come to think of it, if i were not a manileño and i've been to manila, i don't think that there would be anything to attract me to visit manila again. tourist spots? if you've been there, there's no need to go back. shopping? aren't there similar items in your city? same goes for food.

 

but friends, that's always a good reason to come back again and again and again. that's if the grime, traffic and crime are not enough to keep you away.

 

btw, i'm getting a picture of your predicament, though vague. good luck with that.

 

hope everybody else doesn't mind us getting ot.

 

in that case let's give something that still sticks to the topic. there are some local restaurants that have really good food. shall we do this installment basis?

let's stick skyrise bldg in IT park for now

 

kuls kitchen - they have good food though i have noticed that most seemed to have cream in it. my personal fave would be their hot wings. i prefer the mildly hot because their hot HOT is real HOT! and i don't get to enjoy the taste anymore. their pumpkin soup is also good as well as their creamed ribs. their chicken with mango is not bad either. a few others are not bad either

 

el loco - mexican resto. i absolutely love their pescado rojo (steamed fish) i'm not exactly a fish person but i so love this. then their loco pollo (grilled chicken) is also quite good though it has the tendency to be a bit dry, don't forget to ask for the burrito wrapper, it's free. another favorite of mine here is their mexican pizza. loco ribs is ok. i'm not partial to their shrimp as i find the serving a bit too small compared to the rest. as for dessert i'm partial to their decadente (chocolate cake served w/ caramel) i find this quite good and one of my faves despite my aversion to the sweetness of caramel. tres leches is also quite good.

 

if i'm going in this direction perhaps this should get renamed to dining places. hahahah:P

 

manila has it's charm. well to a degree. perhaps having a crush there helps too. LOL. have to say i hate the traffic. in my stay there for 5 months about 5 yrs back it was a semi tough adjustment. my life revolved around cabs. my biggest budget each month was cab and food. initially i wanted to come home right away but later i learned to like it that a part of me didn't want to come back. still love the comfort that cebu has to offer.

 

you're right friends is something to keep on going back for. shopping is better there. most things found there are already in cebu yet there still are things that cannot be found here. heck even shops like giordano, the travel club among others have stocks that don't get sold here. exclusive in manila only. or if they do it will be about a yr later if they ever reach here. i know this because i had plans on buying some of the things when i get back here only to find out they're not here and ended up having them shipped instead or something. there are more food places there too that aren't in cebu. but then i like the fact that it's cheaper here. still it's nice to splurge from time to time.

 

last of all my family is luzon already not exactly manila but just a few hours away. im usually the only one left at home with the maid which is quite lonely unless my bro is in between trips then he stays here. in which case it is the major lure fot me to go there. to be nearer to them.

[kanski]

ah, so the plot thickens. there is a crush involved. cool. he,he..

 

but seriously, it's hard to be alone and away from your family. this just makes your decision of choosing to stay there in cebu or to move to luzon much tougher.

 

regarding the shopping and eating choices, i'd like to make a simple analogy. there was a time (on or before the late 80's) when travelling abroad for shopping, most notably to hong kong, was exciting. understandably so, since there weren't many shopping options manila had to offer back then (does anybody remember buying rl/polo merchandise from cinderellas, collectione new york (?)). now, going back to hk to shop doesn't tickle me much primarily because most of what you can buy there can be bought here. i just thought that the same situation holds true for manila and cebu.

 

on topic: do you think i made a good decision in picking plantation over shang or that pink hotel (is it a hilton?)? must admit, i got carried away by the pics of a lagoon inside the resort.

[jlx]

i'm sorry i won't know for sure because i've never been to plantation myself though i've heard many stories about the place being great. all i know for a fact is that shang is way better than hilton (the pink twin towers). the other is a condo btw:P

 

the crush thing is nothing. LOL. think of it as a security blanket. simply something i don't want to let go because i'm scared to see what's out there. or perhaps it's just out of habit. i don't know. all i know is i should stay away for my health and sanity when it comes to that :upside: family does make things harder for me to decide. my own family has got some other plans too themselves and with that decision i'm not quite sure what will happen because with that decision someone will be needed to take care of things here in cebu and manila. how we'll take care of things will be the problem. if i stay in the path i'm on now i won't be able to just leave things in a snap of a finger.

 

most of the things that are in manila are yes already in cebu but still there are things that aren't and think of it as a convenient excuse. business trip as well as shopping/vacation trip all in one. its just that there really are some things i can't find here and in more than one occasion i've had to do a bank transfer to a friend to have these items shipped to cebu. in one instance this item may be available here but was out of stock. was out of stock in manila itself so had to pay extra around Php500 to have the item transported from some neighboring branch to manila then from there have it shipped to cebu yet it still came out cheaper (around Php300) than if i bought it here. if everything is like that then might as well spend the savings on plane tix.

[kanski]

ngek, your situation looks more complicated than i initially thought it was. all i probably should add is good luck with that.

 

thanks for sharing all these things with me. just want you to know that i truly appreciate it. and i hope i could return the favor someday. maybe if you've got an eye problem that you'd like to consult perhaps. or just about anything that i can help you with, just let me know. thanks ulit.