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Cebu is a very beautiful
part of the Philippines. It has a very diverse landscape.
These first few pictures are from the domestic airport and also a few
pictures of the surrounding area in Cebu. Actually Cebu city is
surrounded by an ocean with islands on one side......Mountains to hike on
another side.....and just on the outskirts of the city at the foothills of
these mountains were many places to go river hiking as well. As an
outdoor enthusiast I am not the type to spend my entire vacation in a city
cooped up in a hotel. From Downtown Cebu most of the locations I
visited were no more than an hours travel in any direction. One of the
main concerns most persons have about the Philippines is the presence of
the local militia group called the NPA. I tried my best to ask
around the area and talk to some of the locals as to if there were any NPA
in the area. Currently as of January 2003 there are only a few NPA
in Cebu. I found most of the locals to be very hospitable and always
eager to help me with information regarding where I wanted to go and as to
the safety of the area. I spent 4 months hiking around Cebu and only
found two areas that I was concerned about that I did stay away
from...these were Carmen to the north....and the mountains between Osmena
Peak and Badian to the South. Besides those two areas I never had
any trouble and I made a lot of friends during my travels. |
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These next few pictures above are from
Cebu city itself. This is a picture of Ayala Shopping Center.
One of the largest shopping centers in Cebu. There are also Sm
shopping center and Gaisano, and Robinsons. To be honest......for a
country as poor as the Philippines.....they have more shopping centers
than you would think. I took these pictures from my window in the Marriott
hotel....it was a nice place and cost about $40-$100 per night. The
3rd picture is of the Waterfont hotel ($50-$100 per night) which also
hosts Casino Filipino for gambling and H2O Dance Club which is very similar
to local dance clubs in the u.s. that play dance music featuring a live
D.J. In Ayala the was also Retzkys Club which normally features
local live bands. Pictures 7-8 are of my favorites eateries.....Chow
king was always good to eat and #8 is from the Ice Castle
restaurant....this is a local Filipino dessert called Halo-Halo.
Very Delicious to eat especially on those hot days. |
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Transportation in the Philippines is an
adventure in itself. If you just want to stick to the basics and use
a taxi everywhere you can....it will be expensive in the long run but do
able. If you are going to be in the Philippines for any length of
time then it is best if you learn how to get around with the locals.
As you can see in the pictures above you can get around by Bus....
jeepneye.... Tricycle.... Motorcycle or even boat if you have to travel
between islands. If you are going to travel long distances to another city
they have buses and depending on your destination it would cost anywhere
from .50 cents - $1 (50-100 pesos). If you don't catch a bus at or
near it's beginning terminal
then expect it to be very crowded which means you may have to stand up in
the aisle or even as I have done.....stand up in the doorway.....half in
half out of the bus....Hang On!!! Locally.....to get around the city
or from small town to small town...there are Tricycles which they
pedal...Also Motorized tricycles and Jeepneyes and smaller Multicab
Jeepneyes. These will stop along the road and pick you up for about
.20 cents per person (5-10 pesos) . These are the most common and
easiest form of local transportation. and last but not least......if
you have to travel to any province or town in the mountains you have
mostly two modes of transportation....you can hitchhike on the back of a
coconut or mango truck ( I actually did that a few times ) these
trucks drive through the mountains picking up fruit from the locals and
selling it in the market. Or choice number two is the most common
Motorcycle.....which is locally called a Habal-Habal. Habal-Habals
were costing anywhere form 25 pesos - 50 pesos per person. The roads
going into the mountains are not very well maintained so motorcycle is
mostly the only way to get there. As you can see by the
pictures.....they carry everything with them.....a goat on a motorcycle or
even chickens in the jeepneyes....I have seen it all. |
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Cebu is known for having some beautiful
beach resorts as well. Most of your better resorts are going to be
on Mactan (Lapu-Lapu) island. This is the island next to Cebu which
has the Cebu domestic airport. There are two bridges connecting the island
to Cebu so getting there is no problem. The best way for me was to
take from the mall a L-300 V-Hire mini van. It will cost about 15
pesos and is air conditioned and will drop you off on Lapu-Lapu near the
bridge. From there you can catch a multicab or tricycle to wherever
you need to go. You can also take a taxi from the city but it will
run you around 200-300 pesos to get to the beach resorts which are on the
far side of the island. There are also some beautiful mountain resorts as
you can see by the pictures above which where awesome and far from the
busy city life. Fresh seafood restaurants are common and delicious
and so is singing karaoke during your dinner. Just about everywhere
you travel...whether it be in the mountains or islands you will find
Karaoke machines everywhere in the Philippines. For 5 pesos per song ( .10
cents) you can try it yourself. |
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These last photos are some I took of
some locals going around with there daily business. The people of
the Philippines have all been hospitable and very kind to me. In the
first row are the fresh markets selling fish, chicken, beef etc...
The 3rd picture is stacks of Dried Fish....A Filipino staple. Number
4 is a very common site at the local markets....U.S. second hand clothes
shipped to the Philippines for sale to the locals for cheap. Number
5 is a common local small grocery store....these small stores carry a
variety of goods and are set up all over the islands and mountains.
While hiking in the mountains...I carried a small backpack with just the
bare minimum essentials since these store where all over I could buy can
foods or fresh bread and water anywhere I traveled. Number 6 is a
life saver.....this is a common internet cafe. Here for about .50
cents or $1 per hour ( 25 pesos-50 pesos) I can keep in touch with the
world and was able to check my email and email photos back to all my
friends. Small towns normally have dial up while in the city you can
find internet cafes with high speed DSL connections. Many drug
stores like this one in number 7 are around the city areas and carry much
of your medicine you may need. During x-mas and new years you would
see stands like in number 8 selling fireworks. Unlike in the U.S.
where we normally use them for the fourth of July...in the Philippines
fireworks are shot off both for Christmas and New Years parties. In
the last row are some of the people I met along my travels....in all the Philippines
is a great experience and I hope will stay that way in the future. |