Back with a sunburnt back but new perspective in life – What are we living for?
Maybe for that 1-3 hrs that you spend with family after work, to see your creations take place and all, but without hope, honestly, what are we living for. Is it worth it enough to wake up daily, go through the grind and then repeat and rinse. So I gotta be happy, happy daily even at work, being fun with people at work, even nasty clients. Because in one day, I spend 8 hours at work, and about 1-3 hours of Me-time before I peace out for the next day. How precious those few hours are (if you get to leave work on time that is), and even more importantly, the 8 hours each day, is it spent happily or just annoyed at the whole world ? I must remind myself!
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These thoughts aside, here are my top 8 things I experienced in Cebu! I will be back Cebu, te gusta mucho!
Top things in Cebu
MOALBOAL DISTRICT
1) Dive in MoalBoal
Visibility is superb in Pescador Island, which means if you are lucky, the dive instructor may bring you all the way down to 70m deep. Yes you read right, 7-0! Corals are life, flowing in the water and everything is just so beautiful!
If you do not dive, even with snorkelling, the marine life that your eyes feast upon is amazing, I saw 2 big turtles gracefully gliding through the waters near the rock, many fishes near the life corals, as well as jelly fishes. Well, mini ones, depending on which season you go. April and May is the jelly fish season so the size was about a fist big, or bigger. That said, their tentacles are not long, and the sting, only like an ants bite where you brush it off. Unlike their deadly friend the boxing jellyfish with long, long tentacles, these ones are not deadly. Plus, they are pretty, with red pink lights in them while they bob transparently against the cobalt blue background.
2) Sardine run (Moalboal)
This time, the sardines were near the shore, so we were lucky. Millions and millions swam near us and it was fun to just disturb them by swimming really fast in between them and then hold back, and watch them split apart. Not only sardines, I saw box fishes, jelly fishes that were yellow and furry fighting with another nemo fish, how often do you see this!
3) Sunset in Moalboal
What can I say, imagine – cocktail in one hand, breeze on your face as you look out towards the sea, kids playing on the sand, flying their kites, and the sky. That sky – orange, pink, red, that changes as the night comes alive. Serenity, no tourist pack. The whole thing, all yours. Best of all, just choose any watering hole facing the sea, the gorgeous sunset is still the same. So tranquil, so beautiful.
4) Kawasan Falls (Close to Moalboal)
So i was quite sunburnt from all the sun water fun in Moalboal, and was quite tired and almost gave kawasan Falls a miss. Thank goodness I did not! Cos it is beautiful and water makes me happy. Its a little walk in, and in mid afternoon which makes even your boobs sweat (not pleasant), but at the end of the little walk in, the cool water against your skin is abs rewarding.
Dont just stop at the first fall, go up to the second one, lesser crowd, and the water is all yours. and your sunburnt skin.
Just a note : put your stuff on tables and you will have to pay 300 pesos I believe. So pay up, or skip. Depends on how you want to rough it out. I was fine to just leave my things on the ground, and just jump right in!
OSLOB DISCTRICT
5) Oslob Whale Watching
Most people come here to do whaleshark watching. i will say, Do it!
Some tips: Leave your bags at Sunrise View at 70 pesos, and also , if you are a foreigner, then purchase your tickets here at half the price (500 pesos instead of 1000 pesos – that is about 30 dollars!). Don’t put on your sunscreen as it poisons these babies of the sea.
With this ticket you spend 30 minutes in the sea near the shore, and once you jump in, soon the big gentle non-human eating creatures will come swimming by. I was worried at first, even swimming with dolphins which I experienced before scared the living daylights out of me because they look like sharks! – but these whale sharks, you can feel their gentleness, slowly gliding by you, one’s fins even tapped on my back and I thought it was my friend’s leg kicking me. The gentle vibrations that you feel, really -0% fear and 100% amazing-ness!
Plus, our kuyas (or boat boys) were awesome under water, taking charge and being our photographers for that awesome 30 mins.
6) Cortel or Cartel – Spanish Ruins
Well, I was really smashed by the time I got here, as we woke up at 2am to catch our bus from Cebu city to Oslob, and by 5pm, I was gone. I just laid here, on my backpack while my amigas went around snapping away. And passed out. It was beautiful, mountain in the distance, cathedral with a mass going on. Felt like I was in Melbourne, a perfect place to have a picnic, on a normal day where I was left with 20% energy. The skies were so clear and blue, would have loved to stay here for longer. & just stare at the mountains.
CEBU CITY (Or anywhere really)
7) FOOD. FOOD. FOOD. PARADISE
Oh how do I count the ways. I love the food here. The phillipino food i have back home is nothing like what Cebuwanos cook! AA Grill is fantastic yall, the Lechon kawali that I single handledly polished away (about 1 kg-sinful , yes, delightful? absolutely) was melt in your mouth, oh so good, I dont mind getting an extra love handle for this. It will forever be etched in my memory. I even brought 1 kg back home, packed nicely. Alas, it did not hold that well, and when I microwaved it which I should not have but instead, I should seek out my oven to crisp it, the lechon became tough. I almost bawled. Well, I teared in dismay at the delicious pork ruined in my hands. Am I not the microwave queen? well, somethings gotta be learnt the hard way. First world problems. haha. Gerry Grill’s – move aside.
That and the milk fish that was grilled with a sauce.
And how can I forget Halo Halo, and to think I only ate it once on this trip, shame ! The one at chow king was delicious! – Nice firm flan, fruits, and creamy goodness, when you think of it, its icecream, milk, crushed ice, flan, aloe bits, and other yummy gummy things. But the final mix just tastes so good. Can they open a chow king here already?!
And Jolli bean- the first thing we ate when we landed at 4am. Pigs we are, I know. So delicious here, so much more than their overseas-franchise cousins. The sphag, chix and all.
Oh and goldilocks breads, buns and ensaimaidas! And ado-bomb from this restaurant I can’t remember, but it was the bomb of all adobo dishes!
Did I mention that even the siowpau adobo at 7-11 is amazing. Plus they have those take away meals there, so yummy. and cheap. great for backpacking!
This halo halo is the bomb!
8) Malls
Get all your manicure pedicure, eyelash perm, whatever here! Massage , haircuts – Ayala mall or SM mall is your place to go!
Even eletronic items are cheaper here – head down to SM mall and enjoy the cool AC environment for an afternoon. Personally, I prefer SM mall because of the newer environment.
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Well, obviously there are more things to just the 8 top things above, but I did not have more than a week in this beautiful country, so Ima be back soon hopefully to Palawan and soak up the world again!
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Wild Heart, Play Free 